General Reviews of Cingular Wireless Customer Service

Pros: Creative in new ways to sell something.
Cons: Greedy. If you leave, they don't want you back for 2 years.

Got rolled into Cingular from the AT&T merger (Takeover) and all seemed fine until the "New" upgrade for voice mail. This "Upgrade" is another attempt from Cingular to take more money. Seems that to get the voice mail to work, they have to send an update to the SIM chip. But guess what? AT&T SIM chips are locked and don't upgrade. So how do you replace the SIM chip? By changing plans at a higher rate for the same service. Seems that Cingular figured out a way to force merged customers to move to cingular rates that were previously "grandfathered" in from the merger. Tech support won't tell you this and if you go to a store well, they are not known for tech skills. And that's the most positive thing I can say.

Pros: None
Cons: Customer Service is pathetic.

I am a military officer who was reassigned to an area which didn't carry Cingular Service. After speaking with several customer reps who weren't quite sure of their procedures, I was finally advised to fax my relocation orders with an explanation memo to cancel my services without a fee. I did exactly as I was instructed but continued to receive bills. My attempts at trying to tactfully resolve this with another customer rep and manager turned into a screaming match. It's amazing to me how these uneducated people insist they know more about the military than an 0-5 officer, insisting a deployment is the same thing as a relocation/reassignment. I have had several cell phone services but have never experienced anything like this in my life! The moral of the story is, if you're in the military, stay away from Cingular Service.

Pros: good coverage
Cons: see general views

SERVICE PLANS STINK. They require you to have a 2 year deal, yet when a phone breaks (through absolutely no fault of your own: no water damage, no dropping, etc) they refuse to give you a new phone if you did not purchase the warranty. AND EVEN IF YOU DID, the warranty expires after one year. they gave me 2 options today. 1: buy a new phone full cost 2. buy a discounted phone and renew my contract for another 2 years. I told them that i am not renewing my contract today because in 6 months (when mine expires) i am probably not coming back. They offered no solutions. My feelings are: Why offer a 2 year service plan that you are stuck in (175 to get out i was told) when their phones are NOT built to last? i think it is awful and very very bad business and customer service.

Pros: Good service,nice new phones ava. pretty fast.
Cons: Maybe they have some people needing to be fired in customer service.

Well,from all the reviews I've read,it sounds like Cingular sucks.To be honest,I think everyone needs to read the fine print or service agreements that are posted on their web site.Also, reception isn't always the carriers fault,sometimes phones just suck at reception,the ones I noticed that rate Cingular badly is Sony Ericson and the Motorola V551.If you were to have a RAZR foresay,the ratings are as good as possible.I myself have Cingular and have NEVER had a dropped call saying that service in Salt Lake City, Utah sucks.The only dropped calls were because the phone threw a tizzy and I ended up having to remove the battery and putting it back in and good as new.With customer service have you ever wondered, if maybe what you want doesn't exist,or maybe there's only one solution and they're telling it to you,and we all get frustrated and make mistakes,I've only heard maybe a few hundred reviews out of their network with millions.You just have to take it all and consider it just like anything in life.Think what you want but remember.

Pros: Rollover minutes.
Cons: Service is terrible.

Every month there is a problem with my bill. I had text messaging and internet service blocked twice, but they keep charging me for this service even though I never use it! Make sure you carefully review your bill! Also, I set up auto-payment, it was mysteriously removed and they tried to charge me a late fee. I can't wait for my contract date to end. I will not sign a new contract with them.

Pros: excellent phone selection, free phones, great reception in most places
Cons: billing, rude customer service reps, long hold times, no signal in apartment, etc

I love my Motorola razor but they seriously need to get their act together! I am so tired of Cingular and I will tell you why in the cons.

Pros: Works in densely populated areas.
Cons: Two cups connected with string would be clearer and more reliable than this service.

There is one thing this company does well: collect on bills. The cellular coverage in my area is spotty to nonexistant. When I called about the poor reception they suggested that I buy a new phone from them. When I told them that my reception is okay elsewhere they acted mystified. When I got upset that they still tried to sell me a new phone again, "Why do I need to pay you more money so that you will do what I pay you to do already?" they sent out a technician to check the service in my area... and a cell tower was indeed out! I'm still waiting for them to fix it.... and waiting... and waiting...

Pros: Service Area
Cons: Everything else billing, overcharges, hidden fees, customer service, tech support, actuall "full working" service, reception

Im giving them two stars only for one reason,I didnt have a dead zone while with them. Even at the cabin. The reception was crap, I dont know how many times i heard "can you repeat that" or "what?". the extra 30 bucks that was tacked onto my account every month even though i didnt go over my minutes. The terrible customer service ("please shut off your phone, turn it back on and then call us") okay yeah.. that may of worked the first time. The fact my VOICEMAIL hasn't worked since i've had the phone, and now that i want to cancel the account they wont let me until i come up with an extra $150 to pay for the cancelation in advanced.

DIRTY COMPANY!!

I honestly feel violated and ripped off. When I told the customer service rep I was planing on leaving and wanted to cancel, his reaction was so placid I was sure that 90% of his phone calls had ended the same way.

To think I made it through this email with out cursing.. amazing.
DONT GET RIPPED OFF!!

Pros: NONE WHATSOEVER!!!
Cons: Everything we fear of wireless company; from overcharging to down right boarder-line illegal customer policy.

I travelled quite a bit for work; therefore didn't have the time to review Cingular invoices. As a solution, I had my girlfriend to submit payments for me monthly through my online banking account in order to avoid disconnection and/or other Cingular tricks. When I finally had a moment to sit down and review my Cingular invoices, I realized that the company has been charging me an additional $50 every month for the past 14 months, for a service that I cannot use even if I requested. Naturally I called, several times as a matter of fact. Cingular's philosophy is that the company will be more than happy to take your money and sign you up for services that you cannot use, but when it comes to refund, the company cannot refund the money at all! Cingular will take your money (illegally, I might add), but when you have rectified the record with them, Cingular will apologize but KEEP your money. I am currently working with an attorney to resolve this issue with Cingular.

Pros: Good service area.
Cons: Negligent Customer Service

I am not one who is easily disgruntled, and in fact it takes quite a few bad experiences to push me over the edge. I was actually thrilled when Cingular bought out AT&T. I didn't have problems with AT&T, it just seemed that Cingular was really cutting edge in the plans and services it offered. I switched to Cingular in December of 2004. I am currently waiting for my THIRD replacement phone from them. Not only is it just frustrating to have to go through that, but they seem to be completely indifferent at the inconvenience. I realize it is technically Motorola's fault that the phone is defective, but it is ultimately the responsibility of Cingular to attend to my service issues. The response I have received from Cingular is just sickening, and certainly makes me feel like an insignificant gnat in their communication empire. Switching providers is such an annoyance, but after the holidays I am definitely going to be doing some research on my options.

Pros: None
Cons: Complete lack of customer service. Dishonest too, as no phone has been received by me.

There is just no other way to put it. When my phone broke (due to a faulty hinge) they promised I would receive a new one within "10 - 15" days - they wouldn't even overnight ship one to me, the way AT&T would do before they got bought out. Well, guess what? It has been OVER A MONTH and still no phone. I have called several times in the last 2 weeks and have gotten very incompetent reps - two of them were impossible to understand, they spoke English so poorly. And, yes, they kept running through "the script" even though I kept requesting that we just cut to the chase. One of them told me the phone had been shipped and when I requested the tracking number, I had him repeat it twice. Then I read it back to him to confirm it. Naturally, when I checked with UPS there was no such tracking number. I called Cingular back - twice - and got disconnected - twice. We will probably break our contract to get away from this outfit - their service is incredibly poor.

Pros: NONE
Cons: Don't get me started...

A brief recap of my last three months:

Been on the phone with them for 15+ hours (mostly on hold)
Received harassing phone calls at both work and home
Gotten misleading letters in the mail regarding my account

WHY?
Three months ago they overcharged me $740 on my bill (yes, I said $740.00) and have not yet fixed it after 3 months, even though they admit to the mistake. They say, "crediting accounts often takes some time." Three months, really? Why? They sure as hell can charge you in 10 seconds! My phone is turned off now because the credit that hasn't been posted is showing as an overdue balance.

And I'm not the only one - every person I talk to has problems with them. Maybe that's why they have THE WORST customer service rating in the industry.

Pros: Warm and friendly and helpful service.
Cons: Can't think of any problems with service.

Had poor service with Sprint and very high bills. Decided to make a switch to my fiance's service Cingular. We created a family plan to share minutes/ cut our costs. Great idea!!!! The switch ocurred smoothly which included a great rate, rollover minutes, and a free color phone. The 1st bill was under $140. The next bill was approx. $80 for the both of us.

Pros: ask for any hidden charges for they will not tell you
Cons: taking over ATT now my bank account.

this month $36.00 for changing phone number. last month $40.00, month before $120.00.All due to charges that I was not informed about by sales department. Never was informed about other options that would save me money.

Pros: ABSOLUTELY NOTHING
Cons: Poor customer service. overcharging. monthly headache. company takes no accountability

It is my new mission in life to bring down this company.. i will tell every friend family member and stranger how terrible this company is. it is truly the WORST COMPANY that i have ever dealt with.. they never keep track of past call records. accuse you of making charges that you didnt.they are so rude on the phone and completely suck you dry until there is not one cent left in you!!! if you are wise you will take this advise and NEVER USE CINGULAR i recently canceled my coverage.. 300 dollars is a small price to pay to never have to deal with this idiots again