AT&T Changes Policy to Increase Charges–Offers Nothing in Return

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Thank you for choosing AT&T. A representative will be with you shortly.

You are now chatting with AT&T.

AT&T: Hello.

AT&T: How may I assist you today ?

Me: Hi. I was wondering why I’m suddenly being charged an equipment fee on my AT&T U-Verse Internet account.

Me: It is a *new* $2.00 charge per month – with tax on top of that.

AT&T: I would like to inform you that its the high speed equipment fee charged in every customer account as per the new price changes.

Me: Can I expect to be upgraded to the latest hardware?

Me: If I buy my own hardware, will AT&T remove this charge from my bill?

Me: Also, how long have I been a U-Verse customer?

AT&T: As you are a valuable customer to us. Please do not worry about the charges. Let me go ahead and adjust the charges for you.

AT&T: Its been almost four years.

AT&T: please bear with me while I adjust the charge in your account.

Me: Sure. :)

Me: I just looked it up and I can buy a used 3800HGV-B router on Amazon for $26. AT&T wishes to charge me $24/per year to rent one. Had this policy been in place for the past 4 years, I could have bought almost four of them. Does that sound like a fair deal for AT&T customers?

AT&T: I really apologize for this.

Me: It’s not your fault. :)

Me: It is Randal Stephenson’s fault. :) I’d like to pass along a message to him that while I thank him for allowing my bill to be adjusted, I think it’s a crummy way to treat customers – especially the ones who don’t know enough to contact the company and refuse the new charges. :)

AT&T: I would like to provide you the number of our customer relation center. So, that they can provide you with the best offers available to lower your bill.The number is 877-999-1083.

AT&T: Their hours of operations are Monday till Friday 8:00 AM till 7:00 PM EST and 8:00 AM till 5:00 PM every Saturday.

Me: Thank you very much. I’m already paying more money than I would for higher speed on RoadRunner – maybe they can do something about that.

Me: So to recap, I only owe $55 on my bill again?

AT&T: Yes, they surely will.

AT&T: You only owe $45.14. As I have adjusted $12.00 for you.

Me: Will that kind of adjustment be automatic going forward or do I have to contact the Customer Relation Center?

AT&T: You need to contact customer relation center. so, that your bill can be lowered for a longer time.

Me: Thank you for your help, AT&T. Goodnight.

AT&T: Thank you for being the best part of AT&T. We appreciate your valuable time & business with continued loyalty.

AT&T: Your feedback will be appreciated after this chat. You will receive the survey once you disconnect the chat.  Please click the RED X button at the right hand side of the chat window.

AT&T: Good night.

3/3/2013 7:00p AT&T U-Verse Billing Chat

Deal to get $200 Windows upgrade for $40 Expiring on Thursday

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When Windows 8 launched, Microsoft wanted to encourage people to upgrade early so they offered a great incentive to existing Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 users. As a result, an upgrade that would normally cost $200, costs $40 (or if you bought a Windows 7 PC on or after June 2, 2012, you can get it for $15 here).

They can go to this website and download the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant which examines your PC for compatibility, gives you a list of hardware and applications that may have compatibility issues (for most machines I’ve seen the fixes have involved re-installing the software after the upgrade) and it gives you a list that you can save.

The upgrade preserves your files, but you may need to re-install desktop applications like Office, Photoshop, etc.

The 2GB installer download took about 4 hours on a relative’s low-end RoadRunner Lite connection (1 Mbit/s), so factor available broadband speeds into your upgrade plans.

If you have a Microsoft Account (an old Hotmail or Xbox Live account for example) that will make the process go faster.

Here’s what I recommend:

  1. In case anything goes really wrong, always backup your files before an operating system upgrade.
  2. To be extra sure, I recommend downloading the SkyDrive desktop app here and transferring any files you’d like to back-up on the cloud. SkyDrive offers 7GB of storage. Other offerings from competitors offer 5GB if you prefer using them.
  3. Install the Windows 8 Pro upgrade via the official Upgrade to Windows 8 website.
  4. Protect your user files with the new File History feature of Windows 8.
  5. Add Windows Media Center to Windows 8 Pro – this is a limited time offer that also expires on Thursday.
  6. After the Windows Store app tile has time to update (it should show 15 or so updates for built-in apps) click on it and in the upper-right-hand corner click the update link, then at the bottom of the page click to install all of them.
  7. Finally, Microsoft is migrating Windows Live Messenger users to Skype and shutting down the old Windows Live Messenger service on March 15th, 2013. I recommend downloading the Skype app from the Windows Store, and also the Skype desktop app. When you sign-in on the desktop app you’ll be given the chance to link your Microsoft accounts, and even connect so you can IM all of your friends on Facebook. This explains what happens when you merge your Skype and Microsoft accounts. I recommend it because for most people it helps simplify by getting all of their IM contacts in one well-organized place.

Remember, you can always get back to the old Windows 7 look and feel by holding-down the start button on your keyboard (the Windows flag logo) and pressing the letter “d” key at the same time.

I hope this helped. With this you should be able to save about $160 per PC – but only if you act before 1/31/2013.

Update: c|net posted a list of links to related articles. I’m including them here in case anyone would like to do some further reading:

Get your cheap Windows 8 upgrade now

Win 8 Pro upgrade jumps from $40 to $200 come February 1

Cheap Windows 8 upgrade may require your Windows 7 key

How to upgrade to Windows 8

Upgrading to Windows 8: What you need to know (FAQ)

Check your PC for Windows 8 readiness with upgrade assistant

Libertarians take note: Microsoft Listens to Feedback

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While taking part in the public preview of Windows 8, I noticed that the default news app only included traditional statist news sources, so I put my 2¢ in and recommended the inclusion of the award-winning Reason Magazine.  It seems that Microsoft listened.

As you can see below, Reason is now a “Source” in the political news section (accessible by right-clicking in the app – or swiping from the top or bottom edges and clicking Sources).

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Clicking on the source brings up the most recent Reason articles, and this page can be pinned to the Start menu for easy access.

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Clicking the links opens the page in the news viewer, and from there it can be emailed to friends or opened in a browser for sharing to social networks.  Here’s hoping for improvement, but it’s nice to be on the menu. Especially when the menu will be seen by so many people.

Customer Service Review: Sails Marine, Monroe, CT

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On October 15th, 2012 I placed an order with Sails Marine via their website (www.sailsmarine.com) which required me to create an account.

I received an order confirmation email listing the status as processing and the tracking number as pending.

Ten days later, having not received a tracking number, I used their site to track the order. It was showing a status of warehouse, still with a tracking number of pending.

Today, on October 29th, 2012 I returned to the site to find that my order status is now canceled.  At no point did they contact me to offer an explanation.

Based on this experience, I would not recommend ordering products from this company. The price was the best I could find online, but they don’t honor their contractual obligations as far as order fulfillment is concerned.

Rating: F

Contact info:

Sails Marine
105 Hillside Lane
Monroe, CT 06468
United States

captain@sailsmarine.com

How to Set Messenger to Auto Sign-In

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  1. Press the Xbox button on your controller (the round silver button with the green “x” on it) to bring up the Xbox Guide.
  2. Navigate to the Settings tab on the far right.
  3. Select the Profile option at the top of the list.
  4. Select Sign-in Preferences near the middle of the list.
  5. In the Messenger Auto Sign-In section, select either On or Off, then press the Xbox button to return to the screen you started from.

Using this method you can set your Profile Auto Sign-In as well as your Messenger sign-in status. The benefit of auto sign-on with messenger is that any friends with Messenger on their phones or computers will see that you are playing Xbox and be more inclined to join you for a gaming session. Smile

Sherrod Brown (D) vs. Josh Mandel (R) vs. Scott Rupert – US Senate

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Scott Rupert responded on 10/6/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 100

  1. Agree
  2. Agree
  3. Agree
  4. Agree
  5. Agree

Economic score 100

  1. Agree
  2. Agree
  3. Agree
  4. Agree
  5. Agree

So his responses would be classified as Libertarian.

100_100

I’ll update Sherrod Brown and Josh Mandel’s answers for comparison when I receive their answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Pat Tiberi (R) vs. Jim Reese (D) – Representative to Congress (12th District)

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Jim Reese responded on 10/8/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 60

  1. Agree
  2. Maybe
  3. Agree
  4. Disagree
  5. Maybe

Economic score 30

  1. Agree
  2. Disagree
  3. Disagree
  4. Disagree
  5. Maybe

So his responses would be classified as Centrist.

60_30

Pat Tiberi refused to answer the questions on 10/10/2012. Here’s what his campaign had to say:

Mr. Noble,

Thank you for contacting us and for your interest in Congressman Tiberi’s candidacy.  As you might imagine, with over 700,000 people residing in the 12th congressional district, it’s not possible for us to respond to individual surveys. We believe that Congressman Tiberi’s long voting record, the many media voter guides he has completed and the countless news and interest group resources, make information about his positions readily available to any interested voter.

Thanks again,

Kristen Frissora
Campaign Manager
Tiberi for Congress

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Daphne Hawk (R) vs. Terry Brown (D) – Franklin County Recorder

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Daphne Hawk responded on 10/8/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 70

  1. Agree
  2. Maybe
  3. Agree
  4. Disagree
  5. Agree

Economic score 70

  1. Maybe
  2. Agree
  3. Agree
  4. Maybe
  5. Maybe

So her responses would be classified as Libertarian.

70_70

I’ll update Terry Brown’s answers for comparison when I receive his answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

Maureen Reedy (D) vs. Stephanie Kunze (R) vs. Thomas Alban – 24th Ohio House District

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Stephanie Kunze responded on 10/7/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 40

  1. Agree
  2. Maybe
  3. Disagree
  4. Disagree
  5. Maybe

Economic score 50

  1. Maybe
  2. Maybe
  3. Maybe
  4. Maybe
  5. Maybe

So her responses would be classified as Centrist.

40_50

 

Thomas Alban responded on 10/10/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 100

  1. Agree
  2. Agree
  3. Agree
  4. Agree
  5. Agree

Economic score 10

  1. Disagree
  2. Disagree
  3. Disagree
  4. Disagree
  5. Maybe

So his responses would be classified as Liberal.

100_10

I’ll update Maureen Reedy’s answers for comparison when I receive hers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.

John Stacy vs. Michael Collins vs. Kristen McKinley – State Board of Education (6th District)

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John Stacy responded on 10/7/2012. Answers were:

Personal score 100

  1. Agree
  2. Agree
  3. Agree
  4. Agree
  5. Agree

Economic score 100

  1. Agree
  2. Agree
  3. Agree
  4. Agree
  5. Agree

So his responses would be classified as Libertarian.

100_100

Michael Collins responded on 10/7/2012 and refused to answer the questions, explaining “I’m seeking re-election to the State Board of Education, which is a non-partisan race and I  believe my personal political/governmental and economic positions are not necessarily relevant to my pursuit of this office.”

I’ll update Kristen McKinley’s answers for comparison when I receive her answers.

For background on this project, my original “Quizzing the Candidates” blog post here.