AT&T just changed some customers’ plans — and raised prices — without asking
Check your phone bill.
AT&T has added 15GB of data to some customers’ phone plans. But there’s a catch: The company is jacking up rates on those plans by $10 a month with “no way to opt out,” The Verge reported on Nov. 6.
The changes impact customers on AT&T Mobile Share plans, according to the company, and the rate increase was effective with the October 2019 bill.
“We are communicating with some customers regarding changes to their mobile plans,” Ryan Oliver, an AT&T spokesperson, said in an email to McClatchy news group on Wednesday. “Customers always have the choice to change their current plan at any time.”
The company issued a similar statement on the charges earlier this month, adding that customers “can always contact us with questions or to understand their options,” The Verge reported.
An email to one customer on Nov. 20 reflected a more modest monthly rate increase, with the company saying it had “added 3GB of data to your plan and increased your monthly rate by $5.” That message said the customer could “sign in to review the changes to your account.”
AT&T has tried to portray the $10, 15GB increase as a “bonus” that will benefit consumers.
“Enjoy more data. Starting with your October 2019 bill, you’ll get an additional 15GB of data on your Mobile Share plan,” the company says in a support page on its website. “This bonus data comes with a $10 price increase.”
Ars Technica reported on Nov. 7 that “paying an extra $10 for another 15GB isn’t a bad deal as far as US wireless prices go, but that’s only true if you actually need the extra data. The plans getting the data-and-price increases already had between 20GB and 60GB of data per month at prices that ranged from $100 to $225. Now those plans have 35GB to 75GB and cost $110 to $235.”
According to Ars Technica, the Mobile Share Value plans involved in the $10 increase were introduced in 2013 “and are apparently no longer offered to new customers.” The publication reported that earlier this year AT&T “added $10 and extra data to customer bills ... between March and May and mostly affected a different set of Mobile Share Value plans, according to another AT&T support document.”
This story was originally published November 20, 2019 at 7:39 PM with the headline "AT&T just changed some customers’ plans — and raised prices — without asking."
