ATT matches Verizon, increases its upgrade fee from $15 to $20
Remember the $15 upgrade fee AT&T started charging customers who were looking to upgrade to a new smartphone from AT&T Next? Well, that fee has, according to a recent report, just been increased from $15 to $20: a move that apparently came into effect on April 6.
It should come as no surprised to AT&T's customer base that the carrier, upon noticing Verizon's $20 fee, upped its own to match.
AT&T’s move comes after Verizon started charging a $20 upgrade fee for its customers; this came into effect on Monday, and applied to users who’d purchased a smartphone at either full retail price, or through an installment plan. It should come as no surprise to AT&T’s customer base that the carrier, upon noticing Verizon’s $20 fee, upped its own to match. Nice move, AT&T.
The change was spotted by Droid Life, which explains that customers who purchase their handset through AT&T Next, who bring a handset to the carrier’s network, or who pick up an iPhone through Apple’s Device Upgrade Program are subject to the $20 charge. However, upgrade fees for two-year contract agreements remain at the usual $45.
Naturally, there’s no justification for the price hike at AT&T’s website, as Ars Technica highlights. Customers will either need to pay the fee, or go elsewhere (at the minute, T-Mobile offers no such fee; AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint, on the other hand, do).
If Apple is looking to become a carrier, I hope its policies and practices are a lot fairer than the ones we’re used to.
