Expert: Roberto Serrano - 3/28/2008

Question
 I am wondering why  big big  carriers like  At&t  which
i have had  for over 10+ years   continues to push these
high priced  cellphones  that  are  discontinued models??
Has  anyone  else  noticed  this?  2 + yrs  ago  I  got
a  seimens  phone and  had trouble with updating the
software with it and  found out that it  was  a discontinued model.  Now  At&t  is  pushing me  to upgrade
my phone again and I do not  want  to buy  there  trash
phones  again.

Answer
Hello Donna,

I can see where your trouble and confusion lays Donna and I would like to explain some issues to you. At&t wireless is made up of several different entities. At&t Corporate, At&t Copy Cat Stores and At&t Authorized Agents. At&t Corporate does not push discontinued models the models that they have they push for about 6 months then they stop pushing the item for one of several reasons either the phone gets discontinued upgraded or it gets taken off the shelf because lack of performance or too many complaints. At&t has guidelines that all authorized agents and stores must abide by all of there agents must sell new products and up to date with At&t's guidelines and products. At&t does employee copy cat stores that are called authorized agents these authorized agents are suppose to carry most if not all of the models that At&t corporate stores carry in stores but at times due to authorized agents being stingy and greedy they want to make more off of there comission bonuses decide to sell outdated models of phones or models that have been discontinued for several months or maybe even refurbished phones. You see alot of these At&t agents get reported to At&t and there licenses get removed because they misinterpret At&t. The next time you get to go to an At&t wireless store ask if they are an authorized agent or if they are a corporate location only deal with corporate locations never do deal with a authorized agent if you want the most up to date phones and products. At&t offers you a year warranty with your product and they have great technical support that is very helpful if they can or do not know how to help you please come see me and e-mail me at rbserranojr@aim.com and I will always help you out. As far as upgrading have them waive the upgrade fee which is usually $18. Have them give you give you some free accessories like a pouch, a car charger and maybe a free phone. As far as updating the software on your phone you shouldnt go through that At&t's technical support should of taken care of that for you. I do apologize about all the confusion but please do not think that At&t is the only company with authorized agents and copy cat stores every carrier has them. I hope that I have been of help to you and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have in the future. Thank you for your question.