AT&T subscribers complain of delayed, canceled iPhone 4S pre-orders

By on Oct 14, 2011 at 4:35 PM
mobile October 14, 2011

Apple’s iPhone 4S became available to the general public today, and the launch appears to have been an overwhelming success. Yankee Group analyst Carl Howe believes Apple could close out the weekend having sold as many as 4 million new iPhones. We’ve been hearing from proud new iPhone owners across the country all day — and we’ve also been hearing about all the crazy things they’ve been asking poor Siri — but we’ve also heard from an unhappy minority that seems to have fallen victim to fulfillment problems. Read on for more.

Updated with comment from AT&T.

Beyond an odd complaint here and there, things seem to be going well for Verizon Wireless and Sprint subscribers who emailed us today. We’ve also heard from plenty of happy AT&T customers, but there appears to have been an issue with pre-sales in some cases, and a number of AT&T customers have emailed us with war stories.

“[An AT&T customer care representative] confirmed phones would be shipping to customers for arrival on 10/14, but when nothing in my account changed I spoke with 2 others who confirmed all phones will be shipping with a 2 to 3 week delay,” one reader told BGR in an email. “For someone who purchased early the morning of 10/7 this is a complete let down.”

Several more BGR readers offered similar complaints, saying that orders placed early in the morning on October 7th are now being delayed by two or more weeks. A few other readers found that their orders had been canceled with no explanation given.

As it turns out, customers who had their orders canceled often found themselves in a better position than subscribers with delays. Those who tried to cancel their delayed orders with the intention of going to a retail store to purchase a new phone have often times been unable to do so, according to multiple emails we received. Due to the pending order status, customers would be forced to pay full MSRP for new iPhones since their accounts are no longer eligible for subsidized upgrades.

Dealings with customer care have been mixed to this point, according to accounts given by BGR readers. Several emails recount lengthy conversations that led nowhere as customer service was unable to determine the status of iPhone orders. At least one BGR reader said that AT&T offered to waive the $18 upgrade fee on his account, however he was still unaware of the status of his order at the time this article was published.

Customers with war stories always shout louder than those for whom orders have gone smoothly, and considering AT&T took in more than 200,000 pre-orders on October 7th alone, there were bound to be some bumps in the road. AT&T did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UPDATE: AT&T provided the following statement to BGR via email: “We are fulfilling orders on schedule in nearly every case.  We are aware of a small number of customers who have questions about their delivery timing and are working with one-on-one with each to answer questions.”

Tags:
, , , , , , , , ,
128 Comments

Related Articles

  • Bulls

    AT&T blows.  I preordered early on October 7th and was so happy when I got my phone the following Tuesday only to find out they sent me a 4G and not 4Gs.  So after spending over an hour on the phone i was told that I would be added back to the queue for delivery on 10/14.  I called back on the 17th to check on my order but and was told the wait was now 3 to 4 weeks.  I asked if i could cancel and go to a store, but since they already placed (paid and messed up my order) I could not.  So frustrated.  I mean how do you mess an order on the first day of PreOrder?

  • Sam

    I’m having the same issue. I pre ordered my phone with AT&T on Oct 10, and now that i’m seeing phones in the store, i’m totally stuck waiting for who knows how long for my phone!

  • Ntkirk

    Wow! this is exactally what I am going through.  What this article didn’t tell you was that many customers including myself, called customer care.  After someone answered the call afte 45 minutes of hold time, I would have to talk to someone in a different department.  I was placed on hold for another hour then unexpectidly hung up on with no answer.  When I called back, I went through the same thing then left with no answer again.

  • Ggiicq

    Haven’t got mine either! preorder on 9th. ATT also lied about “small amount got delayed”. actually most of the people got delayed shipping.

  • Sarah J.

    I just went and upgraded from my old 3G to a 4 and the girl in front of
    me was doing this same thing. She canceled her pre-order and picked up a
    new one at the store.

  • Disappointed customer

    I just had same problem, was told that due to it being ‘in process’ I could not cancel.  The CS rep was nice but it is frustrating, she even said, “it could ship tomorrow”.  Highly unlikely.  I don’t understand the purpose of pre-ordering if you can obtain in the store faster.  Then they even tease you out by sending ‘update’ email which just basically says it has not shipped yet.  It is not the end of the world but it is frustrating and a poor experience.  I won’t be pre-ordering through AT&T for any future phones.  Can those of you who ordered on Oct. 7th advise when you actually do receive your phones?   I ordered on the 9th so I am afraid I may be in for a much longer wait. 

  • George Burrows

    at&t is full of BS. I was promised my phone on 10/14 here it is 10/21 and still no phone and no answer fronm at&t except it’s “in progress” They wont cancel my order so I can buy from a retail store where it is still in stock. My only option is to go to another carrier. Fortunely there are several now and the apple store has phones for all of them.

  • Bluedude

    So I had a similar situation with my pre-order being delayed by weeks and listed as backordered despite ordering it on October 7 in store.  I cancelled my preorder and, here’s the key, had my upgrade eligibility reinstated.  I was able to pick up a 4S in store seamlessly.  In fact I made the call to cancel my pre-order while I was waiting in line to pick up the 4S.  Then yesterday (October 20) I received notification that my pre-order had been shipped, despite having already been cancelled.  I called AT&T to see what’s up.  It did indeed arrive today, October 21.  So then I had to trek it back to the AT&T store to return it so I didn’t get charged for the second one.  What a mess. 

  • rico

    piss poor customer service!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.  
    this will be my last phone with AT&T.    i was told i would have the phone a week ago and the site does not even showed it has even been shipped yet.  I hate AT&T!!!!

    • Anonymous

      we had a meeting today and this was brought up…most of us think it’s partially due to the earthquake, and also that Apple may be doing it on purpose to drive this type of viral marketing.  Unfortunately, us CSRs on the front line don’t have any more info either…all we’ve been told is “before the 28th”

  • Mmmmm01

    Stood in line.  Ordered iphone 4s when local store opened on the 7th.  Here it is, October 23rd and the order status is “in progress” and is labeled back ordered.  I’m not annoyed with our local store, but am totally p.o.ed at head quarters or where ever the phone ships from.  This sucks.

  • Wm

    will never do att ANY PHONE purchase again     Terrible  order service

1 2 3 4
blog comments powered by Disqus