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Wal-Mart Complaint - Deceptive AT&T Phone Card - AT&T Prepaid Phone Card Plus

AT&T Prepaid Phone Card Plus - Complaint
Review by doglet on 2008-02-08
ANYTOWN, MINNESOTA -- WalMart is selling an AT&T PrePaid Phone Card which states you are buying 1000 minutes of calling time but in most states reduce this by a large margin in the fine print. In my case by 80% to 200 minutes for instate long distance calling. Big number 1000 on the face of the card pulls you in when you see it. They sell it off the racks in the checkout lanes. A very cunning and deceptive product design and marketing scheme. You think you are getting all the minutes stated on the front of the card but you are NOT. Then they sell it as a "point of sale" item in the check out lanes where they assume you will not read the fine print and that they are trying to trick you. This card is a very bad deal SIMPLY PUT: DO NOT BUY THE AT&T PREPAID PHONE CARD AT WALMART. Shame on Walmart and AT&T for engaging in "gotcha capitalism" of the most disgusting type. BUY the SPRINT prepaid phone card because they give you all the minutes stared on the front of the card for both instate and state-to-state calling.

Another point is that most of the electronics sold by WalMart has become so cheap and low quality it is not worth considering. Check out their junk line of V-TECH (Mattel like telephones) if you want to see and handle some real low quality mass produced crap from china. Consumers across America "you get what you pay for" and WalMart is producing boat loads of imported cheap crap that is not worth buying any longer. It worth it to got to Target and get better quality for only pennies more. You lost me WalMart! Bye
Comments:
Posted by dan gordon on 2008-02-08:
there are hundreds of phone cards to pick from. You have to study each one, and yes you have to read the fine print. I've used phone cards for many yrs and yes some are better than others. If you use a pay phone you won't get as many minutes. If you do in state calls you won't get as many minutes. I don't think Wal mart will miss you much.
Posted by FoggyOne on 2008-02-09:
I bought a phone card from Wal-Mart that had 60 minutes. I went to a pay phone to use it and it immediately deducted 30 minutes because I was using a pay phone, the line was busy but I was still charged! No kidding.
Posted by Starlord on 2008-02-09:
Alley is absolutely correct. This should not be a complaint against Wal*Mart, but against AT&T. Wal*Mart doesn't print the cards or set the conditions for it's use, that is strictly in the bailiwick of AT&T. All Wal*Mart is doing is making the cards more acccessible to the customers. I saw a convenience store when we were in Washington that had a sign that they had phone cards, and had the logos of every phone card imaginable. Tracfone, Go Phone, Virgin Mobile, you name it, they had it. If there was somehting wrong with the conditions of the card usage, that would not be the convenience store's problem, it would be the company whose name and logo were on the card. Let's just tell the truth. You just hate Wal*Mart so much, you don's care if they are at fault, you just want them to be so badly, you will slant your review to make Wal*Mart look bad. Tells me a lot about you.
Posted by dezrtgal on 2008-09-14:
this is what AT&T says about prepaid phone cards, "AT&T establishes the price points for the cards and recharged minutes when they are sold directly by AT&T. The retailer establishes the price point for the cards and recharged minutes when they are sold by the retailer." I interpret that as shame on WalMart, BUT buyer beware is always ones' own responsibility. Here is the web page for the above quote, http://www.serviceguide.att.com/ACS/ext/od.cfm?OID=14661&menu=101
Hope the facts help to shed some information on the subject.
Posted by dezrtgal on 2008-09-14:
Posted by leogetz on 2009-05-25:
I was curious if AT&T prepaid phone cards at wal-mart were pulling the same scam. Beware also of recharging your AT&T card with additional minutes. I paid $18 for 300 minutes the other night to recharge an AT&T phone card not realizing for instate calls it only amounted to 36 minutes. 300 minutes for out of state. 8 minutes is deducted from the card for each 1 minute of your instate long distance call. I find it hard to believe that AT&T would stupe so low the try and make a buck.
Posted by julia on 2011-12-02:
the amount of minutes on the front of the card is for interstate minutes. doesn't include instate or payphone charges

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