US Telco Support > AT&T > AT&T U-verse > Can't order UVerse and then cancel TV later

Can't order UVerse and then cancel TV later

If you'd search the forums you can cancel the TV before your 30 days are up. You just got a bad rep.

Nope, they will not do it. I talked to three representatives and they all told me that it can't be done.

I told them, Cable allows people to do what I'm asking and the representative told me that it just isn't possible.

Well, sorry AT&T... you won't be getting me as a UVerse customer. Not until you can either make your HDTV service as crisp, clear, and clean as I get from DirecTV (which I highly doubt will happen until they go full Fiber instead of this VDSL stuff), or you offer people like me who don't want TV the ability to order without TV.
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Tom

To the people who want to do what I'm asking... call up and complain and might I add, loudly. Tell them that Cable does it all the time yet AT&T refuses to do this.
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Tom

reply to trparky
Well there's nothing in the terms that says you can't cancel the TV only.

»uma.att.com/assets/files/legal_d···mer.html

You also have a 30 day money back guarantee.

If I were you I'd order it, then "decide" to cancel the TV, and if they refused, I'd tell them to send me to retentions because I want to cancel everything and go back to Cable. I am sure they'd cut you a deal.

reply to trparky
I have the same issue. I am scheduled for an install date of January 15th. I signed up for TV + Internet then decided I just want Internet since I am very happy with DISH and it is quite a bit cheaper.

I called and a representative told me no problem, that I just had to get the DSL MAX or MAX 18, so I went with the MAX. I finally decided to go all the way to the MAX 18, so I called back today and found that they had canceled my order for Internet only and left me scheduled to be installed for TV + Internet on the 15th. The representative this time checked with a manager and then said, that they will only let you get just Internet if you live someplace where DSL is not offered.

My problem is that after 2+ years of bad connections with DSL elite I finally had to drop my service to DSL pro to keep a stable connection. So yes DSL is offered, but no it doesn’t really work that well.

I really don’t want to sign up for TV + Internet since I don’t want them to mess up my satellite installation or find out that they won’t let me cancel just the TV.

reply to trparky
To the OP:

Sales at AT&T has one job, to tell you something, Since U-Verse was built out primarily as an IPTV system, the revenue and sales team is set up to promote and keep that product first. Now as a person on the inside who sees order, Yes, you can order Internet and or Voice only; it takes work, the sales agents don't want to to do it because of their commissions, but I know it can be done because i see the order everyday.
Internet Only and Internet and Voice orders doesn't get the same promotions and most times require an install charge. To avoid this you can place an order for 1 TV and the internet and VoIP service you want and you can cancel the TV service in the first 30 days. If you want to avoid having to get a TV and a sales agent refuses to sell you just Internet and/or VoIP or worse yet lies to you an says you have to keep TV ask for a manager. Its there, but not the prime offer.
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AT&T UVerse Dispatch Center - SouthWest
Covering AL, AR, CA, FL, GA, KS, MO, NC, NV, OK, SC, TN, & TX

reply to trparky
AT&T will only let you get Internet service without TV if you live someplace where DSL is not offered.

This is straight from a "managers" mouth and they would rather I cancel everything than to take my $65/month for the MAX 18 Internet service.

Again untrue, it all depends on who you talk to. Many people have gotten internet without TV. It's very hard to do but it can be done. What most do is order the TV and cancel in 30 days.

reply to bluepoint951
bluepoint951 , can you get me into contact with one of these representatives in the Ohio region that will allow me to do this?

What would the price be if I did this? I pay $85 a month now for Elite 6.0 and phone.
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Tom

reply to trparky
So maybe some managers are willing to let you break the official rules, but I had one rep offer to let me have Internet MAX without TV just to find that they later canceled the order without telling me and signed me back up for TV+Internet service!

I asked if I could cancel just TV after the installation and was told NO. Obviously people are doing it, but I kind of like to follow rules, so unless AT&T will tell me ahead of the installation and in writing that I can truly have Internet only, I don't trust that I will be able to get out of the TV portion and keep the Internet service.

As it is no two employees will give the same story. This shouldn't depend on who you talk to.

You can cancel the TV after the fact but you will be charged for your TV usage on a prorated basis.

reply to gdm

reply to trparky
At least you are better off than me. I paid for DSL elite for over 2 years with constant problems which AT&T always blamed on my modem/router configuration. I got sick of wasting time with their tech support which would just keep insisting that I unplug my modem and plug it back in. Oh, see it works now. Yeah for about 30 minutes before the next drop.

It was tough, but I finally insisted someone come to my house and they said that there is no way the line coming to the back of my home can handle 6.0, so they slowed the line to DSL pro and it works like a champ now. It looks like all my problems were obviously theirs from the beginning.

Of course this means that now I am stuck with 3 mbps if they won't let me have u-verse Internet only service. The cable option at my house is worse. I tried that for about 3 years and it would go out almost daily for up to several hours at a time. I guess if I ever move again I will insist on trying broadband at the new home for at least a week before I commit to buying the home.

I hear what everyone is saying about ordering the TV + Internet and then canceling the TV, but since that is obviously using a loophole, how do I know they won't just cancel my Internet later. At this point I am like trparky. It is just too much hassle and they obviously don't want me as a customer that bad.

reply to trparky
I asked the same question when I ordered (back in November) and got the same response.

A couple of days ago, around a week and a half after install (Dec 24), I called up the 800-ATT-2020 number, got ahold of a rep, and asked for my TV to be cancelled. They did it without any sort of resistance. (I was expecting some, even though I knew others had been able to do the same thing.) At this point I have just the Max 18 package and unlimited voice, all for $85 a month (quoted over the phone to me by the rep).

Obviously, this sort of a thing could go away without warning. If you want to play it safe, then stick with what you've got. But I can say with absolute certainty that it worked even two days ago.

(Oh, and DirecTV compresses the living hell out of everything I've seen, even doing anamorphic 1280x1080 to cut down on bitrate. Not to say Uverse TV was any better, but I don't think DirecTV's all that great, either.)

reply to Rendell

reply to trparky
I helped a friend order 'naked' DSL, (or whatever they call it without phone line) and AT&T bungled the install. It took multiple phone calls and truck rolls for them to find out that her DSL line was terminated into Uverse equipment at the CO. Huge waste of time, needless to say I was embarassed about my recommendation and my technical credibility with my friend took a hit for recommending AT&T.

reply to trparky
FYI. Not to try to be contrary, but just within the past hour I called the 800 number listed on this thread, spoke with a rep who transferred me to the retention department and they offered me $20 off my TV and when I said no thank you she disconnected my TV service with no complaints and told me my bill would now be $30 for internet-only.

Not sure what I did right or what anybody else has done wrong...

reply to trparky
I just called ATT-2020 and they told me I can only get the internet in a bundle... so it's either get the tv service or get the phone service bundled with them. The retention department couldn't help me either.