I got a new cell phone last week. I got the bill for that phone this week. Everything was what I expected… except for one thing. The tax. The phone plus fees and everything was $175. The sales tax? Fifty-one dollars. Yes, that’s right, apparently Cingular thinks that my local sales tax is OVER 25%.
Huh?
So, I figured I’d call Cingular about it.
First, I talked to Robert. He agreed that the price of my phone was $175 and that the total bill was $225. But he couldn’t see anything besides that. He offered to transfer me to Customer Care. Take it away, Robert.
Next, I talked to Sarah. After confirming my name, address, and social security number, Sarah also agreed that the taxes seemed high. However, because of the plan that I bought this phone through (employer discount), she could not help me. She gave me another number and offered to transfer me. Sarah, do your worst.
(On hold for two minutes>
Next… I got Sarah again. She said that she talked to a “business associate” who said that in California, we get taxed for everything. That’s why the taxes are so high. Whuh? I explained that sales tax in CA is still less than 10%. Her next suggestion… was amazing. She suggested I call the FCC. Since they determine cellular taxes, I should call them. But Sarah… if I’m writing a check to Cingular, they must at LEAST know how much of that check gets sent on to the FCC. *Somebody* at Cingular must know how the taxes on my new phone break down. She said she couldn’t help me, and that really, I should call the FCC. I insisted that somebody at Cingular should know why the sales tax on my phone was more than triple the standard California sales tax. Sarah offered to transfer me to another department. Sarah… anything for an answer.
Five minutes later, I got to talk to… Sarah again! She explained that since my phone normally retails for $500 (has *anyb0dy* ever paid that much for this phone? No.), the taxes are on the normal retail value of the phone. Since the price I paid is discounted, it makes the amount look inflated. Thank you, buh bye.
I’m not sure I believe it, but that was all she could offer me - besides calling the FCC of course. But my question is this: Has nobody ever noticed this before? I mean, somebody had to run into this problem before me. Besides the abnormally high taxes, I like my new phone so far. I’ll post more about the phone later.
I wish I would have read this before I ‘upgraded’ my phone last Friday. I went through the same headache asking customer service why these taxes are so high. I was bounced back and forth (4 reps) with them either saying “hmm, I get these calls a lot” or “I know that’s the policy and I’m sure its written somewhere on the website” or “can I help you with something else.” Funny, because the email confirmation which I have relied on for so many years as the final bill/charge failed to mention one single penny of it. In addition to these bogus taxes, you also pay an $18 ‘upgrade fee.” Why would you have to pay a fee if you were signing a new contract for two years?…just plain greed. If you run into this, there is an option. You can return the ATT phones to a company store within 30 days for a full refund. However, the resetting of the contract is a little tricky. If your contract expired and you don’t have a term, the computer doesn’t have an option for 0 years (the lowest option is 1)…thus they have to put in a customer service ticket to manually change it. They promised me 4 days to do this. I’m going to wait and see if it actually happens. Stay tough and hold your ground….if we continue to put up with this…we’ll be charged for crossing the street. Take care!
I agree, cell phone taxation is a little wild these days… Sprint is the worst!
Terry Richards
eFile Taxes