"If AT&T is not willing to continue service on that basis, we would expect them to give notice to the subscriber in a plain and conspicuous manner," he said. "Certainly an obscure note on page five of the bill does not constitute notice.". AT&T spokesman Ritch Blasi said the company alerts customers on page five of their bills, 60 days in advance of the plan expiring, because that is where minutes and other billing information is listed. The company also notifies customers that promotions such as extra weekend minutes are good only for a year when they sign up for their plans, he said.

Blasi was unaware of any complaints about the expiration policy, which applies nationwide and is not unique to customers in California, AT&T Wireless is among the largest of the wireless services providers, with more than 20 million subscribers, It also ranks highest in overall customer satisfaction and service among wireless providers, according to a J.D, Power and Associates survey of more than 17,600 U.S, households, J.D, Power measures customer satisfaction in many industries, Customer dissatisfactionLee Biddle of the Utility Consumers' Action juice pack external battery case with wireless charging for apple iphone 7 and 8 - blue Network, a utilities watchdog group in San Diego, said the group has received several complaints about the AT&T Wireless expiration policy..

"It does seem like a hammer they hold over you to keep you on a contract," Biddle said. The issue highlights an unfortunate trend in the wireless services industry: an ever higher level of customer complaints. The percentage of all wireless subscribers who have called customer service centers at least once in the last year with complaints has climbed to 61 percent, from 53 percent in 2000, according a recent J.D. Power study. The level of customer complaints is higher than for many other consumer services, including land-line telephone, cable television and stock brokerage services, said Kirk Parsons, author of the study.

"Wireless companies were always looking for the new customers and churn was always a secondary issue," said Doherty, referring to poor customer retention rates across the industry, "For every customer leaving, there were always two or three more coming in the door, Over the last year or so that has changed radically.", As growth in the number of new cell phone users slows, analysts say AT&T Wireless and other service providers are starting to work at improving customer service, But they don't always distribute improved service juice pack external battery case with wireless charging for apple iphone 7 and 8 - blue equitably, Doherty said..

Service providers are beginning to do more customer segmentation, often factoring in the amount of revenue a customer generates for the company. Big spenders may get special treatment or better promotions. For instance, a high-value customer whose contract and promotional extra minutes are about to expire may get a call from the company offering a new promotion, but the offer isn?t extended to all its customers. "That's going to leave some people with the short end of the stick," Doherty said. Some customers of AT&T Wireless are being hit with unexpectedly high bills when their plans expire, the result of a little-known clause buried within their contracts.