AT&T Cell Phone Service in Meredith?

wifi · 10-18-2010, 12:36 AM

There is absolutely no reason people need your physical address unless they are going to send someone around. I have the same thing with no mail at the house. If they demand a physical, I make 'em happy with the address of the post office and change the "PO Box" to "Apt", it works 90% of the time and passes credit card screening.

They can feel satisfied they can send some goons over, and I can feel satisfied they will find a nice brick bulding...

Lakepilot · 10-18-2010, 05:42 AM

We often run into this situation also. Especially when talking to "customer service" in India.

To get around this we list our physical address and then on the next line our PO Box. That way if a company ships something FedEx it goes to the house, but if it's shipped Postal the post office knows to put it in the box.

upthesaukee · 10-18-2010, 09:38 PM

I was told by my local Post Office that if I didn't know how the order would arrive (UPS/FEDEX vs USPS), if I put my street address, 1 Main St for example, but put the ZIP+4 for my PO Box, UPS/FEDEX would deliver to my street and USPS would deliver to PO Box because USPS looks to ZIP+4 for definitive address info. So I started to do that.

What I found was that the Alton PO would send it down to the Bay PO, with a note on the front of the envelope saying "Alton Bay ?" and a stamp asking me to inform the sender what my correct address is

.

You could try a similar thing with ATT, I guess. Just hope they don't send you anything.

SAMIAM · 10-19-2010, 08:34 AM

I tried, but couldn't make them understand that I don't need the service here in Moultonborough because it works off my wireless.....I wanted it to travel so that we could check on lodging, road conditions, traffic, etc.
Good idea to trade for verizon. Definitely check it out.

brk-lnt · 10-19-2010, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SAMIAM

I tried, but couldn't make them understand that I don't need the service here in Moultonborough because it works off my wireless.....I wanted it to travel so that we could check on lodging, road conditions, traffic, etc.
Good idea to trade for verizon. Definitely check it out.

Keep in mind the Verizon version is a wifi iPad + a Verizon MiFi device for the Internet connection on the road. This can be a Good Thing, or a Bad Thing, depending on how you look at it. The MiFi can provide access to multiple devices, where the 3G iPad can only provide access to itself, BUT you also now have 2 devices to remember to bring, keep charged, etc. Overall the AT&T 3G iPad is probably more elegant, but the Verizon approach is more flexible.

If you just need an AT&T SIM for the iPad, contact me offline, I can give you an address to set the account up under.

brk-lnt · 10-19-2010, 12:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wifi

There is absolutely no reason people need your physical address unless they are going to send someone around. I have the same thing with no mail at the house. If they demand a physical, I make 'em happy with the address of the post office and change the "PO Box" to "Apt", it works 90% of the time and passes credit card screening.

They can feel satisfied they can send some goons over, and I can feel satisfied they will find a nice brick bulding...

Sorry, but this is just a tad too skeptical for reality.

The main reason the carriers are worried about your physical address is because of roaming fees. You'll notice that most common accounts allow for "free roaming" these days. Well, this isn't really "free", the carriers cross-bill each other for roaming service provided. For the most part, it comes out to a wash and it was easier for them to just jack up everyones rates to include a sort of flat monthly roaming surcharge, and not have to worry about cross-managing all the billing info.

However, if you end up with a LOT of roaming charges, you're costing the carrier real money every month. It's reasonable for them to assume that people will tend to use their phones at home (where most people also spend a fair amount of time). So, if your house is in an area where they don't have coverage and it goes into roaming mode, that makes your account negative value to them.

Nobody sends "goons" out to someones house to collect on a cellphone or cable bill. We have an automated way to ruin your credit and shove the account over to collections in society today. It's far more efficient.

Speaking of the roaming thing, one way to get out of a cellphone contract early with no fees (presuming you have a contract that allows for free roaming) is to find a spot where your phone has no coverage with your primary carrier. Go to that spot (bring a charger) and call up moviefone or some other toll-free number, and let the call run for several hours. Do this as frequently as possible. You'll end up costing the carrier a ton of money, and you'll normally get a nice contract cancellation letter from them.

no-engine · 10-23-2010, 01:16 PM

The credit card, physical address and PO Box problems are getting more of an issue, mainly for security & fraud protection. I had same problems. AT&T on web says no service north, and therefore will not create an account. I do not get mail at house, as I use PO Box. Using the ZIP + 4 will provide some help, when buying anything on line. I work in a business that takes some phone orders; when we key in a c/c number, we are asked if card is present; we then need to enter the card's billing address, which is a fraud protection! It may be different than a shipping address! Same procedure is used when we have a damaged card.

Go to an AT&T store, a reseller like Small Dog Electronics, or Apple store, and there is not an issue, when buying an Apple data or phone device!
The work-arounds are pretty common sense.

10-18-2010, 12:36 AM	#1
wifi Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Lakes Region Posts: 1,321 Thanks: 282 Thanked 287 Times in 169 Posts	"physical address" - pet peeve There is absolutely no reason people need your physical address unless they are going to send someone around. I have the same thing with no mail at the house. If they demand a physical, I make 'em happy with the address of the post office and change the "PO Box" to "Apt", it works 90% of the time and passes credit card screening. They can feel satisfied they can send some goons over, and I can feel satisfied they will find a nice brick bulding...

10-18-2010, 09:38 PM	#3
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,600 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,462 Thanked 1,983 Times in 1,083 Posts	zip+4 I was told by my local Post Office that if I didn't know how the order would arrive (UPS/FEDEX vs USPS), if I put my street address, 1 Main St for example, but put the ZIP+4 for my PO Box, UPS/FEDEX would deliver to my street and USPS would deliver to PO Box because USPS looks to ZIP+4 for definitive address info. So I started to do that. What I found was that the Alton PO would send it down to the Bay PO, with a note on the front of the envelope saying "Alton Bay ?" and a stamp asking me to inform the sender what my correct address is . You could try a similar thing with ATT, I guess. Just hope they don't send you anything. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

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10-18-2010, 05:42 AM	#2
Lakepilot Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 446 Thanks: 70 Thanked 57 Times in 40 Posts	We often run into this situation also. Especially when talking to "customer service" in India. To get around this we list our physical address and then on the next line our PO Box. That way if a company ships something FedEx it goes to the house, but if it's shipped Postal the post office knows to put it in the box.

10-19-2010, 08:34 AM	#4
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,901 Thanks: 336 Thanked 1,678 Times in 587 Posts	I tried, but couldn't make them understand that I don't need the service here in Moultonborough because it works off my wireless.....I wanted it to travel so that we could check on lodging, road conditions, traffic, etc. Good idea to trade for verizon. Definitely check it out.

10-23-2010, 01:16 PM	#7
no-engine Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: West side Winnipesaukee, Lakes Region Posts: 516 Thanks: 20 Thanked 52 Times in 40 Posts	The credit card, physical address and PO Box problems are getting more of an issue, mainly for security & fraud protection. I had same problems. AT&T on web says no service north, and therefore will not create an account. I do not get mail at house, as I use PO Box. Using the ZIP + 4 will provide some help, when buying anything on line. I work in a business that takes some phone orders; when we key in a c/c number, we are asked if card is present; we then need to enter the card's billing address, which is a fraud protection! It may be different than a shipping address! Same procedure is used when we have a damaged card. Go to an AT&T store, a reseller like Small Dog Electronics, or Apple store, and there is not an issue, when buying an Apple data or phone device! The work-arounds are pretty common sense.