Your NOT CHARGED for visual voicemail

It is all how you look at the matter, either you use
the minutes while YOU call and listen to the Messages
left on your voicemail, OR your minutes are used
while the message is left. No Difference, just how
you look at it.

you are not charged when someone leaves the message OR when you play it back... it's on the iPhone "downloaded" as data. Read the Apple manual PDF file. Only charged if you dial into the voice mail system like you used to do on old phone.

http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iPhoneUserGuide.pdf (page 29 it says they are "downloaded" and no mention of airtime or charges because it is done as data).

What if you accessed your voice mail from a landline? Many people do this to save their mobile minutes.

If you have already been charged minutes when the message was left, you're being taken advantage of, since you will never use the wireless service to access the messages.

So exactly when you are charged is actually quite important.

It is all how you look at the matter, either you use
the minutes while YOU call and listen to the Messages
left on your voicemail, OR your minutes are used
while the message is left. No Difference, just how
you look at it.

I would be happy to have my family and friends drop me lovely messages using my minutes. But I don't like advertisement messages to eat up my air time minutes! This is how I look at it.

I also was confused by these posts and called art and they did confirm that we are being charged for both listening to and recieving the messages! Unfair? Yes! Anything we can do about it? No! Anyone know of anywhere we could call to get a Devi ate Nswer onthis? Since we all seem to be getting conflicting reports from art

You are quite correct. The audio files are downloaded as data.

But the actual voice messages are taking up your airtime.

The ATT rep I talked to conducted an experiment. He called his coworker's iPhone and left voice messages. In real time, the coworker's anytime minutes were being depleted because of the actual voice message.

But listening to the audio file (part of unlimited data) was NOT taking away from his anytime minutes.

The manual you are referring to is addressing the data plan. You are not charged extra for listening to the audio files. I had a conference call with an apple rep, an att rep and me. We all talked together on the phone and clarified this.

You are quite correct. The audio files are downloaded
as data.

But the actual voice messages are taking up your
airtime.

The ATT rep I talked to conducted an experiment. He
called his coworker's iPhone and left voice messages.
In real time, the coworker's anytime minutes were
being depleted because of the actual voice message.

But listening to the audio file (part of unlimited
data) was NOT taking away from his anytime minutes.

The manual you are referring to is addressing the
data plan. You are not charged extra for listening to
the audio files. I had a conference call with an
apple rep, an att rep and me. We all talked together
on the phone and clarified this.

Well, there are a couple of problems with what you're saying. Biggest of all is that, unless you are talking to someone that is about 3rd level tech support, there is no one in the ATT organization who can see minute usage in 'real time'.

At any rate, I am an ATT employee (formerly Bellsouth) and I have been for a very long time (11 years). I can tell you that, under the 'special' agreement between ATT and Apple, that visual voicemail is included in the plan price. You are NOT charged for calls to your phone that are not answered or that go to voicemail. And yes, I do have an iPhone.

From the ATT website:

Rate Plans
To use iPhone, you'll need to sign up for a 2-year service agreement or a renewed 2-year service agreement if you're an existing AT&T (formerly Cingular) wireless customer. The plans start at $59.99 and include Visual Voicemail and Unlimited Data with both email and web plus texting. You can browse the Internet and send emails as often as you like without being charged extra.

If you're an existing AT&T (formerly Cingular) wireless customer and you want to keep your current voice plan, you just need to add an iPhone Data plan. (This may replace your current data plan.) The iPhone Data Plan gives you Visual Voicemail, as well as Unlimited Data– includes both email and web plus texting, all for as little as $20.

Mac Book Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)


Edit: I have a plan pdf for anyone who would like to see it.

It doesn't even make sense that a persons minutes would be used by someone else leaving a voice mail message. It puts control of the minutes you pay for in another persons hands. It would mean that you could have your phone powered off and I could run through your minutes by just calling over and over again. I just don't think something that obvious would be missed.

Good point.

Question.... Are text messages something a person can opt out of? What about voice mail? If you can opt out, then I'll have to do a 180, because control would go back to the subscriber to accept or decline these features despite their weaknesses.

Although, I must say - don't we get charged for
incoming text messages? (I know T-Mobile did.) We
can't control those either.

Just sayin.

Yes, you are charged both for incoming and outgoing messages.

Good point.

Question.... Are text messages something a person can
opt out of? What about voice mail? If you can opt
out, then I'll have to do a 180, because control
would go back to the subscriber to accept or decline
these features despite their weaknesses.

Yes, you can opt to have text messaging blocked on your service. This is free.

Voicemail is another option as well.

The ATT reps told me that visual voicemail was counted against my minutes. My Service Summary says that Airtime Minutes applies to Visual Voicemail.

I talked with ATT reps via phone 3 times because I couldn't believe it. I chatted online with an ATT rep. Therefore, 4 different ATT reps confirmed that visual voicemail was counted against anytime minutes.

My pdf (the Service Summary) that I downloaded from from wireless.att.com clearly states that Airtime Minutes applies to Visual Voicemail.

A person on THIS forum was kind of enough to refer me to the Service Summary.

This is how iphone users can get their service summary.

Login to wireless.att.com.
Click on Account Profile.
Click on User Information.
Click on Service Summary.

Any iPhone user who disputes this - call ATT or view the pdf Service Summary. The outline of charges that include Visual Voicemail is under the Standard Charges Section.

There are certain people on this forum that have this to be true. We are NOT lying or trying to deceive anyone.

I totally agree. It doesn't make sense at all. That's why I'm making a big deal out of it. Before owning the iPhone, I often did not answer my blackberry so that I could save on anytime minutes. Now with Visual Voicemail, it doesn't make a difference. My airtime minutes still get depleted.

Lots of people are disagreeing with me. The people who call ATT to confirm find out that I'm accurate. The people who conduct their own tests (by leaving themselves voice messages to see if they minutes are depleted) are not giving themselves enough time to give the voicemail minutes a chance to show up on their account. According to ATT, it's possible that there is a 2-5 day delay for your used minutes to show up.

I urge anyone who reads this response to call ATT (not Apple) or download your Service Summary from your online account if you feel that I'm not telling the truth.

Also, I'd like to say that a few ATT reps have answered my posts and have told me that Visual Voicemail doesn't count against anytime minutes. But none of them could explain my transcript of the online chat I had with an ATT rep and none of them addressed the Service Summary that I viewed from my online account.

It's quite possible that I could be "full of it," as one of the posters accused me of being. But my only intention when I posted this info was to let fellow iPhoners who cared that they were being nickel and dimed. I got the 450 minute plan, but I know not all of that time will be talk time. Lots of it will be depleted because of my voicemail msgs that callers leave me.

Well, I downloaded my Service Summary and it still lists my old phone. It doesn't list anything about the $20 data plan on my summary, either. I wouldn't think that the Service Summary would include the new information until the next bill comes through.

you're welcome to read my post called "you are charged for visual voicemail."

I pasted my transcript of my online conversation with an att rep who explained the charges.