lschwarcz
07-03-07, 02:11 PM
This is only for those out there who have AT&T DSL internet service.
Have you noticed lately that you’re now getting graphical ads in your AT&T
Yahoo! e-mail web interface (both the original web interface and their new
“AT&T Yahoo! Mail Beta” interface)? If so and you’re not happy about this,
read on. If you don’t care about those ads, then you can ignore this posting.
Basically, Yahoo has decided they’re not getting enough money from the
AT&T/Yahoo partnership and have decided to start displaying ads to us.
Now, to be a little fair to Yahoo, they also now have unlimited e-mail
storage. I had been under the impression that the e-mail product that
was bundled with my AT&T DSL service was “Mail Plus.” Both the AT&T and
Yahoo web sites were saying that my mail service was “Mail Plus.” If you
go to Yahoo to see the features of “Mail Plus” they explicitly say that
it has “No Graphical Ads.”
But, both AT&T and Yahoo are now claiming that I did not have “AT&T Yahoo!
Mail Plus” but actually had “AT&T Yahoo! Mail.”
WHAT TO DO:
If you haven’t called AT&T, do that first. This won’t actually do any good
but it’s the first official step and it also lets AT&T know that their paying
customers are not happy with what they’re getting! The AT&T toll-free phone
number is 1-877-722-3755.
If you take this far enough at AT&T, they’ll end up telling you that there’s
nothing they can do. They only supply your internet connection. The ads are
being displayed by Yahoo.
But, if you call the Yahoo Customer Support line (1-408-349-1572), they
can’t help you either! As far as they’re concerned, you’re not a paying
Yahoo customer!
Once you’ve followed the “official” steps (calling the normal support
channels), it’s time to take it to the next level. I would suggest writing
a polite, detailed letter to Yahoo explaining that you believe you actually
are already paying for Yahoo! Mail Plus and should not be getting any
graphical ads on your web interface! And, if they continue with the
graphical ads that you’ll stop using all Yahoo! services!
John Kremer
Vice President, Yahoo! Mail.
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Tel: (408) 349-3300 (follow voice prompts to dial by name)
Fax: (408) 349-3301
jkremer@yahoo-inc.com
You can e-mail Mr. Kremer if you’d like but, in my opinion, a real letter
sent via the post office would have a greater impact.
I’ve done some digging and here are some facts that may help to bolster your
claim that you already have Mail Plus and therefore should not be subjected
to those annoying graphical ads. This info was current as of July 1, 2007
(when I was writing this):
Go to http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=7301. This AT&T web page said
one of the standard features of their DSL service is “AT&T Yahoo! Mail
Plus.” About June 26, 2007 (after I pointed this out to Mr. Kremer) he
had AT&T correct it. I’ve attached a screen shot I took on June 9, 2007
showing what it said before they changed it.
Go to: http://mailplus.mail.yahoo.com/. There you’ll see that the “Yahoo!
Mail Plus” product has no graphical ads.
Sign into your Yahoo! Mail account and click on the “Member Center” and
then click on the “Products & Services” tab. There you’ll see a link with
the products and services “Included Free with Your Account” listing “Mail
Plus” at the top. Click on this link to get info on your “Mail Plus” account.
This page refers to your service both as “AT&T Yahoo! Mail” and “Mail Plus.”
On this same page there’s a link to “Go to Mail Plus.”
If you click on the “Mail Upgrades” link, you’ll notice that they do not
have an option to upgrade to “Mail Plus.” This is correct. It doesn’t
make sense to offer you an upgrade to a service that you already have!
Throughout Yahoo & AT&T, they refer to “AT&T Yahoo Mail Plus” and “Yahoo!
Mail Plus” as just “Mail Plus” (leaving off the company names and only
referring to the product, “Mail Plus.”)
Personally, I’ve already setup a new e-mail account somewhere else. But,
I figure that I’ve done some of the footwork (documenting where AT&T and
Yahoo! have been telling us that we already have Mail Plus and finding the
contact info for John Kremer at Yahoo!) and figured this may be useful for
others.
Good luck!
Larry.
Have you noticed lately that you’re now getting graphical ads in your AT&T
Yahoo! e-mail web interface (both the original web interface and their new
“AT&T Yahoo! Mail Beta” interface)? If so and you’re not happy about this,
read on. If you don’t care about those ads, then you can ignore this posting.
Basically, Yahoo has decided they’re not getting enough money from the
AT&T/Yahoo partnership and have decided to start displaying ads to us.
Now, to be a little fair to Yahoo, they also now have unlimited e-mail
storage. I had been under the impression that the e-mail product that
was bundled with my AT&T DSL service was “Mail Plus.” Both the AT&T and
Yahoo web sites were saying that my mail service was “Mail Plus.” If you
go to Yahoo to see the features of “Mail Plus” they explicitly say that
it has “No Graphical Ads.”
But, both AT&T and Yahoo are now claiming that I did not have “AT&T Yahoo!
Mail Plus” but actually had “AT&T Yahoo! Mail.”
WHAT TO DO:
If you haven’t called AT&T, do that first. This won’t actually do any good
but it’s the first official step and it also lets AT&T know that their paying
customers are not happy with what they’re getting! The AT&T toll-free phone
number is 1-877-722-3755.
If you take this far enough at AT&T, they’ll end up telling you that there’s
nothing they can do. They only supply your internet connection. The ads are
being displayed by Yahoo.
But, if you call the Yahoo Customer Support line (1-408-349-1572), they
can’t help you either! As far as they’re concerned, you’re not a paying
Yahoo customer!
Once you’ve followed the “official” steps (calling the normal support
channels), it’s time to take it to the next level. I would suggest writing
a polite, detailed letter to Yahoo explaining that you believe you actually
are already paying for Yahoo! Mail Plus and should not be getting any
graphical ads on your web interface! And, if they continue with the
graphical ads that you’ll stop using all Yahoo! services!
John Kremer
Vice President, Yahoo! Mail.
Yahoo! Inc.
701 First Avenue
Sunnyvale, CA 94089
Tel: (408) 349-3300 (follow voice prompts to dial by name)
Fax: (408) 349-3301
jkremer@yahoo-inc.com
You can e-mail Mr. Kremer if you’d like but, in my opinion, a real letter
sent via the post office would have a greater impact.
I’ve done some digging and here are some facts that may help to bolster your
claim that you already have Mail Plus and therefore should not be subjected
to those annoying graphical ads. This info was current as of July 1, 2007
(when I was writing this):
Go to http://www.att.com/gen/general?pid=7301. This AT&T web page said
one of the standard features of their DSL service is “AT&T Yahoo! Mail
Plus.” About June 26, 2007 (after I pointed this out to Mr. Kremer) he
had AT&T correct it. I’ve attached a screen shot I took on June 9, 2007
showing what it said before they changed it.
Go to: http://mailplus.mail.yahoo.com/. There you’ll see that the “Yahoo!
Mail Plus” product has no graphical ads.
Sign into your Yahoo! Mail account and click on the “Member Center” and
then click on the “Products & Services” tab. There you’ll see a link with
the products and services “Included Free with Your Account” listing “Mail
Plus” at the top. Click on this link to get info on your “Mail Plus” account.
This page refers to your service both as “AT&T Yahoo! Mail” and “Mail Plus.”
On this same page there’s a link to “Go to Mail Plus.”
If you click on the “Mail Upgrades” link, you’ll notice that they do not
have an option to upgrade to “Mail Plus.” This is correct. It doesn’t
make sense to offer you an upgrade to a service that you already have!
Throughout Yahoo & AT&T, they refer to “AT&T Yahoo Mail Plus” and “Yahoo!
Mail Plus” as just “Mail Plus” (leaving off the company names and only
referring to the product, “Mail Plus.”)
Personally, I’ve already setup a new e-mail account somewhere else. But,
I figure that I’ve done some of the footwork (documenting where AT&T and
Yahoo! have been telling us that we already have Mail Plus and finding the
contact info for John Kremer at Yahoo!) and figured this may be useful for
others.
Good luck!
Larry.