sundance-communications.com/forum Forums Other TDM Phone Systems Antique Telephones The old AT&T

The old AT&T is now really gone.My cousin[who never told me that she was still renting a phone from AT&T]received a note from them saying that they were no longer renting telephones and that she could keep the set.

That's strange. AT&T, supposedly, stopped telephone leasing years ago :confused:

Lucent took over that part of the business and, later, split it off. The division is now a stand alone company called "QLT Consumer Lease Services"

https://www.qltcls.com/

Believe it or not they were grandfathered. I know a lady here that was still leasing. She could have bought the best phone out there a couple hundred times.

When my father passed away in 1995, he was leasing from AT&T. Those guys were charging him something obscene, like $25 a quarter for 2 rotary dial 500 sets (yeah, I wish I had taken them insted of the theives who broke into the bouse, but that's for another thread).

Carl

How did that rental fee (in 1995 and what QLT charges today) compare to the rental charge found on bills just before 1984 :confused:

About the same....less?

Same deal here, my mom's friend helps seniors move from their homes into nursing homes or apartments. They discovered a woman had paid something like 2 grand to rent a 500 set. Unreal!

There was no "rental fee" per se prior to divestiture. The split pushed the local phone bill down, but the "rental" of the hardware went to the non-regulated company. In Chicago, where everything is units charges, the local bill went down to something like $8.50 a month...I don't remember what "surcharges" they added on.

I actually might have an old IBT bill in my stuff. It would be fun to see one from the 80's and the 90's.

Dexman,I'm sure you're correct.I forgot my cousin calls any company that has to do with her telephone service AT&T. I have a flyer sent out by New York Telephone in 1982 with their offer to sell to the subscriber the phones in their home. 500 and 554 sets rented for $3.03 per month or purchased for $35.00. 2500 and 2554 sets rented for $3.73 per month or purchased for $50.00. Rotary Trimline, desk or wall,rented for $6.81 or purchased for $50.00. Touch Tone Trimline,desk or wall,rented for $8.16 or purchased for $60.00.The 702 rented for $5.65 or purchased for $50.00. The 2702 rented for $6.78 or purchased for $60.00. After purchasing the sets in your house,NY Tel gave a 30 day warranty on the phone excluding cords. Additional refurbished sets could be purchased at the Bell Phone Center for $10.00 more than the listed prices.

And to think that you can now purchase a reasonable new home corded telephone for about $30.00. Then again, Western Electric telephones were made to last. :thumb:

It looks like the current lease rate for a 500 telephone is $4.45/month.

Last I knew, it was $6.25 here, or buy it for $18.00, but they only tell about the purchase option if you complain about the rental option.