I have a friend with a problem.
She says AT&T, which provides her iPhone service, has made a mistake which is now impacting her credit rating. And the company’s customer service has proved to be a maze filled with false turns, dropped calls, errors, and misinformation.
I can appreciate her problem, which I’ll explain in a minute, because I’ve had a little taste of it.
Here’s the message I got when I visited the AT&T web site to check whether my phone is eligible for an upgrade. If you can’t read the fine print, it says, basically, “sorry, you’re out of luck, AT&T doesn’t provide service in your area.”
![[text]](http://ilind.net/images_2012/att.jpg)
But, of course, the computer is wrong. AT&T actually does provide service in our part of the island, and has throughout the more than five years we’ve had two iPhones on a “His & Hers” account.
![[text]](http://ilind.net/images_2012/attsignal.jpg)
Don’t take my word for it. Here’s what the “My AT&T” app on my iPhone said earlier this morning. Just click for a larger image, and note the relatively strong 3-bar signal.
Okay. For me, AT&T’s confusion is a minor nuisance. For my friend, it became a real issue when she reviewed her credit report and discovered that AT&T reported an unpaid bill dating back to 2007 which was sent to a collection agency in 2009. But she had never gotten any bill or notice of the matter. So, of course, she called AT&T to investigate. I should add that she’s been with AT&T for over 10 years.
After seven phone calls and six hours talking to customer service, she has pieced together what happened.
In early 2007, after moving from Texas to Kaaawa, she went to the AT&T store on Kapiolani to update her account information, switch to a Hawaii phone number, and upgrade her phone. Checking the same computer system, the store clerk told her that because Kaaawa is outside the service area, he would have to manually override the computer by establishing a “dummy address.”
The customer service representative at this location informed me that in order to redo the new contract and retain service with ATT/Cingluar, he would have to manipulate the system and insert a dummy address and then switch to our residential address. He stated that he could not do the direct transfer of numbers because our residential billing address was outside the coverage area. At this point he informed us that this was the normal procedure for people who wanted cellular service on that area of the island.
I have received different explanations for the bill that was sent to collections, but from what I gather when the service was transferred to the dummy address a charge was accrued (although AT&T has yet to provide documentation of what this charge entails and whether it should be a charge to begin with). ATT claims correspondence was sent to the dummy address and because payment was never received the account was sent to collections. Note that not only have I never received any notification from AT&T about the charge (despite being a customer with a known number and address for the existing billing) nor did I receive any correspondence from the collection agency about the alleged debt.
She’s experienced the AT&T whipsaw, with one representative telling her that the issue had been resolved and the error corrected, and another later saying, “no way, pay up.”
Then she comments:
I cannot fathom that a 10+ year customer is treated so poorly, especially in light of all the evidence of the company’s mistake. I’m even further astounded that the customer care representatives can’t even treat their own customers with a modicum of respect, in particular dropping calls, transferring the call to the wrong department, and even sending my call to a spanish language representative when I asked to talk to upper management.
AT&T is no longer the fabled “Ma Bell” of old, but this sounds a lot like the old days. Remember this? “We don’t care. We don’t have to. We’re the phone company.”
So what should my friend do? Does she have to pay a lawyer to get the AT&T error corrected and removed from her credit history?
All suggestions and advice, including referrals, would be appreciated.
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Then she comments: I cannot fathom that a 10+ year customer is treated so poorly…
She’s kidding, right? Is there anyone left on Earth who actually expects a phone company to be responsive to its customers?
The linked video (one of my favorites) is from early Saturday Night Live, if anyone’s interested or doesn’t remember. From the show’s first year, if I remember correctly. Too lazy to look it up!
She could always try sharing her story on consumerist.com
You could have her contact me at the office. I’d be happy to get her to someone who might be able to help or at least ” turn her troubles into dollars…”
Similar thing happend to me 2 months ago. Collection notice from ATT on my I phoen account. When I called they said I had been “given” a paperless account which meant I wouldn’t get a paper bill in the mail. Only problem, I didn’t ask for one. So I am checking my own credit to see if ATT fixed it.
a t & t is exceptionally bad, non responsive and customer rude. They have earned my title as the worst company in the USA.
When my brother died in 2007, I canceled his telephone service (which our family had been underwriting). They refused. Instead they sent a dead man a letter suggesting he reconsider. I am sure he would have liked to do just that. I now am a happy customer of Consumer Cellular — an AARP-linked company. It charges far less and is much more dependable.
Though I have been angry at Sears for making unauthorized charges on my now canceled credit card) and at Safeway,they are not close to a t & t.
AT&T is billing incorrectly. I was told if I purchased an iphone i would get one free and the same with the galaxy. When I got bill it credited me for the samsung galaxy the installment price I pay but the iphone they are not crediting me the full price. When I called and spent over a hour on the phone with them he had no answer for me. I am reporting this to the Attorney General
I am getting the same problem with BOGO (buy one get one). AT&T chat line either put me on long waiting or disconnect me and still sending me around. No solution yet. Let me know if you found one.
Rule of thumb for almost any company dispute:
Escalate, escalate, escalate.
Don’t talk to the ‘first line of defense’ customer service reps & expect them to solve anything. Ask for a supervisor – and their supervisor – if the first one can’t help. Get a name (very important) & number (usually an extension #) of the supervisor & follow up only with them.
I was signed up under ‘phony’ circumstances with Sprint for a 3G/4G hotspot @ BestBuy last Black Friday. The ‘coverage map’ that was shown to me to cement the sale turned out to be ‘future coverage’ – not current coverage – in the area I was most interested in, and of course the almost non-existent service sucks. Worst part is, even customer service uses this map!
Needless to say, I’ve had a few rounds with Sprint’s customer service about this & have gotten up to Level 2 Tech support, including a direct number for a level 2 Tech supervisor; will follow up with them on March 1 if the service issue has not resolved. No way could I have gotten that far with a plain vanilla CSR. Of course, YMMV with ATT.
Good luck!
You might find this website helpful:
http://ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre18.shtm
Maybe I missed it, but has this person ever been billed or has she just been using the service without questioning why there was no bill?
Yes, she’s paid every bill and never missed. That’s why so crazy!
I am not a lawyer, but I think you should sue AT&T in Small Claims Court. It doesn’t require a lawyer and doesn’t cost very much to file and have them served. This legal action will get their attention. Ask for the maximum of $5,000 in damages. You can sue AT&T to be absolved from the debt (wrongful debt claim), to have your credit rating restored, and for expenses/damages.
i’d second trying to get The Consumerist to see what they might be able to help in terms of getting some better attention on this.
and i’d have to report that my last run it with an ATT billing error (about 300 text overages that i racked up because of a confusing apple iOs 5 policy) was quickly cleared up. At first the guy couldn’t fix my bill b/c the cycle had just closed. He scheduled me for a call back this Feb. 6th. They called me back that morning and cleared up the issue no problem. So, while i’ve def had my share of hassles with them in the past, my last experience a few weeks ago was very responsive. and they kept thanking me for my 10 years of service. repeatedly. so def a contrasts of recent experiences… i wish your friend a similar experience!
not the same problem, but with the same carrier: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/24/matt-spaccarelli-iphone-att-data-throttling_n_1300212.html
She might contact the credit agencies that show the collections notice on her credit report and dispute it. At that point, it’s up to AT&T to provide sufficient documentation that the negative report was justified. There is a formal process to follow with the credit reporting agencies. I have not personally tried this but my understanding is if you dispute any negative info on your credit report, the burden of proof is on the company that supplied that info to the credit agency. Make sure it is all done in writing and keep copies!
I also forgot one thing….
Since I also live in Kaaawa, I had the same “upgrade inquiry” problem Ian had. The way around that was to temporarily go into my AT&T profile and change my zip code to work (96813), check for the upgrade and the change it back to 96730.
What a stupid thing to have to do!
I have been going round and round with them over my phone that has been on vacation since Aug. 2015. I call twice a month to get it straightened out and last month not only did they eliminate the charges but I had a 30 dollar credit. Not only did that NOT happen but they hit me with a late charge. In Aug. when I was placing the order to place my phone (land line due to faxes) on vacation, I requested Aug 18th I call Aug. 5th, phone was shut down Aug 7th. So I called to have my service turned back on due to their mistake. They agreed and turned it back on. I got charged a reconnection fee. FOR THEIR MISTAKE! I have been a customer since 1975. My bill payment history is impeccable. I love the idea of small claims. If you lose big deal but if you win, you just beat the phone company. I am going to look into this.
Unethical billing and extortion
On January tenth I requested to be moved to month to month as my contract was expiring. This request was denied without explanation. Been trying to switch ever since, even bought a phone and have called half a dozen times. Now Att has billed me for January and a manager (hmd5g72) threatened to cancel my number. I acquiesced to this extortion and again requested to be moved to month to month. Now they are demanding $40 to switch and I will be double billed for the month. If you don’t allow someone to leave an expired contract, then you are extorting them.
ATT customer for 20 years. Just had horrible experience for weeks of several hours on the phone getting the run around and transferred to wrong people. Misinformation, ineffective, slow internet service, four missed appointments false quotes, double – billing, arguments. Amazing and uncanny! They want you to send their arbitration form certified and wait at least 30 days. I think I will go through my Visa dispute form instead. Happy Comcast customer now. Never AT&T again.