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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AT&T Bundle billing from a promotion that was supposed to be $90 a month for home phone Internet and Directv. It’s been wrong since September 2016. I call every month, on the phone for hour, escalate to manager over supervisor, I think they just hand the phone over to a buddy. Nothing gets taken care of, each month same problem same $300 bill plus fee because I was late paying for parts of a bill that I shouldn’t be charged for. We need a lawsuit. I’m done. The only reason they are still in business is because we are in a contract, stuck. Should’ve never been enticed by the ad.
The exact same thing is happening to me. Talked into switch from dish to AT&T bundle all in one for 90$.i have had to argue with customer service every month. Now I got a 450 bill and cut off charges for refusing a 300 dollars bills. Customer service is a joke. They are scanners. What can be done?
I’m having the same exact issue/problem with AT&T and I have contacted the FCC and made a complaint against them and I received a call from the President office. Barbara Langhorn, Heather Teachers and Barbara told me that I will be receiving a call from a man called Ray and she included that it would take 3 months before my correct bill would be reflected. Ray called me and told me that he would do some research and get back to me. Approximately 3-5 days later he called and informed me that my bill is 107usd minus taxes and surcharges. I asked him to call me and leave exactly what he told me on my voicemail and I still have it. My bill is average 170-172usd and I have paid all the bills in full, because I’ve taking them to Small Claims Court and I have all my payments monthly and as of today I tried to get on their website to download all my bills and I received a error message and a number to call them. I did exactly that and I’m listening to the automated message and I hear “do you wish to make your payment in full or what is due. I have proof that I paid 171.36usd in November and it said that I have a total amount due for 307usd! I’m not happy with this before and now I’m pissed more importantly what they are doing to others who truly only pay because they don’t believe that anyone would ever do such a thing to anyone. I’m sorry but I’m more upset about the Older folks who are so trusting and they have been being taken advantage of for years at least! Their trying to buy Time Warner (NBC) and I know that I am truly under estimating what their stock holders are truly interested in and their making at least 1 billion dollars on this scam alone! I’m sincerely hoping that a lawyer/ Law Firm will take such a good case thats literally impossible to loose. The only question is how much they will be fined and required to pay to their victims! I’m sure that they will not be happy with a suit when their trying to create a monopoly of the cable company and we will be dragging their reputation and name into the mud and destroy their reputation as a business who cares about their customers! BULLSHIT! Its all about the mighty dollar and nothing to do with the average customer!
Sincerely grateful for your thoughts and opinions to show me that I’m truly not the only person who is dealing with this issue and their constant lies, disconnections, transfers right back into the Q and have to start all over again from square one!
Chris Parks,
Wanted to know how your court case went? I am also planning to file a complaint.
I had exact same problem as Sunshine Feb 3, 2017. I was promised a bundle rate of $89 for phone, internet and Directv. which never happened and they overbilled for the services as separate accounts. I agreed to the deal in early Jan 2016 but it took until Feb 2016 to finally get a working line for the services. They started billing me in Jan 2016 when nothing was working. I was told it would be corrected in Mar 2016 statement, however in July 2016 I received a notice from a Collection Agency for the Month of Jan and was told by AT&t it was out of their hands and would have to pay or they would report me to the Credit Bureau. I paid the bill and continued to remedy the overcharges each month from AT&t to no avail and get a refund for the bill paid for the month of Jan when I had no services. All my services were suspended by me until AT&t could fix the nightmare. They never did and finally cancelled my phone, internet and Direct TV. Now I’m being contacted by another Collection Agency and apparently AT&t never received my payment to the first Collection Agency and want me to pay that bill again. I spend approx. 1-2 hrs on the phone a week going back and forth with AT&t and the collection agency. Both are refusing to contact each other to acknowledge the payment and still need a refund from AT&t on top of that.
I am getting calls from a collection agency saying that I have an unpaid bill from A T&T. The account was for my daughter, who has had their service for several years and still has it. I call the company, and they tell me they cannot find an unpaid bill. This Diversified collections company keeps calling me and demanding that I give them my social security number. I refused, and now I have blocked their number because they are calling several times a day. I do not owe anything to AT&T, but I am being hounded.
On June 8, 2017 DIRECTV Representative offered me a DirecTV Family Package with HBO only for $89.97(Advertised price). The representative stated that I could lower my total monthly cable bill if I got an AT&T-DirecTV bundle package. I was quoted a total price of $129.96 per month with tax for AT&T internet and telephone service for $39.99 (Advertised price). The AT&T phone installation cost was $99 and would be paid in 3 equal installments ($33/month) attached to my cable bill. I agreed to a 1 year AT&T-DirecTV bundle contract for the bundled services. A phone installation date of June 14, 2017 was set. On June 14, 2017 AT&T removed my landline and installed a digital line with phone & internet. AT&T created a new account (#251257181) after the phone installation. In July 2017 all my services (Internet-Telephone-TV) were disconnected for non-payment of my bill. My AT&T landline and DirecTV accounts were previously setup with auto direct payments on the 27th of each month. The new AT&T account cancelled my AT&T landline account and DirecTV auto payment accounts creating a $9 late payment charge. My bill for July should have been $129.96 + $33 = $162.96. The total charges on my bill for July 2017 were $404.05 and I had to pay $273.47 to restore my services!!
In July and August 2017 I called AT&T customer service several times to resolve the billing mistake, restore cable-TV service and receive an explanation why my DirecTV account was closed.
In August 2017, I attempted to obtain a different telephone and cable service due to poor telephone service and no cable-TV service from AT&T. I was being charged for cable-TV and its equipment but was not receiving any cable TV services. On August 11, 2017 I requested termination of all services from AT&T. I received an email from AT&T stating AT&T is installing Internet-Phone, and DirecTV cable. On August 12, 2017 I received an email from my closed DirecTV account confirming my service termination and was being charged a termination fee. I hadn’t received cable-TV since the disconnection in July 2017.
I am having the same problem with At&t. I have been with the company 18years and this is the is the first to I have had a major problem with them. On February 26 I signed up to combine my wireless and with DirecTV. I was quoted a monthly charge of 83 for tv and 132 for wireless equals to 215. Not telling me on a combined cycle it was include two months of wireless service billed in the rear and in advance plus cable. When DirecTV could not be installed. Services for cable was cancelled on 3/5/2018. And I have been trying to get my phone bill restored to normal. I have been calling since Tuesday transferred for one department after another. With no results and staying that I should pay both bills. Who do I get in contact with about sueing.
They did all of the above to me!
Terry from Alabama
ATT is horrible! They had a BOGO promotion going on in December 2017. So I ordered 4 iPhones with 4 unlimited data lines as a Christmas gift for the family. The representative quoted me $265 for 2 months, then on the 3rd month I’d get credit back for the 2 free phones and my bill would drop to $215 until the 2 phones were paid off. I waited and the phones never came even though ATT agents kept confirming my order was shipped. Christmas came and went and still no phones, so I called them again and they told me that my order was cancelled due to a high fraud alert going out at that time. They told me to go to a local ATT store to reorder, so I did and the representative told me that had an after Christmas BOGO promotion going on for the same thing, so he would order me the phones for the same deal. I got my phones and a month later received a bill for $555.00. I questioned why and they told me it was because I was paying for all 4 phones and 4 activation fees. After arguing with them for 2 hours, they finally waived the activation fee, and stated my bill would be correct next time. When I received my bill the next month it was $375. OMG, it goes on and on and my bill was never corrected. 3 months passed and I never got credit for the 2 free phones, so I went in again and they told me that the BOGO plan that I was signed up for requires me to also purchase dish service with ATT in order to get the BOGO deal, so since I didn’t purchase the dish service I had to pay for all 4 phones!!!! What the heck, talk about tricky bastards! ATT is the worst of the worst! I opened many claims through Customer Loyalty and even wrote a correspondence and they denied them all. If anyone wants to sue them for non-disclosure and taking advantage of customers, please include me. I wish I had the money for a lawsuit, but unfortunately I work hard for what I have and don’t have the means to do this on my own. Just putting this out there so you all don’t get into this mess like I did.
Hello Maya, Are you still paying 375$ a month for your phones? I am also in the same situation just like you. That too they have this 30 month contract and the bills continues to come without any correction.
I have a meeting tomorrow, not backing down. been with them for twenty years though thick and thin the get a bill for $1800.00! Yes I have a lawyer! taking that money and paying him. Have documentation if my bill was a month late they would turn my phone off.
We were offered an AT&T Bundle by phone. After listening to the deal we agreed. The bundle sounded great and a $500 gift card was a huge selling point. I specifically asked if we would be able to receive WiFi because we are in a rural area where it is difficult to receive internet service. We were guaranteed that the hot spot would take care of that. We were sold a pack of lies. It is ridiculous how hard it is to contact AT&T ! EVEN WHEN WE DRIVE 65 MILES TO AN OFFICE THE WORKERS CANT CONTACT ANYONE WHO CAN COMPREHEND THE PROBLEM.
Please, if a lawyer is reading this, please start a class action lawsuit against AT&T! PLEASE!
Just bundled a Direct TV with new cell service. Direct TV has been billing me for 3 years. Problems include poor CS service, Non action on services, such as disconnection of receivers. New cell bundle (or 1 account) has never been combined into (1) as of this complaint. When I made the new contract, AT&T
did not give me a billing to describe my account, devices, & costs, yet already billed me twice in 1 week. I spent approx 80 hours on telephone with various
AT&T agents, mostly spoke poor to no english & got no help. At this writing I
still have issues which need resolution, but that has not happened.
I pay my att bill in full each month but they have me owing them $273. I have a basic landline and internet service. They are saying that they only sent me a par t of my bill, they hadn’t billed me for all of my services. I have paid them $133 a month for a landline phone and internet service and then suddenly this bill of $273+ shows up in my email. I’m 64 years old and my SSI income is all I have. I don’t owe this bill and I can’t afford to pay this outlandish and fraud bill. NO OTHER PHONE AND INTERNET SERVICE IS IN MY AREA BUT ATT , WHY ARE THEY DOING THIS TO ME, HELP!
All of the above except for the data bundle. I have cancelled it twice now and it hasn’t been done. Have had assurances that the overpayment would be on the next bill and that the service was turned off. That was two bills ago. I have also filed a complaint with the FCC but don’t expect that to go anywhere due to our dear leader been in office.
The only way to stop this is to leave att and not pay. This now the second time they have done this to me. How did the small claims court case go?
Had 5 deaths in 8 years, Mom, 09, daughter 2010, grandson burned in house fire 2015, sister in nursing home 2017, and my son in 2018 from a 40 f00t fall. We are in our 70’s and our only living child, a daughter who teaches special ed in NM, insisted we move closer. I had gone to hospital in Cardiogenic Shock with a blood pressure of 43/18 when ambulance arrived. We moved from Texas to NM and sent back all eqpt. We had the cable service in the house 4 days I believe before we moved. We were in a hotel, and they billed us the full month. After almost 2 years of arguing I paid the bill because the collection agency said it would not go on our credit. Well Guess what, they are liars and it got put on our credit and now we can not get them or ATT to talk to us. They used 2 collection agencies. The first one only called once, sent no bills. Now I have this negative report on my credit and they will not even talk to me, say the account is closed and they can not locate it. We had two house lines, plus a 877 line with them and 5 cell phones and WiFi and cable TV for over 20 years and they insisted we pay a bill of over $140 dollars. Sorriest phone company you could ever use. For Cell phones we now use Straight Talk through Wal Mart and they are cheaper and better. This is not over. Still going to exhause every option we have, ATT, Fair Shake, Letter from Atty. and if nothing else works will put a full letter in dispute file with credit bureau. I have them recorded saying they can not find records so if they come up with records for credit bureau, they will be lying and I will send that to the FCC and FTC. They are the most money grubbing dogs you could use.
ATT said we didn’t pay even though we sent proof of the check clearing, now they turned off our service. I have spoken to them so many times. It is incredible that they are allowed to bully and cheat. Can’t the FCC do anything? There are too many complaints to count and still nothing happens!
AT&T HATES THEIR LOYAL CUSTOMERS, and we have really no choice but to bend over and take it. I have been with AT&T back when they were Cingular Wireless…. back when they gave a fig about their customers. At&T is a greedy bunch of SOB’s/// problem is, they all are, and Americans have very few choices for Cell providers…. and they know it. Their taxes amount to $30.00 of a 150.00 bill… Thirty, not to mention CHRONICALLY LATE BILLS IN THE MAIL< LATE PAYMENT POSTING>>> and now, as of 2/24/21, by March 16th, you have to answer an email telling them you WANT TO KEEP THE PAPER BILLING OR ELSE THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY SIGN YOU UP FOR ONLINE BILLING.. So, I told them, “no more games, no more cheating on your end, no more… I have had it, we are done with the non stop bs from this company, either play fairly, or we walk.. I am not paying any late fees, I am not playing this BS game with a company who could care less about my loyalty..” So, after an apology and large account credit.. (to keep me, I am not stupid, another of their games..), I got off the phone. All done with all of this.. Will look and see if there is anyone else who offers a service, other than the GIANT ones.. and maybe, you know, I just get rid of my phone all together. Don’t care anymore.. TIME FOR WE THE PEOPLE TO TAKE A STAND AGAINST THIS CRAP!!!!!