| Good afternoon, I wanted to share my story about an experience with AT&T (high speed internet) that has become a lesson in futility and how much a company will lose over $50. In September of 2008, I contacted AT&T to establish DSL service at an apartment I had just moved into. "No problem," they said, except that I'd need to put down a $50 deposit because of my lack of credit history. This was totally understandable, and I was told as soon as I made the deposit, their system would recognize that and a DSL modem would be shipped to me. So that same day, I went to a third party "bill pay" sort of place that took payments for AT&T and coughed up the $50, excited to soon have the internet in my first non-parent-controlled home! I gave AT&T a ring the next day to confirm receipt and that the modem was sent. They confirmed receipt of the deposit, but the modem wasn't marked for shipment like it should have been. No big deal, that's why I called, just in case that exact scenario happened. I was assured the modem would be sent and arrive before the end of the week. Awesome! The next week, no modem to be found, I called them again. The modem wasn't sent, nor was the work order for a tech to set up the line ever put through. By now, I was a little frustrated, but the CSR promised a modem would be overnighted to me, and would be sitting on my doorstep the next day. They'll make good on this, right? Nope. The next day, no modem. Call AT&T, rinse, repeat. "We promise on Ma Bell's old spoon collection you'll have your modem tomorrow!" Okay, they didn't say it like that, but they said there's no way you won't have your modem tomorrow. Next day, no modem. So I call my now good acquaintances at AT&T and tell them to forget it. I've been a good, patient citizen for two weeks and have gotten nothing but the run-around (and run-arounds are not compatible with DSL service, so I still needed the modem). Send me back my $50, keep your mythical "DSL modem", and don't call me in the morning. As per my request, they didn't send me a modem (I wasn't too concerned about that happening, as you might imagine). But what they also didn't send me was my $50. Luckily, AT&T had sent me a "deposit confirmation" letter stating I had made a deposit, and it stated the amount, so "no problem getting my money back," I thought. Oh, how young and naive I was. I made at least a dozen calls to AT&T customer service over the next 3 years. Every time getting transferred from a CSR, to account support, to accounts payable, and back to a standard CSR, nobody able to find my account or record of a deposit. The problem, as I have found, is that I never really had an account, because I never had service. Apparently, if you never actually had service, you are stuck in AT&T limbo (but it feels a lot more like plain-old Hell). Come October of this year, I saw an article that mentioned AT&T Wireless (separate entity) had the lowest number of Better Business Bureau complaints out of any major carrier. "Good idea!" I thought to myself, I'll complain to the BBB, and they'll sort this out! Not-as-young-but-still-naive I am. In response to the BBB complaint, AT&T's "executive office" investigated the claim. After a couple weeks, they basically said, "We can't find a record of your deposit - too bad, so sad." "But I have this letter proving I made a deposit!" "We can't find a record of your deposit, and let us remind you - too bad, so sad." After receiving this less-than-stellar response, I took to Facebook and shared my dissatisfaction. Within minutes, an AT&T "customer care manager" contacted me, and wanted to make everything all better! I warned the rep that I'd been through this, and I didn't think AT&T was going to budge. She said she'd handle it. A week later, I was given a status update that they were investigating the deposit. Crap. That's what I heard last time. Fast-forward to today, when I had heard nothing for two weeks, I sent a follow up email. I was told there was already an investigation (from the BBB complaint) and there's nothing they can do. So here we are, AT&T refusing to give me my half-a-C-note, despite proof from them that I made a deposit (and, of course, them admitting I was never sent a refund, even if they can't find the deposit itself). I have made it clear to AT&T that once this debacle got rolling, I cancelled wireless service for myself and (then) girlfriend with them. Interestingly, we just got a $140 check from AT&T as settlement for a class action lawsuit against them regarding ETF fees. That made me tingle, but I still want my $50. In addition, my mother, sister, parents-in-law, brother-in-law, and numerous friends have left AT&T at my behest, for both wireless and home services. Of course, I have never given another penny to AT&T, and have told anyone who will listen about this experience. And I've told AT&T I told them. And AT&T doesn't seem to care. So, they've easily lost thousands (tens of thousands?) of dollars from lost customers - over $50 that I can prove I gave them. Maybe they think I forged a deposit confirmation letter? Maybe I'm so broke that I will spend 3 years trying to scam them for $50? Maybe, but not likely, and I never expected a company of that size (and assumed "knowledge" of customer recovery) to make the decisions they have. Will I ever get my money back? Probably not, but I WILL share my experience, and hopefully others will think twice before doing business with this company. *Note: I don't know for sure that AT&T hates kittens and rainbows, but after my experiences with them, I believe this to be true. |
