AT&T ripoff Lied to me about DSL/Phone service and tried to charge me for a problem on their end Internet
I just started having problems with both my land line and my DSL recently. I thought it was odd because I live in a newly purchased home, where the wiring is custom, and new.
Now, I understand that things happen, but I just started having problems with my DSL dropping, and with SBC, I never had any problems (I know many people did, but I guess I got lucky).
Anyway, I logged on to AT&T's site, into my account, and proceeded to submit a problem report to have someone investigagte. What I came to suprised me. I had the option of either having a technician come out, and IF the problem IS on my end, being charged $55, or not having anyone come out at all.
When I got hold of the manager, I was told the same story, and when I asked why I couldn't have AT&T just check their side, and help me determine if the problem was isolated to my house, I was told that there was no way to do that, and if I wanted to determine the problem EVEN IF the problem was related to the side of AT&T's responsibility, I would have to roll the dice and risk paying $55. The manager also told me that he has to pay someone to come out, and he said that they have to pay the drivers $125 for each trip. When he said this, I about fell on the floor, as he said this as if he were the consumer, and had no budget with which to work from. Granted, I know they have to operate within certain financial means, but that's not even a billionth of a percent for AT&T, and the problem DID end up being on AT&T's end.
I talked to a friend of mine who's name I will protect because he still works for AT&T, he told me that this is just a front they put up so they don't eat the cost. This is not only illegal, but it's not a good way to start a new relationship with a paying consumer who has had flawless service (on the hardware end, anyway) with SBC, prior to the merger.
Well, I told the manager I wasn't going to pay the $55, so he cancelled the call, or so I thought. A phone tech just showed up just a bit earlier this AM, and he asked about my phone. I told him that I cancelled the call because of the absurd reasoning behind the trouble ticket, and not so much the charge, but the way they explained how I was going to be responsible for whether they came out to check the problem. He was very polite, and said he'd check the line anyway, because there was something wrong in my area.
As it turns out, it was a wiring issue on the telco side, and it's an issue that is going to take them two days to fix.
What really ticks me off, is that the manager was trying to hold this in house service plan over my head, as that's all he mentioned during our telephone conversation (my cell phone, as my land line was down). I'm willing to bet he gets a percentage of commission of some sort for this sort of thing, as his wording of explaining to my why they could not check the problem on their end in my area was basically a fleecing.
I'm already checking with my cable company to compare the pricing on digital telephone and cable internet, as I smell a rat with AT&T, and I'm sure that's not going to be the last of it.
Just a note for those of you who get caught up in the same web of lies with AT&T. If you live in a neighborhood where the equipment outside of your home is known to be old, there's a lot of money in repairing that equipment, and money that AT&T is not going to spend to keep service up and running without a fight, and with dirty methods at that.
This reminds me of the de-regulation of AT&T in the 80s. Maybe it's happening all over again, or destined to be.
Mik
Irvine, California
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Mik
Irvine,California,
U.S.A.
I'm sorry that my report was misunderstood. Poor explanation/response by management
#3Consumer Comment
Fri, October 06, 2006
I merely asked them to check their side, as I already checked my wiring. I guess I should have made that more clear.
My complaint/problem is that there was no direct or clear-cut way presented to me as a consumer for them to check "their" side of the wiring, all the way up to where their responsibility ends, and my responsibility begins. Their only answer was for me to gamble a charge of $55 for them to come out and check their equipment, which is their responsibility. The inside wiring contract mentioned by the manager to me had absolutely nothing to do with the problem at hand, as well as what I was trying to get them to check.
It's the ambiguity of them charging people that I have a problem with, and just getting them to check their side of things should not require me approving a charge of any kind. If the tech from AT&T had not come out and found that the wiring on their side was a problem, this wiring would be sitting there, causing more problems, and AT&T wouldn't do anything about it until someone else complained and agreed to possibly being charged.
I understand that companies have to make their money, and that's great that you have the experience that you have, but that has nothing to do with my complaint. As stated in my original complaint, their online form leaves the consumer with no choice but to gamble this charge, even on their end. I'm capable of checking my own wiring, which is what I did, and I needed them to check their end, but I was told what I've already stated.
I'm sorry that this was not as clear as I had originally intended, but the wiring is not really the issue here; it's the way this problem was handled on their end, and the fact that they were perfectly willing to let the problem fester, all of this being on "their" end, even when they saw problems on the line from their end, they were not willing to come out (at least not over the phone) and check their end of the problem, which should have had nothing to do with my house or my wiring.
I wanted to put this out there so other people know, because making a consumer think that they need a maintenance contract because there is a problem on the AT&T side is not being truthful, and as far as I am concerned, it's nothing but an intimidation tactic to get more money, as this "inside wiring" contract the manager I spoke to kept mentioning had nothing to do with the actual problem I was trying to get them to check, nor did it have anything to do with my house.
They should provide a way for people to fill out a form to have their side of responsibility (telco, or whatever you call it that comes up all the way to the customer's responsibility), and at that point, if there is still a problem, THEN and only then, give the consumer the option of having them say "yes, I would like to have you check my end, and I am willing to pay the fee".
I worked with these companies back in 1998 and on when DSL was a new technology, and I implemented many sites, 99% of them were constantly having problems with the lines being down, too much noise, routing problems, etc, and one company would blame the other, and I'd be sitting in the wiring closet for hours on end, with a notebook filled full of phone numbers and notes that looked like a path to nowhere.
I know DSL has come a long way since then. The way they have support setup does not benefit the consumer at all, and providing me with a vague explanation of why they could not come out and check their equipment, which is their responsibility, is unacceptable as far as I'm concerned, and pushing this inside wiring plan on me (which had nothing to do with the problem) was poor judgment, and the manager that was implying that it was my house was dead wrong, but he was ok with that, and provided no follow up whatsoever. This is a manager we're talking about. Call me crazy, but I really expected much more resolve and a clear cut explanation as to why they weren't willing to send someone out to take responsibility for their problem.
Thank you for taking the time to reply, and I apologize if I didn't make it as clear as I intended to.
Jennifer
Levittown,New York,
U.S.A.
Not Just AT&T
#3Consumer Comment
Tue, October 03, 2006
It's not just AT&T that does this, it's all carriers and it's not illegal as long as they are upfront about it. They want you to check your inside wiring first. It's actually quite easy to do, especially if you have a new house. On the side of the house is a Network Interface Device. It usually has one side marked "telco use only" and one side for the consumer. You open the box, plug a phone in and if it still doesn't work, the problem is on the telco side.
Look at this from a different angle. By encouraging people to check their inside wiring, it reduces the number of service calls they have. Less calls equals less technicians and shorter waiting time for those waiting for a problem that actually exists on the telco side.
And no, I don't work for AT&T or any other carrier. I'm a Telecom Analyst with 25 yrs of dealing with vendors so I'm very familiar with how they work.