AT&T Wireless, Cingular Ripoff by AT&T Los Angeles California
I signed a contract with AT&T Oct of 2003. 3 Months ago my son misplaced his telephone and I called so they could put a hold on the account, the rep said NO PROBLEM call us back as soon as you find the phone. So 2 weeks passed and we found the phone and call back the rep said no problem its activated. I recieve my phone bill and it was for a total of $345.00 I was sure there was a mistake since I am very careful on how they use their phones. I call AT&T and they tell me that its been a mistake in the computer that it would be fixed and all was fine. Then it happens again and I call again, at this time they had changed my calling plan and they said "YOU CANCELLED YOUR ACCOUNT" I was in shock in started asking them to put a supervisor they said they all went home already...after 4 hours on the phone with them. Finally they said AGAIN its our mistake and we are fixing it and giving you a credit.
2 Months pass and Today I recieve a bill and they have informed me that my calling plan has changed because of the cancellation that happened 3 months ago...Omg I am so frustrated how can they get away with this....I signed a contract for a specific amount and now they want me to pay for their Mistakes I am not sure if if I cancell or not but I don't want to give them a verbal agreement to anything because my contract is over in Oct and I know they will say I agreed to extend this when the time comes. What made me most upset is that they tell me I can't call a corp office because the hightest rank in the office is a supervisor so this say's it all!! If there is lawyer out there with enough courage to fight these people please contact me ASAP. And if anyone knows of anyone that is already taking matters I want to join the fight.
Ivonne
La Palma, California
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Michelle
West Palm Beach,Florida,
U.S.A.
If the company won't help, Try the FCC
#6Consumer Suggestion
Sat, March 12, 2005
This is the exact reason why I do not use AT&T nomore. Here is my reason on the fiasco I went through and who I contacted to reolve the issue. Hope this helps.
I had an issue with them probrably 7 yrs ago. I only used a cell phone for emergencies so the one this representative was advertising was like perfect for me and my husband at the time.To make a long long story as short as possible....
I bumped into a AT&T representative who was advertising a family plan. The contract he had me sign was 180 minutes of included cell phone service per phone (2 phones were to be included in the plan) and 7 cents a minute thereafter. I don't remember how much the monthly fee was as it was long ago and I forgot it may have been around $20.00- per phone or so after we purchased the phone.
Being I had never seen a plan that gave 7 cents a minute for overages I asked the representative again if this was correct. He insisted that the plan was correct and he wrote out the contract for the phones. Sure enough, he writes down the included minutes and in the area provide don the contract for the additional minute pricing he writes 7 cents a minute for overages.
I figured the deal was awesome, for what I needed the phone for and I signed up.
The following month I get my bill and the included minutes per phone are dropped to 90 minutes. I called and spoke with a manager and they stated that it was an error and they would fix it on the next months billing statement.
I was like ok, lets give these people a chance.
I felt really dumb the next month when my bill came in and the included minutes were only 60 at this point.
180-90-60 this is a big difference in my original contract. I called again and the manager, a different one stated it was an error again and they would fix the issue by the next months billing statement.
The following month, We were under the understanding that we were paying 7 cents for overages, we used the phone a little more, we figured if this continued we would switch to a better plan with more included minutes. Well, we get our bill in and it was well over $200.00. AT &T took it upon themselves to back bill us .35 cents a minute for overages they considered on our bill for the previous months, they pretty much applied the 60 minutes included per phone and charged us the .35 cents per minute for the 120 minutes difference for each month we had used of the service. Yet our contract stated 7 cents a minute with 180 minutes included per phone.
My mouth dropped and as frustrated as I was, I called up AT & T. I was on the phone for hours upon hours, days turned into weeks-getting transferred to different managers, billing department, you name it , I was there talking to someone. Smartest thing I did was write everything down, names, phone numbers etc in a notebook. I must have faxed my contract over 6-10 times to different managers who lost the fax or I couldn't get transferred to. I was then told that their representative who sold me the contract made an error and there was no such contract.
Well, I had a contract in my hand that their representative signed and I signed with AT&T. I told them if they couldn't honor their contract, it wasn't my fault that their representative screwed up, then they could cancel my service. They breached their contract , not me. I told them to bill me for the amount that I owed according to the contract that I signed. I got my bill in, they still billed me according to their new contract
When I would call back to speak to the same manager, I was told they couldn't transfer me to the same manager. I cancelled my service and wrote a letter disputing the bill. The following month I received a bill in for around $480.00. They added a termination fee of like $175.00 per phone.
Anyways, being, that I got nowheres in a matter of maybe 6 months with AT & T. I took my complaint to a different level.
I contacted the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) , included a copy of my complaint , my contract and a booklet of everyone I spoke with at AT&T. For those that are not aware of who this is:
http://www.fcc.gov/
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent United States government agency, directly responsible to Congress. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulating interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable. The FCC's jurisdiction covers the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. possessions.
Within a few weeks, I got a personal phone call from an Operations Manager at AT&T who apologized, wrote off the entire bill, waived the cancellation fees and closed my account in good standing. Although all I was looking for was them to honor the contract their representaive had me sign, I was happy to reolve the issue and end my dealing with the company. This is the route that anyone who is having this much difficulty with the company may want to try. It may not work for everyone, but I am sure grateful for them in my case.
Ivonne
La Palma,California,
U.S.A.
finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions
#6Author of original report
Fri, March 04, 2005
Hi,
I'm back, trying to update my situation. I finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions with AT&T. Last month I was still waiting for answers on how this situation was going to be settled by cingular/At&t. Finally today I talk to someone I could understand what they were saying and agreed that I had done nothing wrong or said anything to them that they would need to change my contract...so he fixed it for me or I am hoping this issue will be finally over, But like always they still took 100 minutes away from me..its okay thats not going to hurt me much and come october my contract will be over. I have to say for anyone that wants to be with a commited company that does not change your plan go with TMobile they have been great for the past 4 years with my business line. I don't know what made me get into this contract with At&t oh wait I do my kids so I will blame them..lol Good Luck to everyone and stick to your guns they can not fight you if your right...don't give up! and keep calling back if you can't find someone to understand you.
Ivonne
La Palma,California,
U.S.A.
finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions
#6Author of original report
Fri, March 04, 2005
Hi,
I'm back, trying to update my situation. I finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions with AT&T. Last month I was still waiting for answers on how this situation was going to be settled by cingular/At&t. Finally today I talk to someone I could understand what they were saying and agreed that I had done nothing wrong or said anything to them that they would need to change my contract...so he fixed it for me or I am hoping this issue will be finally over, But like always they still took 100 minutes away from me..its okay thats not going to hurt me much and come october my contract will be over. I have to say for anyone that wants to be with a commited company that does not change your plan go with TMobile they have been great for the past 4 years with my business line. I don't know what made me get into this contract with At&t oh wait I do my kids so I will blame them..lol Good Luck to everyone and stick to your guns they can not fight you if your right...don't give up! and keep calling back if you can't find someone to understand you.
Ivonne
La Palma,California,
U.S.A.
finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions
#6Author of original report
Fri, March 04, 2005
Hi,
I'm back, trying to update my situation. I finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions with AT&T. Last month I was still waiting for answers on how this situation was going to be settled by cingular/At&t. Finally today I talk to someone I could understand what they were saying and agreed that I had done nothing wrong or said anything to them that they would need to change my contract...so he fixed it for me or I am hoping this issue will be finally over, But like always they still took 100 minutes away from me..its okay thats not going to hurt me much and come october my contract will be over. I have to say for anyone that wants to be with a commited company that does not change your plan go with TMobile they have been great for the past 4 years with my business line. I don't know what made me get into this contract with At&t oh wait I do my kids so I will blame them..lol Good Luck to everyone and stick to your guns they can not fight you if your right...don't give up! and keep calling back if you can't find someone to understand you.
Ivonne
La Palma,California,
U.S.A.
finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions
#6Author of original report
Fri, March 04, 2005
Hi,
I'm back, trying to update my situation. I finally got someone to talk to me after a few months of intense discussions with AT&T. Last month I was still waiting for answers on how this situation was going to be settled by cingular/At&t. Finally today I talk to someone I could understand what they were saying and agreed that I had done nothing wrong or said anything to them that they would need to change my contract...so he fixed it for me or I am hoping this issue will be finally over, But like always they still took 100 minutes away from me..its okay thats not going to hurt me much and come october my contract will be over. I have to say for anyone that wants to be with a commited company that does not change your plan go with TMobile they have been great for the past 4 years with my business line. I don't know what made me get into this contract with At&t oh wait I do my kids so I will blame them..lol Good Luck to everyone and stick to your guns they can not fight you if your right...don't give up! and keep calling back if you can't find someone to understand you.