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AT&T Complaint - Worst customer service ever! - Local telephone
Local telephone - Complaint
JOHNSON COUNTY, KANSAS -- I received a message on my answering machine while I was out of town attending to my critically ill mother, saying that I needed to call ATT at the number they left. Did so and got put on hold for 30 minutes with no answer ... twice! Logged onto their website and found that they had my account listed as delinquent (I had mailed a check through another overpaid and substandard "service provider"... the USPS), so I processed an on-line payment. Their automated reply confirmed that the account was brought up to date. Another automated reply told me that my next bill would have a service restoration fee of $28.25 applied (Kansas' maximum is $18, according to one of the idiots who finally answered their phone). I called the number that notice listed and spoke to "Dana"... told her the situation and she argued that my phone had been disconnected, so the fee applied. I asked for the name and physical address of a supervisor, so she transferred my call to another idiot, Cheryl. Repeated the process and she, too, transferred me to a third, "Mrs. Walker" who said they would waive the fee as a "one time courtesy." These people wouldn't know the meaning of courtesy if it slapped them in the face! Why is this awful company rearing its ugly head again?! Didn't they get broken up due to just this kind of crap? I'm starting my search for a replacement today and plan to have it in place by January 1. I HATE AT&T. Will NEVER get any other "service" from them and will work to keep others from making the mistake of becoming their customers. This company really needs to be forced out of business... they don't care about their customers, their workers (if you can get through the multi-level automation to get to them) are incompetent and their automation is grossly overdone. Their physical address, should anyone else become exhausted before finally getting it is:
ATT
Attention: Customer relations
P O Box 1530
Houston TX 77092
My next stop for complaint is the FCC. I plan to do whatever I can to irritate ATT as much as they have irritated me.
ATT
Attention: Customer relations
P O Box 1530
Houston TX 77092
My next stop for complaint is the FCC. I plan to do whatever I can to irritate ATT as much as they have irritated me.
Comments:
Posted by Anonymous on 2006-12-06:
It isn't much of a threat to AT&T to say you "Will NEVER get any other "service" from them" when you aren't paying for the services you already get. How do you think the FCC is going to help you here?
Posted by Ponie on 2006-12-06:
Don't know if it's having any effect on AT&T, but your smart-alec attitude is irritating ME! You really think your childish, juvenile, descriptive words are going to help? Yeah--it'll help get your letter into the trash can faster.
Posted by SlaveToService on 2007-01-14:
So, basically, you didn't pay your bill and you're upset they turned off your service? Then had the audacity to charge you a restoral fee? (as is standard in all industries, btw)
Oooook.
And I have a real problem with you calling the employees 'idiots'. They're doing their job. They were following company policy--not their own policies. You never should have been credited the restoral fee.
Oooook.
And I have a real problem with you calling the employees 'idiots'. They're doing their job. They were following company policy--not their own policies. You never should have been credited the restoral fee.
Posted by playrite on 2007-08-24:
Clearly AT&T has employees assigned to diffusing the bad PR they get from the website. Those negative comments are disingenuous at best. Real people don't write positive things about a company, unless it is truly doing good works, and AT&T is certainly not in that category. They just gouged me for a $36.00 "restoral fee". I won't be accepting it. I was robbed already from Sprint, then T-Mobile, and was sad to see AT&T take over Cingular as I knew this would happen. I won in the previous cases by the methods below, and will contunue to fight on principle.
My best friend is an attorney involved with the making these judgements at the FCC, and believe me, we won't see them broken up again until the democrats get back in power (in the white house). So, you'll have to be unscrupulous just like them and figure out a way to cost them money in return. 1.) File complaints as you stated you would. 2.) All else fails, file a small claim at home for the fee plus costs, they have to send an attorney or you win - and if you're not near a corporate office, even better as they are not prepared to be in your courts. 3.) Don't forget, the class action suits will be coming. This is price gouging. These companies have to demonstrate that the fee is justified by their overhead. There's no way they can. And don't forget, document everything you say, and they say. The more difficult they make your life, the more it's worth in court.
Keep searching the web for people like you and me. Eventually, we'll have our class action.
My best friend is an attorney involved with the making these judgements at the FCC, and believe me, we won't see them broken up again until the democrats get back in power (in the white house). So, you'll have to be unscrupulous just like them and figure out a way to cost them money in return. 1.) File complaints as you stated you would. 2.) All else fails, file a small claim at home for the fee plus costs, they have to send an attorney or you win - and if you're not near a corporate office, even better as they are not prepared to be in your courts. 3.) Don't forget, the class action suits will be coming. This is price gouging. These companies have to demonstrate that the fee is justified by their overhead. There's no way they can. And don't forget, document everything you say, and they say. The more difficult they make your life, the more it's worth in court.
Keep searching the web for people like you and me. Eventually, we'll have our class action.
Posted by TFM_Anthony on 2009-01-01:
Before you read this, please realize I am speaking in the form of a plea, not a rant...I am not angry but dissapointed this has even happened for multiple reasons, which I will go into below.
I work for AT&T in the collections deparment. After reading your complaint, I do want to apologize for the irritation...
...however...if your service was interupted for a past due amount, that is not AT&T's fault. You, as the customer, must pay your bills on time or call in and set up arrangements to prevent interuption of your services. You have many tools at your disposal, including att.com, *BAL#, your actual mailed statement and the store. Your due date does not change nor does your cycle date.
I do understand that mistakes occur. You are human and so are we, however, calling everyone you speak with idiots for telling you the policy is not fair and very very unkind. Those people were not idiots, they told you the truth. ANY time that you are suspended for a past due balance, there WILL be a reconnection fee which is a valid charge. Normally it is not waived unless it is an error on our behalf (not paying your bill on time is NOT an AT&T error).
Several factors are taken into consideration when waiving the fee, which covers the costs for turning your phones back on, the switch work, the systems that do so, the people who have to turn them back on, etc, including your tenure, your LifeTime Value (LTV), payment history, history of adjustments, connection and interuption history, broken payment arrangements and DIRA accounts.
If you have not had a reconnection fee waived in a while, genereally six months, we will waive it for you, assuming, that you have not repeatedly asked for it to be waived, as it IS a VALID charge.
Once again, if you are still with AT&T, we do appreciate you as a customer...and we do want to help you..we are THERE to help you. My desk is littered with customer compliments and I get three to four CUSTOMER RULES! awards per week, my quality and stats in some of the highest in the call center...this wouldnt be so if I did not value my customers each individually and take care of them in ONE call.
However...there does come a point where a customer has be told bluntly the truth. It is the customers responsiblity to pay their bill ON TIME each month, OR make a payment arrangement (we will help if you ask, assuming you have established six months of payment history with us, have a good connect history and no DIRA accounts and we do take circumstances into account...we know things get rough from time to time). It is not our job to make you pay your bills...and it is clearly stated in your customer service summary, that you WILL be intrupted if you become past due without payment or payment arrangements.
Reconnection fees are something I waive frequently....and its not because we have to. In fact, we are normally to be fairly strict with them. I waive them because the people I waive them for tell me the truth and are honest with me, and dont try to lie out of a fee and they dont abuse me, put me down, call me names, scream at me incoherently or put my company down or tell me that I am stupid and its my fault. With that being said, it is our job to help ALL customers, not just ones who are nice...
....however, take it from a person who should know, being nice goes a LONG way. Never forget you are talking to someone human...and I am sorry to say that not all reps are as good as I wish they were...there have been times I have wanted to reach through my headset and grab a rep or store agent by the shirt and go "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???" but we cant. we have to be professional. That doesnt mean I have not let a rep have it that I caught giving mis-information to a customer (I 'let them have it' in a professional way to protect the customer and give them the resources to look up the correct information in our research tool, MyCSP).
In short, and in summary, the reason you were billed a reconnection charge is because you let your bill go past due and it wasnt past due for just a day. Even new customers get at least two notifications by the outbound teams, a dunning letter or a blaster call (not as bad as it sounds...its just a voicemail asking you to call us).
For your account to have been turned off, you had to have had at least two live attempts to give you the chance to make a payment before the actual SNP (suspension) is done. Most customers hang up on the outbound collections agents or refuse to listen to them or lie to them or ignore the calls and they end up getting cut off.
It's a vicious cycle that can only be broken if we listen to each other, customer and company.
We are NOT idiots. We spend an enormous amount of time, almost four months in training, and continuous training and seminars after that, for our entire career with AT&T. Not all people pay any mind to that, but I do, and I find it slightly irksome that people seem to be refering to customer agents who tell the truth as idiots because they aren't telling the customer what they WANT to hear.
In conclusion, if you need help, CALL US. we will set you up with a payment arrangement to prevent a suspension. Reconnection fees are valid unless suspended in error. Your billing cycle and due dates NEVER change. Use your tools at your disposal. Read your bill EACH and EVERY month to make sure its correct (you would be surprised how many people I hear say " I never read my bill") and lastly, remember, we are hired to help you, and are EXTREMELY well trained. We are not hired to be a doormat...and we are here because of you, and FOR you...you should not be treated like a doormat either. Each situation is unique and without seeing your account, I really can't say for sure if I could have waived that fee, though I can tell you I would have done everything in my power to ensure you are treated with respect and in a fair way.
Hopefully you are still with AT&T...if you are not, I wish you were, and the best of luck to you where-ever you may be. Hope this cleared things up for you!
I work for AT&T in the collections deparment. After reading your complaint, I do want to apologize for the irritation...
...however...if your service was interupted for a past due amount, that is not AT&T's fault. You, as the customer, must pay your bills on time or call in and set up arrangements to prevent interuption of your services. You have many tools at your disposal, including att.com, *BAL#, your actual mailed statement and the store. Your due date does not change nor does your cycle date.
I do understand that mistakes occur. You are human and so are we, however, calling everyone you speak with idiots for telling you the policy is not fair and very very unkind. Those people were not idiots, they told you the truth. ANY time that you are suspended for a past due balance, there WILL be a reconnection fee which is a valid charge. Normally it is not waived unless it is an error on our behalf (not paying your bill on time is NOT an AT&T error).
Several factors are taken into consideration when waiving the fee, which covers the costs for turning your phones back on, the switch work, the systems that do so, the people who have to turn them back on, etc, including your tenure, your LifeTime Value (LTV), payment history, history of adjustments, connection and interuption history, broken payment arrangements and DIRA accounts.
If you have not had a reconnection fee waived in a while, genereally six months, we will waive it for you, assuming, that you have not repeatedly asked for it to be waived, as it IS a VALID charge.
Once again, if you are still with AT&T, we do appreciate you as a customer...and we do want to help you..we are THERE to help you. My desk is littered with customer compliments and I get three to four CUSTOMER RULES! awards per week, my quality and stats in some of the highest in the call center...this wouldnt be so if I did not value my customers each individually and take care of them in ONE call.
However...there does come a point where a customer has be told bluntly the truth. It is the customers responsiblity to pay their bill ON TIME each month, OR make a payment arrangement (we will help if you ask, assuming you have established six months of payment history with us, have a good connect history and no DIRA accounts and we do take circumstances into account...we know things get rough from time to time). It is not our job to make you pay your bills...and it is clearly stated in your customer service summary, that you WILL be intrupted if you become past due without payment or payment arrangements.
Reconnection fees are something I waive frequently....and its not because we have to. In fact, we are normally to be fairly strict with them. I waive them because the people I waive them for tell me the truth and are honest with me, and dont try to lie out of a fee and they dont abuse me, put me down, call me names, scream at me incoherently or put my company down or tell me that I am stupid and its my fault. With that being said, it is our job to help ALL customers, not just ones who are nice...
....however, take it from a person who should know, being nice goes a LONG way. Never forget you are talking to someone human...and I am sorry to say that not all reps are as good as I wish they were...there have been times I have wanted to reach through my headset and grab a rep or store agent by the shirt and go "WHAT ARE YOU THINKING???" but we cant. we have to be professional. That doesnt mean I have not let a rep have it that I caught giving mis-information to a customer (I 'let them have it' in a professional way to protect the customer and give them the resources to look up the correct information in our research tool, MyCSP).
In short, and in summary, the reason you were billed a reconnection charge is because you let your bill go past due and it wasnt past due for just a day. Even new customers get at least two notifications by the outbound teams, a dunning letter or a blaster call (not as bad as it sounds...its just a voicemail asking you to call us).
For your account to have been turned off, you had to have had at least two live attempts to give you the chance to make a payment before the actual SNP (suspension) is done. Most customers hang up on the outbound collections agents or refuse to listen to them or lie to them or ignore the calls and they end up getting cut off.
It's a vicious cycle that can only be broken if we listen to each other, customer and company.
We are NOT idiots. We spend an enormous amount of time, almost four months in training, and continuous training and seminars after that, for our entire career with AT&T. Not all people pay any mind to that, but I do, and I find it slightly irksome that people seem to be refering to customer agents who tell the truth as idiots because they aren't telling the customer what they WANT to hear.
In conclusion, if you need help, CALL US. we will set you up with a payment arrangement to prevent a suspension. Reconnection fees are valid unless suspended in error. Your billing cycle and due dates NEVER change. Use your tools at your disposal. Read your bill EACH and EVERY month to make sure its correct (you would be surprised how many people I hear say " I never read my bill") and lastly, remember, we are hired to help you, and are EXTREMELY well trained. We are not hired to be a doormat...and we are here because of you, and FOR you...you should not be treated like a doormat either. Each situation is unique and without seeing your account, I really can't say for sure if I could have waived that fee, though I can tell you I would have done everything in my power to ensure you are treated with respect and in a fair way.
Hopefully you are still with AT&T...if you are not, I wish you were, and the best of luck to you where-ever you may be. Hope this cleared things up for you!
Posted by old fart on 2009-01-01:
TFM... please note that this incident took place two years ago... I doubt if the poster Jones2b is even on the site and probably not an ATT customer any longer, but we'll give you credit for trying...
Posted by kstyl300 on 2009-09-14:
AT&T SUCKS!! If you don't scrutinize your bill every month, you'll be charged for services you never asked for.
Their CUSTOMER CARE-LESS department is a joke. And if you get one of their employees that are contracted out & not an actual employee of AT&T, you will be told anything and signed up for services you never asked for.
Their CUSTOMER CARE-LESS department is a joke. And if you get one of their employees that are contracted out & not an actual employee of AT&T, you will be told anything and signed up for services you never asked for.
Posted by Blahblah on 2009-11-18:
I agree wholeheartedly with last comment. In the last 3 months I have had 3 services added to my phone that I never requested. I called on unrelated matters and never agreed to any add-ons. I have been inconvenienced. They truly are dishonest and steal from people. This has happened to lots of people I know. I pointed it out to them both times and they gave lots of excuses for why they can't investigate. The CSr's name is not on the notes and I should have gotten their name. Why would I do that if I called to ask a technical question and not to add or change a service. The other excuse is that they can't listen to old calls because they are not all recorded. Wake up AT7T. Do some investigations if you dare and if you care!! No wonder the phone book is now an inch thick instead of the old 4 inches. I am close to dropping them too.
Posted by jazznut50 on 2011-08-22:
Thank you Jones 2b for this review (and for the physical address for AT & T--it's impossible to find one anywhere).
I absolutely agree with you. AT & T is the worst and most of the people who work there ARE idiots, despite what some of these commenters on here say, e. g., "they're just doing their job". Yea, they are: BADLY!
Up until just a few years ago, AT & T was excellent. Their jobs were mostly union jobs that paid well and the people that worked there were professional and intelligent. Now, apparently with the decline of the union jobs, they have gone the way of most corporations dealing with customers. They employ IDIOTS! who have NO critical-thinking skills at all--they are mere robots who can't come up with an original thought or idea on their own.
I won't even go into my problems with them. It would take too much time to explain. Suffice it to say the people I dealt with were IDIOTS!
I absolutely agree with you. AT & T is the worst and most of the people who work there ARE idiots, despite what some of these commenters on here say, e. g., "they're just doing their job". Yea, they are: BADLY!
Up until just a few years ago, AT & T was excellent. Their jobs were mostly union jobs that paid well and the people that worked there were professional and intelligent. Now, apparently with the decline of the union jobs, they have gone the way of most corporations dealing with customers. They employ IDIOTS! who have NO critical-thinking skills at all--they are mere robots who can't come up with an original thought or idea on their own.
I won't even go into my problems with them. It would take too much time to explain. Suffice it to say the people I dealt with were IDIOTS!
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