On Apr 3, 2007, I switched my phone and internet service from AT&T to Cox Communication (the local cable company). For some reason AT&T has no idea how to terminate a business relationship. They have been jerking me around over 25 bucks for 3 months now. Ironically they keep sending me letters asking me to come back to AT&T, but I’m so angry with them, that’s a fat chance. Anyway, I’ve spent hours and hours on the phone with AT&T trying to resolve my bill.
Every time I think we have reached an agreement about what I owe ($0.00) I get another bill or surprise. The latest was a call from a third party collections agency. So I spent another 2 hours on the phone with AT&T to determine, again, that I don’t owe them anything.
Below is the letter of dispute I’ve written to the collections agency with my latest call notes. Skip ahead to the call notes, it’s particularly interesting how the different departments within AT&T can’t agree with what is going on.
To whom it may concern
My wife was contacted by your collections agency about a past due amount from AT&T for $25.82. This letter is to formally inform you that this amount is in dispute.
This amount was from when I disconnected my account on Apr 3rd. I was charged for the next month but because I canceled my service I didn’t really owe that amount.
I had previously contacted AT&T on May 7th, and was told I had received a credit and that I did not owe AT&T money.
I’ve contacted AT&T again today. They have confirmed that this is a mistake and that I in fact owe $0.00.
Below are my call notes with your company and with AT&T on 6/25/2007
----------------------------------------------------------------------I called the collections agency back @ 1800 454-2227 at about 9:30 on 6/25/2007
Talked with a rep and told him the amount was under dispute. He gave me an address to send a dispute letter to
97 East Brokaw Rd
Suite 240 San Jose CA, 95112
Attention **********
I called AT&T Collections and first spoke with Chantil - 9:57 6/25/2007
She informed me that she did indeed see a past due balance and that I needed to talk with the high-speed internet department to resolve the balance, because if there was a credit she could not see it.
I was then transferred to the high-speed internet residential billing department. I spoke with Liza. She that there was an adjustment but it did not go through. She said that she would issue a manual adjustment and that she would then transfer me back to final billing where I could verify that the final balance was zero, at which point they would contact the collections agency and inform them that this was all a mistake. Her typist initials are IRLP in the notes field…
She also verified that the initial credit that did not go though (for whatever reason) was “applied” on May 7th 2007.
I was then transferred to final billing where I spoke with Mary.
I told her about my conversation with Liza and she checked the account notes.
She did not see the notes…
She didn’t see the notes from May 7th either! She asked for my cell phone in case they needed to call me back…
I was transferred back to customer service where I spoke with Bill. He sees the credit and doesn’t understand why they (final billing) can’t see the credit “I don’t understand why they can’t see it…they aren’t looking at the notes because It’s clearly there”.
I told him that I need final billing to agree that there is no balance otherwise when I send my letter of dispute to the collections agency, they will contact final billing and they will say “No he owes us money.” If I cant get them to agree that the balance is 0 then I’m screwed.
He said he would try to get final billing on the phone to see why they don’t see the credit.
He spoke with Christie, in collections, who finally saw the credit. He said, she said she pulled it from collections. I asked to be transferred to collections so I could verify that they really have the balance set at zero. (I wonder why I don’t trust them.)
Bill transferred me back to collections/final billing. I spoke with Christie (a different Christie?) I re-capped the above notes. I told her that I wanted to make sure they (collections) did indeed agree that the account was at 0 and that third party collections had been revoked. She said that they did finally show a zero balance and that collections had been notified. “They have a different system than we do and some times the credits don’t show up”
------------------------------------
I hope this resolves the matter
Regards,
Steven H Roemerman
Technorati Tags: AT&T
6 comments:
i went through something very very similar with att some time ago. i spent hours and hours trying to resolve a dispute. get transferred all over the place and talk to reps who supposedly don't use the same computer screen system? and same as you, they don't input the conversation so the next person doesn't see what transpired. they just try to wear you down so you go away maybe? how convenient for them, eh? they were the most unprofessinal incompetent bunch i have ever had to deal with. actually, i take that back, having to deal with dell india was worse!!!
I've been having trouble with AT&T phone service lately (about the time SBC bought them and assumed their name, so, who bought who?)
Turns out, I am unable to select a new phone provider without also cancelling my DSL service (which is not directly with AT&T) since my DSL service uses AT&T as a service provider.
Trapped, for awhile anyway. But, as soon as my DSL contract is up for renewal, they're both outta here, for ever. I'll never do business with AT&T again in my lifetime. (this isn't just about phones, I had an AT&T credit card some years ago which all but ruined me.)
Looks like they're well on their way to being out of business again, and taking SBC with them this time.
Unfortunately, AT&T will be in high clover for a while, and will not be too worried about puny billing errors.
Let's add it up. 700,000 new iPhone accounts at around fifty bucks a month comes to about 35 million a month. Multiply that by 24 months...wow, 840 million.
Verizon is probably kicking themselves right now for passing on the iPhone, and AT&T has zero motivation to be nice to customers, since they just got 700,000 new two year contracts in four days.
So, hey, Steve, how about an iPhone?
well I have been there and back more times than I care to think about.As a five year customer of at&t, formerly cingular and better, I get yanked hard any time i try to add upgrade,remove or change anything. I am looking for an alternative all the time but its not so easy with a 5 phone plan and the package options we need.I am almost ready to go without altogether because I am so frustrated and tired of having them wear me down with the run around. They have gotten too big and too rich.
I have extremely strong dislike for this phone company and I am going to find a good alternative that works for me and my family or do without. It is true they wear you down, as soon as you start getting passed around, you may as well just hang up and call to get someone new who MAY work with you better, sometimes that works for me. Mostly not,they have gotten to big and too rich. Everyone is just a number and a dollar sign to them. Ignoring our pleas, I bet instead of rings they hear coins dropping like in a slot machine when the lines are lit up!
I honestly think there is an embezzlement scam happening somewhere in the works of that huge conglomerate. I am getting calls right now for $114 that I already paid for my regular month to month phone bill and never defaulted on. I cancelled my service with them for telling me that I was not paying my bill when I was; they are either hiring retards or there is some type of embezzlement going on.
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