I just put a FULL NELSON on AT&T !!

[moonpie23]

When i ordered my U-verse service (which i like very much) last april, i had just come off of run-ins with Time warner and Suncom over things that customer service peeps SAID and things that i was billed for.

So that feeling got me to turn on my I-phone and record the convo with the AT&T sales person when i ordered the U-verse service.

The point of contention was that the sales person kept making a big deal out of the fact that "we don't have you under any contract". which was, fine, no ETF's and just call em and chuck it if you don't like the service.

So we were running thru the prices and she said "and these prices are good for two years "...ok...kewl..

I asked her point blank if i was getting some "introductory offer" or some special "for 6 months" discount and she repeatedly said "no, these are our prices, however you WILL get a $20 discount per month if you bundle all three services (phone, internet and TV). Then we had the following.

ME - "so these are my prices for two years?"
AT&T REP - "yes sir"
ME - "and you can't raise the price"
HER - "raise the price? "
ME - "yes, raise the price. ...you can't arbitrarily change my price for two years?"
HER - "that's right sir"
ME - "and i'm not on any kind of a "special 3 or 6 month thing?"
HER - "the only "special you're getting sir is the $20/mo discount for bundling the 3 services sir".
ME - "and you can't raise my rates for two years on any of the services?"
HER - "that's correct sir"

ok....got all that recorded and dated on my iphone...


well, y'all know where this is going...


SO....my first bill was right to the penny....2nd bill, same, 3rd bill, fine.

FOURTH BILL - up $10...so i called in..."why is my bill up $10?"
AT& T - "well sir, you're introductory period for the internet service is up this month and your TV and Phone special pricing are up NEXT month, so your bill will be $30 more starting next month...


dang...

But i knew JUST what to do.... having just whipped Time warner and Suncom like rented donkeys, i jumped online and went to the Attorney General's Consumer affairs dept and filled out an official complaint.


http://www.ncdoj.gov/Consumer/2-2-12...Complaint.aspx



here's the secret folks, all you gotta do is fill out one of these little babies and man, does it carry some weight (as long as your documentation is solid). They HAVE to respond to the complaint and the more of them companies like AT&T get, the more the attorney general looks at their business practices..

about a two weeks after filling out the complaint, i got a letter from the DOJ that the complaint had been sent to AT&T. 2 weeks after that, i got a call from AT&T EXECUTIVE CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPT inquiring about my complaint and how to solve it.

I discussed the complaint with the rep and she told me that "the sales rep would never tell me that i was NOT on a "special introductory rate". and that all of the sales calls are "recorded for quality assurance"....

So i asked her, if the sale rep HAD said that i was not on the special and then you guys PUT me on the special, was that not a classic "bait and switch".

She replied, "well, yes, i suppose you could call it that, but we don't do that sir. our sales reps are trained to inform the customer exactly what they are buying."

so i asked her if she would get the recording and play it while we both listened and she replied that she was not in a position to do that and it would require pulling that file from some special place...

So, i said, "no problem, i recorded it also".........crickets..

she said, "did you inform the sales rep you were recording the call?"

I said, "no, in NC only one person has to know that the call is being recorded".....

the stammering began, so i just started playing back the convo...

she listened to the entire 9 min conversation and then said, "well, i can't just change your rate, so i well issue you a full credit for the $30/mo difference for the entire 20 months as one credit. $600.

I said "thank you m'am"

she said "thank you for choosing AT&T sir, have a good day"

the moral of this story is, record your calls, make notes and don't be afraid to take the time and file an OFFICIAL COMPLAINT at the Attorney General's dept...


BOO-YA!!!!

[TampaDuke]

she listened to the entire 9 min conversation and then said, "well, i can't just change your rate, so i well issue you a full credit for the $30/mo difference for the entire 20 months as one credit. $600.

Awesome. Good job, moonpie!

the moral of this story is, record your calls, make notes and don't be afraid to take the time and file an OFFICIAL COMPLAINT at the Attorney General's dept...

One caveat: some states, Florida is one, require that all participants know about the recording, so I'd be careful to advise them up front that you are recording the conversation if in one of those states. If you state at the outset, "do you mind if I record the conversation?" and they say no, I'd run for the hills!

[onepresent]

Great story!

What app did you use to record calls on your iPhone?

[hc5duke]

the moral of this story is, record your calls, make notes and don't be afraid to take the time and file an OFFICIAL COMPLAINT at the Attorney General's dept...

In California both parties must be aware of it Though I think at some point I will probably pull a "for quality control and training purposes this call may be recorded" on some CSR

[moonpie23]

i have tried that....I told a Time Warner rep that "this call may be recorded for quality assurance" and she said, "i'm sorry sir" and hung up...they can do it to YOU, but you'd better not try it on them !!

yes, you should definitely check your state law with respect to what you can do...




i used the "RECORDER" app and just had the woman on speaker phone when i placed the order...put my iphone right beside the land line phone...

[OZZIE4DUKE]

Very cool! I'll remember not to pull any fast ones on you when you buy something from me! But then, I never pull a fast one on anyone, so I'm in the clear!

[hurleyfor3]

You, like, need to tell Consumerist this.

[CameronBornAndBred]

Awesome. Good job, moonpie!



One caveat: some states, Florida is one, require that all participants know about the recording, so I'd be careful to advise them up front that you are recording the conversation if in one of those states. If you state at the outset, "do you mind if I record the conversation?" and they say no, I'd run for the hills!

If they state (and they do) that the phone call may be monitored or recorded, then I would assume that applies to both parties. The mirror looks both ways.
By the way..that's awesome Moonpie.

[moonpie23]

If they state (and they do) that the phone call may be monitored or recorded, then I would assume that applies to both parties. The mirror looks both ways.
By the way..that's awesome Moonpie.

hey....true-dat...


i wonder what the actual statute would be on that...cause, if they say, "THIS CALL MAY BE RECORDED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE", then BOTH of you know that the call is being recorded...

[CameronBornAndBred]

hey....true-dat...


i wonder what the actual statute would be on that...cause, if they say, "THIS CALL MAY BE RECORDED FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE", then BOTH of you know that the call is being recorded...

Exactly..sounds like an agreement on their part for you to hit the red button.

[BD80]

If they state (and they do) that the phone call may be monitored or recorded, then I would assume that applies to both parties. The mirror looks both ways.
By the way..that's awesome Moonpie.

I would think you would be OK if you opened the discussion with the statement:

"Did I hear correctly, this call may be recorded?"

I'll bet the customer service rep will say "yes."

[moonpie23]

"OK ALL YOU BOOTLEGGERS, GET THOSE TAPE MACHINES ROLLING".


...............bruce springsteen - fox theater -1978 darkness on the edge town tour...

[Reisen]

Hmm, I'm having a similar problem with the college foundation of north carolina (state-run college lender I borrowed my grad school loans from), only it's for a lot more money (add a few zero's to your number). I'm probably going to need to escalate, so I'll try your link. Thanks!

Also, great thread title!

[Bluedog]

Awesome! I love it. That's why I sometimes prefer the live chat feature so I have a record of the conversation (since recording is illegal in my state). But, didn't think about saying: "Did I hear correctly, this call may be recorded?" Nice wording. I actually had a similar experience with Comcast, although it WAS for a promotional offer. The promo was supposed to be 12-months and was stated as such in my online chat and directly on their website (I had taken a screenshot of it), but alas, at the three month mark, it went up in price. I talked to people for like 3 hours, including managers, etc. who all said they were "investigating it..." I was like, I have a screenshot of the offer! Come on! Eventually, got a different number than the general 1-800 number that got me to the people that actually have the power. Took quite some time to get it, but persistence paid off. In any event, once I got that number, they quickly extended it for 3 months since they said that was the only promo offer available at that time they could input. They said call back every three months and they'll extend it each time for the full year. So, I call back at three months, and ask if they can extend it for longer...and this person does it for six months. Sweet! Then the year promo is up, but I decide to try and call for them to extend it anyways. And they do it right away. Well, I've kept extending it, so it's been over a year and half now. All depends on who you talk to and being persistent. It pays off! They pretty much just make up the price it seems...and can do whatever they want in form of crediting the account, etc. as long as you're talking to somebody in a position of power, which is sometimes hard to get to. Moonpie's use of the AG's official complaint was probably much more efficient than my method...

[aimo]

Good for you! I don't take any crap off of companies, either. If enough of us start doing this, demanding fair and proper customer service and reporting it to the authorities when we don't get it, companies will finally get a clue and stop trying to screw people in order to make money. The reason they do it is that too many people have been letting them get away with it. I don't have an iphone, but I do have a little digital recorder I'm going to start leaving by the phone.

[TampaDuke]

If they state (and they do) that the phone call may be monitored or recorded, then I would assume that applies to both parties. The mirror looks both ways.
By the way..that's awesome Moonpie.

I think you're correct. Only problem might be one of proof should something like that ever make it's way into a court. Without really knowing, I can almost guarantee that the "for quality assurance, this call may be recorded" statement is itself not recorded. If the company doesn't actually record all conversations, they'll just take the position that they were not aware that this particular call was being recorded, despite their own wording. A laughable defense no doubt, but one I could see some companies trying.

[Kimist]

So - can we get you to take on Time Warner for advertising that you get "free HD" from them?

I have a HD television, I get to view over-the-air channels cable-transmitted HD broadcasts, and I already pay for ESPN and similar.

So what do I have to do to watch ESPN in HD ?? (Hint - it's not free!!)

The answer is to subscribe to a digital package, rent a converter box, and rent a remote control.

Where is competition when we need it?!?

k

[moonpie23]

the one that REALLY CHAPS ME is when they are selling different internet tiers with the statement: UP TO 10mbs

and then they just give you...like, 8...

that's like saying that you'll get UP TO 100 channels, but, you're really only going to get like, 80


man...

[CLT Devil]

Outstanding!

I have to have ATnT for my fax line and had the worst time getting it set up. Basically they wanted $90 just to come out and hook it up. I will give TWC some credit, at least they stand by their equipment.

Moonpie, did you run into this scenario?;

Me - This is the third time I have called to reslove this issue, can you just put me through to your supervisor?

Them - Let me see if one is available.

After about 10 seconds they come back on the line to tell me one isn't available. After a few times of this I finally figured there were def not checking to see if there was one available...as they get rated on how many calls go to their supervisor.

Finally, and I recommend everyone do this if they have to call ATnT more than once to reslove the same issue, tell the person that you want to be connected to manager and you are aware that they are just putting you on hold and not really checking to 'see if there are any supervisors available.' If nothing else it lets them know who they're dealing with.

Again, nice work Moonpie...way to stick to it DA MAN...

[moonpie23]

i don't know if this is every company, but at AT&T, the CODE WORDS ARE:

"tier 2 tech support..."


tell them you've already spoken with someone and you want to speak with a TIER TWO person..