Now with VERIZON

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

I am divisional VP for my corporation. I have (or had) an iPhone which I loved. I also have (or had) an AT&T USB data card for my laptop. I went to Canada recently for a week on business. BEFORE going to Canada I called AT&T to ensure that I did not run up outrageous charges while I was there. AT&T was very helpful and put my account (or so I was told) on an international data plan for an extra $200 per month. They even told me that they would prorate this if I did not use all of the minutes while I was there. Great. Finally, they cautioned me to check my minutes every night because the overage charges would be very expensive. I did this as advised. I never went over. In fact, when I returned, my total spending of the International plan was only ~$55. Fantastic.

Now, here is where things get fun: The next week I received a bill for ~8,800! Apparently, when I called, AT&T put my iPhone on the International Plan, but NOT my data card. So.... I called AT&T. The lady I initially spoke to was very helpful. Her exact words were, "You did just what you are supposed to do. You called us first. I have to send this to (can't remember the term - review I think). I am certain that they will fix this for you." Well, they did reduce the bill to only $3,000+. Apparently, their logic is that is the amount I went over the plan if it had been in place for my data card too. Of course, my argument is that I would not have gone over if it had been properly setup on my account as I had been monitoring it every night per the advice of AT&T!

I have called AT&T many, many times trying to get this resolved. I have been hung up on. I have been disconnected. I have yet to speak to anyone with any real decision making authority. IF I ever get anywhere, the end result is that I need to pay it and there is "nothing we can do." Obviously, I am not personally paying a 3K+ bill. Neither will my corporation. Eventually, AT&T shut off my phone and my data card (right in the middle of a business trip to Texas - I was NOT happy).

The status today is that my corporation, in order to preserve my mobile number, has taken that number and assigned it to a corporate provided Blackberry. I hate it. I even have a new Verizon data card. This is all really a shame. For one, I REALLY MISS my iPhone - I even miss AT&T who, up until this incident has been outstanding.

I have (or had) an excellent payment history with AT&T. I always paid my ~$250 every month upon receipt. Now they are threatening to send me to collections. Is there anything I can do? This is a nightmare and VERY disappointing.

UNSC_REACH · ‎07-16-2010

You'll have to continue and work on the issue, the debt isng going to go away. Whoever is liable for the account, that will be on their credit if its not paid.

BrianfromNO · ‎03-16-2006

Do a search for the telephone number to the Office of the President, or simply Google the number of AT&T Mobility's Atlanta HQ and ask for the Office of the President. At this point, there isn't a lot that anyone can do without executive input.

Just to be clear, this is not entirely AT&T's fault. It is YOUR responsibility to make sure each of your lines is on the proper plan, especially when roaming internationally. I'm not sure if it was made clear to you or not, but it should be obvious that data plans are per line/device ONLY. That $200 plan for your iPhone did NOT extend coverage to your data card, which would have required a separate international add-on of its own. The $3000+ bill is probably correct. A quick perusal of the AT&T International page shows that laptop cards have their own international add-ons that provide between 100-200MB of international usage.

Timfan wrote:
I am divisional VP for my corporation. I have (or had) an iPhone which I loved. I also have (or had) an AT&T USB data card for my laptop. I went to Canada recently for a week on business. BEFORE going to Canada I called AT&T to ensure that I did not run up outrageous charges while I was there. AT&T was very helpful and put my account (or so I was told) on an international data plan for an extra $200 per month. They even told me that they would prorate this if I did not use all of the minutes while I was there. Great. Finally, they cautioned me to check my minutes every night because the overage charges would be very expensive. I did this as advised. I never went over. In fact, when I returned, my total spending of the International plan was only ~$55. Fantastic.

Now, here is where things get fun: The next week I received a bill for ~8,800! Apparently, when I called, AT&T put my iPhone on the International Plan, but NOT my data card. So.... I called AT&T. The lady I initially spoke to was very helpful. Her exact words were, "You did just what you are supposed to do. You called us first. I have to send this to (can't remember the term - review I think). I am certain that they will fix this for you." Well, they did reduce the bill to only $3,000+. Apparently, their logic is that is the amount I went over the plan if it had been in place for my data card too. Of course, my argument is that I would not have gone over if it had been properly setup on my account as I had been monitoring it every night per the advice of AT&T!

I have called AT&T many, many times trying to get this resolved. I have been hung up on. I have been disconnected. I have yet to speak to anyone with any real decision making authority. IF I ever get anywhere, the end result is that I need to pay it and there is "nothing we can do." Obviously, I am not personally paying a 3K+ bill. Neither will my corporation. Eventually, AT&T shut off my phone and my data card (right in the middle of a business trip to Texas - I was NOT happy).

The status today is that my corporation, in order to preserve my mobile number, has taken that number and assigned it to a corporate provided Blackberry. I hate it. I even have a new Verizon data card. This is all really a shame. For one, I REALLY MISS my iPhone - I even miss AT&T who, up until this incident has been outstanding.

I have (or had) an excellent payment history with AT&T. I always paid my ~$250 every month upon receipt. Now they are threatening to send me to collections. Is there anything I can do? This is a nightmare and VERY disappointing.

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

Thank you for the responses. I guess I was hoping that this would attract the attention of someone from AT&T with some decision making authority that would respond accordingly. Do AT&T personnel ever monitor/respond to these in an attempt to resolve issues and satisfy customers?

Wild Banchi · ‎12-11-2009

Timfan wrote:
Thank you for the responses. I guess I was hoping that this would attract the attention of someone from AT&T with some decision making authority that would respond accordingly. Do AT&T personnel ever monitor/respond to these in an attempt to resolve issues and satisfy customers?

Not actual "professional" head-AT&T employees monitor/even read the posts on this Forum, but a handful of helpful employees are active users and give their input/advice/help on this Forum.

Remember that Wild Banchi... 1993-2010

Waterlily29 · ‎06-30-2010

Are most of "active" members in this forum AT&T employees?

kdfederer · ‎07-20-2008

giacomara123 wrote:
Are most of "active" members in this forum AT&T employees?

No, they are just users trying to help other users.

Waterlily29 · ‎06-30-2010

That's a relief!!

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

Would any of the helpful employees you reference be willing to forward this post to someone at AT&T that would be willing to at least investigate and hopefully resolve this situation? I surely would like to have some closure and put all of this behind me. AND I would like to get AT&T and my iPhone back (heck, I will even buy a new one)! I really don't know where else to turn at this point - except for "calling the office of the President", or getting my attorney involved. The first sounds like desperation (and not too likely at success) and the second is not something that I am at all eager to do.

Please forward/help... thank you.

BrianfromNO · ‎03-16-2006

I gave you the advice most likely to get you any kind of results. Nobody from AT&T is going to serendipitously forward this to someone who'll magically have the ability to wave a wand and make this go away. I've spoken with tech support 3 times in the last 2 weeks regarding ongoing reception issues I'm having, and they can't even connect me to someone in engineering who can help resolve specific, long-term coverage issues near my home. AT&T's customer service apparatus is so big and disjointed that sometimes you have to escalate to get a resolution.

Timfan wrote:
Would any of the helpful employees you reference be willing to forward this post to someone at AT&T that would be willing to at least investigate and hopefully resolve this situation? I surely would like to have some closure and put all of this behind me. AND I would like to get AT&T and my iPhone back (heck, I will even buy a new one)! I really don't know where else to turn at this point - except for "calling the office of the President", or getting my attorney involved. The first sounds like desperation (and not too likely at success) and the second is not something that I am at all eager to do.

Please forward/help... thank you.

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

OK. Thank you for the advice. It is very much appreciated.

However, I am of the opinion that if AT&T's customer service is truly this lousy, then they do not deserve any more of my valuable time - or my business. I will wait for the Verizon or T-Mobile iPhone. Or, learn to love the Droid. I will also begin discontinuing all of our corporate business with AT&T entirely. I have had enough.

Thanks agin.

Wild Banchi · ‎12-11-2009

The Verizon iPhone is a long-lasting, pretty false rumor. While some people say it's going to come in January 2011, it's still completely undecided.

But good luck.

Remember that Wild Banchi... 1993-2010

BrianfromNO · ‎03-16-2006

I'd suggest you go check out the other carriers' forums...they're ALL pretty lousy. T-Mobile might be a notch above the rest, but if you ask customers of any of the carriers you will hear horror stories.

You do need to do something about this bill. It will not go away, and AT&T will turn you over to collections if it goes unpaid long enough. And I've yet to see you admit an iota of responsibility for this situation. Like it or not, this is at least partially your fault. Data plans are provisioned on a per device basis, so there's no reason to think that international plans aren't handled the same way. There is NO account-wide international data plan that covers all your devices. Your iPhone AND your data card EACH need its own international data plan add-on. Not sure where you got the info that a single add-on would cover both your devices for one price.

Timfan wrote:
OK. Thank you for the advice. It is very much appreciated.

However, I am of the opinion that if AT&T's customer service is truly this lousy, then they do not deserve any more of my valuable time - or my business. I will wait for the Verizon or T-Mobile iPhone. Or, learn to love the Droid. I will also begin discontinuing all of our corporate business with AT&T entirely. I have had enough.

Thanks agin.

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

You are right, I should have been more specific when I called. I know where I went wrong. When I called, AT&T asked for my account number. I said I did not have it (I was traveling as usual) so I gave them my phone number at their request. However, I did ask them to put ALL numbers on the account (same bill for iPhone and data card) on the International Plan. They only setup the iPhone for some reason. I would have very happily paid for a second international plan had they said I needed one for the data card. They did not mention it and I assumed I was covered.

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

Caretaker,

THANK YOU for responding!!!!

{Personal content removed for your safety}

I am really looking forward to your call!

Best,

Tim

Starfall · ‎12-14-2007

Uh dude, you might want to delete your personal info from that post. Assuming you were contacted via Private Message, you should respond the same.

Timfan · ‎08-06-2010

I know! I tried, but it won't let me! The AT&T Caretaker does not accept private messages - yet they sent me one! I need to respond somehow lest they think I don't care...