Bait and Switch

[MasonDixon77]

Back in March of this year I called to get information about U-Verse service.  I was told by CSRep "Sam" that he would give me the best deal possible on TV and internet, which included the 18Mbs speed for the price of the 6Mb speed at $35/month.  Sam told me that this price would be "locked in" for as long as I lived at that address - that it would not expire until I moved.  I confirmed this three times with Sam.

Fast forward to last Thursday when I receive a postcard in the mail saying that I've been billed incorrectly and that I would notice and increase in my future invoices.  I call to find out what's going on and the CSR tells me that my bill is going to be increased by $30 a month.  She then tells me that the $35 deal on 18Mbs does exist, just not in my area and that there was nothing she could do about it - even after explaining to her what Sam had promised me.  So, I asked for her supervisor, Betty, who also told me that there was nothing she could do, regardless of what Sam had sold me. 

Now I'm waiting between 24-48 hours for Sam's manager, Matthew, to call me back.  Matthew is supposed to have listened to our sales call by then, though my hopes at resolving this are very low.  In the real world, we call this "bait and switch".  Don't like your new price?  oh well, too bad.

I can't imagine that losing me as a customer is worth $30 a month, considering that if I cancel my subscription they'll be losing a customer and the ~$140 I pay them already.  Customer Service is not supposed to be this difficult.  Any ideas about how I should handle this when Matthew calls me back?

-Matt

[Raincheque_1]

That's a very crappy situation. I'm sure the Sales rep (they aren't CSR, customer service, they are sales) didn't do this on purpose, although he was probablly trying his hardest to make the sale. It sounds like you ordered over the phone? Maybe he mistakenly offered the wrong promo. If this is the case, and obviously they were able to apply it then it is only good customer service to honor that offer, along with educating the rep that sold it to you.

I would argue the point that it was offered and they are able to apply it, why are they going to take back what they offered? You didn't do anything wrong. You chose to sign up based on what you were told, it is not your responsibility to check what market the offer is good for. Ask them if you were supposed to research where the offer is avilable.

I'm sorry they are giving you the run around here, but as long as you are calm and collected about it (which it seems you are), and a bit forceful they will understand.

For future refrence and for others that may want to sign up it is always a good idea to find a corperate at&t retail store, they sell Uverse and other home services, but you have an actual person there that you can talk to face to face if you have issues like this.

[mkoegle]

a.) where do you live where u were told max18 is 35$ a month

b.) a elite 6mbps down 1mbps up is 35$ a month

c.) everyone else who has uverse pays around the same amount for their internet service.

d.) if your bill was ever that price. im moving in.

pretty much if all prices are that cheap its usually because of what you had was a buy 2 get 1 free promo which att has.

where u bundle TV/HSI/VOIP (phone) all together you get 30$ off your HSI bill for 6 months

so basically that 30$ discount u were getting is 30$ off for 6mo, = 180$

just telling you, if u can get that price back to 35$ a month, that would be a miracle.

btw this was copied over from another thread.

[AnonHelp]

AT&T did not have the Buy 2 products, get 1 free back in March.

MasonDixon77 check your PM's

[mkoegle]

then i do not know. thats waht i would have thought it was.

[MasonDixon77]

I'm sure that Sam did make a mistake, but you're right.  They were able to apply whatever promotion it was then, and they should honor the offer Sam made to me.  And yes, it was $35 for 18Mbs "locked in" until I move out of that house.  He was very specific about that point.

Bottom line, whether Sam or AT&T made a mistake or not, they need to honor our agreement.

What's interesting, and what I didn't mention above, is that I called and set up service from work.  I work in Customer Service and we record all incoming and outgoing calls, so I have the entire conversation with Sam recorded and on my desktop.  I listened again, and Sam specifically says that I'm getting the 18Mbs for the price of the Elite Service ($35) and that that price is "locked in" for as long as I live in the house.

They need to make this right.

[mkoegle]

so call att. and tell them they need to investigate the phone call where it said that. and they would have to honor that.

give specific time and date with that.

trust me. if its recorded which all att calls are recorded, they will go back and honor that if they have to

[MasonDixon77]

Well, it's been over 48 hours - almost 72 hours now - and no return phone call from Matt, the Customer Service Manager over the salesman, Sam, who gave me the deal.  One would think that in these slow economic times, customer service would be a priority to large companies like AT&T, but I don't see it.

The frustration now is that if I want to call back and try to find this Matt person, it's just going to be a complete cluster.

Why?!  Why do you forsake me, AT&T?!?!?!?  I'm sooo done with this.  Guess I'll check out Fios or someone else.

[AnonHelp]

Check your private messages

[MasonDixon77]

Public Utilities Commission:

    I wish to make a complaint against AT&T:

   On 9 March, 2009 I contacted the AT&T U-Verse Customer Service department to inquire about new service for cable TV and internet services.  My Sales/Customer Service Representative's name was Sam.  Sam told me that I could receive 18Mbs download speed for $35, and that this price would be "locked in" for as long as I maintained my current residence.  The total cost of my bill with the $35 for 18Mbs download plus the cable channels was $131 plus taxes, fees, etc.  Last month, approximately in early September, I received a postcard in the mail from AT&T indicating that my bill would be increased.  The post card did not indicate a reason for the increase, nor indicate by how much my bill would increase.

    On, or about, 22 September, 2009, I contacted AT&T to inquire as to why they were increasing the cost of my service.  I spoke first with a representative in the Customer Retention department who told me that the same service I had been getting for the past six months at a cost of $35 would now be charged at $65.  After explaining what Sam had told me, I was then transfered to Betty, a Supervisor in that department.  Betty said that there was nothing that she could do and that my bill was being increased because Sam had made a mistake.  I explained that Sam's mistake is AT&T's responsibility and that the company should respect and honor the price of the service AT&T agreed to provide and for which I agreed to pay - and have been paying since March.  Betty continued to say that there was nothing she could do, though with more prodding on my part, she finally stated that she would have Sam's manager call me back within 48 hours.

    After 72 hours and not receiving a call from AT&T, I called Betty again to inquire as to what was the status of my dispute.  I was told by Jason, another representative, that Betty had not heard back from the "higher-up" manager who was going to be making the decision whether or not to honor AT&T's commitment of price and service to me, and that she would call me when she did.  Jason told me that obviously Sam had made a mistake and that there was no reason to dispute my account of what had happened.  I finally received a call on, or about, 29 September, 2009 from Betty.  Betty explained that the "higher-up" manager had decided against my dispute, and that AT&T was going to begin charging me $65 instead of $35 for the my internet service. 

    I feel that AT&T should honor the price and service they offered me, of which I based my decision to use them as my cable and internet service provider.  I believe that what AT&T has done is no different than a "bait and switch" scam, and that AT&T has committed fraud by offering me a low price for service to gain me as a customer, then raised the price after I had committed to them.  I believe that AT&T should take responsibility for their representative's mistake and restore my internet service cost to $35.

    I have attached portions of the audio file of my conversation with Sam, in which he clearly and distinctly states that the price of $35 will be honored for as long as I lived in my current residence.  I have transcribed the recording here, in two sections:

[Recording: ATT1.wav]

Sam: Um, do you remember how I told you I was going to get you the best deal possible?

Me: Yeah.

Sam: Um, the best deal possible I have for you is... um, I'm going to get you that "Max 18"... uh, for the price of the "Elite".  So, that's $35 a month.

Me: Well, that'd be nice.

Sam: Uh, and that will stay, um, your price as long as you stay at your current address.

Me: Okay, awesome.

Sam: 'Kay, so... we did have you at, like I said, the $151.

Me: Uh, huh

Sam: that's back down to $131, like I said... like I told you with the "Elite".

Me: So, but I'm still getting 10 Megs?

Sam: No, you're getting 18.

Me: Oh, no kidding?  18 Megs for $131?

Sam: You got it.

Me: Wow Sam, that's a nice little deal there.

Sam: I told you I'd get you the best deal I could.

Me: [laughs]. And I, uh, that's, uh, so that's all the channels with whatever HD it comes with, that's the 18 Megs a second download, and, one additional [cable] box?

Sam: Uh,huh.  And there's a $100 cash back coming also.

Me: Uh, wow.

[Recording: ATT2.wav]

Me: So, go over the, the services with me again.  I know you... I know we talked about, there was 18 Megs on the internet, what were your premium channels again?  And you don't know how many of each there are?  It doesn't tell you that?

Sam: [describes quantity of channels in each premium package to include HD channels]

Me: Well, I tell you what, all of that is way more service than I get right now, and at $131 a month is cheaper than I pay now, so, I'd say it's a pretty good move.  And you say that those prices are locked in until I move?

Sam: Uh, well, the price on the internet is locked in.  On the internet you're paying $35...

Me:  Mm, hmm

Sam: and as long as you're at that residence it's going to be locked in for that...

Me: Ok...

Sam: Um, ...

Me: for the 18 Megs?

Sam: Yeah.

(If you would like me to send the entire recording, please let me know - I chose to portion the file as two attachments due to its large size.)

    One can see that AT&T made a specific offer, price and service, in order to convince me to switch from my previous service provider to AT&T, and then switched the price on me six months later, refusing to honor the pricing they agreed upon when service was established.  This is not a case of a misunderstanding, or of a short-term introductory offer that was due to expire at a given period of time.  As you can see from the transcript, Sam repeatedly explained that I would pay $35 for 18Mbs download speed, and that the $35 price would remain unchanged for as long as I lived in my current residence.

Any help the PUC can provide would be greatly appreciated.  Companies like AT&T should not be allowed to use their size to bully customers into paying higher charges for their mistakes.  I seek only to receive the internet portion of the service described for the price of $35, as promised by AT&T's representative, or an equivolent credit on my account of $30 per month for as long as I remain in my current residence.

Thank you,

[MasonDixon]

[dhascall ACE - Master]

Good for you!  Good luck!

[choco1122]

The $35 for the 18mbps is true in very limited areas. It is a $30 ongoing credit. But usually only for Dallas-Fortworth areas. I am sorry you had to deal with that situation and good for you with taking further action on this.

[spd2demun ACE - Expert]

I can confirm that as it's what I was told as well.

---

choco1122 wrote:
The $35 for the 18mbps is true in very limited areas. It is a $30 ongoing credit. But usually only for Dallas-Fortworth areas. I am sorry you had to deal with that situation and good for you with taking further action on this.

---

[1Screwvs]

I order u verse in early October... I had nothing less than 25 calls on my time to get my order right and service to my home. Just a night mare!!!! I talked to Ed, James, ect all acknowledging my problems and were sorry blah, blah.  They gave me a special discount for all my problems $109. a month till the end of April. Then $164. a month 55md internet. Well, just got my bill and not even close.  Called billing and no one has any information to verify my story.  I have a name of a supervisor that I had talked to about order, service problems and pricing  and they are still stiffing me. I have been with ATT forever. I have no respect 4 them at all. Bate and get screwed

[gbh62]

Interesting article about DirecTV.  I noticed the blurb in there about "customers not getting rebates they were promised".  Glad to know ATT is not alone in their use of this tactic.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/12/a-lawsuit-filed-this-week-by-washington-state-against-directv-could...

[Uniblurb3 ACE - Master]

Thanks for the info/link, gbh62

Know I had a terrible experience with Directv when I broke my contract early due to lack of signal.

Was at Best Buy the other day and they were running a special where Directv would give you $300 if you signed up for their service. Believe it included buying an expensive HDTV to qualify. Probably a deceptive offer and good luck getting your rebates/discounts especially when a 3rd party is involved.

edit. wrong smileys and smilies not working.

---

gbh62 wrote:

Interesting article about DirecTV.  I noticed the blurb in there about "customers not getting rebates they were promised".  Glad to know ATT is not alone in their use of this tactic. :smileymad:

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/12/a-lawsuit-filed-this-week-by-washington-state-against-directv-could...

---

Message Edited by Uniblurb3 on 12-18-2009 12:07 PM

[lnguyen919]

I've had U-verse (TV, HSI and Voice) for just 10 days and I've had so much trouble with AT&T. When I signed up, I was supposed to get $200 Reward plus free Internet for 6 months.

The installation day (12/8) U-verse sent out the first Tech who did the OUTSIDE wiring, then a second Tech came in, he also did some wiring outside and inside. U-verse came up after 4 hours, TV, Internet worked, Voice also worked but Alarm failed to communicate with Monitoring company. I did not know this until the next morning.

So, U-verse sent out a 3rd Tech, he could not fix it even I gave him a document I found on this forum (making Alarm line to have priority). So, he called his Senior Tech (at his home office) and they decided to put me back to AT&T Land line. AT&T had to give me a temporary Land number while they are trying to get my old number back from U-verse. Anyway, my Alarm was working with the Land line. It took them 9 days to port my number back and during this time, I have both Temp number and U-verse number.

Don't get me wrong, I think U-verse HDTV and Internet are very good, voice has little bit of echo'ing.

Well, the bill just arrived, they charged me $30 for Voice and no Free Internet, called up Billing and talked to a rude lady who said since I don't have Voice anymore (no bundle), I won't get $200 reward nor 6 month Free Internet, but she'll prorate the voice since I had U-verse voice for 10 days. I told her it was not my fault, I did not cancel U-verse voice but AT&T decided to move me back to Land line.

I ended up paying the whole month in full, no discount, no reward, nothing.

Only 10 days and I had to make at least 7 calls to AT&T, the bad thing is AT&T operates like two Companies, one is U-verse, one is Land/DSL/Cell, one knows nothing about the other, including billing.

I think I'll have to cancel the whole U-verse and go back with Comcast, one day in a near future I may come back to U-verse when they they know how to treat their Customers.

Message Edited by liem919 on 12-18-2009 06:26 PM

[fgrandt]

On 12/18 a AT&T door-to-door rep (college student on Christmas break) stopped by and I invited him in to hear his pitch. He said he could get me more features for less money than I was paying my current provider for bundled cable HDTV, digital phone and high speed internet. When he was all finished the price, after promotions was higher than what I was currently paying but I said I'd do it regardless - just because I wanted the flexibility of the Total Home DVR feature. I was getting one extra converter and slightly higher internet speed.

After the guy left I got on-line and priced the same package through the web site. My price with promotions on the web site turned out to be exactly the same as what I just signed up for. Just a different mix of promotions and rebates. Each packaged reverted to the standard price after the promotion discounts expired.

Then, a few days later, another AT&T door-to-door rep stopped by. I was at work but one of my kids called me and put the fellow on the line. I told him I just signed up for the service but it wasn't yet installed. He asked what kind of a deal I got. I told him what the package was and what the pricing would be, initially, then in 6 months and then in a year. He said he could beat the initial price by $10 a month, it wouldn't go up in 6 months and he could still throw in the $200 Visa card. I asked what happens after a year? He said 'Nothing, the price stays the same for as long as you have the service.' He went on to say he could cancel the order I placed a few days earlier and probably still get me the same install date. I said that all sounded good, let's get together and write it up. I said I'd be home at 6 and he said he'd be back and we'll get it done. He said his name was Joshua and he was the area manager. I didn't get a last name and I didn't get a phone number.

I waited that evening from 6 until 7:30 and then had to leave the house. He never showed and didn't call. Being rather miffed I call AT&T sales and they said they had no idea who Joshua was. I called the first rep (the college student) and explained the situation to him. He asked his manager to locate this Joshua but he couldn't find him either.

I am not even hooked up yet and I'm already leery of what's to come.

[RobR_1]

"'He said 'Nothing, the price stays the same for as long as you have the service.'" That is a lie plain and simple. This Joshua must just want a sale.

[Uniblurb3 ACE - Master]

I'd beware of any door-to-door sales people because they are not AT&T employees. They are subcontractors who will say/promise about anything to land the sale. Often their only commitment is to their wallet. There was one salesman that was posting on the forum a while ago that said he carries a whole bunch of different provider's applications in his briefcase. Don't want U-verse, how about Directv or TW?

[fgrandt]

I contend that any person authorized by AT&T, wearing a AT&T ID badge, making door to door sales calls, presenting AT&T services, signing the AT&T order worksheet indicating he is an AT&T sales agent, is indeed a bona fide representative of AT&T, whether a full time employee or not. Doesn't matter if he is salaried, hourly, or strictly paid a commision. He is AT&T.

[fgrandt]

He said he was the 'area (sales) manager' and had the authority to offer such a deal. Unfortunately, I haven't seen him since.