An open letter to Andrew G, Senior Executive Vice President, AT&T Business and Home Solutions [ Edited ]

[rhoskins1976]

Andrew G

Senior Executive Vice President, AT&T Business and Home Solutions

Dear Mr. G:

                I have heard you are the type of executive that can make positive changes at AT&T, for the benefit of both AT&T and your customers.  I have been an AT&T Uverse (Internet & TV) customer for more than three years and have a few issues with your services.   Let me give you the history of the issues I am having your AT&T services.

                Sometime in 2011, my DVR box quit working.  AT&T sent out a field technician to replace the DVR box.  Great service and I was a happy Uverse customer.   In February 2012, the new DVR box quit working.  This time your tech support opted to send me a new DVR box via UPS.  Not a problem for me, because I would get the box about a day sooner than a field technician could get to my house and I am sure it was cheaper for AT&T.  It sounded like a win-win for me and AT&T, but it wasn’t!  In hindsight and if I knew then, what I know now, I would have forced AT&T to send a field technician out to my home to replace the DVR box.

                In March 2012, I was billed for the unreturned broken DVR box.  I called AT&T customer care and was told it was my responsibility to take your broken DVR box to UPS (a 20 mile round trip for me) for return.  I got a bit upset and decided to cancel one of my receivers (which I did return to AT&T.)  I was sent an empty box with a UPS label.  The UPS box was the wrong size and the paperwork in the box was for the receiver that I had cancelled.  While I have never received a UPS box for the broken DVR box, the instructions clearly state:

“Call UPS at 1-800-PICK-UPS (1-800-742-5877) to arrange for package pickup from your residence if you are unable to deliver the package to a UPS drop-off location.  The cost of this pickup service is the responsibility of the customer.”

                Why would I have to pay for pickup service for UPS for your broken DVR box?  Why doesn’t AT&T send someone to pick up your broken DVR box at no cost to the customer?  The answer that I keep getting from your customer care representatives is that it is AT&T’s policy.  The problem is not with your customer service, as much as it is with the policies that they are bound to convey to the customer.  Who has the power within AT&T to change your customer unfriendly policy?  The answer is you!

                I had an AT&T field technician come to my house a few days ago to fix an unrelated problem.  He did fix the problems and did a great job!  However, when I asked him to take the broken DVR box with him, he told me that he couldn’t do that because it would cause inventory problems for his unit and it is against AT&T policy for him to pick up AT&T broken equipment, unless he personally replaced that equipment.

                On a different note, why is it so cumbersome to get through the various departments within AT&T customer service?  Every time I was bounced from one department to another (accounts receivable to billing to tech support,) I had to give my name, account number, and 4 digit passcode.   Why can’t that information, while I am passed on to the next department, also be passed on to save me time, as well as, the time that your representatives are spending looking up information that AT&T should already have available?  It sounds like a technical problem that really good technical telecommunications company should be able solve for you.  My apologies for sounding sarcastic, but…

                On a positive note, almost every one of your customer care representatives was polite, empathetic, caring, and did everything they could possibly do for me within their guidelines and AT&T’s policies.  First level support is a very difficult job and almost all of them are very good at their jobs!

                Please contact me to resolve this issue.  My AT&T account number is XXXXXXXXXXXXXX and my cell phone is (XXX)XXX-XXXX.

Sincerely,

Ron 

P.S.  The PS is just for this forum posting.  I will be sending the above letter to Mr. G by next week and have X’d out my phone number and account number.  However, AT&T can find out who I am via my registration, if they so choose.  I would welcome AT&T to contact me before Mr. G gets the snailmail letter.   Thanks again!!!

{personal content removed for safety}

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Send a PM to Alex who is an AT&T Community Manager on this forum.

Also, check the settings on your account to make sure that you will receive email notification when a PM is received on this forum.

[oufanindallas]

I've had TWC, Dish and Direct and it's the customers responsibility to return the equipment.  While it may be an inconvience, you want UPS to come to your house, you pay for it. If you drop it off at a UPS store, it's free, all you need is the number that AT&T provides to you. 

[rhoskins1976]

Oufanindallas – I think you missed the point.  If I was cancelling service, then I might agree with you.  When AT&T rents equipment that doesn’t work, which in turn means I am paying for services that I am not receiving, then the entire onus is on AT&T to fix their problem.

[Edited to comply with Guidelines]

[Computer-Joe]

---

oufanindallas wrote:

I've had TWC, Dish and Direct and it's the customers responsibility to return the equipment.  While it may be an inconvience, you want UPS to come to your house, you pay for it. If you drop it off at a UPS store, it's free, all you need is the number that AT&T provides to you. 

---

Yes it's the customers responsibility, but unlike AT&T, Dish sends you a box, with a prepaid UPS label, and the box can be dropped off at any UPS store or picked up at your home at no extra charge.

__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

[skeeterintexas]

When we had Comcast, I had to return a box because it didn't work and had to take it to their office. Thank goodness, it is near my house. 

I forgot a power cord and was told that I would be charged $40 if I didn't return it too before my billing date so I had to make 2 trips to their office and stand in line twice.  

My daughter was having problems with her TW internet and they told her just to bring her modem to the service center and they'd give her a new one.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

Computer-Joe wrote:

Yes it's the customers responsibility, but unlike AT&T, Dish sends you a box, with a prepaid UPS label, and the box can be dropped off at any UPS store or picked up at your home at no extra charge.

---

If a customer is unable to drop the equipment off at an authorized UPS Store, AT&T will send them a box along with a prepaid mailing label. The customer then has to pack the equipment themselves.  They can then drop it off at any UPS pickup location, or pay for UPS to come pick up the package at their location.

[rhoskins1976]

You are all really missing the whole point, so I will try one last time.  AT&T’s terms of service(TOS) or legal agreement between the customer and AT&T states:

http://www.att.com/u-verse/att-terms-of-service.jsp

Specifically, regarding return of equipment:

                “Return of Equipment. Upon termination of the Services, for whatever reason, you must return the Equipment, undamaged, within 21 calendar days to AT&T. If the Equipment is not returned within 21 calendar days, or is returned damaged, you will be charged for the value of the Equipment. We may retain any advance payment or deposit, or portion thereof that previously had not been refunded, if you fail to return the Equipment within this time period. If the Equipment is returned within 90 days of termination, any fees charged for the Equipment will be refunded (other than fees for damages). No refunds will be made for any Equipment returned more than 90 days after termination.”

I did NOT terminate my services with AT&T.  The DVR box in question is defective equipment that AT&T installed in my home.   AT&T tech support sent me a replacement via UPS which currently works just fine.

Nothing in the TOS requires the customer to return defective equipment to AT&T, unless the Services have been terminated.  Since the Services have NOT been terminated, it is AT&T’s responsibility to deal with their defective equipment.

Of course, the letter went out in snailmail today to the Senior Executive Vice President, AT&T Business and Home Solutions.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

rhoskins1976 wrote:

Nothing in the TOS requires the customer to return defective equipment to AT&T, unless the Services have been terminated.  Since the Services have NOT been terminated, it is AT&T’s responsibility to deal with their defective equipment.

---

If you feel that way, don't return the equipment. When you are charged with the cost of the unreturned equipment, perhaps you will change your viewpoint.

Until a couple of years ago, U-verse did not ship any replacement equipment to customers. All equipment replacements required the customer to stay home and wait for a visit from a technician. I recall reading numerous complaints about that policy here on the forum. Now that U-verse will ship replacement equipment to customers without requiring a visit from a technician, I guess I should not be surprise that some would complain about that also. No matter what happens or what policies are in place, there will always be those who will complain.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

One question ... if you didn't return the defective DVR box, where is it now? Do you still have it? If you do, perhaps you could arrange to return it and this problem might go away.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

According to section 6c of the Terms of Service Agreement , if the equipment is returned within 90 days after it is removed from you account, the equipment charge will be credited back to your account.  After 90 days, no refund will be given.

[SomeJoe7777 ACE - Geek]

True, it does state that, but if there's ANY resolution that could be had (especially going through the Executive department), it would almost certainly require that he still be able to return the unit.

[Computer-Joe]

---

texasguy37 wrote:

According to section 6c of the Terms of Service Agreement , if the equipment is returned within 90 days after it is removed from you account, the equipment charge will be credited back to your account.  After 90 days, no refund will be given.

---

Actually the agreement says, "If the Equipment is returned within 90 days of termination, any fees charged for the Equipment will be refunded (other than fees for damages)."

That whole paragraph only covers Termination of Services. Nothing about defective equipment anywhere.

So the OP may have won the battle, but will still lose the war against the likes of AT&T.

__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

On two occasions, I have been shipped replacement equipment.  On both occasions, I received the instructions shown below by both email and a letter received in the US Mail:

RETURN POLICY

• Failure to return your equipment in undamaged condition within 21 days of the service change/disconnect date will result in an equipment charge to be billed to your account or credit card.
  We encourage you to initiate your return within 10 days to avoid charges being billed to your account while equipment is being shipped.
• The charge will be removed from your account if the equipment is received in undamaged condition within 90 days of the service change/disconnect date.
• Any concealed damage that is determined to be the result of abuse will result in a charge to your AT&T account. For damage disputes, please contact AT&T at 1.800.288.2020.
• Please allow one to two billing cycles for the credit to be applied. 

I complied with the instructions and returned the equipment to UPS.

[rhoskins1976]

I will now state that writing a letter and mailing it via snailmail to AT&T’s Senior Executive Vice-President will produce results, as long as the customer is not in clear violation of the Terms of Service (TOS.)  I mailed the letter last week and talked to a representative from the office of the Vice-President for AT&T yesterday.

I just told him the facts.  AT&T replaced their third defective DVR, since I have had Uverse by sending me a replacement via UPS.  Then, AT&T expected me to drive a 20 mile round trip to drop the defective DVR at a UPS store or pay for the UPS pickup fee, which is only $5.  I have already been inconvenienced, so why would AT&T want to inconvenience me more and at my cost?

About two weeks ago, an AT&T field tech came to my house to replace some outside equipment and replace my defective modem.  He took the defective modem with him but refused to take the defective DVR because it would mess up their inventory and that I needed to take it to UPS.  Why couldn’t the field tech have taken the defective DVR with him and shipped it wherever it needs to go?

The representative agreed with every point I made.  I offered to pack the defective DVR, if AT&T would send me a UPS box and pay for the pickup charge.  He preferred to have the field tech team solve the problem, since they should have picked up the DVR in the first place.  He also agreed that, in the case of defective equipment, AT&T should be paying the UPS pickup costs.

Today, I got a call from the field tech manager who wanted to send a tech to my house at 2PM to pick up the equipment.  Right at 2PM (no 3 hour window,) the field tech was at my door and picked up AT&T’s defective DVR.

This issue is now resolved to my satisfaction.  Sometimes it does take a letter to a Senior Executive to get a large corporation to listen to a valid customer issue and I would encourage others to do the same.

[RCSMG ACE - Master]

Thanks for posting and I'm glad to know those issues got resolved.  It has been my experience that 1 snail mail letter will get more effective results than many phone calls and emails.  And sending snail mail would not hurt the USPS's feelings either.

[Computer-Joe]

---

texasguy37 wrote:

On two occasions, I have been shipped replacement equipment.  On both occasions, I received the instructions shown below by both email and a letter received in the US Mail:

RETURN POLICY

• Failure to return your equipment in undamaged condition within 21 days of the service change/disconnect date will result in an equipment charge to be billed to your account or credit card.
  We encourage you to initiate your return within 10 days to avoid charges being billed to your account while equipment is being shipped.
• The charge will be removed from your account if the equipment is received in undamaged condition within 90 days of the service change/disconnect date.
• Any concealed damage that is determined to be the result of abuse will result in a charge to your AT&T account. For damage disputes, please contact AT&T at 1.800.288.2020.
• Please allow one to two billing cycles for the credit to be applied. 

I complied with the instructions and returned the equipment to UPS.

---

And the problem with that letter is it still does not cover defectiveequipment, only changing or disconnecting service. In other words, you're returning equipment because you don't want it any more (your choice).

How can you possibly return a broken DVR undamaged?

__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

Computer-Joe wrote:

And the problem with that letter is it still does not cover defectiveequipment, only changing or disconnecting service. In other words, you're returning equipment because you don't want it any more (your choice).

How can you possibly return a broken DVR undamaged?

---

Your comments are rather silly.  If you are shipped replacement equipment and receive an email and a letter with instructions to return the equipment being replaced, you need to return the old equipment.  There is no need to play semantics about whether or not the wording in the letter applies to your situation because you would not have received the email or letter unless you are to return the equipment being replaced.  Follow the instructions and return the equipment.

By the way, there is a difference between defective equipment (i.e. non-working equipment) and damaged equipment.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

Computer-Joe wrote:

And the problem with that letter is it still does not cover defectiveequipment, only changing or disconnecting service. In other words, you're returning equipment because you don't want it any more (your choice).

---

One more thing.  Here is the first part of the email which I did not previously post:

Dear Valued AT&T Customer:

As you know, the equipment used with your AT&T U-verse® services is provided on a rental basis and must be returned to us when no longer in use. AT&T U-verse is pleased to work with The UPS Store® to ensure you have the easiest customer experience possible.

You have received this letter because you are:

1. Reducing the number of AT&T U-verse TV receivers
2. Discontinuing your AT&T U-verse services, or
3. Replacing defective equipment

[rhoskins1976]

While your quote is what the letter actually states, reality is very different.  Both AT&T and the customer are bound by the Terms of Service (TOS,) that they both agreed to when the service was initiated.  Nothing in the TOS addresses defective equipment.  The letter is not legally binding on the customer.

The retrieval of defective equipment is the responsibility of AT&T.  The customer is only required to make the equipment available to AT&T for pick up, within reason.  The customer does have the choice to do AT&T a favor and deliver the equipment to a UPS store for return, but is not legally required to do so.  AT&T has the choice to send a field tech or a UPS pickup service to the customer’s residence to retrieve the equipment.

In my case, AT&T chose to send a field tech to my residence to pick up their defective equipment.  AT&T did their part and I did mine. While AT&T is sometimes difficult to do business with, overall, for a company as large as AT&T, I am very satisfied with their services and their customer support. 

Discussing a letter, which is legally unenforceable and not reality, is really a waste of time.

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

rhoskins1976 wrote:

Discussing a letter, which is legally unenforceable and not reality, is really a waste of time.

---

Is that the reason that you are posting again on this topic?

[rhoskins1976]

---

texasguy37 wrote:

---

rhoskins1976 wrote:

Discussing a letter, which is legally unenforceable and not reality, is really a waste of time.

---

Is that the reason that you are posting again on this topic?

---

Yes, that is one reason.  The other reason is to correct this misinformation:

---

texasguy37 wrote:

If you are shipped replacement equipment and receive an email and a letter with instructions to return the equipment being replaced, you need to return the old equipment.

---

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

rhoskins1976 wrote:

Yes, that is one reason.  The other reason is to correct this misinformation:

---

Misinformation would be the statement of  something that is factually not true.  The words contained in the email and letter are as I have posted in my previous message.  The words have not been altered; therefore, stating the unaltered contents of the email and letter, as I have done, is not misinformation.  Whether or not you feel that you are required to comply with the instructions contained in the letter is your choice.

[skeeterintexas]

Hold up...hold up....are you telling me that when my DVR went bad and they sent me a new, I DIDN'T have to pack it up and drive to the UPS store and mail it back to them? 

If I had just stomped my feet and has a hissy fit, they would've sent someone TO MY HOUSE to get it.

Shoot...I need to remember that for next time....

[Computer-Joe]

---

texasguy37 wrote:

---

Computer-Joe wrote:

And the problem with that letter is it still does not cover defectiveequipment, only changing or disconnecting service. In other words, you're returning equipment because you don't want it any more (your choice).

---

One more thing.  Here is the first part of the email which I did not previously post:

Dear Valued AT&T Customer:

As you know, the equipment used with your AT&T U-verse® services is provided on a rental basis and must be returned to us when no longer in use. AT&T U-verse is pleased to work with The UPS Store® to ensure you have the easiest customer experience possible.

You have received this letter because you are:

1. Reducing the number of AT&T U-verse TV receivers
2. Discontinuing your AT&T U-verse services, or
3. Replacing defective equipment

---

See, now you're just like AT&T, withholding important details until it's too late.

__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

Too late for what?

[Computer-Joe]

In the words of Foghorn Leghorn: That’s a joke, I say that’s a joke son

 


__________________________________________________________
How can you be in two places at once, when your not anywhere at all?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I really want to become a procrastinator, but I keep putting it off.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are three kinds of people, those that can count, and those that can't.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Our great democracies still tend to think that a stupid man is more likely to be honest than a clever man, and our politicians take advantage of this prejudice by pretending to be even more stupid than nature has made them." :Bertrand Russell

[dhascall ACE - Professor]

That is one of the things that I detest about AT&T.  Doing "repairs" via UPS.  I feel that is why I pay lease fees on the equipment.

One of the big things about sending out a replacement DVR is that there is usually an underlying issue and often the DVR isn't bad but the install / wiring / RG / etc is broken, instead.

I also believe in prepaid return boxes when AT&T does do "repair via UPS."   I would be more inclined to drive, at my expense, to the UPS store, if I wasn't paying equipment fees.  And then I have oodles of cables to swap out and so on.

Now, I did receive a remote via UPS and that was okay as they told me that I keep the broken one. 

I do feel that the OP went a bit dramatic with his plea but I do see his point. 

Sorry that I'm a ramblin' man, but you see, I was born in the back of a Greyhound bus, rollin down highway 41....

[texasguy37 ACE - Champion]

---

dhascall wrote:

That is one of the things that I detest about AT&T.  Doing "repairs" via UPS.  I feel that is why I pay lease fees on the equipment.

---

If you feel that way, my strong suggestion for you is to never subscribe to DirecTV or Dish Network.  They also charge you for any visits from a technician unless you pay a monthly fee for maintenance.  This is in addition to any monthly equipment fees that you pay.

[dhascall ACE - Professor]

---

texasguy37 wrote:

---

dhascall wrote:

That is one of the things that I detest about AT&T.  Doing "repairs" via UPS.  I feel that is why I pay lease fees on the equipment.

---

If you feel that way, my strong suggestion for you is to never subscribe to DirecTV or Dish Network.  They also charge you for any visits from a technician unless you pay a monthly fee for maintenance.  This is in addition to any monthly equipment fees that you pay.

---

I do feel that way and shame on them both!  But Dish and Direct would be non players for me as the wifey would not allow a dish.  At any rate, that is only one of the few beefs that I have with AT&T.  Again my main two points are 1) the DVR isn;'usually bad - it's something else and 2) the two times that I had my DVR replaced, the techs had all kinds of issues provisioning the new box in the system.  If they had issues I bet I would too.

Hopefully car makers won't follow AT&T's lead.  "Oh, your water pump must be out, in your new Camry.  We'll UPS you one right out and you fix it."  Lol and no thanks!