Unexpected charge for mobile purchases [ Edited ]

[rkavikon]

My initial complaint to ATT wireless customer service.

Since 2010 January, I have been charged a total of $745.45 for  "monthly subscriptions" in the "Mobile Purchases & Downloads" category.  I never ordered these subscriptions, let alone received them. I have no idea what these charges were and who provided these services and for what benefit. Please issue a credit of $745.45 to my next bill. And please stop these charges from recurring. I feel betrayed by AT&T of the trust I had in AT&T being fiscally responsible in handling customer account billing.

ATT response...

Thank you for contacting AT&T about your wireless service....I apologize that you were not aware of these charges being billed to you        or do not recall subscribing to these services. Mobile Purchase services        can be subscribed to via text or telephone advertisement and online        through the content provider?s website. We realize that these do occur        accidentally and in some cases your device may not be in your possession at the time the purchase was made....We cannot go        back 4 years as according to your contract you have 100 days to notify        us in writing of any billing disputed...Your new balance is -169.89 (Credit) which will be  reflecting on your next statement.       

My response on 4th July 2012...

Thanks for the e-mail and the adjustments.

I am really surprised that a reputed company like AT&T is hiding behind some legalese to correct such an unfair trade practise, no matter how long ago the practise occurred. I always thought AT&T is fair in its business dealings and always gives customers good service and never bills a penny of unauthorised charges. I am proven wrong again and it seems so do millions of customers who went through this kind of mess, spending valuable personal time and going through mental agony to correct the mistake that was AT&T's sole doing.

The key business practise should be that the customer must be made explicitly aware of the services provided, written/verbal/e-mail consent undertaken and charges applied only then those charges become legitimate. None of this occurred and there is no record of any such service provided to me over the period of years when these charges have been made to my account or my usage of any of the so called services!

The basic premise is AT&T should just provide the wireless telephone services that I signed up for and not any add-ons without my explicit written/oral/e-mail acceptance. Any add-on services should be on the basis of opt-in and not opt-out basis. I guess AT&T failed again in this respect.

AT&T is fully responsible for all those charges, no matter when they were made in the interest of fair play, honesty and pure organizational morality. Not sure if AT&T is a moral organization now with all the stuff going on with these unfair billings!

I request you to please provide the postal address details of VP of customer service, CEO of AT&T  so that I can send a registered letter to them explaining all this and more so that they can make a decision on how they want AT&T to be perceived in the public eye with these kind of unfair practises going on right under their own stewardship. If they too don't care, I will think that I have lost all that money AT&T shamelessly seized from me at a gambling place in Las Vegas!!!

But I promise you that I will not rest till I made complaints to FTC, FCC and Attorney General of State of Texas on these unfair trade practises!

Thanks again for your prompt reply, I wish AT&T billing was as responsible as you are, so all this unnecessary communication could have been avoided and I would have enjoyed my 4 th of July Independence day in a much better mood.

My further actions...

Compalined to FCC Ref # 12-C00407809

Complained to FTC 38499975

Complained to Attorney General of Texas

Tomorrows actions...

Complain to BBB

Somehow find the addresses of CEO Mr. Randall Stephenson and VP of Customer Service and send registwered letters...

As you can see I am trying to fight my best to right a wrong!!!

Thanks for reading, I am pained deeply to have to write like this about AT&T after being a loyal customer for 15 years!!!

<CM edit - post moved/subject updated>

[jamileh]

I'm very sorry that you had such a  high, unexpected bill. 

As you've no doubt learned, mobile purchases can be competed by anyone who has the access to either your phone or who has a phone on your account. 

I appreciate your detailed feedback and thank you for the time and patience you've had during this situation. 

Did the person who helped you with the credits discuss Purchase Blocker? I highly recommend you place this on your phone, as well as any other phones associated with your account. 

[ujmnz]

I don't understand, so since January of 2010, you never looked at the bill to see what you were being charged for? This could have been avoided by adding the free purchase blocker feature after the first bill.

Usually, with those types of charges, they are only allowed to refund 2 months back, it used to be 3 months back.

[LezliA]

I am sorry but I dont feel I should have to double check my bill every month. I trusted ATT and found out 2 of my numbers have been charged for mobile apps for over a year! Just 5.99 for 1 and 3.99 for the other but that adds up. I know my wife nor I ordered the crap. Call me negligent for not checking if you want,,,but I shouldnt have to and I think ATT counts on us not looking...My bill is PAGES long. I got things like unlimited messsaging so I wouldnt have to worry about overages. All I do is check data use once in awhile to make sure no one goes over....

[jamileh]

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LezliA wrote:

I am sorry but I dont feel I should have to double check my bill every month. I trusted ATT and found out 2 of my numbers have been charged for mobile apps for over a year! Just 5.99 for 1 and 3.99 for the other but that adds up. I know my wife nor I ordered the crap. Call me negligent for not checking if you want,,,but I shouldnt have to and I think ATT counts on us not looking...My bill is PAGES long. I got things like unlimited messsaging so I wouldnt have to worry about overages. All I do is check data use once in awhile to make sure no one goes over....

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I'm sorry that you were charged for services you do not want. Typically, these subscription charges are buried in the terms the third party offers. 

We'd be happy to take a look at your account, see what we can do and make sure that Purchase Blocker is applied to all your lines. 

Will you please send me a private message with your name, account number, phone number and the best time to contact you?




To send a private message, you can either click on the link in this message or click on the little blue envelope in the upper right hand corner, click "compose new message" and type my username in the "Send To" field.