The frustration and dissapointment in the failure of what should be a gigantic enterprise that is built on a foundation made almost entirely of "service" is something I can empathize and agree with you on every level. I am constantly shocked by the lack of simply decent help from front line workers from every corner of the market. The medical field and government offices are no diffrent and are actually worse simply because of the harm inherent in the trust allowed to them. The only advise I felt strongly enough about to write a reply is for evryone reading to understand that whether or not 19 or even 18 for that matter, is considered still a child, by the definition of the rulling elite, you are an adult and fair game to everything adults are subjected. In fact, the younger you are, the bigger the target is that you have tattooed on your back. That target never goes away, it just fades and shrinks a bit with time. I really hate this in my fellow humans, but I acknowledge that it exhists no matter how much it disgusts me! [Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate].

[Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]. My opinion on the situation is, based on your post, you probably ramble on & on repeating the same things over & over to the reps until they're just tired of hearing you & don't feel like helping. You know the saying "treat others how you'd like to be treated"? well, it works both ways. If you expect another PERSON (they're not just CSR's) to act professional, then you should lead by example & act professional yourself. This fraud account is a symptom of an issue, not the issue itself. The fact that an account, or even a credit evaluation being run, without your knowledge is a possible sign of ID Theft. In cases like these where accounts are fraudulently activated AT&T is a victim as well since they give valuable equipment & service to someone & then have to write it off, thereby losing money because of the whole situation. Trust me, it is NOT AT&T's INTENTION to have fraudulent accounts opened up. It's bad for business in every possible respect. Try calling in again, staying calm this time, using a clear, concise vocabulary. Also, you may want to look into ways that you can get this stricken from your credit report & invest in some ways to protect yourself from ID Theft. The safety of your personal information is solely your responsibility, not AT&T's. The sooner you realize that, the better off you will be. I hope everything works out for the best!

Fine.. I am legally an adult.

This was a compilation of different complaints I sent to different people over the spend of my problem. So I know it's nothing but me repeating myself. Every time I call.. I am polite in telling them my problem (the 10 times I called). I've only called once to complain about it and was treated like I was stupid (I am a person too). You probably think I am  stupid and I won't argue with you... but it doesn't mean they have to treat me so rudely and not help me. If at&t is a victim they should be trying to help me get this over with so that we both can not have the problem any longer. I call politely (even the person I complained to) and I don't get that back.

I am well aware I am the only one who can set up protection for my self against identity theft. All I expect from at&t is to help me solve it. Instead of telling me I shouldn't bother filing a police report because no one will care, when I politely ask questions about the account.

But yeah your right.. It's probably my fault that I was assaulted and my purse was stolen physically from my hands. I'm so sorry to at&t that I let that happened. Now the thief or whoever he sold my cards to is free to open account with at&t and at&t gets no money from it. I truly feel bad for what I did to at&t. 

I am not a well spoken person but I am polite to every single one of the unhelpful employees I spoke to never ever getting politeness or helpfulness back.

I think you need to start talking to Police, you said there is a house where the service is hooked up to, that's where the real "bad guy" is.

I would If i could get more information from att.

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ilikecallingcallcenters wrote:

I would If i could get more information from att.

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Thank you Wild Banchi, I appreciate that.

Seriously?  You're nice with fraud departments for your father?  You call 10 times a day about the same thing?  Maybe if you don't set up services, there wouldn't be any bunny quotes fraud.

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ilikecallingcallcenters wrote:

Thank you Wild Banchi, I appreciate that.

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Javeon wrote:

Maybe if you don't set up services, there wouldn't be any bunny quotes fraud.

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"Recently AT&T has allowed someone to open a land-line under my name with my social security number at an address I have never seen before in my life. I’M NOT EVEN AN AT&T CUSTOMER. I’m 19 years old. I don’t own or rent any sort of residence. The cell phone I use is with Verizon under my parents account. AND the internet i use is a broadband2go with virgin mobile"

First concern would be identity theft - if the have your SSN then that is a very critical issue. This is more of a case of that then anything else. If they had the required personal information to open a ATT landline account then they can also open credit cards and all other sorts of financial accounts under your identitiy.

Would suggest that you look at the overall picture and contact the credit reporting companies and start digging into what else has been opened in your name and your ssn and how they got the information.

You need to realize that is a applicant can supply the needed personal information to open any type of account, then they will proceed on the assumption that everything is valid. This is ANY company - phone, utilities, credit cards, bank loans, etc

Hello everyone, let's remember to stay on topic and always keep it nice. Thank you.

BrianPower wrote:

My opinion on the situation is, based on your post, you probably ramble on & on repeating the same things over & over to the reps until they're just tired of hearing you & don't feel like helping.

You don't have nearly enough information from her post to make a judgement like that.  You're just being insulting.  She's obviously angry and has every right to be.  AT&T should be bending over backwards to fix a problem like this.  Even if you were right, who cares if they feel like helping or not, they are getting paid to do a job, period. 

If you expect another PERSON (they're not just CSR's) to act professional, then you should lead by example & act professional yourself.

Here is the flaw in your argument, the CSR is the only one in the situation who actually IS a professional.  Therefore they should act that way no matter what the customer is like. 

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Bwolffdrums wrote:

BrianPower wrote:

My opinion on the situation is, based on your post, you probably ramble on & on repeating the same things over & over to the reps until they're just tired of hearing you & don't feel like helping.

 

You don't have nearly enough information from her post to make a judgement like that.  You're just being insulting.  She's obviously angry and has every right to be.  AT&T should be bending over backwards to fix a problem like this.  Even if you were right, who cares if they feel like helping or not, they are getting paid to do a job, period. 

 

If you expect another PERSON (they're not just CSR's) to act professional, then you should lead by example & act professional yourself.

 

Here is the flaw in your argument, the CSR is the only one in the situation who actually IS a professional.  Therefore they should act that way no matter what the customer is like. 

 

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The thing thast is being missed - and this is true for any organization that takes information to open an account over the internet or via phone.... If the person on the other end supplies personal information that is valid and verifiable to opent he account and they do open the account then what did they do wrong? Remove ATT from the equation and put in Chase Bank, US Bank, HSBC or any other company you want to name - if the proper information is supplied then they will proceed with opening the account.

Read the security information, this is more of a case of possible identity theft then anything else - for all the OP knows is the person could have opened a multitude of credit card's in there name and maxed them already.

As far as your statement "Therefore they should act that way no matter what the customer is like." this is so far off base it is not funny, the call center personnel that work at my company have a written policy - if the person calling in is abusive and utilizes vulgarity they are to be requested to stop once, if it continues they are to hang up then document the call for the supervisors who will review the recordings, a note is then made in the callers file, if threats where made the whole thing is turned over to the security department for further handling. CS personnel are human and have feelings, yelling, cussing and threatening them is not a callers right, zero tolerence is practiced here.

Wingrider01 wrote:

The thing thast is being missed - and this is true for any organization that takes information to open an account over the internet or via phone.... If the person on the other end supplies personal information that is valid and verifiable to opent he account and they do open the account then what did they do wrong? Remove ATT from the equation and put in Chase Bank, US Bank, HSBC or any other company you want to name - if the proper information is supplied then they will proceed with opening the account.

Read the security information, this is more of a case of possible identity theft then anything else - for all the OP knows is the person could have opened a multitude of credit card's in there name and maxed them already.

I agree, that doesn't mean AT&T shouldn't be actively trying to remedy the situation on their end.  They certainly shouldn't be giving this poor girl the run around on the phone while she is trying to remedy it.

As far as your statement "Therefore they should act that way no matter what the customer is like." this is so far off base it is not funny, the call center personnel that work at my company have a written policy - if the person calling in is abusive and utilizes vulgarity they are to be requested to stop once, if it continues they are to hang up then document the call for the supervisors who will review the recordings, a note is then made in the callers file, if threats where made the whole thing is turned over to the security department for further handling. CS personnel are human and have feelings, yelling, cussing and threatening them is not a callers right, zero tolerence is practiced here.

Ok, you're taking my statement to the extreme though.  My point is people don't generally call customer service to have a friendly chat.  A CSR should expect a level of frustration and possibly even anger when they answer the phone.  It's their job to try and help the customer resolve whatever problem they are having.  Yelling and threatening are over the line though. 

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Bwolffdrums wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

The thing thast is being missed - and this is true for any organization that takes information to open an account over the internet or via phone.... If the person on the other end supplies personal information that is valid and verifiable to opent he account and they do open the account then what did they do wrong? Remove ATT from the equation and put in Chase Bank, US Bank, HSBC or any other company you want to name - if the proper information is supplied then they will proceed with opening the account.

 

Read the security information, this is more of a case of possible identity theft then anything else - for all the OP knows is the person could have opened a multitude of credit card's in there name and maxed them already.

 

I agree, that doesn't mean AT&T shouldn't be actively trying to remedy the situation on their end.  They certainly shouldn't be giving this poor girl the run around on the phone while she is trying to remedy it.

 

As far as your statement "Therefore they should act that way no matter what the customer is like." this is so far off base it is not funny, the call center personnel that work at my company have a written policy - if the person calling in is abusive and utilizes vulgarity they are to be requested to stop once, if it continues they are to hang up then document the call for the supervisors who will review the recordings, a note is then made in the callers file, if threats where made the whole thing is turned over to the security department for further handling. CS personnel are human and have feelings, yelling, cussing and threatening them is not a callers right, zero tolerence is practiced here.

 

Ok, you're taking my statement to the extreme though.  My point is people don't generally call customer service to have a friendly chat.  A CSR should expect a level of frustration and possibly even anger when they answer the phone.  It's their job to try and help the customer resolve whatever problem they are having.  Yelling and threatening are over the line though. 

 

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what can ATT do? Other then turn it over to their fraud division ans let them investigate. Investigations take time.

No I am not taking your statement to extreme - those are OUR CS instructions and they are followed, no exceptions. Granted when you call a CS rep it is for an issue, frustrated or not it does not give you the right to yell and scream and the rep, nor does it give you the right to cuss them out. Yelling and threatening over the phone is not acceptable in any situation - period, end of statement. You call in to my call centers and do that you will be hung up on by the rep after the first warning and will be reported and documented by the rep and given to the supervisor for further review.

If you can treat the person on the other end with respect then you get what you deserve. Sorry I have had to call in to numerous call centers for issues with credit cards, tv, automotive problems, I follow the cardinal rule - treat them like I would like to be treated - like a fellow human being. Nothing gives you the right to verbally abuse the person on the other end

what can ATT do? Other then turn it over to their fraud division ans let them investigate. Investigations take time.

That's pretty much exactly what they should do, while at the same time treating the situation seriously and not giving the girl a hard time about it.  Just like if you reported a fraudulent charge on your credit card, you are assumed to be right until the investigation is over.  They might also be more willing to hand over the relevant info about the ID theives that's supposedly on HER account so she's better able to take care of things on her end. 

No I am not taking your statement to extreme - those are OUR CS instructions and they are followed, no exceptions. Granted when you call a CS rep it is for an issue, frustrated or not it does not give you the right to yell and scream and the rep, nor does it give you the right to cuss them out. Yelling and threatening over the phone is not acceptable in any situation - period, end of statement. You call in to my call centers and do that you will be hung up on by the rep after the first warning and will be reported and documented by the rep and given to the supervisor for further review.

Actually you absolutely are.  You took my statement too literally, used the extreme scenario of a customer threatening a CSR, and completely missed my point.  Oh well...

If you can treat the person on the other end with respect then you get what you deserve. Sorry I have had to call in to numerous call centers for issues with credit cards, tv, automotive problems, I follow the cardinal rule - treat them like I would like to be treated - like a fellow human being. Nothing gives you the right to verbally abuse the person on the other end

I thought that was the golden rule.  : P

If AT&T followed the golden rule and treated their customers with an ounce of respect they wouldn't have so many people calling their customer service with such bad attitudes.  It works both ways.  Anyway, there's a BIG difference between verbal abuse and being noticably angry and frustrated. 

I did have enough information to make that assumption I believe. I the original post the customer TYPED OUT 3 TIMES that they are not an AT&T customer. If you're cognizant enough to type it out 3 times, it's a good bet that you said it 3 times, or more. We heard ya the first time. And the second time. in fact, the origninal post can pretty much be summarized like this:

"I recently found out that there is an AT&T account that's opened under my name & I've never requested any AT&T services. I need some help understanding what it is I need to do to get this resolved."

trust me, I understand when something is frustrating it's easy to get all worked up, but if the original poster felt the need to type 3 times that she's not even an AT&T customer, she's only 19 & she lives with her parents,she probably fet the need to say this over & over to the CSR as well. The only point I'm really trying to make here is that she should not be blaming AT&T for this issue, just as much as AT&T should not be blaming her for the issue. but here's some food for thought: if you were robbed & someone stole all your credit cards and personal information (as the OP said happened to her), would you completely ignore your responsibilty in making sure you don't end up a victim of ID theft? furthermore, would you even be slightly surprised when you do find fraudulent accounts have been opened without your knowledge? Finally, would you blame AT&T for letting it happen? AT&T is required by law to provide service to anyone who provides qualifiying information. So when a fraudster gives qualifying info, AT&T has to comply. this is not a restaraunt- they don't have the "right to refuse service to anyone." Think about it this way- if you legitimitely went into an AT&T store, handed over information, you qualified for the service & the rep says, "You know what? I don't believe this is your personal information, I think you are fraudulently opening an account under someone else's info, and we are refusing to provide you service" how disrespected would you feel? [Per Guidelines:  Keep it Relevant and Appropriate]. Can't please all the people all the time y'know.

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wingrider01 wrote:

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Bwolffdrums wrote:

Wingrider01 wrote:

The thing thast is being missed - and this is true for any organization that takes information to open an account over the internet or via phone.... If the person on the other end supplies personal information that is valid and verifiable to opent he account and they do open the account then what did they do wrong? Remove ATT from the equation and put in Chase Bank, US Bank, HSBC or any other company you want to name - if the proper information is supplied then they will proceed with opening the account.

 

Read the security information, this is more of a case of possible identity theft then anything else - for all the OP knows is the person could have opened a multitude of credit card's in there name and maxed them already.

 

I agree, that doesn't mean AT&T shouldn't be actively trying to remedy the situation on their end.  They certainly shouldn't be giving this poor girl the run around on the phone while she is trying to remedy it.

 

As far as your statement "Therefore they should act that way no matter what the customer is like." this is so far off base it is not funny, the call center personnel that work at my company have a written policy - if the person calling in is abusive and utilizes vulgarity they are to be requested to stop once, if it continues they are to hang up then document the call for the supervisors who will review the recordings, a note is then made in the callers file, if threats where made the whole thing is turned over to the security department for further handling. CS personnel are human and have feelings, yelling, cussing and threatening them is not a callers right, zero tolerence is practiced here.

 

Ok, you're taking my statement to the extreme though.  My point is people don't generally call customer service to have a friendly chat.  A CSR should expect a level of frustration and possibly even anger when they answer the phone.  It's their job to try and help the customer resolve whatever problem they are having.  Yelling and threatening are over the line though. 

 

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what can ATT do? Other then turn it over to their fraud division ans let them investigate. Investigations take time.

 

No I am not taking your statement to extreme - those are OUR CS instructions and they are followed, no exceptions. Granted when you call a CS rep it is for an issue, frustrated or not it does not give you the right to yell and scream and the rep, nor does it give you the right to cuss them out. Yelling and threatening over the phone is not acceptable in any situation - period, end of statement. You call in to my call centers and do that you will be hung up on by the rep after the first warning and will be reported and documented by the rep and given to the supervisor for further review.

 

If you can treat the person on the other end with respect then you get what you deserve. Sorry I have had to call in to numerous call centers for issues with credit cards, tv, automotive problems, I follow the cardinal rule - treat them like I would like to be treated - like a fellow human being. Nothing gives you the right to verbally abuse the person on the other end

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word!!!!!

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RicoLX wrote:
The fact that it has been reported as fraud should have gotten some measure of response and action from ATT

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other then turn it over to their fraud department for investigation, what exactly would you want them to do? It would be stupid for them to take action without doing a investigation - how do they know the person calling in is actually who they say they are and ot occured how they stated?  Until they investigate all they know is that someone claims that it happened how they stated it, it could be a disgruntled ex-wife or ex-husband calling in to cause problems.  Not to many companies that will act on accusations like this with out investigated it first.

This statement from the OP's post -

"I consider myself a child. I'd like someone to explain to my why AT&T let a child's social security's used to open a land-line."

Happens all the time, the parent or legal guardian that has ruined their credit turns around and applies for utility services, credit with their child SSN, cause here recently when I was in the drivers license facility getting plates for a new car and a person was tring to get their driving permit - only to find out there was a license issued to that SSN already. The SSN does not indicate age - that is against privacy laws in the US.

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RicoLX wrote:
Oh please..thats whats reporting a fraud is.... Start an investigation to determine . So, if YOU were at the att helm, I guess you ignore itwhen someone report that they suspect fraud on an account.

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Please don;t put words or statements in my mount - I NEVER stated that it being ignored - that is your comment only form your normal accumptions, period. My comment is that a investigation needs to take place before anything can be done - fraud has to be proven first before action can be taken - the missing element here is the OP should continue on and look for identity theft - which is the underlaying issue here. 

I would like to thank everyone for taking the time to post your comments and opinions related to this topic. This topic has been thoroughly discussed and will now be closed.  If you still have questions please contact Customer Service.