Tutor
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4 Messages
BOGO Gone Wrong
On 12/2/2017, my wife and I took advantage of the ATT / iPhone 8 BOGO offer. When we walked into the ATT store, we had (4) lines in a family share plan. In order to take advantage of the BOGO offer, we had to add two new lines. We had no need for two more lines since there are only (4) of us in our family; however, it made sense to pay that added monthly fee for two more lines in order to get the two "free" iPhones.
We bought one iPhone 8 Plus and got one "free". The credit for the 2nd iPhone 8 Plus was to be the cost of the standard iPhone 8. I had to pay the delta between the 8 Plus and regular 8. This was part of the BOGO rules. We added one of the 2 lines to meet this particular BOGO requirement.
We bought a 2nd iPhone 8 Plus and got a 2nd "free". Again, I had to pay the delta as described above. We added the 2nd new line to conform to the BOGO rules.
All four new phones were Christmas presents for the family and weren't activated until 12/24.
Much to my surprise, I am getting charged for all four phones. Here's the history:
- statement from 11/11/17 to 12/10/17 ATT charged us installment #1 of 24 for the two BOGO phones. This statement was correct in that it charged the correct amount and the other two phones had zero charges as they were free.
- statement from 12/11/17 to 1/10/18 ATT charged us installment #2 of 24 for the two BOGO phones. Again, this statement was correct.
- statement from 1/11/18 to 2/10/18 ATT charged us installment #3 of 24 for the two BOGO phones. This is fine, but in addition, they started charging us for the two free phones...installment #1 of 24 for each of the two free phones ($33.34 each x2).
- statement from 2/11/18 to 3/10/18 ATT again charged us for the two free phones (#4 of 24 for two BOGO phones (correct) and #2 of 24 for two free phones at $33.34 each x2)
- statement from 3/11/18 to 4/10/18 ATT again charged us for the two free phones (#5 of 24 for two BOGO phones (correct) and #3 of 24 for two free phones at $33.34 each x2)
In mid April, I called the ATT support number to inquire about the billing. It was a very long call. It eventually involved the supervisor (Manager I was told) of the customer service person I was speaking with. They told me that the system didn't like the delayed activation (since we didn't open them until Christmas) and they told me that their system had a "glitch" in January that made the software think we changed plan types and thereby we forfeit our two BOGO plans. I made ZERO changes to our plan in January. Any and all changes were on their end. I haven't visited a store to make changes. I don't make changes on-line. I obviously had no interest in forfeiting my BOGO deals. Eventually, ATT customer service told me that they completely understood and that their paperwork would go to the "BACK ROOM" for approval and credit issuance. I've read about this infamous "BACK ROOM" of ATT. I was told that it could take months but it should be okay since her "Manager" was involved and put her name on it. [I have the name of the customer service person and her Manager].
Well, I started checking back after a few weeks and saw that some credits were issued. I was excited at first and then the reality set in. There were four credits for $23.34 each. As I stated above, up to that point in time, I had been overcharged (6 times for $33.34) over three statements. So, I was short credited by $10 on four of the charges and was not given a credit on two other overcharges. The credit at that point should have been $200.04 ($33.34 x6). Instead, the credit was $93.36 ($23.34 x4). On top of that, my next bill has come and they are still charging me $33.34 for all 4 phones!!! No additional feedback was ever provided to me.
Now, I guess that I have to start over, call the 1-800 number again and go through the entire issue with someone new. I'm sure this will once again get passed to the "BACK ROOM" where I will have to wait for weeks / months. I will get no response, but I'll just have to keep checking on-line to see if any credits appear. This is a MESS!!! The last call tool 2 hours. This is such a waste of time and such poor customer service. Am I the only one getting abused?
I would love to speak with someone that has the authority to listen to the story and act immediately. This "BACK ROOM" stuff is very shady at best and appears to be more strategy on ATT's part than customer service. The icing on the cake is that I'm paying for two new lines that I don't even need and still not getting credit for the (2) BOGO offers.
If I'm not getting the two BOGO deals as I was told I would when I signed the contract, then I don't want to pay for the two added lines. One way or the other. Instead, I'm getting abused on both ends. Of course you discuss billing issues at the ATT stores....can you?
Can anyone help or offer advice?
ccissna
Tutor
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4 Messages
5 years ago
By the way, the AT&T case number provided to me regarding my phone inquiry was CM20180417_132420615.
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sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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63K Messages
5 years ago
Are the installment plans for the free phones on the new lines? If not, that would explain why no credits. The free phone Next plans must be on the new lines to get the credits.
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ccissna
Tutor
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4 Messages
5 years ago
Hello,
Thanks for your question. Yes, the first and second statement (discussed in my original post) after we signed up for the two BOGOs were billed correctly. Installment 1 of 24 at $33.34 was billed against new line 1 and installment 1 of 24 at $33.34 was billed against new line 2. The first two invoices after signing up for the BOGOs were perfect. Something changed and they started charging me for the two "free" phones on statement 3 and it has continued since.
There is no installment plans or additional billings on the two "obsolete" or original kid's lines.
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sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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63K Messages
5 years ago
Just to make sure you are understanding how the BOGO works, you are supposed to get charged for all 4 phones, both the “buy one” phones and the two “free” phones. So you should have installment charges on 4 lines. However, you are supposed to get a credit on each of the free phones. That credit takes up to 3 bill cycles to show up.
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ccissna
Tutor
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4 Messages
5 years ago
Thanks again for your 2nd note. I haven't done a BOGO deal before but I do understand it the way you describe. I don't have issues at all if that is the way it would have worked. I'm confused about....
1. Why for the first two installments was I only charged for two phones?
2. Why after I brought up the billing issues to ATT did they proceed to provide credit...and why was the credit only $23.34 rather than $33.34...and why was there only credit for 4 of the 6 charges up to that point?
3. Finally, if the credit process had started after a few months as BOGOs are supposed to operate, why did my 6th bill go back to full charges of $33.34 on all four phones without any credits?
Are the credits supposed to show on the bills? After 6 months, I haven't had one credit on any bill. Instead, after my call to customer service, I got (x4) credits of $23.34 to my account but they aren't itemized on my bill.
The process doesn't seem clean. As the consumer, I realize I'm due (2) $800 credits based on two BOGO offers. At $23.34 credits over 24 months, I don't understand how I'll ever get there even if they ever start to appear on my statements. $23.34 over 24 months is $560. I don't have any idea where that amount comes from.
Again, thank you for the correspondence. I don't want anything more than what I'm due. I'm not trying to come out ahead or better off than the deal that I signed up for.
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sandblaster
ACE - Expert
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63K Messages
5 years ago
Something is clearly messed up with your bill but I can answer a couple of your questions. First, yes the free phone credits are supposed to show on the bill. Second, the free phone credit is limited to the cost of the base model iPhone 8 which I believe is $700. If you buy a more expensive model, you pay the difference. If you were on a 30 month Next plan, that would be $23.34 per month. Whoever gave you the credit must not have realized you had a 24 month plan and gave the credit based on a 30 month plan. The credit on a 24 month plan should be $29.16.
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Slward06
Tutor
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8 Messages
5 years ago
Heck store gave me bogo offer now att says not eligible. Tried talking to customer service multiple times and was told basically im out of luck. Bought 2 phones from collinsville Illinois store was told i was getting the buy one Samsung get one free. And that it would take 2-3 billing cycles to show as bogo on my bill. Well im still paying for my free phone. Because after the store telling me i was eligible now your customer support is saying no im not eligible. Not sure how the store says yes and then att can change it.
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ow3108907
Contributor
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2 Messages
5 years ago
Extremely frustrated with ATT and their authorized stores. On 12/23/17 my boyfriend and I went to the Manchester MO ATT store to purchase a new iphone for him since his 5s completely died. He wanted an iphone 8 plus. When we arrived the manager started pushing us to do a BOGO deal where you buy one iphone 8/8plus and get a second free. We said no because i was not ready for a new phone and when i was i would be getting the X. He said you can buy the 10 and have the 8 as your free phone you just have to pay for the higher of the two phones. After about 30 minutes of pushing, i finally agreed and then we were told that the free phone would have to have a new line added and we could cancel his current number and add a new number to qualify. We agreed and then when the manager asked us for the colors we wanted for each phone, they didn't have the 8plus in stock that he wanted so he called the Chesterfield MO ATT store and confirmed they had both phones with amount of memory and colors we wanted. We drove to the chesterfield store and spoke with the manager. She confirmed we would qualify for the BOGO we had to purchase the X since it was more expensive, cancel my boyfriends current number and add a new line to our account for his phone (8plus) to qualify. We spent over an hour in the store getting everything set up so that we would qualify because i did not want to purchase a new phone at the time - he insisted on doing it this way and he would give me money to pay the X since his would be free as a Christmas present. After the paperwork was completed, we were told that it would take 3-4 billing cycles BEFORE the credit on the 8plus would be reflected. When i received the April phone bill - still no credit reflected so I call ATT Customer service and spoke with Richard (April 28, 2018 at 4:57pm Central). Richard confirmed that we qualified for the BOGO deal and becuase i was on combined billing with my TV and internet it would be reflected on the bill i received in May. When i received the May bill - no credit. I contacted customer service on May 13, 2018 and spoke with Travis at 5:23pm central). Again i was informed that he saw the BOGO, i met the qualifications and the credit had not posted yet because of my combined billed but would definitely reflect when i received my June 2018 bill. I received my June bill electronically yesterday, June 3, 2018. To my surprise no credit for the BOGO. I call customer service again at 3:11pm. I began the conversation with Sara (Sarah) and she confirmed my account records showed I purchased a X and an 8plus at ATT Chesterfield on 12/23/17 through the BOGO. When she tried to find out why the credit had still not posted, she told me it had something to do with my combined billing and that she needed to transfer me to a supervisor. I next spoke with Allison. Allison also confirmed i had purchased the equipment on 12/23/17 and added a new line, however the iphone X was not included and therefore i would not be receiving any credit on the 8plus. I was LIVID! She then proceeded to tell me that they have been getting calls from customer like crazy who purchased iphoneX and iphone 8 or 8plus under the pretense that they would receive the BOGO when in fact the BOGO NEVER included a X. I gave her the store number (L933) the sales persons name (Trevon H) and wanted to know what recourse i have. She said there is absolutely nothing ATT can or will do about the false advertising and fraud that these stores are committing. She said i should file an official complaint with ATT through the Written Correspondence department and provide them all the details. When i asked her why three customer service reps have confirmed since April 28th that i qualified for the BOGO she didn't know because she said the details were right there on my account. After getting off the phone with ATT cusomter service, I call the ATT Chesterfield store and asked to speak with the manager. They have no manager on duty on Sunday. So, i told him that i purchased two phones under the false pretenses that it was a BOGO deal on 12/23/17. He wanted to know why i said false - when i explained the phones we purchased, the steps we took, he said oh I remember that deal. You could get an iphone 8 or 8plus free when you purchased another iphone at a higher price. REALLY!!!!!!!! I told him that ATT has been very clear today that i do not qualify for a BOGO because i purchased a X. He assured me this was wrong and they still have all the documentation. He will have one of the store managers call me on Monday 6/4/18 (Anela or Jared) to discuss how to have this corrected. Seriously folks if ATT doesn't correct this, i'm paying both phones off and then I'm moving my service! I have been with ATT since 1992 and have NEVER experienced such horrible service between corporate and a store. Would NEVER have upgraded my phone had they not pushed and lied about a deal that according to corporate didn't exist. This is unacceptable, unethical and individuals should not only be fired for unethical business practices, but customers should be reimbursed for buying products and services under false and misleading circumstances. Depending on what the store managers tell me and work out with me today, i will also be contacting the BBB and the MO State Attorneys Office for a full investigation.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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105.6K Messages
5 years ago
@ow3108907
As far as I know the holiday BOGO did not include the iPhone X. The only BOGO for the iPhone X was one week right after release and a week in February in 2018.
https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1232016
https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1236446
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ow3108907
Contributor
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2 Messages
5 years ago
So i'm learning through reading everything now! Funny thing is we were NEVER allowed to see any paperwork on the bogo, and when i first got my customer service summary on my online account in December I actually called them and was still told the BOGO applied. I think this is poor customer service and I really hope ATT comes down on their authorized sellers. This is just ridiculous!
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