Teacher
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10 Messages
Deceptive Practices on Switching to AT&T from Verizon
So last week I decided to switch to ATT from Verizon. Verizon is just more expensive and every penny matters. I went to the att site and I do what I normally do on a site, I find the chat window and talked to a rep about switching from ATT. I aksed all the questions I was supposed to ask and she had great answers so I switched. I purchased 4 phones from ATT and the rep gave me details about paying off my fees/ETF fees from Verizon (up to $650 per line for switching). As always when I do a chat, I have my transcripts emailed to me because I want things in writing. When you talk to someone on the phone there is no proof of anything said. So I have the transcripts from ATT on what the rep told me to convince me to switch. She assured me that 100% of the cancellation fees from Verizon would be paid to me via a Visa Reward card (up to $650 per line), as my concern is I have about $2,000 in cancellation fees on my 4 verizon lines in total. I did not want it to be something stupid like they pay part of it and the rest is paid via credits on ATT that I can only use on ATT merchandise/services. The rep in the chat answered that direct question, directly, stating, no 100% of my switch fees owed to Verizon were paid (up to $650 per line) and so I made the switch.
I spent a day or two setting up the new phones and activating them and when it was time to mail the old verizon phones back to ATT to fulfill my part of it, I was told that my old phones have a value of $1100, and that would be given to me in ATT credits and whatever the difference was for the Verizon switch fees, would be given to me via a Visa rewards card to pay for my switch. So my Verizon switch fees are close to $2k. AT&T is going to put $900 toward that via a Visa reward card and the rest is coming to me in ATT store credits that I cannot use to put toward the bill. So when I wanted to save money each month which is why I switched, I am now out $1100 cash all at once to pay the difference to Verizon. I called multiple times as the only info I was given on the switch offer was from the Chat rep and I asked directly about this issue and she assured me I would not be out any money whatsoever and ATT covers my fee via a visa rewards card that is used to pay the verizon bill. I even chatted with a rep 2 days later once I had an huge concern with how this was working out and the new chat agent told me something even more different, which is that ATT pays my entire fee from verizon (up to $650 per line) and whatever my old verizon phones were worth, I got that via a ATT promo card to use at ATT stores/online to purchase any items there or put toward future bills. Obviously this sounds a little too good to be true, but I kept asking and she kept telling me the same thing and even stated she talked to her manager to confirm this.
The good news is I have the chat transcripts that were emailed to me from the ATT site where the reps assured me of this and convinced me to switch to ATT, but the bad news is when I call, no one cares. I even went to my main ATT corporate store and showed the manager and he did not care. What am I supposed to do? Pay $1100 out of my pocket to Verizon when ATT convinced me to switch by lying to me and I have 100% of it in writing? Someone help put me in touch with a contact (not att customer service as they are useless). My next step is to turn this over to my attorney because this is so very deceptive. As I said, I have the chat transcripts saved as I always prefer to use chat because it puts things in writing so I can go back and read them to understand and make sure no one is lying.
jthomas2
Teacher
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10 Messages
7 years ago
Buy 1 get 1 free on iPhone 7, so subtract $50 a month. from what the first chat helper typed me as shown in my original post my bill would a lot cheaper. I have to admit I am worried that was not accurate at all either. Here is that part of the first post:
Jessica : Jason in this case I can recommend you the Mobile Share Advantage 10GB plan, you will have Unlimited Talk and text and 10Gb high speed data to share with all your lines and once you reach your high speed data limit you will continue having data service just slower and no overage in your bill. In addition to this you will get the ability for your phones to be used as mobile Hotspot, and the best thing about our new Mobile Share Advantage you will have Rollover Data which mean that the data you don't use this month you can use it next month with no problem. For the cost of the plan will be $80mo before taxes + $20mo for access charge per line ($80mo for 4 lines) + $25mo for the installment of the iPhone 7 128GB ($100mo for 4 phones), your monthly bill will be $260mo before taxes
Jessica : Jason also may I ask if you by any chance have DirecTV or U-verse TV service ?
Me : I do have direct TV
Jessica : Awesome!
Jessica : in this case you will be able to take advantage of the Buy One Get One offer and since you are getting 4 iPhone 7 128GB you will receive $650 credits in 2 of the phones, so your monthly bill will drop to $216.66mo before taxes
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Gary L
ACE - Expert
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16.5K Messages
7 years ago
A BOGO would be significant info to have left out! Especially since they said FOUR $25 phones.
The Choice too, I hope that's not the case. It's going to be hard to use "unlimited" at that speed...
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jthomas2
Teacher
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10 Messages
7 years ago
Sorry, don't know the right lingo. I am paying for the phones on monthly installments. Did not pluck down $750 per phone and buy them out right
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117K Messages
7 years ago
It may seem unimportant, but lease = rent. You don't own a leased device.
ATT and Verizon use a retail installment argreement, essentially a no interest loan. The $25 discount will take 1-2 bills before coming off your direct Tv bill. Bogo credits usually take 2-3 bills.
If you don't get Bogo credits, please don't bother calling support. Send a message to @ATTMobilityCare.
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parker54
Tutor
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10 Messages
7 years ago
Sorry to read this horror story. [Per Guidelines: Keep it Relevant and Appropriate].
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angelman7
Tutor
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11 Messages
7 years ago
I am going through this too. I have all the transcripts telling me I will get up to $650 per line to pay off Verizon in the form of Visa prepaid cards. Then I went to Best Buy and got they phones and they told me the same thing. But now, not only am I not getting the full buyout to pay off Verizon, I have to wait 8 weeks after I get my final Verizon bill before I get the visa prepaid cards. That means I have to pay the full amount no matter what or get my bill sent to collections and have my credit score hit. Calling gets nothing but rudeness and with chatting they try to help but come up short of being able to do anything. I wish I could just go back to Verizon. This is also only one of my many issues I have had with AT&T lately.
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MicCheck
ACE - Expert
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14.2K Messages
7 years ago
Yes, no one will directly pay your Verizon bill except for you.
What do you mean by "full buyout"? AT&T will pay what you still owe Verizon for the phones you traded in (up to $650), assuming those phones are still worth at least $5. Are you being told that AT&T will pay less than the amount you owe? You are free to return to Verizon if you'd like; they probably have a promo to pay off what you owe for your current phones, too. Of course, doing so will probably (definitely) remove your eligibility for the AT&T promo, so you'd still owe the previous Verizon bill.
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Gary L
ACE - Expert
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16.5K Messages
7 years ago
You do understand the UP TO means you might only get $100. $650 is the absolute maximum. http://att.com/switch
Did you turn in your phones to AT&T? That's phase one for the credits.
How much did they give you?
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angelman7
Tutor
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11 Messages
7 years ago
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Gary L
ACE - Expert
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16.5K Messages
7 years ago
No, but that's $415 in your pocket you won't have to pay to AT&T for the first few months for you bill, right?
You sent in the paperwork, right?
Don't pay any of your AT&T bills late until you get the money, you need to be in good standing.
I thinking you left Verizon for a reason though? Cost? Coverage?
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