AT&T trade-in scam

Did you have a receipt from the post office proving that you had dropped off your phone the day after receiving your new phones?

Thank you for the reply. I did not keep the original shipping receipts. But I still keep the AT&T emails dated on 12/21/2021 that my phones are in transit to AT&T for records.

However, as I mentioned the AT&T service person insist that AT&T will provide rebate only if they FINISHED the whole process within "30 days".  The date (1/28/2022) they received & processed my phones has passed 30 days. That's the reason I won't get my whole trade-in rebate.

I've been waiting for over 5 months for my trade-in credit since the day they say the device was "received and processed". I called over a month ago and the representative said they would be escalating this issue because it shouldn't take so long to get the credit. Well, over a month later and I haven't heard anything from AT&T and I still haven't received the credit. AT&T is an absolutely horrible company to deal with and they lie like crazy. They actually encourage their employees to lie as well, trust me, I know that for a fact. There should be a (Edited per community guidelines) (Edited per community guidelines) against AT&T for this this blatant fraud (any lawyers interested?). I've been thinking of moving all 3 of my cellular lines to Verizon for quite some time and this just might be what encourages me to finally make the switch. 

Literally millions of customers have got the deal, it is not a scam. (or Verizon is running one too 🤨)  Verizon trade in scam on customers

We know that some customers have been lied to. But no they do not encourage it, as it is a fireable offense.   And someone is only lying if they know the truth and say something else. We find many times that call center employees have no idea what they're talking about.

We also know that sometimes customers make mistakes. We know that the post office sometimes loses packages.

So we start with the same questions:

1. Do you have the tracking information for your phone?
2. Do you have a receipt for physically handing it over in a store?
3. Or do you have a receipt for checking it in at the counter at your local post office?
4. Does your tracking information show the phone going to Texas or Tennessee?
5. Was your trade in phone 100% paid off at the time you traded it in?.
6. Are you on an unlimited data plan that qualifies, with a base price of $75 or more? Starter plan qualifies.  The $50 unlimited value plan specifically is excluded in the fine print. 

It's a scam. I sent in four modern phones and they lied and claimed that two are iPhone 5s. Also lied and claimed that the phones are not worth more than market value which is directly contrary to documentation I have. As a result I am also out $1600. I've spent hours on the phone to no avail. Thieves. They also didn't even give me market value for the iPhone 5 phones that they claim I sent in.

@thejamesevans 

You do understand AT&t never saw your phones right? They went from the post office to newgistics the courier, to Hyla Mobile in Tennessee.  

   Market value on a phone is determined by:

https://tradein.att.com/

Which is early identical to what gazelle offers.

Market value and trade in credits are not the same thing.  The deals are published.

Sample

I didn't know that, but I also don't have 108,000 messages on a phone carrier forum so you may be a tad more knowledgeable on the ins and outs of how AT&T logistics work. 

Anyway I spent a few hours on the phone today and finally got someone who believes that AT&T/whoever they contract made a mistake so they're giving me a $1600 credit. 🤞

Update on my case: I went through Customer Loyalty (retention) and finally found someone who was both knowledgable enough and able to help. They saw that the two phones were incorrectly logged and went ahead with a credit that makes me square. I just verified that the credit will appear on the next bill.

For others who are about to do trade-ins: document everything! Take screenshots of the offers pages you see, take photos of the phones before you ship them, document the IMEI numbers and serial numbers of the phones before sending them in. I spent HOURS on the phone trying to find a way to prove AT&T (or their contracted trade-in partners) made a mistake that was costing me $1600. I had to go through probably 10 people before I could get someone to help. Document document document! Never assume these big companies hire competent people or have operations/processes that make sense. I had a similar problem - even worse actually - with Verizon not honoring promotional offers I had signed up for when I was with them. It's endemic to the industry, apparently, and the onus is on us to prove it when they mess something up.

I appreciate you say document everything, the things that you did not mention:

The best option is to do your trade-in with a corporate store which will give you a paper receipt for your trade-in. If you don't get a receipt it didn't happen

If you must mail in your phone, You must take it to the post office hand it over the counter and get a counter receipt which proves that you mailed your phone. Take pictures of the package, the shipping label and any other documentation so it can't possibly get lost

As stated on your actual post. A Retention rep does not have the authority to issue you a $1,600 credit. They can submit a case that will go to their manager and the. Their managers manger for approval or denial. Also, the terms of the promotion are that the credit is spread out over 36 months.