BOGO on iPhone 6 issues

However I purchased the two phones with att next one was on a new line still have not received the credit have been told 5 different excuses by 5 different people met all the criteria and am still being told no credit this is a scam

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@lanie12345

Dont waste your money, you can't sue your carrier (read your terms of use.  Link at the bottom of screen)

Did you read the requirements in the release above?

 The phones both had to be iPhone 6s.  

 I agree the employees screwed up.  

@Gary L

Two things.  

One, I never said there is no valid info on a forum.  I said I'm going to take the AT&T trained professional's word over some random person's info on a forum.  Pretty logical.

Second, I never criticized Wal Mart or their employees.  I said I didn't go to Wal Mart for my purchase, I went to an AT&T store and dealt with trained AT&T employees.  The folks at Wal Mart, Best Buy, etc. aren't very well versed/trained in knowing the carrier's plans.  Maybe some are, but from what I've seen, most aren't.  They are just there to help a little bit.

I am willing to take part of the responsibility for not reading the fine print.  What I'm hoping for is that the folks at the AT&T store will also take some responsibility.  That isn't too much to ask.  We can work something out if they're willing.

Part of the problem lies in my own ignorance, and now my eyes have been opened.  I had never had any issues upgrading phones in the past, making changes to my plan, etc.  I have always spoken with customer care first, then gone into the store to deal directly with a trained AT&T employee in person.  I have not once read the fine print when making changes to my account, not one time, in over 13 years.  And not once had I had any issues.  

So, I hope you can see why it is reasonable that I never sought out more information, such as an AT&T forum instead of chiding me for finding one now that I was upset.  I had just never had a reason to.  And I didn't specifically seek out a forum this time.  I did a google search to try to find ways to handle this issue and this thread was one of the top results.   So, I began reading.  Then I read more posts in other threads.  And decided to share my experience.  My wife and I are frustrated because we trusted a trained professional and it seems they took advantage of / lied to us.

@eamjr80 You imply the reps you had were better than staff at Wal Mart but you've also established your reps were pretty awful in their knowledge in the matter; that's where my comment about not picking on Wal Mart came from.

The reps in the store probably don't want to admit they did anything wrong, their job depends on it.  Plus, they probably don't remember your specific details. From a practical standpoint who wants to admit they steered a customer wrong on a $549 deal? Especially, since I don't know if they can actually fix it and you probably aren't the only one...

I don't know that their admitting responsibilty helps any more than you admitting it. It seems like a missed opportunity, I don't know what leeway the store reps have with crediting anything to your account (I can't imagine it's very close to the phone amount).

As @wvmstr said, this really needs to be done at the time of sale, at a minimum a checklist for the customer to sign off on. 

@FrightenedAway

I'm happy for you.  Go back, shove it all in their face and switch to a different carrier.  If the company doesn't care enough to do things the right way and train their reps accordingly, then they don't deserve a single customer.

This right here is why I posted about my experience.  Maybe more will do a google search and find this thread.

@Gary L

"You imply the reps you had were better than staff at Wal Mart but you've also established your reps were pretty awful in their knowledge in the matter; that's where my comment about not picking on Wal Mart came from."

You are consistently twisting my words and changing yours to fit your agenda.

First you said "Please, don't criticize the people at Wal Mart, I've heard them tell people to read the contract."

In response to this paragraph that I wrote where I never once criticized anyone at Wal Mart.

"Should we have read the fine print?  Yes, now I know.  But it is certainly reasonable to believe that the trained professional would give customers the correct information, especially customers who asked so many questions and clearly stated their needs in regards to their mobile phone plan.  That's why these people are there, to assist and inform and help customers get the devices and plans that fit their needs.  They are the ones who should know the details of their company's plans and promotional details.  It's not like we did this at Wal Mart."

What I am saying here is that AT&T in store trained reps should be more well versed in the company they work for promotion details and plans.  A Wal Mart employee has very little incentive and/or training to know and communicate an AT&T promotion/plan.  That is not criticism nor "picking" at them.  It is a fact.  AT&T, Verizon, etc. spend little time training the standard Wal Mart electronics employee, who is paid slightly above minimum wage, all the details of their promotions and plans.  I know that for a fact.  That's why I went specifically to the AT&T store.  Now stop trying to talk to me like I am demeaning Wal Mart employees.

@eamjr80 That is not a rabbit hole I expected this conversation to go down!

I was explaining why I made the Wal Mart comment, I didn't think my origianl comment was a big deal, you acted like the reps know way more than the Wal Mart staff, which (in hindsight) we know they didn't. You dissed the knowledge of the Wal Mart folks a little bit by saying you went somewhere more knowledgable and I teased you for it. (The only reason why I teased you for it was the it probably wasn't a good choice, the knowledable guys didn't help you.)

The closest thing I had to an agenda was hoping you'd admit that you should have read the fine print and not following it with "but..."

@FrightenedAway Search the forum for BOGO, lots more stories. I've never seen one that anyone said they were shown a screen of details that said they qualified, unless it was just the fine print and they didn't give you time to read it.

What part did you now feel wasn't true about what they were showing you? 

The thing is, the BOGO isn't a contract, it's more of a rebate. Your plan is month-to-month. The Next phone payments are basically a no-interest loan as long as you have the lines activated (they credit you the monthly payment each month), cancel the line and they stop the credit. You're obligated to the payments, but if the BOGO details aren't followed you don't get the credit. So it's not part of your actual contract. 

Some of the BOGOs are here https://www.att.com/wireless/

Some of the fine print has two offers, in caps, they have the BOGO and the SWITCH OFFER so it looks longer than it needs to be.

TO BE CLEAR:

As much as people say to read the fine print, that's not the only place the details are. 

All the info is contained in the ad, but it is recapped in the fine print in a few sentances.

This page https://www.att.com/shop/wireless/apple-iphone-6s-6splus-bogo-offer.html

says iPhone 6s in 10 locations that are NOT in the fine print.

It also says new line in 3 spots (maybe the #1 BOGO problem, not a new line).

@FrightenedAway

I don't know what you think isn't legit in the deal.  If you added a line and bought qualifying phones, and used Next, you would get the deal.

Credits start if you pay your bill on time.

The people who didn't get the retroactive credits either paid late, or never qualified. 

Yes, there are hundreds of complaints on the forum.   Only one or two seemed like genuine goof ups.  The rest are customers who either tried to get around the requirements, ignored the requirements, or got bad information.

What I've heard in the stores, is people announce they want the BOGO, then they shop and select phones that don't qualify.  A good clerk tells them, but some don't.