Master
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3.2K Messages
Missing Your BOGO Credits?
One of the biggest problems we see on these forums goes something like this: "I bought two phones and they were supposed to be BOGO, but I'm being charged for the second phone." It's a simple problem, but the reasons are complex. This article can help figure out what happened and what to do about it.
What are BOGO credits?
BOGO stands for "Buy-One-Get-One." The deal is that you pay monthly installments for a phone on one line, but if you buy a phone on an additional line, you'll receive credits every month that cancel out the installments on that line. If you get the credit every month for the phone, it will be free at the end.
How do you get BOGO credits?
BOGO credits are added by a computer when you buy phones under the right conditions. If you don't see credits on your bill for the phone, 99% of the time, you didn't qualify for them. Let's start digging and see what happened.
1) Has it been over two billing cycles since you bought the phone?
It usually takes 2-3 billing cycles before the credits start. Once the credits start, you'll get credited back for those first few months. So if it's been less than three bills, just wait.
2) Did you pay off the installment plan early?
Some people get the two phones, pay off one phone, and think they'll keep getting a free phone. If you pay off or cancel the "buy" line, the credits will stop on the "free" phone.
3) Did your account get suspended for non-payment?
BOGO credits require the account to stay in good standing. If your account is suspended because of an unpaid bill, even for a minute, all credits may stop and won't come back. So pay your bill.
Now that we've gotten those out of the way, we need to look into the terms and conditions of the promotion you were offered. You can look up all the deals AT&T has offered for the year by searching att.com/support for "bogo" and the year. For instance, BOGO 2019 is here.
4) Did you add a new line?
Almost all BOGO deals require you to add a new line in order to qualify. Upgrading an existing line, transferring a line from prepaid to postpaid, transferring a line from another service that uses AT&T like Cricket, those don't count. If you didn't add a brand-new line of service for at least one of the phones, you don't qualify. The majority of BOGO deal failures seem to fall here, because the customer didn't add a line.
5) Which phones did you buy?
With BOGO deals, you're always required to buy two specific devices, like a Samsung S10 or an iPhone XR. Even buying a different storage capacity (like the 32GB instead of the 256GB) can disqualify you. Check the terms of your BOGO carefully to make sure you bought the right phones.
6) Do you have TV or Internet through AT&T?
This isn't always a requirement, but it's rare when AT&T doesn't require adding additional services to get a BOGO deal. If the terms and conditions say TV or Internet is required, then you would need to already have or buy new TV and/or Internet service with AT&T at the time of buying the phones. DirecTV Now wouldn't count.
In short, if you're in the market for a new phone and want to take advantage of a BOGO, follow these steps:
- Read the terms and conditions of the BOGO on the website or the in-store promotional materials.
- Double-check to make sure you're getting the right phone, adding a new line, whether you need to have AT&T's TV or Internet.
- Make sure you wait two billing cycles
- Pay your bill on time so you don't lose the credits.
If you do all that, enjoy your free phone.
**Disclaimer: I don't work for AT&T, have never worked for AT&T, and have never been compensated by them in any way, shape, or form**
formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
4 years ago
@AdelineStar The promotions At&t has on the website: https://www.att.com/help/offers/wireless/bogo.html
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AdelineStar
Teacher
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26 Messages
4 years ago
Hi @thepriz If I understand correctly, you:
internetdata plan OR any home Internet and/or TV services.With the devil being in the details, eh? And while intentionally or not, and oftentimes wholly deserving of a lawsuit, the contract terms for all AT&T customers prevent us from suing in court. That said, there are other avenues you can choose to find resolution.
Let’s begin with identifying the BOGO offer. Knowing the date of purchase and which phones you purchased will help.
If we are unsuccessful in obtaining a written copy of the promotion – not because it doesn’t exist – but because as fellow customers our resources are limited; the AT&T Store Manager should (and I stress should) have access to, as well as the ability to print, the documents from your transaction. While, from my own experience with AT&T, I completely understand your frustration and how upsetting this issue can be, keep in mind the manager can oftentimes quickly and successfully assist you in this process.
@thepriz Please be reminded: Do not include any personal or other identifiable information in your response.
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geauxpreaux
Contributor
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1 Message
4 years ago
Same!!!
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lgreen0202
Contributor
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2 Messages
4 years ago
When I purchased the phone during a BOGO event, the sales man never informed us that you had to add a new line. We were told
that we qualified. I have been mislead and lied
to several times by AT&T employees. The more I speak with AT&T, the more I realize how corrupt their business practices are. I would never refer AT&T to anyone.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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117.2K Messages
4 years ago
@FidelRomero
I'm not quite sure why I got your email but your post does not appear on the thread
It does tell me that you never read the Terms of service or the installment loan info or promotion. You were not charged fees for leaving AT&T you were correctly billed the remainder of your phone installments, as you agreed to pay if you left At&t. This would be the same if you made the same agreement to purchase a phone that was free or discounted from any other carrier. It seems to me you did not read the agreement which means you will get yourself into the same problem with another carrier.
Every carriers free or discounted phone promotions charge the account with the installment balance every month for the entire term of the loan. If all conditions of the deal are met that a credit is applied starting on the 3rd month for the previous months, and for each subsequent month for the full term of the loan.
If you choose to terminate early and take your business elsewhere you are required to pay the remaining installments on all phones.
Phone promotions are not provided out of generosity, or to save us money. Phone promotions are designed to keep you with the carrier for enough time to make back the loss on the phone by charging you for service. If you don't stay, the carrier doesn't make a profit.
If you did not meet all of the requirements of the deal you are not going to get any credits. Doesn't matter what you were told, or think you heard. Just like the grocery store computer that calculates 2 for one canned peaches, AT&T computer looks for all the requirements and applies credits automatically
Don't know why your credits didn't happen. But you can't get a resolution as a former customer, so the BBB complaint was too late.
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edwardhero
New Member
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3 Messages
3 years ago
however, when they didn't honor the solution to my issue this year. I
spent 6 months getting it resolved in the end, I had to make a BBB
complaint but after my rebuttal to the initial solution to my complaint
they made me an offer that I could live with & almost completely made up
for 7 months of upset. But that was the last time I will give them the
opportunity- I'm changing carriers on all 3 lines. the rest of my
family have already made their departures in the last few months. we wont
be back.
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edwardhero
New Member
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3 Messages
3 years ago
and I figured out the issue without the help of this rude community. I was just wondering if anyone had a similar experience, that’s it. Try being nicer to people just trying to figure this out for the first time. Have a nice day.
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