Tutor
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6 Messages
LOST!!!! Where did my trade-in Iphone 6 go?
Hi all,
I decided to trade-in my iphone 6 for the new iphone 7 and an agent at the ATT retail store told me that I can mail my old phone back when I receive the new phone. Clearly, I used the return label that came with the new iphone 7 and mailed it using USPS on Sep 30. Now more than 10 days has passed, no updating message from ATT. I tracked my package through newgistic website and it showed that my old phone is already delivered at Fort Worth, TX on Oct 6. But I didn't get any message from ATT to tell me that they received my phone and they'll handle my trade-in process and I still get bills for new iphone 7!
Can any agent here help me solve this? I don't know who else I can contact, already made several calls to the customer service, they always gave me a case number then after a few days, I got a text saying the case can't be complete! I just want to know where did my phone go?!!
Gary L
ACE - Expert
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16.5K Messages
7 years ago
My ears are burning! Clearly they gave you some bad info.
What date did you order the iPhone 7 on?
I don't know about you, but even if I had a list in writing (which I did), I'd be double-checking this (quadruple-check). You're giving up a $200 phone to get a $650 phone for free, that's some real money in play. I was terrified when I traded mine in and was googling and checking forums, I did not want this to screw up.
Since you brought me into this conversation...
I'll remind you to get your receipt when you drop off ANYTHING worth $650 at the post office. You'd have tracking info and your have some proof that you passed the buck to the next person in the chain. Heck, I'll suggest same for when you ship $50 items back to Amazon too. With no proof, they don't know that you ever mailed it back in.
It could save you more than 104 minutes...
FYI, I decided that I wasn't thrilled with their mail in system and dropped it off at the store. A month later I started getting my credits.
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Gary L
ACE - Expert
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16.5K Messages
7 years ago
Really, because it's a BOX? I hadn't heard that one before.
But I'm pretty sure I did hear they penalized some people because it got damaged going back in the envelope. I definetly would have used a box with whatever lable had come with the envelope.
They really need a better system for these returns.
This third party system can't be saving them that much over the cost of shipping phones around, not with what it's costing them in ill will.
Let alone the cost of poor instructions in the packaging on what the lables and envelopes are for. I never got an evelope with mine.
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silencemars
Tutor
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6 Messages
7 years ago
Lucky for you. How did you find your phone? Did you called the customer service? I called them several times but they just said they can't help.....sigh...
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jgonzalez77
Tutor
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6 Messages
7 years ago
You should have just stopped there. Anything else is not necessary, what happened happened. The issue now is to try and find a solution given the circumstances, or just accept that AT&T wants to shed all responsibility. It's clear that this is not unique to me. And I'm certain that there are countless more people out there who had this happen to them, but who are not vocalizing on the forums.
I ordered my phone at the end of september, during their trade-up promotion for the iPhone 7. Not that that matters. I chose to ship it back because I was more worried that the iPhone 6 would "get lost" if I handed it to someone at the AT&T store. I figured shipping it back would be the safest way. Guess I was wrong.
For a 20-year customer (got service back when they started as PacBell in Los Angeles in 1997), they should make this right.
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Gary L
ACE - Expert
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16.5K Messages
7 years ago
I'm sure there countless who did have it work for them that are not vocalizing on the forums.
Actually, the specific date is important as the phone could yet turn up and having everything else figured out is kind of relevant.
I wasn't trying to say I did it the obviously correct way. If I had just said "I got my rebate", someone (not necessarily you) could have asked what process I went through.
Many of the extra details offered aren't just to answer you, it's to provide details for future readers, as you posted to a thread from November and had clearly read it before posting, these details can be useful to others...
Clearly I like the idea of having a receipt, but having a receipt from the post office just says I handed them a package; onea receipt from a store shows that I handed off an actual iPhone 6s to someone. I'm actually OCD enough in these matters (especially with $650 on the line) that I shot video in my car showing the detaisl of the phone: that it was in excellent shape, the IMEI number, that iCloud was off, there was no lock code, also performing a hard reset and then I did a pan up to show the store as I was heading in to return it. Just on the chance there were issues after I handed it off.
So I was worried about the process too.
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jgonzalez77
Tutor
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6 Messages
7 years ago
Well to update...my phone was found and I was told that I will get all the back credits owed to me soon, and that within a month or so I will start seeing the regular credits applied.
What I did was call the customer service number, then asked for retention. I figured that if I, a 20-year customer, was seriously considering leaving, maybe they would take it more seriously. I reached a girl who was really nice and helpful and who went the extra mile to help me out. I say that because everyone else told me that unless I had the tracking number, they couldn't trakc my phone. The girls I spoke with, Salione, was smart enough to look up the label that came with the iPhone 7 that was shipped to me (the label I said I used all along), and when she found the label, she tracked the package to the Houston warehouse. So that was proof that I did in fact ship a package, using their label, just a day after I received my iPhone 7, and that it was received at their warehouse. The next step was to verify that there was a phone in that package, that it was an iPhone 6, and that it had the matching IMEI number. This was on January 24th. Salione said that someone in the warehouse would have to grab the package and verify the contents. That would only take a couple of days, or so she said. She said that the issue would be resolved by the morning of January 27th.
I called on January 30th and was told that the issue was still "solving". I called back several times in Feburary and was told the same thing. I should point out that all the othe customer service reps wanted to do nothing more than read the notes and say, "it's still solving", but made no effort to find out why. One rep was so bad, she acted like I was annoying her, and when she put me on hold, she hung up on me, but didn't bother to call me back. FINALLY, on February 23rd, I received a call from AT&T customer service called me to follow up on a survey, and I told her what the main issue was, and she then informed me that the issue had closed that day and that I would start getting credits shortly.
So the moral of the story is that if the phone was shipped back using the label that came with the iPhone 7, it CAN be tracked, but customer service has to care enough to dig deep and find it.
If something happens and I don't get my credits, then I guess I'll be back here at it again. But I'm prett confident that I will.
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mikeymuirhead
Contributor
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1 Message
7 years ago
I too was told back in September at the AT&T Store to mail my phone back in the package the iPhone 7 came in. I did exactly this when the new phone came in November but failed to save a copy of the tracking number (which they seem to love holding over my head and act as if this entire problem is my fault). It's been months now and I have yet to receive a credit for the new phone. I've called AT&T over a dozen times and have gotten a different answer with each call. They simply will not accept that the phone was mailed back. My local AT&T agent even confirmed that they told several customers to mail their phones back but were told weeks later by AT&T that this was not the correct process. So clearly we are not alone here. I just want my credit or I want my phone back. AT&T has made my life a nightmare trying to get this problem figured out. They claim they don't save any tracking information either. As a small business owner who ships hundreds of items monthly I can assure you I have tracking for any shipment I have ever created. I was even told to call the post office and have them find my phone. What a joke!!!
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jgonzalez77
Tutor
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6 Messages
7 years ago
I was originally told by the first service rep that I should call the post office and they can "reverse track it" by my home address. Ridiculous.
anyway, as an update to my update, I was finally given all of my back credits (about 6 months' worth) and was given the monthly credit for the next billing cycle. So as of now, I'm whole.
I would recommend you call back and ask for retention and explain your issue and frustration. Hopefully you'll get someone as helpful as Salione, like I did, who will dig deep enough to find the tracking number that came with the return label with the iPhone 7. It can be done, they just have to be smart enough to figure that out, and willing enough to do the work. It took about 2 months from the moment she found the tracking number and verified that a package was sent using that label/tracking number, to the moment I received my credits.
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