Free tablet scam

@Gredagarble Sorry, cell companies generally do not give away or sell discounted cellular equipment without requiring you to have service on that device for a length of time (usually 24-30 months). It's kind of their business model...

I am the victim of the same scam. I was told that I qualify for a feee tablet then was sent a bill for it. When I called to get Ann explanation as to what this was for, only then was it explained that it wasn't free at all. In addition to that bait and switch tactic, I also found that the service I just ordered for internet was also a scam. I cancelled all of it and wanted to send the tablet back. They said it was too late and for me to keep the tablet and all was canceled. I still have an outstanding bill for $240 for a "free" tablet even after being assured it was all taken care of. It's either unscroupable business paractives or incompetence, either one does not justify stealing my hard earned money.  I've been a customer of AT&T for many years but it will soon all be over. Complaints will be filed and business lost. 

I too got scammed by ATT.  The unscrupulous sales rep in Northern Ohio "gave" me 2 "free" tablets.  I asked him very directly whether there were any charges at all for them.  He said, "no".   Then i get my bill and discover a monthly data charge.  Luckily, it was within a month.  So, I called to ship them back.  They said I had to return them in person.  So, I drove 30 minutes to the AT&T store (could not return at a regular retail store) and returned the two devices thinking my problem was solved.  Little did I know my nightmare was just starting.  Not only did they not stop billing me, they did not have a record that I returned the devices (and I had lost my receipts).  I didn't notice this for several months.  When we called AT&T to get this fixed,  they said we owed an early termination fee of $100 per device.  We told them that was completely unacceptable and continued looking for our paperwork.  Well, it's now been over a year and we've paid AT&T about $300 in "data" for devices we never wanted, devices we returned, and never used.   I just got off the phone with them (for 50 minutes) and their polite, but unhelpful response was that they would waive the $200 termination fees and credit our account $40.  Effectively, they told me that they were going to keep the ~$260 they scammed from me over the past year without remorse.  I declined the polite, but unhelpful lady and told them that I would instead be leaving AT&T as soon as possible, filing formal complaints with the FTC, posting my complaint for others to see (here now), [Edited to comply with Guidelines] From the number of complaints I've seen online, this is not an isolated experience.  This is a systematic scam.  If you got scammed by AT&T for a "free" tablet, please reply to this thread.    I don't care what it's going to cost me to leave AT&T.  They have lost me as a customer for life.  Their unethical, predatory behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

For the record, my initial complaint was edited by AT&T because I mentioned certain solutions to the scam that involved speaking with professionals adept at dealing with issues such as this.  I have since read that we no longer have those solutions available to us due to some changes made by certain politicians in Washington.  Instead, we only have the right to arbitration.  I will be pursuing arbitration.  But I will will also be filing a formal complaint with with the FTC.  It seems their goal is to keep customers isolated so that they feel alone in their complaints with limited individual power over the giant AT&T powerhouse.  If companies knowingly or unknowingly deceive their customers, I believe they should be held accountable.  People should have the right to collectively negotiate retribution for wrongs made by companies.  This arbitration clause, it seems, disallows this right.  This is unfortunate.

Note:  I'm new to this idea of actively posting complaints against bad corporate behavior.  Frankly, I'm annoyed that I'm having to spend time on my day off work dealing with this.  I'm guessing that's their whole plan -- make it as difficult as possible for individuals to make others aware of big companies' unethical behavior.  I can see now why this strategy works for them.  It's a pain for us to deal with this when it's only for a few hundred dollars.  I'll keep folks posted on my personal pain.