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LamarWashington's profile

Mentor

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3 Messages

Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012 12:57 AM

Closed

AT&T, privacy, and business ethics

I just got this email from AT&T about my CPNI usage. Apparently they want to use my private info for marketing purposes. Here's what's wrong with that.

I'm already a customer, leave me alone. Stop advertising new services and products to your own customers it's an annoying waste that clutters the website, my inbox, and wastes time when calling customer service.

Second, they were going to take my private info anyway if I did not respond the long, confusing e-mail with unfamiliar abbreviations like CPNI. They are profiting from every instance of non-response. Most people don't have the time or don't care enough to contact AT&T and request not to have their privacy invaded.

The language used is deceptive: "By checking this box I am requesting that AT&T restrict the use of my CPNI." that's the quote. See, it seems like they are restricting you, because of the purposefully confusing language. In reality, they are being restricted. I wonder what they have to gain that they would phrase it in a backwards way like this, surely AT&T has no concern for clarity when communicating with customers.

Bad show guys. Most people aren't going to notice, the rest probably won't care, but I hope there are a few people who demand more from a company they pay thousands of dollars to annually.

Former Community Manager

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5.2K Messages

12 years ago

I'm sorry that you're not able to easily go through the opt out process. 

 

Will you please let me know the error message you received when attempting to access the link?

 

Please provide the link as well. 

 

Thanks, 

Tutor

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3 Messages

12 years ago

Error code 100 comes up when we click on this link, just like it did in our email notification.  Jamileh, I know you are in a tough situation but you need to move all of these comments of frustration up the ladder. You obviously do not have the power to address this situation and your company is losing customers because of it. It is not your fault but someone with the power to change this needs to address this problem soon.

Former Community Manager

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5.2K Messages

12 years ago

I appreciate the information about your experience when you called in. 

 

I will make sure that I pass this information on to our support centers so we ensure a consistent message from all support areas. 

Contributor

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2 Messages

12 years ago

S100: We're sorry, but we are experiencing a temporary system error that prevents us from retrieving your account information. Above is what I get when I try to opt out using the website. I'm traveling out of the country now so I can't call in. I experienced all the frustrations mentioned by others and believe AT&T is purposely making this difficult. I've invested 45 minutes in this project so far - and that doesn't include the time I spent opting out the old way. Tedd

Former Community Manager

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5.2K Messages

12 years ago

I wonder if the error might be happening because you're out of the country. That's definitely something to look into. 

 

If you'd like, please send me a private message with your name and email address so we can find an alternate way to help. 




To send a private message, you can either click on the link in this message or click on the little blue envelope in the upper right hand corner, click "compose new message" and type my username in the "Send To" field.

Contributor

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1 Message

12 years ago

The email opt out is not working.  And I refuse to wait in a long hold line on the phone to accomplish this.  I demand that you opt me out of the information sharing immediately. 

 

I am offended by how difficult ATT makes this process.  Why not just start out by NOT SHARING my information.  Let people opt in instead.

 

On top of that, I have to register and accept terms of use just to post and get your assistance.  Absurd. 

Teacher

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31 Messages

12 years ago

I'm in Missouri and I'm getting the same messages about the CPNI.

Former Employee

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65 Messages

12 years ago

The CPNI is a privacy statement that you will be read if you didn't initially opt in. All this is for is for us to be able to tell you about other AT&T products and services. If you opt out, we will still read it. It's completely up to you if you want to hear about U-verse, wireless insurance and roadside assistance, etc. AT&T does not share your information. All telecommunication companies have to do this. It's a federal law. The statement goes like : Under federal privacy law it is your right and our duty to protect your account information....

Contributor

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1 Message

12 years ago

Want to keep me aas a customer? Don't send emails stating we will unless you call. Allow me to opt in.

 

Doug

Former Community Manager

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5.2K Messages

12 years ago


@Foltrain wrote:

The email opt out is not working.  And I refuse to wait in a long hold line on the phone to accomplish this.  I demand that you opt me out of the information sharing immediately. 

 

I am offended by how difficult ATT makes this process.  Why not just start out by NOT SHARING my information.  Let people opt in instead.

 

On top of that, I have to register and accept terms of use just to post and get your assistance.  Absurd. 


What happens when you try to access the website? Do you get an error?

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