Customer Service Nightmares

April 27, 2004 7:54 PM

AT&T Wireless screwed me, how can I get revenge (or at least minimize the damage to my credit report)? How have others dealt with customer service nightmares in the past? [MI]

Last June, I ordered a new GSM 6800 nokia cell phone. After 20 days I was really unhappy with the coverage so I canceled the service. They told me that they'd send return labels for me to return the phone. A month passes, no labels, just a bill for the phone. I call, they say that they'll send labels. A month later, no labels, but another bill shows up. This cycle goes on for _7_ months! In the 7th month they sent my account to collections, at the same time, they finally sent the labels. I return the phone using the labels and lodge a dispute with the collections company. I think everything is ok at this point as I've returned the phone.

Today, I get another call from collections asking for money. When I contact AT&T they say they have no record of the phone being returned, or that they even have the return number that they gave me in their system. They suggest that I pay collections as they have no proof of any return, and the proof that I have is worthless. At this point, I feel totally helpless. I call collections and pay the money (~$170) as I just want to be done with all of this. They say that even though I've paid and really done nothing wrong that there will still be a mark on my credit report. Now I'm just pissed off and want revenge. What can I do? Contact the BBB, my Attorney General? Do those things have any affect at all?

posted by freshgroundpepper to human relations (15 comments total)

Get a lawyer to draft a complaint to the PUC, with copies sent to AT&T's legal department and the CEO's office. Companies that large are incapable of responding to stimuli other than threats.
posted by majick at 8:02 PM on April 27, 2004

Also, contact all the major credit agencies and dispute anything that AT&T might have put on it.
posted by thebigpoop at 8:48 PM on April 27, 2004

It, being your credit report.
posted by thebigpoop at 8:48 PM on April 27, 2004

Do you have written proof that you've asked for the labels to return the phone? Did you request a signature confirmation when you sent the phone back to ATT? More generally, do you have any written proof of any of these transactions? Employee numbers? Names? Time and dates? If not, from the ATT perspective, you're kinda screwed. (IMHO, IANAL)

On the other hand, as thebigpoop suggests, your best route is to dispute everything with the agencies that put the derogatory information on their report. If you're persistent, you can get it removed.
posted by BlueTrain at 9:20 PM on April 27, 2004

Fill out a Form 475 with the FCC (you can do it online). Also file a complaint form with your State Attorney General's office (MN here). I don't know that they'll help you get your due, but you'll at least get letters back from them to add to your grievance file.
posted by obloquy at 10:20 PM on April 27, 2004

The quickest way I've found to escalate these things is to call/email the BBB. I've not dealt with AT&T in particular, but I've always gotten a really fast response from other national companies when I've filed a complaint.
posted by ph00dz at 10:44 PM on April 27, 2004

...and if listening to another phone company nightmare would make you feel any better, there's a good one on This American Life 12/5/03, in the last 22 minutes. They also suggest filing a complaint with the BBB. Other than that, there's little practical advice, but it gives you a good example of the duplicitous, deliberate quagmire that is modern customer service.
posted by obloquy at 10:53 PM on April 27, 2004

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions. I just filed a complaint with the BBB on-line, and I'm in the process of printing out the PDF to send in to my Attorney General. After that, I'm going to look into the FCC form 475.

When I was on the phone with them earlier, I just wanted the experience to be done with, but now I'm pissed and I just want ATT to suffer. I don't really expect (or even care at this point) about my $171.18 (though my credit rating is another story). I will _never_ give business to ATT (soon to be cingular) again. Just like I'll never give business to Qwest for a similar, but in comparison, less agitating experience.

What is it with phone companies anyway? Bastards.
posted by freshgroundpepper at 11:47 PM on April 27, 2004

You should watch that movie, "The President's Analyst."

Then you will know The Truth.
posted by ph00dz at 8:08 AM on April 28, 2004

I had the worst billing experience with AT&T Wireless a few years ago--it was entirely their fault (they double-billed my credit card for the initial fees), but it almost stopped me from getting my first mortgage. I had the payment stopped, since they admitted the problem, and they had the gall to start referring me to collection agencies!

I had to explain endlessly that it was them, not me...to the banks, the credit agencies, everyone. It got to the point that I even had letters from powerless functionaries there admitting that I wasn't at fault, but that they weren't currently able to straighten it out for me. (I can't even count how many times I was confidently reassured by "SWAT Black-Belt Super-Duper Tier 0 Omnipotent Customer Service Specialists" that they were going to take care of everything. Total bullshit.)

Anyhoo, after almost two years of endless grief, my wife talks to someone who advocates the old "find the name of the Executive VP, and write to them directly" routine. It's months before she does it, because I completely poo-poo the idea, but one week after she finally mails it, she gets a call from a special assistant to the VP, and it's taken care of.

Needless to say, we're now completely dissatisfied with another provider (they all suck), but I have routinely denounced AT&T Wireless to anyone who mentions it. More relevantly, I have no idea if the same approach would still work, but it can hardly hurt.
posted by LairBob at 10:39 AM on April 28, 2004

Well, you just demonstrated to that VP that he/she wasted his/her time. :)
posted by Ethereal Bligh at 10:45 AM on April 28, 2004

Heh...maybe, but they can hardly be surprised. It's not like they rolled out the red carpet or anything when they did deal with it--it was much more cursory, like scratching an itch.
posted by LairBob at 11:12 AM on April 28, 2004

freshgroundpepper: The exact same thing happened to me with AT&T. I'll be following the advice in this thread myself.
posted by 4easypayments at 12:07 PM on April 28, 2004

I'd like to go LairBob's route - add me to that huge list of AT&T GSM customers who have been screwed (and I mean hard and unlubricated) by AT&T Wireless. So, how do I find out the name of the Sr. Vice President of the former AT&T Wireless in whose organization Customer (No-)Care resides? I'd like to tell that VP personally about "Daniella," a "supervisor" in Customer Care, who insisted I was "just being an asshole" because I demanded notice in writing from AT&T that my account had actually been deactivated... They still claim I owe them $460, are unable to tell me what it's for, unable to find records of the last $350 I sent them (I have the cashed check) and if it weren't for privacy manager screening my calls at home, I'd be receiving dozens of calls from some collector every week. Time for them to have a little of their own...
posted by JollyWanker at 1:30 PM on April 28, 2004

Follow Up:

After sending a letter to the Atty General and BBB describing the problem. I recieved a call from AT&T wireless Today (2 weeks after sending hte message) where an "Executive Representative" seemingly took care of everything. They said that a full refund was in the mail and that any credit blemishes would be removed.

I know that my Attorney General also recently filed a claim against AT&T (not wireless but the parent company) recently, and I wonder if the response I got had anything to do with that.

I will _definitely_ contact the attorney general if I ever get in a situation like this again, and would suggest the same to others. Mike Hatch rulez!
posted by freshgroundpepper at 11:13 AM on May 10, 2004