Mentor
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47 Messages
ConnecTech Lied & Gave Erroneous Information to get my Money!
I've been haven’t a malware problem over the past week, and a very knowledgeable volunteer on Apple.com said that it seemed as if the modem/router was infected. I relayed this information to the ConnecTech "tech" and she said that malware can’t do that. I'll leave out the steps we took to diagnose the issue, but they were definitive.
I told the rep that I already pay $300+/month, and wasn’t about to pay another penny, especially when I can go for more than a year with no technical support. I then said that if the same problem in my iPhone and iPad has nothing to do with the router (choosing not to say anything about DNS, IP addresses, etc), then I'd wait 'til Monday and just do a restore, then install iOS 12.
Situation resolved, right? NO WAY! She said that the issue would still remain. And which issue would that be? Well, it seems she didn’t ask. Not that I'd expect it to make any appreciable difference, as she was clearly an incompetent shill who was only interested in signing up new marks. I finally had to hang up on her because she would stop pimping a $180/year "service" plan. Speaking of which, this really reminds me of being pressured to sell extended warranties on computers. I finally got fed up and quit.
I wanted to ask her to produce the part of the contract that says we have to pay for technical support, over and above what they already gouge us for, but I knew that would a fruitless endeavor. Likewise, I sensed the overwhelming futility of pointing out that AT&T is the largest telecom company in the world and could easily afford to provide occasional technical support to customers, and that proposing that I pay either $50/incident or $15/month (12 months minimum) is nothing more than greed. It’s bad enough our choices for broadband services providers have been consolidated into a ludicrously small number. Here it’s either AT&T or Comcast/Xfinity, period. The others simply don’t compete on the same level. We need to find ways to stand up against predatory corporate behavior while we still can!
_xyzzy_
Expert
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15K Messages
6 years ago
So I guess your post is just to let off some steam here. Ok, that's fine.
Just curious was the number you called for ConnecTech 866-294-3464? $15/month is the rate they charge.
If you are not going to discuss your problem (or whatever) here then maybe you should try the att uverse forum over in DSLReports? They apparently have a lot of router experts over there.
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JohnnyCNote
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47 Messages
6 years ago
The router should be replaced Monday. I contacted ATT via chat and pretty much just told them it needed replaced and the rep agreed! Of course, I completely avoided Con-Tech.
Thanks for the referral, but I posted the message to warn people about AT&T's latest scam. I'd managed to avoid them all these years, then I get shunted to them before I even had a chance to determine if there was a charge. From beginning to end the whole interaction was strange and offensive in that their approach was so clumsy. I’m hoping someone might have ideas about any ways to counter this, or is it already too late?
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JohnnyCNote
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47 Messages
6 years ago
Thanks but the router's already been replaced, and I'll be moving in the next few months. My TV/Internet account commitment period ends in a few weeks. Needless to say, I won’t be staying with AT&T! It seems that, in the vast majority of times, whenever I resort to contacting technical support, it proves to be a waste of time and I solve the problem without their "help".
The router issue is resolved, and I’ll soon respond to the fraudulent ConnecTech "offer" when I refuse to renew the subscription…
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opossum6
Contributor
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1 Message
6 years ago
I paid the $49 (I was given to believe this was for 1 month). They did not fix the problem. I eventually got an ATT tech to come to the house. There was a problem with the modem, which he quickly fixed and said there was no way Connectech could solve this online. I called Connectech and they said I failed to call back within 5 days (not one month). I tried to get a refund, and 3 ATT billing agents assured me that I would get a refund. Not happening.
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JohnnyCNote
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47 Messages
6 years ago
Have you tried contacting consumer agencies like the BBB, FTC, state and local agencies? You might be able to open a dispute through your bank or CC provider, depending upon how you paid. It definitely looks like you have more than enough to file a valid complaint.
I’m on the verge of switching to Sling. I just wish I didn’t need to get a separate Internet account because I like Comcast even less than AT&T. It wasn’t always this bad, but all of the consolidation in the industry has eliminated most of the choices. Maybe services like Sling will introduce some competition and drive down prices.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
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