Our Community Forums will be closing on June 27, 2024. Please visit att.com/support for all your support needs.
Need help understanding your bill?
MikeCKane7's profile

Teacher

 • 

8 Messages

Tuesday, March 13th, 2018 1:35 AM

Switcher Program is a SCAM and a LIE

Ok AT&T, I've had enough. Switching from Verizon has been the worst and most frustrating process I have ever had with customer service and operations. We are still out over 400 dollars because you lost our old phones after telling us exactly how to send them. I have spoken with your customer service department, loyalty, trade-in, and your switcher departments and have emailed escalated tickets, etc.

 

DO NOT switch to ATT from Verizon. The process is awful and a lie.

 

At this point, we have wasted so much time being passed around from phone call to phone call, department to department, even after reaching a potential settlement.  Given that we were willing to switch our plans over, and could have been happy customers for a while, this is incredibly disappointing, and your company shouldn't get away with this.  We have been reasonable and patient, and at this point, we are fed up.

 

We will be requesting your assistance in providing the UIDs of every employee we have spoken to from Loyalty, General Customer Service, Trade In, as well as the switcher program,

 

 
We have tried to be patient, but at this point we would like a resolution from your end.
 
Escalation reference: ***
You can look into our account and the full conversation history and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
 
How do you expect people to switch to you in the future when this is how you treat your customers?  SHAME.
 
[Edited to comply with Guidelines - numerous violations]
 

 

ACE - Expert

 • 

14.4K Messages

6 years ago

Do you have the evidence (via tracking numbers) that AT&T received the trade ins? If so, send that evidence to @ATTCares

 

if not, your should first figure out if you’re correct that AT&T received them before going on as if AT&T isn’t cooperating. 

ACE - Sage

 • 

118.4K Messages

6 years ago

@MikeCKane7  Also not ATT.  This is the community, as in customers. 

The switch offer depends on the phones being traded in.  Find the phones and resolve the problem. 

Teacher

 • 

8 Messages

6 years ago

 
Here is the timeline of events (including some additional calls not noted here), without emotion for logging purposes.
 
Jan 13 - Setup Service with AT&T based on the promise that our previous Verizon Bill would be paid off, and that we would have 2-for-1 on our new devices, which would be reflected after three billing cycles
 
Jan 18 - Received two new devices in the Mail from AT&T including a Pre-Paid Box to ship back to AT&T
Jan 18 - Successfully transferred service from Verizon (2 numbers)
 
Jan 19 - We called AT&T to confirm that we send our previous Verizon phones in the pre-paid box.  We asked specifically if we can use USPS, or if we need to take it to the store.  AT&T confirmed that we should send it in the box.
 
Jan 23 - USPS Confirmed Delivery to AT&T in Des Moines, Iowa based on Tracking Number
 
Feb 21 - Paid AT&T bill and setup recurring payments
 
Feb 23 - Submitted Final Verizon bill for AT&T to pay off.  Automated System rejected it.
 
Feb 23 - Called Customer Service to reconcile the previous equipment charges.  After reviewing it over the phone, they were able to confirm the amounts that should be paid.  However, no word on the devices that were sent.
 
Feb 26 - Escalated ticket to AT&T via email to try and resolve the issue, which is that the representative that told us to ship the phones in the pre-paid box was incorrect and they can't find our phones at the warehouse.
 
Mar 5 - Worked with Verizon to determine the specific IMEI numbers of our previous phones to assist in tracking them down on behalf of AT&T since they weren't going to do that on our behalf.  Sent these to escalations
 
Mar 8 - Escalation claims we need a Trade-In number, which we don't have because AT&T never asked us to do anything other than send our phones in the pre-paid box.
 
Other events:
 
- Loyalty Customer Program agreed that it was frustrating and that we were told the wrong instructions and told us we can even things up through a 400 dollar credit which will almost cover the previous Verizon Equipment Bill + the two phones we turned it.
 
- Called Customer Service several times since then, averaging calls about 30 minutes each.  We have been transferred to Customer Service main line, Loyalty, the Trade-In Program, the Switcher Program.
 
- The issue is still not resolved, including the agreement that we could get the 400 dollar credit.  Each time we call, they transfer us to several departments, and no one can apply it to the account.  Sometimes they claim it's because we have a shared account (wireless + internet), other times it gets sent between the departments.

Teacher

 • 

8 Messages

6 years ago

Please see reply below.  We have tried everything and have spent almost 10 hours of our time trying to resolve this.  We watched the video on the switcher program, followed instructions carefully, and have invested a lot of our personal time all because AT&T messed up in their instructions on how to send the phones back.

 

None of this has been easy for us.  We are both technically-savvy and made sure to have tracking numbers and followed all of the protocols.  Even after explaining this situation many times, and getting re-routed so many times, there doesn't seem to be any partnership on AT&T's end to ensure that we could make things right.

 

This never needed to be an ordeal, and even after some representatives acknowledged the issue, they are still not reconciling the issue.

 

If this isn't resolved soon, we will seek professional services to make things better.  I think AT&T should be ashamed of their operations, the constant re-routing, the lack of visibility across their divisions to track down these items, and especially the number of iterations to speak with them before a manager could simply make this problem go away.

 

We would have NEVER switched from Verizon knowing that this would be half as difficult as it has been, and the customer service experience on top of all of this is shameful.

 

I am open to discussing this with anyone from the customer service reps all the way to the CEO to give my opinion on how this could be improved, it's just terrible that it happened to us.  I have never needed to spend so much time with Customer service regarding promises that are not fulfilled.

ACE - Sage

 • 

118.4K Messages

6 years ago

@MikeCKane7

You posted in the community, please click on @ATTCares to send ATT a private message.

Teacher

 • 

8 Messages

6 years ago

OK, Will do.

Teacher

 • 

8 Messages

6 years ago

Received this:  "In order to serve you as quickly as possible, we are no longer accepting private messages. To get in touch with us about your account or bill, please chat with us here. For all other questions, please post your question publicly here on the forums."

 

Is this a continued effort to make it as difficult for me as possible to get anything done with this?

 

Teacher

 • 

8 Messages

6 years ago

Just went back and forth to two departments through chat.  After an Hour, received the same run-around.  Now they want me to call the rebate center again.

 

Continuing to frustrate me.  On one last good faith measure, I will call the rebate center.  If I hit a dead end or have the same re-direction, I will begin filing my attorney paperwork.

 

Any other suggestions?

Contributor

 • 

1 Message

6 years ago

I am going through the same exact thing. I mailed my trade-in phone to AT&T over 2 months ago and I got a tracking number and they denied my trade-in and now I lost $552 and my iPhone 8. I regret the day I switched to AT&T. This switcher program is a scam !!! I have been passed around from department to department and when you call the switcher program number it’s nothing but robots and you cannot speak to a live person. SCAM !!!!

ACE - Sage

 • 

118.4K Messages

6 years ago

@Samanthagutu 

The switch offer ended 3/31, hopefully you switched before that date.

File a BBB complaint and someone will contact you.  Be prepared to supply your tracking or counter receipt for sending in the phone.  

BTW an iPhone 8 from any other carrier would work in ATT, you should have paid it off, unlocked if needed, and kept the iPhone.  The switch offer is only a reimbursement and is capped at $650.  

Not finding what you're looking for?
New to AT&T Community?
New to the AT&T Community? Start by visiting the Community How-To.
New to the AT&T Community?
Visit the Community How-To.