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 Unfair Treatment and Poor Customer Service
Posted Fri July 27, 2007 12:00 pm, by Mick M. written to Cingular Wireless (now ATT Mobility)
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To Whom it May Concern:
I am writing because of a recent situation which has caused me great anger and frustration with your company. To begin with some background, I have been a customer of yours for almost 2 years now. I currently have 2 phones under contract with your company. One phone I use exclusively for voice usage as my personal and work cell phone. The other phone is a Treo 680 device for which I do not have a voice plan and only use for remote email connectivity for my job. This device is only used when I am traveling or will be away from my computer for an extended period. During the time that I have been a customer of yours, I have never defaulted or been late on a single payment.
On May 24, 2007, I was a victim of a home invasion. A burglar broke into my home while I was away and in this process, my Treo device was stolen. As I mentioned above, I only use this device for work when I am traveling or will be away from my computer. As a result of this, I did not realize that it had been stolen right away. If you have ever been the victim of such a crime, you would understand that even now, 2 months after the break-in, I still notice certain things that have been stolen that I hadn't realized until I needed a reason to look for them.
On May 30, 2007, I finally noticed that my Treo had been stolen (as my work schedule required me to utilize remote email that day). The very next day, May 31, I called Cingular to report the phone as stolen.
When I received my bill for the time period 5/17/07 6/16/07, I noticed that, in one week, my stolen phone had racked up approximately $385 in calls. This was not hard to do, as since I am without a voice plan on this phone, each call cost $0.40 per minute. I immediately called your customer service department and informed them of my situation, and even provided them with the police report number as evidence that the timeline of the unauthorized calls coincide with when my house was burglarized. The person on the phone ensured me that a credit for these calls should not be a problem, and that someone would be in touch with me in a few business days to confirm. What happened next began a series of events which has caused me much anguish and has left me extremely disappointed with how AT&T treats their customers...
I received a voicemail from Ms. ***** from your company, who informed me that my request for credit had been "denied." She came to this judgment without speaking to me to get all the relevant facts or timelines. On this voicemail, she took a very harsh tone and proceeded to lecture me as if she was my mother, saying things like "I don't know why you waited so long to report your phone as stolen, but you should know better." I found this very disrespectful. To top it all off, she did not leave a number where I could call her back to discuss her decision, as (little did I know at the time) she had the final word and my fate to pay for these unauthorized calls had been sealed.
To try and rectify the situation, I next called back your customer service number (as again, Ms. ***** did not leave a number where she could be reached.) When I explained the entire situation to the customer service representative, she told me that there was "nothing she could do", because "company policy states that you are responsible for all of the calls made on your phone up until the point it is reported stolen." While I appreciate the fact that your company has such policies, your policy could not have had in mind this scenario. How can I be held responsible for fraudulent calls that were made on my phone if I was not aware that it had been stolen? I tried reasoning with the customer service representative, and after deliberation with her supervisor, she informed me that she was authorized to credit my account for $100 only. I informed her that that was not sufficient. Under the circumstances, I do not feel that I should have to pay for any of these calls. Clearly, since this first level customer service representative was not a decision maker, I asked to speak to her supervisor.
Once I got on the phone with the supervisor, I was told that they were being more then generous by offering to credit me for 25% of these fraudulent calls, to which I disagreed. She then informed me that there was absolutely nothing she could do, because she was not authorized to overrule the decision of another supervisor, who in this case was the infamous Ms. *****. I then asked if I could have her phone number, since she is obviously the person who makes all the decisions at your company. This request was refused. I then asked to speak to the next level supervisor, and after a few moments on hold, she returned on the line and informed me that "the escalation stops with" her, and that I was not permitted to speak to her supervisor. I then asked her if I could leave my phone number and asked if her supervisor could call me back. This request was also refused. She then gave me a mailing address and told me to write a letter if I was dissatisfied with the level of customer service that I was receiving.
IS THIS HOW YOU TRAIN YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE EMPLOYEES TO TREAT CUSTOMERS? If I have a problem that can not (or will not) be addressed by a second level supervisor, that's it?!?! There's no one else I am permitted to speak to?!? I find this extremely hard to believe.
So now here I am, forced to write a letter because your customer service personnel are either unwilling or unable to do anything.
To make matters worse, I now looked at my account today, and noticed an additional $35 "Restoral Fee" has been charged to my account. So just so I get this straight...my phone is stolen, and I'm required to pay $385 for all of the unauthorized calls that were made without my knowledge, then I pay another $400 to your company to replace my stolen Treo, then I have to pay an additional $35 for you to "restore" my service so you can start sending me bills again? I'm beginning to see who has benefited the most from my house being burglarized, and it's not the burglar...it's AT&T!
Please let me know how you plan on resolving this situation. I don't believe I'm asking for much, I'm just asking to be treated fairly and with respect. Therefore, I ask that you credit my account for the $385 in fraudulent calls that were made without my knowledge of my Treo being stolen, I ask that you credit my account for the $35 "restoration fee", I ask for an apology for all of this anguish that you have put me through (as if it wasn't hard enough having to go through the home invasion), and finally, I would appreciate it if someone would call me to discuss this matter, as I would rather not handle this exclusively over email.
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by rkcbw0314 Posted Sat July 28, 2007 @ 11:51 PM
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Mick--I am so sorry about all these events. You must feel that you
were robbed twice--once by the burglar, and then again by AT&T! They
were they are treating you is truly reprehensible. While you should
send in your complaint letter, they will probably not offer more
without additional pressure as most wireless companies are devoid of
morals and just try to get every penny they can from companies.
Here is some useful information. As you know, if your credit card was
stolen, you would not be liable for more than $50. Congress and the
regulatory agencies have repeatedly made attempts to put a similar
limit on stolen cell phones. However, all these efforts have failed
because high priced lobbyists have called in their favors and blocked
these efforts. Herein lies some hope for getting your money back.
ATT and other cell companies do not want much attention drawn to these
matters, for fear that the FCC or congress will change the rules on
this type of matter. If ATT knows you will make a lot of noise, they
may cave. Therefore, you need to make as much noise as possible. I
suggest the following:
1)File a complaint with the FCC. Complain about the excess charges
ATT is making you pay, and ask them to change their regulations on
this matter. You can file your complaint here:
http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
2)File a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. you can do so at
www.bbb.org
3)File a complaint with your state attorney general. You can usually
do this on line. just google (name of your state, attorney general,
consumer)
4)Write your congressman and both of your senators. Describe your
plight and urge them to support efforts that would make liability for
stolen cell phones the same as for stolen credit cards. BE SURE to CC
these letters to ATT.
Go here to learn how to contact your congressman
http://www.house.gov/writerep/
Go here to learn how to contact your senatore:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
You should also send letters to consumer reporters at your local
newspapers and television stations. Also CC these to ATT
Good luck, and again, so sorry your house was robbed, and you were
then robbed again by ATT.
Reply
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