ATT shenanigans

[Mikesus]

Watch your bill...

Was told that I wouldn't be charged upgrade fees in writing and from the store manager... (we have 7 lines)

Get the bill and every line had one, plus the 2 iPads that previously had service got charged activation fees. (He had promised $100 credit each for reupping and there should not have been any fee)

Conveniently the manager doesn't work there anymore...

Thankfully, this occurred on day 13. Call to retention and low and behold I got the credits immediately applied...


Moral? Check you bill and don't trust store managers....

 

[Lylyluvda916]

Watch your bill...

Was told that I wouldn't be charged upgrade fees in writing and from the store manager... (we have 7 lines)

Get the bill and every line had one, plus the 2 iPads that previously had service got charged activation fees. (He had promised $100 credit each for reupping and there should not have been any fee)

Conveniently the manager doesn't work there anymore...

Thankfully, this occurred on day 13. Call to retention and low and behold I got the credits immediately applied...


Moral? Check you bill and don't trust store managers....

YES! Keep a good eye on your bill. I recently went in last week to add an ipad via edge for my mother and they mistakenly had gotten an ipad mini. they exchanged it in store within seconds for the correct device. Imagine my surprise when I had an extra $180 on my bill for an early cancellation fee and an activation fee. They did fix it after an hour but it shouldn't have happened in the first place.

 

[Col Ronson]

From what i've been told in store employees generally do not have a say on billing matters in the sense they can waive fees. Generally i just call in and say "but they told me this that" and get the usual "we'll waive this one time only sir blah blah"

 

[Applejuiced]

That's why he doesn't work there any more

 

[Mikesus]

That's why he doesn't work there any more

Actually he got moved I found out... Still a manager.

The rep I got from retention was super apologetic and could see where the account was notated but nothing had happened the way it was notated... Didn't hurt that I had a chat saved off either...

 

[Applejuiced]

Nice, glad it worked out.
I had managers and AT&T reps promise me things and supposedly they notate my account and added it in the system and nothing was really done when the bill came in.

 

[Mikesus]

From what i've been told in store employees generally do not have a say on billing matters in the sense they can waive fees. Generally i just call in and say "but they told me this that" and get the usual "we'll waive this one time only sir blah blah"

It's been hit or miss. I have walked out and gotten an email stating I received a credit, to what happened this time...

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Nice, glad it worked out.
I had managers and AT&T reps promise me things and supposedly they notate my account and added it in the system and nothing was really done when the bill came in.

Yup. Joe Pesci comes to mind...
(Course that was the drive thru)

 

[shenan1982]

Was told that I wouldn't be charged upgrade fees in writing and from the store manager... (we have 7 lines)

Odd, AT&T store managers aren't authorized to make modification to the contract. Both FAN and Individual Standard contract states that you'll be charged an upgrade fee, and also states that any changes in terms of the contract must be made in writing by an AT&T Authorized Agent. A store manager never has and never will be a Agent for the corporation. They're the second to lowest on the totem pole in the entire massive organization (only lower would be the employees ringing you up and selling you phones).

So even if he wrote you a letter promising those things, legally he's not authorized to act on behalf of the company. Tho I'm fairly sure if he really did give you a guarantee in writing, while he'd be an idiot, you'd have a pretty good chance of getting ATT to honor it.

But the bottom line is the upgrade fee is a BS fee, and ATT knows it... they're now training their employees to say "The fee allows us to offer you discounted hardware..." to which I reply "No I get a discount because I'm extending my contract by multiple years and thousands of dollars" ... but they're just robots that repeat what they're trained to say.

I find Premier Customer Service is a bit better, but not great. It's just hit or miss. Like with any customer service, if you ask and don't like the answer, hang up and call again. You're the customer and absolutely entitled to ask for a little concession now and then.

Good luck to ya

 

[ucfgrad93]

It is always a good idea to check your bills on a regular basis.

 

[Mikesus]

Odd, AT&T store managers aren't authorized to make modification to the contract. Both FAN and Individual Standard contract states that you'll be charged an upgrade fee, and also states that any changes in terms of the contract must be made in writing by an AT&T Authorized Agent. A store manager never has and never will be a Agent for the corporation. They're the second to lowest on the totem pole in the entire massive organization (only lower would be the employees ringing you up and selling you phones).

So even if he wrote you a letter promising those things, legally he's not authorized to act on behalf of the company. Tho I'm fairly sure if he really did give you a guarantee in writing, while he'd be an idiot, you'd have a pretty good chance of getting ATT to honor it.

But the bottom line is the upgrade fee is a BS fee, and ATT knows it... they're now training their employees to say "The fee allows us to offer you discounted hardware..." to which I reply "No I get a discount because I'm extending my contract by multiple years and thousands of dollars" ... but they're just robots that repeat what they're trained to say.

I find Premier Customer Service is a bit better, but not great. It's just hit or miss. Like with any customer service, if you ask and don't like the answer, hang up and call again. You're the customer and absolutely entitled to ask for a little concession now and then.

Good luck to ya

Sorry ran those together.

On the iPads all he was supposed to do was re-up and give $100 credit for each and no charges. He put 2 new numbers on them and as a result I was charged activations.

The upgrade was in writing from att chat. (Verified by retentions that she did in fact "guarantee" that the fees were waived.). The 2 phones that came from ATT didn't have fees, the 2 in store did despite info otherwise. (Think it's a perk of our FAN)

 

[hbenitez09]

Isn't any employee an agent for the company they work for and therefore a representative of the company to the customer. Therefore what an employee of a company says usually has to be done unless it was some outrageous act. Sounds like an employee who doesn't care about the company or your experience. Unfortunate you had that experience but good thing it worked out for you.

Odd, AT&T store managers aren't authorized to make modification to the contract. Both FAN and Individual Standard contract states that you'll be charged an upgrade fee, and also states that any changes in terms of the contract must be made in writing by an AT&T Authorized Agent. A store manager never has and never will be a Agent for the corporation. They're the second to lowest on the totem pole in the entire massive organization (only lower would be the employees ringing you up and selling you phones).

So even if he wrote you a letter promising those things, legally he's not authorized to act on behalf of the company. Tho I'm fairly sure if he really did give you a guarantee in writing, while he'd be an idiot, you'd have a pretty good chance of getting ATT to honor it.

But the bottom line is the upgrade fee is a BS fee, and ATT knows it... they're now training their employees to say "The fee allows us to offer you discounted hardware..." to which I reply "No I get a discount because I'm extending my contract by multiple years and thousands of dollars" ... but they're just robots that repeat what they're trained to say.

I find Premier Customer Service is a bit better, but not great. It's just hit or miss. Like with any customer service, if you ask and don't like the answer, hang up and call again. You're the customer and absolutely entitled to ask for a little concession now and then.

Good luck to ya

 

[shenan1982]

Isn't any employee an agent for the company they work for and therefore a representative of the company to the customer. Therefore what an employee of a company says usually has to be done unless it was some outrageous act. Sounds like an employee who doesn't care about the company or your experience. Unfortunate you had that experience but good thing it worked out for you.

No, a store manager at AT&T would not be considered an agent for the entity...

Agent definition in a legal sense:

"One who agrees and is authorized to act on behalf of another, a principal, to legally bind an individual in particular business transactions with third parties pursuant to an agency relationship."

Though there are some actions which a store manager could do, ie a price override which technically they don't have the legal authority to do under a contract, but do so in a sort of grey area that they have the empowerment to make a customer service decision within a certain budget. But as far as making written modifications to your contract, absolutely not... which is what giving you something in writing guaranteeing that you'll pay no upgrade fee would be.

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Sorry ran those together.

On the iPads all he was supposed to do was re-up and give $100 credit for each and no charges. He put 2 new numbers on them and as a result I was charged activations.

The upgrade was in writing from att chat. (Verified by retentions that she did in fact "guarantee" that the fees were waived.). The 2 phones that came from ATT didn't have fees, the 2 in store did despite info otherwise. (Think it's a perk of our FAN)

No FAN waives upgrade fees, just activation fees. That was a change ATT made several years ago. It's sad ATT doesn't have to notify FAN users of these changes because they protect themselves with the "We reserve the right to modify benefits at any time.." BS...

As for a chat being "guaranteed in writing" it's really not... the contract states the terms, and it states any modifications or amendments to the contract must be made in writing by the AT&T Legal Department and mutually agreed upon in writing. With that said, if you have a chat transcript promising a waived activation fee, ATT will most likely honor it. But these days nothing surprises me with them.

 

[Mikesus]

Armed with the chat and talking to the manager (found him!) All the "promised stuff" was honored.

 

[Cscottrun]

No, a store manager at AT&T would not be considered an agent for the entity...

Agent definition in a legal sense:

"One who agrees and is authorized to act on behalf of another, a principal, to legally bind an individual in particular business transactions with third parties pursuant to an agency relationship."

Though there are some actions which a store manager could do, ie a price override which technically they don't have the legal authority to do under a contract, but do so in a sort of grey area that they have the empowerment to make a customer service decision within a certain budget. But as far as making written modifications to your contract, absolutely not... which is what giving you something in writing guaranteeing that you'll pay no upgrade fee would be.

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No FAN waives upgrade fees, just activation fees. That was a change ATT made several years ago. It's sad ATT doesn't have to notify FAN users of these changes because they protect themselves with the "We reserve the right to modify benefits at any time.." BS...

As for a chat being "guaranteed in writing" it's really not... the contract states the terms, and it states any modifications or amendments to the contract must be made in writing by the AT&T Legal Department and mutually agreed upon in writing. With that said, if you have a chat transcript promising a waived activation fee, ATT will most likely honor it. But these days nothing surprises me with them.

Just curious, are you a lawyer, because I believe you are passing around false information. Have you ever heard of Apparent Authority?

If a person who is not an agent appears to an outsider (a customer) to have been given authority by the principal, then the principal is stuck for the acts of anyone he allows to appear to have authority.

And also, ATT employees are most certainly agents under the doctrine of Actual Authority. The principal (ATT) expressly provides in their contracts what they can and can't do. While they might not be allowed to waive fees under their contract, that does not mean they are not an agent. They still have the power to bind the principal in many other areas, for example contracting a 2 year agreement for mobile phone service.

 

[xmaseve]

I think everyone is missing the point and getting too much into the whole "Legal" battle about "Agents" and other crap. They aren't changing the contract, but instead offering a BILL CREDIT for the contract fees. The activation/upgrade fees are still on the bill and applied to the customers account, but then offset by an exact BILL CREDIT in the same amount. Therefore, the contract terms and conditions have not been touched and/or altered.