Help with AT&T/Directv

[NVDisMom]

This one is for my mom. She is transitioning to a fixed income and we are trying to get her bills as low as possible. So, we researched best price for tv and internet and the AT&T and Directv bundle won ($34.99 for tv, $14.95 for internet and free modem). We tried to sign her up online, but as an existing DTV customer she has to call in. OK, she calls in, sets up account. modem is shipped, and she activates internet service without any problems. Long story short...DTV still hasn't been moved over to AT&T with no explanation as to why and she is being charged $45/mo for the internet with promises of credits that aren't appearing and she was charged almost $80 for the modem. She came over frustrated today and DH called in and got the BIGGEST run around ever. And that is saying something considering he deals with his company's customer service line daily. They haven't solved a darned thing and refuse to escalate to a supervisor.

Anyone have this issue? How do we get it resolved? At this point she is ready to cancel service with both companies and pay more somewhere else.

TIA

 

[arihillfarm]

I don't know about AT&T, but DirecTV's credits come in the form of rebate forms that she'll have to fill out and send in to get the credits started. They don't do them automatically. Have her check her paperwork for some rebate forms.

-Astrid

 

[jojo0612]

I just called today about the exact bundle. I was quoted a price of $34.95 for the internet. I hope you mom gets the deal, because that is a steal! Good Luck!

 

[SalandJeff]

Call ATT back and insist on speaking with a supervisor...there is no reason that you cannot speak with one. Be polite, but firm, and insist. And ask for their names up front so they know you are keeping track. It is possible that the problem is on the DTV side (they may have to transfer the billing back to ATT - I had something similar with Dish who used to partner with ATT). If so, do the same thing with DTV.

If you still don't get anywhere, when you call in, try choosing the option from the menu that says "if you want to cancel service". Those folks usually have more power and incentive to keep you.

Good luck.

 

[auralia]

I'm ao sorry you are dealing with this company. When things work they are no Problem but when they dont it takes an act of God to fix it or in my case almost 9 months before they honored thr price I was quoted. GL I have no idea how they finally decided to honor their deal but I did fax then the advertisement I had 3 times before I got to tap to a supervisor and things were finally fixed about 3-4 months after that.

 

[HHSTigerFan]

Does anyone here have ATT internet without having their phone service through them? I called the other day to cancel phone, keep internet, the lady I talked to claimed I need to have their phone service to get their internet.. really?? Anyway, ended up with them giving me el cheapo phone package (no caller ID, pay for all outgoing calls etc) and internet for $49.95 a month, so was happy..

 

[livndisney]

I have had a bundle with Att since last fall. I have yet to have a correct bill. I have to call them every month! It is really a hassle. Last month I made the mistake of making two short long distance calls from my house phone. The taxes are more than the charge for the calls. I think I could have made the call cheaper from a phone booth.

The internet price I signed up for has never been correct. They keep trying to charge 33.00 instead of the 15.00 I signed up for.

Got the bill again yesterday-have to call again and get them to fix it!

 

[SalandJeff]

Does anyone here have ATT internet without having their phone service through them? I called the other day to cancel phone, keep internet, the lady I talked to claimed I need to have their phone service to get their internet.. really?? Anyway, ended up with them giving me el cheapo phone package (no caller ID, pay for all outgoing calls etc) and internet for $49.95 a month, so was happy..

You should be able to just get the internet, although you pay more if you do not have phone service. It is right here on their website

http://www.att.com/dsl/

 

[jojo0612]

Just curious is the majority of the problems are with ATT or with Direct Tv? I haven't had any problems with DirectTV yet, but am worried before I make the switch from Time Warner to ATT for internet. If it works out correctly, I would save $120 a year for my TV and $120 a year for my internet.

 

[Bren's Mom]

When they started doing these bundles that cross over companies, it's a nightmare.

When we moved into our new home, we decided to go with the best deal we found...AT&T/Dish. I spoke to them at length, wrote every single thing down, asked very specific questions like what my first bill would be EXACTLY, got people's names and op numbers, etc.

Services were installed, and my first bill was almost $700!

What a freaking nightmare!

After a couple months we canceled and went back to Comcast and got their Triple Play bundle with no problems.

It took me dozens of hours on the phone with both AT&T and Dish and, ultimately, a complaint to CT's Attorney General's office to get all of my overcharged money back. (I had paid so as not to go into collections, but continued to dispute that I owed it.)

I was successful in the end, but it was a nightmare!

If you have a copy of the ad or something else concrete to send them, that might be your best bet.

I would suggest sending a nice, clearly stated e-mail to the president of the company. Outline the dates of yours (or dh's) calls to them, refusals to speak to supervisors, what you were intially offered, etc. Be sure to put your contact info there, and mention that your mom is a senior citizen!! Scan the ad and send that as well if you have it.

http://consumerist.com/2007/08/updated-contact-att-ceo-randall-stephenson.html

For future reference, this is for anyone, if you speak to someone on the phone and get things ironed out for a new service...afterward go onto the company's online chat and tell them you just ordered service and could they just go over the specifics with you. Ask about initial charges, installation fees, monthly fees, are there any additional fees you haven't asked about, etc. Then PRINT the chat. That will help protect you. If there are errors, you'll catch them THEN, BEFORE installation.

And know that if you're doing a bundle with TWO companies (or more) involved, they will always, always, always put the blame on the other company. So I avoid that now if I can.