So on New Years Day I went and bought a Motorola Droid, and switched from AT&T to Verizon. It was fun, I liked it. By the 3rd though I decided that for all Droid did, it wasnt an iPhone, and went back to AT&T.
I called AT&T, reactivated my account, had my iPhone turned back on, and went back to the Verizon store and returned my Droid. All this went smoothly.
Fast-forward to today. I pop into my online control panel for AT&T to see what my billing cycle is (I forgot) and to look at the new reduced price plans. I suddenly see my account flagged as Past Due with a balance of $155. I look into it and this is my early termination fee. WTF! I’m still a customer!
I call AT&T and after having someone research my issue for what seemed like kind of long to do a simple “hmm he canceled, hmm he came back, thats odd” verification they confirmed I was indeed due to be credited that charge. I asked why it was still on my account, and they told me it wasnt, that it shows the credit on their side. The fact it still showed the due amount on my web panel was a mystery to the agent.
After further hold time and investigation she told me that I need to pay the cancelation fee, even though its credited in their system, then when my Feb bill comes, there will be a $155 credit applied to my account for that month to account for my non-cancelation.
…what?
I laughed and said there would be no way I was doing that, I would prefer to let it just sort itself out in Feb when my new bill came and the credit was applied etc. She told me I could not do this as my account was currently flagged past due and would be deactivated for non payment before that point, and I was required to pay the fee, which would then be credited back to me the next billing cycle. (Please note I have no other due amounts on the account that I am liable for, the ONLY charge is the cancelation fee!)
…what what?
I told her that was a ludicrous request. How can they rightfully suspend my service for non payment of a fee I did not legally incur. (Please note I have no other due amounts on the account that I am liable for, the ONLY charge is the cancelation fee!) They themselves admit its a false fee, and its been credited to my account (for next month, for some silly reason) and they are going to suspend me for not paying it this month? Thats ridiculous!
I politely informed her this kind of service is the very reason why I experimented with leaving AT&T in the first place, and was making me start to second guess the choice to come back. That seemed to strike a chord with them, and after another 15 minute hold she came back to inform me the fee had been entirely removed as of now, which I verified online. Seriously folks, what the fuck?
