AT&T - U-Verse Convinced me to switch from DISH to U-Verse then charged me a $275 termination fee. Carol Stream Illinois

I was contacted by phone by a U-Verse rep who told me about all the advantages and cost savings I'd enjoy by switching from AT&T/Dish Network to AT&T/U-Verse. He told me in plain English that my termination fee would be $13.33/month for every month still left on my contract. He then called Dish Network to verify the exact amount I'd be paying for early termination. I waited on hold and when he got back on the line he advised me that I had 8 months left so that amounted to $106.64. He had already offered me a $100 rebate, so it still made sense to switch, and so I agreed.

A month later I got a bill from AT&T with a termination fee of $275.00! I immediately called and spoke to a rep who could not figure out why the charge was there. She then called Dish and they had no idea either so she agreed to remove it.

Got my next bill a month later and the charge was still there so I called again. This time the story changed. They claimed that at some point I had agreed to a Dish promotion that gave me a discount every month and they were essentially taking back that money. I did not recall agreeing to any additional contracts so I asked them to provide me with some sort of proof that I agreed to this and they could not provide me with that information.

For the sake of argument, lets assume I did click on some agreement online with some fine print I did not understand. Either way, I would NEVER have agreed to switch to U-Verse had they told me about this fee. They're answer to that was that it was my responsibility to remember this and I was out of luck, despite the fact that their representative promised me there would only be a $106 fee for switching after confirming this while I waited on hold.

I am posting this here in hopes that no one else will fall for this scam. I've talked to managers on the phone about this issue and they have told me that I owe them this money and there's nothing I can do to remedy this situation, despite the fact that I have been a customer of theirs for years!

Jeff
South Pasadena, California
U.S.A.