AT&T UVerse- Horrible Customer Service No Communication, Stranded in online MBA program , Will ruin my credit if I don't pay, Called me a liar Nationwide Nationwide

I signed up with AT&T UVerse as a recommended service by Direct TV, to assist me in my online MBA program. My service worked great for 1 week. After that week I had lost all online connections. I was dependent on the Internet to communicate with classmates and professors, as well as participate in discussions and submit assignments with deadlines. My regular schedule was 630am to 530 pm, and after loosing connection to the internet, my time to deal with the issue was after 530pm. Apparently AT&T UVerse has NO customer service after 530pm. They have an automated system that takes you in circles, with NO options to speak to a live representative for assistance. The next 3 days with multiple attempts I was still not able to make communication with anyone at AT&T UVerse, and I was a missing student in my online program. At this point I contacted my AT&T cellular provider to see if they could assist me in some way. Surprisingly I was able to make contact with a representative from my phone provider after 530pm. This representative was unable to assist me as he told me UVerse was separate and unrelated in any way to the phone provider’s customer service department. He was helpful in the sense of verifying the fact that there was NO one I could speak with at AT&T UVerse after 5pm. I’m sure this conversation is recorded. I also believe that he was going to make notes of my situation in the system. At this point with NO other way, nor failure in my online program being an option, I was forced to find another service provider. They came 4 days later, installed service and are available anytime if needed. I pay $35 per month and there were no other fees. Still trying to contact AT&TUVerse and communicate my issue, I was unsuccessful. After having a day off of work, and being able to call between the limited hours of Uverses availability, the automated system told me I could not speak to a representative until a payment was made. I couldt even cancel unless i paid.  In disbelief, I was now unable to speak to a live person regarding a ridiculous balanced of over $300. AT&TUVerse would not let me speak to anyone regarding my balance. 

AT&T finally contacted me after almost 1 year and told me I owe them $350. They said I did not try hard enough to reach someone, and that I should have written a letter to contact them. They said they have service after 5, basically telling me im lying, and that the situation as I explained never happened.  AT&T refuses to listen to my situation as they believe I could have just written a letter and not participate in my classes. Up until now they refused to talk to me. AT&T will not back their service nor do they care about their customer’s experience.  I relied on their service to complete my educational program, and they let me down giving me no other choice but to find another provider so I could pursue my goals and not fail. Now my credit is about to be ruined if I dont pay the collection agency. My dispute was rejected. The decision maker for my dispute was AT&T. I cant even get a unbiased 3rd party to look at my situation.