AT&T Bait and Switch Internet Nationwide

I recently was very dissapointed by the low quality salesmanship and customer service provided by multiple AT&T representatives. Here is what happened: I called AT&T wireless to discuss my bill and resolve a few issues. The first part of the conversation went well and there were no issues but when the person I spoke with launched into a sales pitch for AT&T U-Verse things started down the wrong path. I told her I was not interested and have turned down offers in the past as I have Xfinity and also I do not want to pay $100.00 for the U-Verse modem. The representative told me that they were having a sale and that I would not have to pay for the modem and that U-Verse would cost only 19.95/month. This sounded like a good deal so I decided to sign up...

On the day that a technician was supposed to come out to the house I called tech support to confirm the appointment and spoke with a very nice woman named Mary who happened to ask if I was made aware of all of the fees associated w/new U-Verse contracts (why did she decided to ask this?). I told her that I had not been made aware and I asked her to share this info with me. So she told me that there is a one time installation fee of 49.00 and that the modem costs 100.00. I was a bit surprised but I do understand that they always charge instillation so I let that go but the 1st representative I spoke with told me there would be no charge for the modem. Unfortunatly when the tech support person looked on the computer there were no notes regarding that promise or that conversation. She was kind enough to talk to a supervisor and discuss the fact that I felt I was made a false promise. After a short time on hold she came back and told me that she got the ok to wave the modem fee. She even gave me a reference # in case the amount showed up on the bill.

When I got the 1st bill not only was I charged for the modem but I was also charged 34.95 a month for the U-Verse. Since I was pretty angry about the huge bill I called customer service # to inquire about the modem charge and the fact that I was told I was signing up for 19.95 per month. This time the representaitve was pretty rude and disrespectful. At first she told me that there was no 19.95 per month plan available and that the modem is never discounted or on sale. I told her when I was promised this and also gave her the reference # (she basically ignored this information) I had recieved when I spoke to tech support. She reluctanly put me on hold to speak to a supervisor b/c I was not going to give up. When she got back on the phone she said there is a 19.95 plan but it's really slow and I probably don't want it (I think this is called Bait and Switch). Secondly, she said that they usually send out a rebate for the modem in the form of a $100.00 visa card and that this has already been issued. I'm really not sure why she (or anyone else for that matter) didn't mention this right away and I am a bit bothered by what really seems like deceptive practices, false advertising and bait and switch tactics. How do they get away with such things!

I think AT&T needs to be boycotted. Big companies get away with punishing their customers b/c the alternatives are few in our big corporation conglomerate loving society.

To top it all off, the U-Verse signal is much weaker than what I had w/my Xfinity set up and it can't handle more that 2 devises at a time!!!! With Xfinity we would have 4