After AT&T disconnected my telephone service when I missed paying a couple bills, I logged in to my online AT&T Account Manager to view my account balance, pay it, and have my service restored. The balance shown was $165, which I paid in full with my Mastercard. After paying the bill and receiving a confirmation, I then emailed AT&T to inform them that I had settled the account and would like my service restored.
AT&T responded to my email by stating that my payment for $165 had been received, my account had been noted and restored, and that restoration would be completed in 4-8 business hours. The next day, I found that I could not dial numbers in adjacent area codes (toll restriction). I emailed them again to report that my service had not been restored, as the toll restriction was still in place despite my full payment of the stated $165 balance on my account. There was no response from AT&T until the next day, when a representative spoke to my wife on the phone and referred us to the Credit and Collections department.
This made no sense to me. They had already acknowledged my payment and told me that my service was to have been restored. What did Credit and Collections have to do with it? I sent them another email asking them to restore my service and questioning the Credit and Collections department referral.
The next day AT&T responded to my email by telling me that their records showed a balance of $28, which had to be paid before the toll restriction would be lifted. I had heard enough by this time and decided to file a complaint.
AT&T misrepresented the amount of my account balance, took my money, and failed to perform the service that they promised. The fact that their online Account Manager service may have made an error that was not in AT&T's favor is not my fault, and their attempt to charge me extra to restore my service after I paid the amount they stated as my balance is reprehensible to say the least.
At this point, their best bet would be to acknowledge that they made an error, restore my service, write off the purported $28, and apologize for the inconvenience they caused me.
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