AT&T
Repeated Missed DSL Activation Dates After Moving Address

My little nightmare started the last week of June. I was moving and wanted to keep my home phone number. I called AT&T to transfer my phone and DSL service to my new address and to ask about keeping my phone number. I was told that it could be done, but because my current phone number was not readily compatible with the new address, it would take a week for the activation to be completed. I did not like the idea, but I did not want to change my phone number, so I went along with it. I was told that my phone and DSL service would be activated by 8pm on July 8th at my new address.

Well, they got it half right. The phone was working on July eighth, but I still did not have any internet access. I called to find out what the problem was. It turned out that instead of transferring my DSL service to the new address, the CSR had just cancelled the service completely. I was told that if I wanted DSL service, they would have to put in an all new work order, and because the phone number did not match the area I lived in, it would take another week. I was told there was absolutely no way around it, no matter how high up the ladder I went. To make it up to me, they gave me a month's credit toward my bill. My new activation day was July 15th by 8pm.

The fifteenth came and went. No service. I called yet again on the sixteenth and was told that the order had been cancelled. They could not tell me who had done this or why, merely that it was so. If I wanted, they could put in yet another work order, and I would have to wait until Friday, July 18th.

On the seventeenth, I got a message on my answering machine from AT&T to confirm that my DSL would be activated on Monday, July 21st by 8pm. I immediately called AT&T to find out what was going on. They told me that the CSR should not have told me it would be done on Friday, and there was nothing they could do. I eventually got to a supervisor named Ms. Settle, who assured me that there was absolutely nothing she could do to help me beyond placing another work order. I was given a second month of service for free with more worthless apologies. I asked for her direct line so that I could contact her if things did not go as scheduled. She hummed and hawed, then finally gave me what I thought at the time was a genuine number.

The twenty-first came and went. No service. I called after 8pm that day and was told that the department responsible for helping me with this sort of problem leaves for the day at 8pm. I called Ms. Settle on the twenty-second. Instead of getting her, however, I discovered that the number she gave me was bogus. It just sent me to the automated options menu. I was told that the records showed my service had been activated. After some back and forth, they realized that they had activated my service at my old address. At this point, I was beyond livid. I was told that if I wanted DSL, I would have to wait yet another week. I decided I had had quite enough of AT&T and asked to be transferred to the cancellation department.

The woman in the cancellation department was a smooth talker, because she somehow managed to convince me to give AT&T one more chance (stupid me). She gave me a third month's worth of credit on my account and assured me that my DSL service would absolutely be available by 8pm on July 28th.

The twenty-eighth came and went. No service. I called yet again. The CSR told me that it appeared DSL service was not available in my area. She was surprised nobody had mentioned this to me earlier. I know for a fact that DSL is available in my area, because my next-door neighbor has it. Before I asked for cancellation, I asked for a supervisor. I asked if he could provide me with a single reason why I should stay with AT&T after the horrid service I had received. I told him that if he could come up with just one worthwhile reason, I would stay. His answer was, "We are doing the best we can for you, sir." I told him that if this sort of service was AT&T doing its best, that seemed like an excellent reason for me to leave them ASAP, not to stay. I then asked to be transferred to cancellations. They did not even try to convince me to stay this time. They just took my information and let me go.

I have encountered a lot of incompetence over the years, but my experience in July left them all in the dust. I was constantly transferred from one person to another, one supervisor to the next. None of the supervisors were willing to admit to having any true authority, and they always flatly refused to admit that there might be some way to expedite my order. Everyone was more than willing to admit that AT&T was responsible for the errors, but nobody ever seemed even remotely interested in going out of their way to fix the problem.

I was generally sent in a circle. First I would get a CSR, who would assure me that nothing could be done but a basic one-week work order. I would then be kicked up to a supervisor, who would tell me the same thing. They would eventually break down and admit that the people in Technical Support could in fact expedite my order. I would then be transferred to Tech Support, who would tell me that yes, I could have it done right now. All they needed was a work order in the computer issued by the person I had just talked to. I would tell him that the person I had just talked to had told me that his computer absolutely would not allow him to put in an order right away. The tech support person would tell me that was not true and would then transfer me back to the CSRs to start the vicious circle once again. Some supervisors were unwilling to admit that tech support could do anything to help me. One supervisor even went so far as to say that tech support was not available after 8pm, despite the fact that the recordings I was forced to listen to while on hold clearly stated that tech support was available 24-7.

I looked around and found a local DSL provider. I called them up, explained my experiences with AT&T, and asked about their service. They assured me that DSL was most definitely available in my area and that I could have service through their company by August 4th. Today is August 4th, and I am now able to post this report because I found someone with some brains. AT&T will never get anything more than basic phone service out of me. I would drop that if my satellite service did not require a land line. Some day it won't, and I will drop my land line too. I do not want AT&T to get another dime out of me!

Company: AT&T
Country: USA
State: Texas
City: Fort Worth
Phone: 8002882020
Site: att.com

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