AT&T U-verse
Rebate scam

AT&T U-verse installed fiber optics in my neighborhood. They went door to door offering a deal to intice people to have the cable installed and try their service which included: free installation to as many locations as you choose, Cable TV service (1 month free at any level - she encouraged me to take the highest level valued at $125/mo. So I could "try it" to see what I wanted to keep), 1 DVR, $100 Visa Card as a rebate if you keep the service for 30 days.

I have paperwork with this information included. The sales girl left me her personal cell number so that I could call her if I had any problems. She was very nice. My first issue was that I agreed to put down my home phone number only on the condition that AT&T did not call me with solicitation calls. She said I had to complete a phone survey, that was all. I took that call the next day; the automated dialing started immediately. I called the girl who sold me the service (she did not return my call) and I called the number at the end of the message. It was a week before I got taken off their list.

I was a little nervous about the redemption coupon because I was signed up for a $125/mo. Service so I made sure I kept track of the date. I got on the internet to redeem my coupon which wasn't available until day 29. Once I got on the AT&T site, the terms mentioned that the deal was EITHER 1 free month cable OR $100 rebate. I decided to call instead.

I was told at this time that in order to redeem the coupon I had to agree to the "terms" which included keeping the service until the redemption process was complete (an additional 3-4 weeks). This means in order to get $100 rebate I had to pay $125 for the next month of cable (at least). I told the woman on the phone that wasn't what I was told. She said it didn't matter what I was told, those were the terms and if I didn't agree to the terms that I didn't qualify for the rebate. I said in that case I would cancel the cable service today. She said she would give me the number to customer service and they would be happy to cancel.

I will also be filing a complaint with the PUC and BBB. I will also NEVER take any other kind of promotion offered through AT&T no matter how large or small. It is not worth the effort to me. As far as surveys, no matter what survey AT&T sends me from now on my response will be zeros. If nothing else I can express my dissatisfaction in some small way.

Company: AT&T U-verse
Country: USA
Site: att.com

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