AT&T just lost a family

File a BBB complaint. That goes directly to AT&T Corporate and a Senior Manager from the Office of the President will contact you and you can discuss the matter directly with them. Just have your paperwork and documentation on hand. That's as high up in AT&T that a customer can go.

That being said, not reviewing your monthly bill for over a year is on you. It is the customer's responsibility to ensure that all charges are correct and if not, contact AT&T immediately and start the ball rolling on getting it corrected. The fact that you paid your bill as is for months indicates to AT&T that you agree with the charges because you are continually paying. We know this sounds harsh but it is the reality. Did you read the TOS?

Now, it depends on where you switched services. In an AT&T Retail Store (which is not owned/operated by AT&T nor is it staffed with AT&T employees), at an AT&T kiosk (retail outlet) like in Target, Costco, etc, in an AT&T Corporate Store, or online at AT&T. The retail stores/outlets are notorious for adding charges or not clearly/completely explaining the costs involved just to make a sale. AT&T has no control over their business practices.

If you don't get a resolution through direct message with ATT help, go ahead and file that dispute.  

The formal dispute process is you notifying AT&T that you intend to take your case to small case or arbitration.

This reminds me of two things that are very important.

One is have a file that you keep all sorts of receipts for all kinds tracking information. Including promotional details, billing receipts, returned receipts, etc. And I don't mean just AT&T. I mean all service providers.  I still have tracking information for two pixel phones that I traded in directly with Google last July and October.  That file also has all of the slips for Amazon returns. Also all of my purchases.  

Second, is to check bills every month. That $1,200 charge for the phone would have been on your bill, but you only would have had a limited time to stop auto payment to prevent that amount of money from being drawn out of your account.  

Preventing AT&T from taking it would have been a whole lot easier than trying to get it back.

I wish you'd said something when your first bill came in for $1,200 for a phone that never arrived at your address.

It should have immediately been disputed so that it would not be drafted with your regular auto pay.

https://www.att.com/help/notice-of-dispute/

@OttoPylot Many thanks for the responses. I am not asking for a refund of the $5/mo charges because I agree, I'm too busy in life to keep up with autopay bills to realize $5 was added on - I bought our phones online and I know for sure that I did not elect that program/charge, but you're right, I never double checked. It just stinks that we have to check these things when, if we did NOT elect to pay for an optional program, it should NOT be on our bill to begin with. But thanks for your response especially for reminding me that the BBB still exists!

@formerlyknownas  I did not receive a bill for this phone in the entire previous year. They did some accounting, it seems, and they mistakenly charged me for a phone that was missing, but which was previously assumed stolen. So this issue is "current" even though it is regarding a phone issue from more than one year ago.

Hello @afred786, thanks for meeting us here with your information. 

We understand how important our customers time is, and we definitely want to make sure all their concerns have been taken care of. You shouldn't have to go through all this trouble. We definitely want to get to the bottom of this. We would love to help!

This will need further investigation, and we would like to work with you in order to help you. To ensure we provide you with the best support, we will send you a private message. Please be sure to include your full name, account number, and best contact method. We can work together to make sure this has been resolved.

Reach out to us if further assistance is needed. We'll be happy to help.

Thank you for contacting AT&T Community Forums.

MatG, AT&T Community Specialist 

@alfred786

There is no scenario I can think of, outside of a court or arbitration order, where AT&T will pay for your overdraft fees.

Those are damages you are rightfully entitled to, but no one at AT&T is going to authorize paying those fees. They will tell you they are sorry. They will tell you it is corporate policy; and they are likely to be very nice about it - but you are almost certainly not going to receive any amount of money from AT&T outside of what they withdrew from your account. They may even charge you a "convenience" fee for good measure.

They messed-up, but that doesn't mean they will make you whole.

I hope I'm wrong - but in the three years I have been on these forums, and the 20 years I have delt with AT&T, my experience tells me you are going to be disappointed after AT&T does everything they are willing to do.

I responded to the AT&T post here with the requested information and formally verified myself/account through a secure link they sent. Then they asked me for case details that are definitely in the notes on my account - which phone model am I currently using, which one was returned, and information that is simply wasting my valuable time at this point. Such a shame. Many thanks for all of the advice and feedback here.