New Member
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3 Messages
Trade in Scam
I traded in 2 Galaxy phones this year. One in January and one in March. In January I used my local ATT store where they pulled up my account and told me that I as eligible to take advantage of the trade in. In March I used the ATT website and the 'upgrade' option on my account for the other phone. I sent both phone back in the time frame required and received confirmation that the phones had been received by ATT and processed. I was told that it would take 2 or 3 billing cycles for the trade in to be credited to my account.
It is now June and I have not seen any credit or any other notification. I called ATT customer service and after spending over 30 minutes on the phone I was told that my account was not eligible for the trade in offer by a customer service representative who barely spoke English. I went to my local ATT store and was told that because I was on a family share plan and not an unlimited plan that I was ineligible for the promotion.
Why this is classic FRAUD is because there was no notice up front that my account was not eligible. Neither the store representative who was looking at my account nor the ATT website that I was logged into with my account made any mention that I was not eligible for the trade in. This is 'BATE and Switch' at it's worst. Also I receive NO notice that anything was wrong. In fact I received confirmation emails that my trade in phones were being processed.
My next step will be to file a complaint with my states Attorney General Consumer Fraud department.
formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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111K Messages
1 year ago
So you should get a one time credit...
All phone deals, from all carriers, require a more expensive unlimited plan to get the phone credits. It's been this way since the unlimited plans came back in 2016.
All deals have requirements, aka a catch.
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DCPotts
New Member
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3 Messages
1 year ago
I can understand the 'catch'. My problem is not that the promotion was restricted to certain plans. My issue is that this should have been clear when I purchased the phones. For example, when I was on the website under my account the promotion should NOT have been an option when I upgraded my phone. Legally by offering that option on the website and then sending emails that my trade in has been accepted, AT&T has agreed to the promotion. Remember I had NO notice that I was not eligible until I called AT&T yesterday to find out why my account was not credited. This is illegal.
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formerlyknownas
ACE - Sage
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111K Messages
1 year ago
Did you read the paperwork you signed? I would recommend you dig it up and see what it says. The person you spoke to certainly should have given you correct information. But any paperwork you signed would have spelled out the terms of your installment and any terms for any eligible promotion. You would have had 30 days to switch to an unlimited data plan if you were not on one at the time of your purchase.
Not being on an eligible plan for an $800 over 36 month credit, does not invalidate a trade-in for some amount of compensation. It just will be a one time lump sum. If you have not received a lump sum credit for your old phones you certainly should be asking some questions.
You can file a Better Business Bureau complaint online. The Better Business Bureau complaint will result in a phone call from AT&T upper management. They are likely to explain to you exactly what I just did and be unwilling, and unable to make credits because you did not change to an unlimited data plan. (Changing to an unlimited data plan now is not going to fix anything)
Would you have changed plans if told? You would just wind up paying more for service which may have been a break even if you are on a shared plan that is a lot cheaper. You then have to ask yourself (do the math) would you have purchased the same phones at the same cost and upgraded your data plan to the far more expensive unlimited data plans just to get those phones for $800 off over 36 months?
Service providers sure want to lure people off of Cheaper plans and on to unlimited (which don't allow discounts from employers like shared does) with these phone deals whether or not it's the best financial decision is only up to you after doing the math.
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DCPotts
New Member
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3 Messages
1 year ago
I went back and read all the paperwork. There was NO mention regarding my plan. In fact the only information sent by AT&T was that my trade in was being processed. As I stated I would not have agreed to buy the phones if they wete upfront about needing to have a different plan to qualify.
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