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GSRehobo's profile

New Member

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4 Messages

Thursday, March 16th, 2023 3:19 PM

Another trade-in scam story

​​I have been an AT&T customer since cell phones began.  I have never missed a payment and always trade in my old iPhones for new ones with AT&T.  A month ago, I traded in two phones (one because my husband decided to leave another company and get a second line on my account) for new iPhone 14s.  We followed the instructions for the trade-in to the letter, including turning off the "find my iphone" function.  I found out yesterday through a text that they did not honor one of the trade-ins.  I had to call to find out why of course.  They claimed that the notes in the file from the trade in dept. said that the phone I returned had 64 MB storage rather than the 128 MB I'd claimed.  And they said that I had failed to turn off the find my iphone function.  Both of these claims are totally untrue.  I have the actual purchase agreement from 2019, and it shows a 128 MB phone.  Plus, the Target employee I worked with checked the storage before completing the paperwork.  And I am 100% sure that I turned off the function.  Yesterday, after hours on the phone, one customer service person said that if they got the storage wrong, it seemed likely that the other conclusion was also incorrect.  I can only imagine they were confusing my phone with someone else's.  But of course, it is my word against the trade in employee's word.  And despite my having been a good customer for all these years, my word is apparently worth exactly zero.  I spoke to so many customer service people on the phone for hours, and every one merely repeated what the comments said. No supervisor or manager would do anything other than to say "We're sorry that you are frustrated!".   How can it be legal for a company to be able to claim something without evidence?  I can no longer access the phone so I cannot prove that the comments were in error.  So, I'm out $350.  I am going to file a formal dispute, but I wanted to alert others to this problem.  I will surely leave ATT as soon as I can, even if I lose money doing it.  ​​

New Member

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93 Messages

2 months ago

What were the exact models of the phones?

Since you worked with a Target employee, you did not work with AT&T directly, some authorized retailers have a habit of being misinformed.

New Member

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4 Messages

2 months ago

This has nothing to do with the Target employee being uninformed.  In fact, she was much more informed than any ATT employee I talked to.  She was the first person, for example, to mention that I should have been getting a teacher discount for all these years.  I am not sure why you want the models, but they were an SE and an XR. 

New Member

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93 Messages

2 months ago

Would be best to file a BBB/FCC complaint and escalate the issue then. 

New Member

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4 Messages

2 months ago

Thanks.  Yes, I plan to.  I am just putting this up anywhere I can find to save others from this experience. 

ATTHelp

Community Support

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214.9K Messages

2 months ago

That trade-in is certainly something we want to look into for you, GSRehobo. Let's meet in a Direct Message (DM) to discuss the results of that trade-in for one of your phones.

 

Please check your Direct Message Inbox for a message being sent to you. Look for the chat icon next to the bell icon in the upper right corner of the Forums page.

 

In case you want to know more about trading your phone in including Important FAQs we invite you to view How to return your trade-in to AT&T - Information and Help from the AT&T Community.  

 

Make sure to watch for that message in your DM as we want to look into getting you a resolution to your phone trade-in experience.

 

Lar, AT&T Community Specialist

New Member

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4 Messages

2 months ago

Just following up to say that AT&T helped me to resolve this issue.  

ATTHelp

Community Support

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214.9K Messages

2 months ago

We're so excited that we were able to assist with your trade-in, GSRehobo!

 

Thank you for reaching out to us. If you need any other assistance with AT&T products and services we're here to provide support.

 

Thank you for contacting AT&T Community Forums.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day!

 

Lar, AT&T Community Specialist

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