[Bren's Mom]

Just wondering if I'm the only one. We signed up for an AT&T/Dish bundle in May just before moving into our new home. Was very careful about all upfront/install charges and monthly fees, I was able to choose any service at that point so I wanted to go with what would save us the most money. My first bundled bill (which should have been around $200) was almost $700!

Anyway, months later we've cancelled the service, gone with Comcast's Triple Play, spent countless hours trying to correct the AT&T/Dish billing and have finally filed a complaint with the AG's office (Dept Cons Protection).

Would love to talk with anyone else who's had the same issues with AT&T/Dish.

[acoffey]

As a matter of fact, I have an ongoing dispute with them. My problem occurred after I disconnected the service and moved. They claim I still owe them 60$, although I mailed several payments to them to pay my balance in full. They reported me to the credit bureaus and although I filed a dispute, they countered me and got the information to stay on the files. I have taken no other action at this point, though I know I should.
I did business with AT&T Dish/CT.
Good luck and keep posted on how this turns out.

[Currency Pair Crocodile]

I have ATT on my blackberry and got a 500$ bill. Partly my fault too, I needed to take 1-800 work related bridgeline conferences while travelling and some kind of mix-up landed me in such a huge bill.

I revolted and they suggested I upgrade my package so they can backdate it and save me money.

All of a sudden 500 became around 75 and I was rapturous.

Now my january bill's staring me at 200$ and I don't know where that came from. I called them and they have 10 reasons for it and promise me that my next bill will be in the 120$ range, provided I behave.

I am not sure if there is a better carrier out there in terms of those who don't bill you a lot.

[evopuma]

My experience with them has been an absolute nightmare.

Dish install-
We had requested 2 HD-DVR boxes (which were listed on the bill) but when they came to install they gave us regular DVR boxes. The guy that came to install told us he was told regular boxes and that we would have to call customer service to get it fixed and they would have to come back out. The guy who did the install also ran wires straight across my 5 year olds room and a cord across my 3 year olds ceiling and thought that was ok. He left shaving everywhere and said he was going to his truck to get something and took off. They also didn't connect the DVR boxes to the phone line and it caused us to get another $25ish in charges. I called and compained and was told that the company was supposed to come back the next day but they never showed (I had to take the day off from work). They finally came back a week later.

Customer Service-
I have had about 40 customer service calls with AT&T and dish network. The first one I made the guy on the phone told me he was hung over and made numerous text messages to his friends while we were on the phone (he thought he put me on hold and was telling his coworker about them). He tried charging me an additional $300 for the two HD-DVR boxes that were supposed to be free with our signing up. He finally asked if he could put me on hold and wound up transferring me to the billing and collections department. The lady said she was confused why I was directed there but after explaining my story that she would credit my account $250. That was back in August and I still haven't been credited the $250, I've called and questioned it with the past 4 bills that I have received.

My bill-
I had a number of problems with my bill. I had received individual bills for 2 months, all of which I had paid. Then when I got my first combined bill it totaled around $950 and they told me that I never paid my prior bills. I received 10-15 calls a day from their collections department for over a week while they "researched it."

It's a good thing that you switched, I have a 2 year contract and am having my lawyer review all of the info to see if I can get out without having to pay the cancelation fees.

[CrissCT]

We've had a myriad of problems with them from installation to billing, but comcast expected us to wait an indefinite amount of time without phone/internet or tv for them to install the proper line so we went with At&t. Also it's a pain to call AT&T if you have Dish because it's 2 separate service centers and you can't get all your questions answered in one place.

The day they put in our dish, the service people (not just one but 2) were here over 8 hours (until 10 pm that night)! Finally, my husband who had been away on business got home and figured out what they were doing wrong! What a nightmare!

One of my major peaves is that you have your dish connect to your phone line (so you can order movies from the tv - something we never do), and they charge you every month if you don't have your phone line connected to your tv.

Comcast did eventually put the new line in place so if we want to switch in the future we can.

[acoffey]

Well, my DH and I are in the process of TRYing to get a phone line from AT&T. Based on what I have read here, and past experiences with their sub-par Dish service, I am going to just keep my over-priced cable. (BTW, where in CT can you get Comcast? I got an offer from them last month in the mail, only to call and find out they DO NOT offer svc in Norwalk! LOL We have Cablevision.) I was also told by several reps that we CAN Get DSL internet svc, only to go online and be told by another rep that it is NOT avail here. What we are finding truly amazing is that, each time you call, and get a different svc rep on the line, you will get widely varying quotes on what you can or cannot buy. Also, again, they do not seem to know what is and is not available in my part of CT either. (Some very sleazy tactics with their sales reps trying to track you down by phone. They called my DH yesterday from 3 different tel #s, at both our cells, our home, AND his work # which they managed to track down from some previous call!)

We each have spent hours on the phone trying to finding alternative telephone/internet/tv service providers in Norwalk. Unfortunately, it's either the monster Cablevision or the even bigger nuisance, AT&T. We are thinking of getting dial-up, as I only found 1 svc provider offering that, if it turns out AT&T does not offer hispeed after all.

It's exhausting. And so frustrating. I can't believe each rep is apparently given so much indiv leeway as to what they can quote and offer! I will definitely stay away from the "bundles" they try to push down your throat, based on all your feedback.

Thank goodness I found this site!

[John195506]

I have been fighting with AT&T since August 3, 2009 and this is November 24, 2009! It all started when I had them disconnect my home phone. I told them I wanted to keep the same internet service but just disconnect my phone service. Pretty simple, huh? I would think so, but not to AT&T!

I received my first bill after this change and it was $45. It was suppose to be $19.95. They upgraded my service when I did not request that. I'm sure they do that automatically because some people just pay and don't check. I called them and talked to a rep who told me she would change my service back to the basic from the elite service and that I should pay the $19.95 and they would reverse the charges in excess of that amount.

I received my next bill and not only had the charges not been reversed but I had been charged another $45 and late fees for the portion in excess of the initial $45. I called them again! This time they assured me that the problem was a timing problem and that the bill would all be corrected the next month.


The following month I received another bill and the problem had not been corrected. As a matter of fact, they charged me for shipping on a modem that I did NOT order nor want. I called again and asked to speak with a supervisor. The supervisor assured me that the overcharges would all be taken care of the following month and that I should just pay the $19.95. She promised that all would be fine the next month.

A couple of weeks later, I received a cut-off notice. I was PISSED OFF! I called an again spoke with a supervisor who looked up my account. I told her my story and she read about all the calls I had made and told me to ignore this notice and that my bill would all be corrected on the next bill. Guess what? It wasn't! So, this time I spoke with a rep, his supervisor and her supervisor. I said I didn't know what the problem was and she tried to explain it away telling me that it could take up to two months to get my bill corrected. I told her that it had been more than two months already. She told me that there were multiple groups of people involved in setting up the service and billing and I told her that was an internal problem, that it was not mine!

I told her that there was no excuse for this ****-poor service and she agreed. It will be interesting to see what the next bill holds. I will keep posting until it is fixed. I also said I would keep going up the ladder until the problem was resolved. I am sick of AT&T and would recommend their service to no one!

Read more: [URL]http://www.city-data.com/forum/connecticut/533354-anyone-had-problem-billing-t-dish.html#ixzz0XnyOQ994[/URL]

[Bren's Mom]

Hi all,

OP here.

Glad to know I'm not the only one who has had problems.

I eventually filed an Attorney General's complaint. In response to the AG's office's letter, AT&T sent a letter stating that I was told upfront I'd have over $500 in upfront fees. LOL! Yeah, right. In this day and age with all of this competition going on I'm going to sign up for a service with $500 upfront charges? I don't think so. And neither does the AG's office. They were still working on my complaint when I came across this:

Attorney General Announces $5.99 Million Multistate Settlement With DISH Network Over Deceptive Sales Practices | Colorado State Attorney General

Connecticut is one of the state's that was part of the suit/settlement. So I contacted the AG's office again. They have registered me as one of the parties to the suit since I had a complaint filed with their office during the appropriate time frame.

No final resolution yet. I am *determined* to get every penny I overpaid to AT&T/Dish back. It's the principle of the thing now!

For future reference, I have discovered a way to help protect yourself from deceptive billing practices. CHAT. Most of these cable/phone companies offer a customer service live chat option. What I did when I went with Comcast was get the #s from the customer serivce via phone, then go on chat and confirm what they had in their computer. And I printed the chat. So I have a WRITTEN record of what customer service said would be my upfront charges. I do this every time I order service for anything now and it's a great way to protect yourself.

[renovating]

Originally Posted by Bren's Mom

Hi all,

.

I eventually filed an Attorney General's complaint. In response to the AG's office's letter, AT&T sent a letter stating that I was told upfront I'd have over $500 in upfront fees. They were still working on my complaint when I came across this:

Attorney General Announces $5.99 Million Multistate Settlement With DISH Network Over Deceptive Sales Practices | Colorado State Attorney General

I am confused...AT&T and Dish Network are two different companies.

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by renovating

I am confused...AT&T and Dish Network are two different companies.

AT &T bundles their services with Dish network for one bill.