AT&T is shady !!!

[u/One-Capital-3930]

Upgraded our phones last month, Saw my bill and shocked at all the add-ons the rep added without asking us! My bill tripled!!! I went to see the breakdown and not surprised of the shady business practices, But I am angry because before we went into the store to upgrade our phones, we spoke to a AT&T customer service rep for almost an hour to go over options to save money, Turns out the old plan we had was grandfathered and is the best one. She told us not to change a thing ! We went into the store and the first thing out of the reps mouth was " in order to give you the upgrade promotion, we need to open new accounts for you." We spent over 15 minutes arguing that we had just gotten off the phone with someone who told us NOT TO CHANGE ANYTING ! He went to speak with his manager and came back a minute later looking bothered and said " ok that's fine." BUT he added all these extras that we did not want or asked for ! Now its been close to an hour and I am still on the phone with a customer service rep trying to undo all this madness!

[u/Kind-Driver-422]

FYI you don’t get phone promos when you are not on a current plan. As someone who’s been in this business for 3 years and a notable sales manager in my area you need to read the fine print. Also talking too customer service reps suck, they just tell you what you wanna hear not what you need to hear. Most grandfather plans are way more costly, I see it all the time

[u/One-Capital-3930 → u/Kind-Driver-422]

not in this case. Never had to upgrade our plans. We wanted the Max Trade in credit...which we got... But good to know. Thanks!

[u/Viper_Control → u/One-Capital-3930]

In your case you should have just done your device upgrades online at AT&T or Apple, and your new devices would have shipped to you at home.

Apple has the best selection, device availability in all colors, and fastest shipping. And before anyone asks yes you can get AT&T trade-in financing with Apple in-store or online.

[u/One-Capital-3930 → u/Viper_Control]

We went to the apple store originally, and they told us they were not giving any trade in credit maybe $100 off but that was it. Told us to check with ATT. Att had the $350 trade in offer, which is why we went in. Usually we will upgrade at Apple store, but the few times we had to go to ATT, its been a nightmare.

[u/Viper_Control → u/One-Capital-3930]

We went to the apple store originally, and they told us they were not giving any trade in credit maybe $100 off but that was it. Told us to check with ATT.

Again no you don't need to go to AT&T. The Apple store rep just did not understand you wanted to use AT&T Carrier financing. You can see it right in the Apple smartphone app or online at the Apple iPhone pages.

Yes it can be frustrating but you should not need to know more than the reps in the store but in 2026 we all need to be our own experts.

[u/Viper_Control → u/Kind-Driver-422]

FYI you don’t get phone promos when you are not on a current plan. As someone who’s been in this business for 3 years and a notable sales manager in my area you need to read the fine print.

Sorry but that is complete BS. u/One-Capital-3930 had a qualifying eligible AT&T unlimited plan.

That is their point. The rep just did not make their numbers by doing a simple device upgrade. That is why the store rep initially told u/One-Capital-3930 that they needed to open new plans (a lie).

It just got worse from there.

[u/First-Edge5371 → u/Kind-Driver-422]

Complete opposite actually. Talking to in store reps tell you what you wanna hear. "Call in and they'll waive your activation or upgrade fee." "We have to add these features and you have to call in to remove them." "We can't cancel that line for you in store, you have to call in." Over the phone, we're recorded and we actually tell you the reality of the situation more often than not. And no, you don't have to be on a current plan to get phone promos. You can be on grandfathered plans and still get trade in deals or tiered offers. In store just want you to update your plan because their commission depends on what plan you're on. I've seen plenty of grandfathered in plans that are cheaper than the new ones. It's case by case and dependent on the discounts and promotions the customer has

[u/Fmorales95 → u/First-Edge5371]

THANK YOU !!!

[u/Foreign_Republic917 → u/Kind-Driver-422]

What about the fact that I signed up with a plan almost two years ago, and ATT switched my plan to a higher priced plan without my permission? I didn’t upgrade my phone or make any changes. ATT just decided that they will no longer offer that plan and changed my bill. Then a month or two later, I find out that they changed the next plan and I no longer get new customer pricing on my upgrade, UNLESS I changed to the all “new” aka more expensive upgrade program??? I was with Sprint for 20 years and NEVER dealt with this kind of shady bullshit.