Dear Help Squad,
I have the strangest situation. I keep getting this small business AT&T bill that I thought I cancelled years ago. When I try to call to inquire why it was not cancelled and why I am still being charged both from a business invoice and a personal invoice for the same number, they cannot locate my account. My account doesn’t exist in their system, yet I continue to get this bill month after month that I cannot stop paying because of penalties. What in the world do I do now? I was literally on the phone with AT&T for three hours yesterday and nobody could tell me anything. No one could find any record of my account. With an account number that they say doesn’t exist, I can’t get past go. I’m so mad that I have let this go on for so long.
Libby, Glenview
The cause of this particular AT&T issue (and Help Squad has seen its fair share) was actually a confluence of unclear billing information combined with a phone tree the size of a sequoia.
Anyone who calls AT&T Small Business Customer Care must carefully press buttons and say the correct words in order to conquer its automated phone tree. For Libby to successfully reach a human, she first had to get though 10 different options. That’s a lot of phone tree branches! And if an error was made in selecting any of those options – incorrect account number, incorrect phone number, unrecognized voice command – she was either sent back to a previous menu or disconnected. As far as either Libby or Help Squad was able to discern, it was not possible to request a customer service representative until you got to the phone tree’s eighth option – at which point there were still two more selections to be made prior to achieving human contact.
Fortunately, Help Squad was able to press all buttons correctly and hang in there through the 10th option. For our steadfast focus, we were rewarded with the assistance of a very helpful AT&T Small Business Customer Service representative. What we learned upon reaching this CSR was that the number in question – a toll-free business line – was a “virtual line” that only accepted incoming calls via Libby’s cell phone. This CSR took the time to look through Libby’s account notes – all the way back to 2002, when the line was first activated – but was unable to find documentation of a termination request. She said it would be no problem for Libby to terminate service now, however, as the toll-free line was not on a contract.
What Help Squad learned when Libby attempted to duplicate our phone tree steps was that instead of plugging in the toll-free business number at step eight, she was keying in her cell phone number. Though this seems logical – after all, her AT&T business bill clearly states “Long Distance Service Billed Number: 773-XXX-XXXX,” (her cell number) – the account was linked only to the virtual toll-free number. This was why Libby kept being disconnected or told her account couldn’t be located!
And though her cell phone number appeared on both the AT&T small business statement and her family’s AT&T wireless statement, she was not being double-billed after all. The small business statement contained only those charges resulting from calls to the virtual toll-free line, while the wireless statement contained charges associated directly with her cell phone number.
After getting all of the above straightened out, Libby was able to successfully cancel the long-overdue toll-free business account. The only outstanding question now is, will the friends and family who have been calling toll-free continue to call once free long distance is gone? Libby is now officially on her own!
Need help?
Did a utilities company overcharge you? Did a boutique deny your request for a return? Are you the victim of fraudulent business practices? Is someone just exhibiting bad business behavior? Let Help Squad make the call for you. Send your letters, your complaints, your injustices and your story ideas to HelpSquad@pioneerlocal.com and we will be happy to help you.