AT&T recently tricked my wife into ditching our legacy, true-unlimited and unthrottled (but exorbitantly expensive) plan for a new bundle which had free (it wasn’t) DirectTV. She asked multiple times if there was a way not to get DricetTV since we don’t watch TV and don’t want a dish, and triple-confirmed it was free (verified with the adult kids that were with her).
After getting a $150 bill for said DirectTV, and spending two hours with their ‘Loyalty & Retention’ department, I came to a mutual understanding that they would be willing to lose me as a customer rather than voiding the DirectTV portion of the contract.
To stick me with the $600 two-year DirectTV that was not presented in good-faith, they’d be willing to drop my $6,000/year cellular contract. “A contract is a contract, and once she signed, you are stuck with it. Contracts are binding, they can’t be renegotiated! She should have read it closer.”
Blew. My. Mind.
Given I was already planning on ditching AT&T because of the cost, terrible service experience, losing my grandfathered data plan, and the fact I can get a much better deal through an employee discount and a different provider? The only thing keeping me was the annoyance of walking a block to change plans. The hubris of cellular corporations is extremely telling, and worrying.
