Permalink Submitted by LF (not verified) on February 17, 2016 - 12:30pm
AT&T has shown little compassion to the loved ones of the deceased. My fiancé had only been dead a month and I was still grieving when our account was put on a cancellation order because someone had informed them he passed away. She was his ex, who does not power of attorney to access the account, was not an authorized user, and yet an AT&T employee put a cancellation order on the account – we are told to set up passwords, but what good are they when someone passes away and another person can just walk into a store and put a cancellation order on their account. My fiancé and I had our cell phones on the same account for years, and we had our internet and TV linked to the same account (we were loyal AT&T customers). We always paid on time, and as a matter of fact I had overpaid the previous month and there was a credit on the account at the time the cancellation order was put on the account - I had in fact overpaid to make sure I absolutely had a phone because at this time having a working phone is a lifeline to me since I live away from family and I now live completely alone without him and don’t have any family nearby.
It was shocking when one day the phone had no service and I contacted customer service only to find out that his ex-wife had told them he was deceased so they had put a cancellation order on the account – I still don’t understand why an AT&T employee would just take someone’s word for it and take action on an account that was fully paid for (had a credit in fact), when she could not have shown them power of attorney because she doesn’t have any such document, did not have the 4-digit account password to access or close his accounts, was not a user on the account, nor was an authorized user. How could this happen? I don’t know, I thought this was why there are passwords so unauthorized people can’t access your account. I was told that although this probably shouldn’t have been done, they couldn’t do anything to lift the hold unless the power of attorney did come in with me now. Unfortunately right at this time the person who had power of attorney was sick himself and was in a hospital recuperating, I had to wait until he designated an alternate who could go in and have the hold on my account lifted – I went to the Anaheim store 4 times to try to have the account services transferred and the issue resolved, all this extra anxiety a short month after my fiancé’s sudden death and while I’m still trying to cope with my loss and immense grief.
I was then told that I would have to transfer billing responsibility to me to keep the cell phones, which I did – or I thought they did. But the associates in the store didn’t seem to know how to fully transfer the account to me because they said all my services were bundled. When I walked out of the store on Friday Feb. 5th I thought everything was finally resolved with my cell phone service securely transferred to a new account, and my Uverse internet and TV scheduled to be reinstalled the following Friday, Feb. 12.
But today after calling and visiting the store all weekend I was told that my cell phone numbers had been cancelled because “somehow” the account had been left as a tentative account because since all our services were bundled with AT&T they couldn’t transfer the cellular service until the other services had also been transferred – in a horrible twist of fate, AT&T cancelled the account on Friday at 5am and my service appointment for the tech to switch out the new internet router was also scheduled for Friday 8am, but once the account was cancelled the service appt was also cancelled. I didn’t even realize my cell phones had been cancelled until Saturday evening when the neighbor came over very concerned because he said my family had called him telling him they hadn’t been able to reach me for 2 days and that my cell phones were disconnected and to please check on me. I couldn’t believe the phones had been turned off again, but I thought I would be able to resolve the issue by going to the store again, but things are horribly wrong now because I’ve been told my phone numbers have been lost forever and that all AT&T can do is issue new service with new phone numbers. How is it possible that I’m being punished for a mistake that I didn’t make and in spite of all my time and efforts working with their store associates to do what they said was best in order to have my services continue with AT&T? I tried to remain a loyal customer to the company and this is how they treat their customers, especially at one of the most vulnerable periods in a person’s life, when they are grieving their loved ones? How is it possible that in spite of my going into their corporate store, I am now without the only cell phone numbers we’ve ever had and that friends and family have as my only way of helping me?
We were good, long time, loyal customers who made the mistake of bundling all our services (cell phones, internet and TV), and whose employees weren’t decent enough to take the time to figure out how to make sure my cell phones were fully transferred to the new tentative account so I wouldn’t lose my service at a very difficult time in my life, but worse still lose the phone numbers that are right now are my only connection to the outside world and family. I still can’t believe that AT&T’s associates, knowing my situation, would not have made sure that my cell service was fully transferred so my cell phone numbers wouldn’t be lost as I’ve now been told has happened. I still can’t believe that at the worst possible time in my life, AT&T would be so uncaring and take responsibility for the fact that their employees allowed an ex to access someone’s account, put a cancellation order on the account, and as a result forced me to switch my service when I was grieving the loss of the love of my life. I’ve now been told that since the account was cancelled the cell phone numbers have been lost forever and that I have to get a new phone number, when this is the only number I’ve ever had and at this time it is the most important time that friends and family be able to call me. How is it possible that AT&T would allow this to happen to a grieving widow? Can you imagine this being done to you just as you’re trying to get the footing under you, but you are all alone and then completely disconnected because your cell phones have been turned off. How is it possible for AT&T to just say sorry and tell me that they apologize for the inconvenience but that all they can do is open a new account with all new phone numbers. At a time of technological wizardry and all things are possible, how is it that one of the largest companies in the world doesn’t have the compassion to help me with a problem that they created, and that if they fixed it could take a huge worry off of me and frankly would mean the world to me at this time of loss and constant change, I just want to keep the phone number I’ve always had. I can’t imagine this happening to someone else, such a relatively simple thing to do have been done, if your employees had taken the time and care to do things right. It’s so sad that this company seems to lack any compassion for the loved ones of the dead. I still can’t believe what AT&T has put me through, when all I’ve wanted was to keep the services my fiancé and I had before he passed, and keep my services phone numbers with you, all of this happening just weeks after my fiancé died. Is it possible that no one at AT&T cares and thinks this is how their company should do business? And how can their employees just walk away and say sorry, but not fix the situation their employees created by not ensuring accounts and services are properly accessed and transactions transferred. I still can’t believe that with all that I have gone through in the last 2 months, AT&T can’t find a way to reinstate my cell phone numbers so I can just go on with the process of piecing my life back together after one of the most devastating losses a person can ever go through.
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Account Cancelled by Unauthorized User After Fiance Passed Away
AT&T has shown little compassion to the loved ones of the deceased. My fiancé had only been dead a month and I was still grieving when our account was put on a cancellation order because someone had informed them he passed away. She was his ex, who does not power of attorney to access the account, was not an authorized user, and yet an AT&T employee put a cancellation order on the account – we are told to set up passwords, but what good are they when someone passes away and another person can just walk into a store and put a cancellation order on their account. My fiancé and I had our cell phones on the same account for years, and we had our internet and TV linked to the same account (we were loyal AT&T customers). We always paid on time, and as a matter of fact I had overpaid the previous month and there was a credit on the account at the time the cancellation order was put on the account - I had in fact overpaid to make sure I absolutely had a phone because at this time having a working phone is a lifeline to me since I live away from family and I now live completely alone without him and don’t have any family nearby.
It was shocking when one day the phone had no service and I contacted customer service only to find out that his ex-wife had told them he was deceased so they had put a cancellation order on the account – I still don’t understand why an AT&T employee would just take someone’s word for it and take action on an account that was fully paid for (had a credit in fact), when she could not have shown them power of attorney because she doesn’t have any such document, did not have the 4-digit account password to access or close his accounts, was not a user on the account, nor was an authorized user. How could this happen? I don’t know, I thought this was why there are passwords so unauthorized people can’t access your account. I was told that although this probably shouldn’t have been done, they couldn’t do anything to lift the hold unless the power of attorney did come in with me now. Unfortunately right at this time the person who had power of attorney was sick himself and was in a hospital recuperating, I had to wait until he designated an alternate who could go in and have the hold on my account lifted – I went to the Anaheim store 4 times to try to have the account services transferred and the issue resolved, all this extra anxiety a short month after my fiancé’s sudden death and while I’m still trying to cope with my loss and immense grief.
I was then told that I would have to transfer billing responsibility to me to keep the cell phones, which I did – or I thought they did. But the associates in the store didn’t seem to know how to fully transfer the account to me because they said all my services were bundled. When I walked out of the store on Friday Feb. 5th I thought everything was finally resolved with my cell phone service securely transferred to a new account, and my Uverse internet and TV scheduled to be reinstalled the following Friday, Feb. 12.
But today after calling and visiting the store all weekend I was told that my cell phone numbers had been cancelled because “somehow” the account had been left as a tentative account because since all our services were bundled with AT&T they couldn’t transfer the cellular service until the other services had also been transferred – in a horrible twist of fate, AT&T cancelled the account on Friday at 5am and my service appointment for the tech to switch out the new internet router was also scheduled for Friday 8am, but once the account was cancelled the service appt was also cancelled. I didn’t even realize my cell phones had been cancelled until Saturday evening when the neighbor came over very concerned because he said my family had called him telling him they hadn’t been able to reach me for 2 days and that my cell phones were disconnected and to please check on me. I couldn’t believe the phones had been turned off again, but I thought I would be able to resolve the issue by going to the store again, but things are horribly wrong now because I’ve been told my phone numbers have been lost forever and that all AT&T can do is issue new service with new phone numbers. How is it possible that I’m being punished for a mistake that I didn’t make and in spite of all my time and efforts working with their store associates to do what they said was best in order to have my services continue with AT&T? I tried to remain a loyal customer to the company and this is how they treat their customers, especially at one of the most vulnerable periods in a person’s life, when they are grieving their loved ones? How is it possible that in spite of my going into their corporate store, I am now without the only cell phone numbers we’ve ever had and that friends and family have as my only way of helping me?
We were good, long time, loyal customers who made the mistake of bundling all our services (cell phones, internet and TV), and whose employees weren’t decent enough to take the time to figure out how to make sure my cell phones were fully transferred to the new tentative account so I wouldn’t lose my service at a very difficult time in my life, but worse still lose the phone numbers that are right now are my only connection to the outside world and family. I still can’t believe that AT&T’s associates, knowing my situation, would not have made sure that my cell service was fully transferred so my cell phone numbers wouldn’t be lost as I’ve now been told has happened. I still can’t believe that at the worst possible time in my life, AT&T would be so uncaring and take responsibility for the fact that their employees allowed an ex to access someone’s account, put a cancellation order on the account, and as a result forced me to switch my service when I was grieving the loss of the love of my life. I’ve now been told that since the account was cancelled the cell phone numbers have been lost forever and that I have to get a new phone number, when this is the only number I’ve ever had and at this time it is the most important time that friends and family be able to call me. How is it possible that AT&T would allow this to happen to a grieving widow? Can you imagine this being done to you just as you’re trying to get the footing under you, but you are all alone and then completely disconnected because your cell phones have been turned off. How is it possible for AT&T to just say sorry and tell me that they apologize for the inconvenience but that all they can do is open a new account with all new phone numbers. At a time of technological wizardry and all things are possible, how is it that one of the largest companies in the world doesn’t have the compassion to help me with a problem that they created, and that if they fixed it could take a huge worry off of me and frankly would mean the world to me at this time of loss and constant change, I just want to keep the phone number I’ve always had. I can’t imagine this happening to someone else, such a relatively simple thing to do have been done, if your employees had taken the time and care to do things right. It’s so sad that this company seems to lack any compassion for the loved ones of the dead. I still can’t believe what AT&T has put me through, when all I’ve wanted was to keep the services my fiancé and I had before he passed, and keep my services phone numbers with you, all of this happening just weeks after my fiancé died. Is it possible that no one at AT&T cares and thinks this is how their company should do business? And how can their employees just walk away and say sorry, but not fix the situation their employees created by not ensuring accounts and services are properly accessed and transactions transferred. I still can’t believe that with all that I have gone through in the last 2 months, AT&T can’t find a way to reinstate my cell phone numbers so I can just go on with the process of piecing my life back together after one of the most devastating losses a person can ever go through.