COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — For 13 years, Nichole Bushby relied on Sprint for cell phone service, until she was approached by an AT&T sales representative outside of her home in May.
“I told him I was with Sprint, and he asked if I ever wanted to change and I told him, ‘No.’ And he said, ‘What if I could get you $250?'”
That would be $250, either in the form of a reward card or off her bill, if she stayed with the provider for 30 days. So, Bushby made the switch and initially, saw a difference.
“I had lost about $30 on my bill,” she said.
But less than a week later, Bushby said she checked her bill again, and the price went up, without warning.
“So, I went back to around the same price as I was paying over at Sprint,” Bushby said. “So, there was really no reason to switch.”
Bushby immediately called AT&T.
“They didn’t really give me a reason why the bill was higher,” she said, but she did choose a different plan, to bring her monthly cost back down some.
“At this point, I’ve saved nothing,” said Bushby. “I didn’t save anything at all. I would have saved more staying at Sprint.”
After a month, Bushby said she still hadn’t received the $250 discount or reward card she was promised. So, she called the phone company again… and again… and again.
“I called twice a week for about a month and a half, two months,” she said, getting a different answer each time. “A couple people told me it was on the way; the reward card was on the way. And a couple people told me that I wasn’t getting one. So, I’m very lost and I’m very confused on what to do at this point.”
Bushby’s next phone call was to Better Call 4.
NBC4 reached out to AT&T on Sept. 9, then again on Sept. 14, exactly one week after speaking with Bushby. In less than an hour, a company representative asked me for Bushby’s contact and account information. A couple of hours after that, Bushby received a message from AT&T’s Office of the President. Then, her account was credited $250 dollars.
A representative for AT&T confirmed that a resolution was reached, in a message the following day that said, “The customer’s concern has been resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.”
Better Call 4 was not told why there seemed to be confusion about Bushby’s bill. But remember, any time you’re presented with an offer, read the fine print and ask as many questions as possible, before signing up.