AT&T U-Verse Problems with Billing and Support

I am so frustrated with AT&T.  In the past couple years I must have called customer support at least 30 times.  That is unacceptable if you ask me.  I use AT&T for internet, and while the actual service has been fine, the billing and support is a nightmare.  I swear, the bills they send me are more often wrong then they are right.  The other day I got the most outrageous bill so far.

I had recently switched over from DSL to U-Verse in hopes of saving some money with the yearly promotion.  It's suppose to be $19.95 per month, so it would be nice if the bill showed up and it was actually that price, but no, I get the bill and it is for $284!  Are you kidding me?  Is this some kind of joke?  It's so ridiculous it's not even funny. 

So I log into my account to get an explanation.  First off, they charge you for 2 months right off the bat, even though you have had the service for only 1 month.  Then they charge $100 for the modem.  I knew about this charge, and you are suppose to get a $100 rebate in the form of a visa card, but so far I have not been able to get that.  I log into the rewards section and it does not say that I am qualified for this.  They say I need to have the service for at least a month for this promotion, but I know I'm going to have to fight tooth and nail to actually get it.

Then there is another charge for $149 for installation.  I did the self install which is suppose to be free.  There were some connection problems on the back end so they had to send out workers to fix it.  I told them I did not want to be charged any fees for this. The person on the phone said I would not.  When the guys came out to fix it, I told them again I do not want to do it if it is going to cost money.  They went ahead and fixed the connection and said it was not my fault so I would not be responsible for any charges.  But of course the bill shows up and there is a charge for $149.

I call up customer service to try to get this straightened out.  After talking to the guy, the best they could do was put the $149 charge as pending until a supervisor looks over the case.  This is another problem with AT&T support.  You go through all the prompts to get to the right department, and then once you finally get there, the person can't even do anything to help you.  It's like they have these call centers set up to deal with customers calls, but not actually provide concrete solutions. The only time I actually got through to someone who had the power to make changes was when I called to cancel my service.

I know I'm not the only person having trouble with AT&T.  I can imagine every other customer is either putting up with the same billing discrepancies, or they just look at the bill and say "whatever" and just pay it.  Well I'm not getting ripped off.  AT&T if you promise one thing and one price, honor it, don't just pass it on to someone else to deal with.  That is exactly what it seems like is happening at AT&T.  They are drawing people in with these deals and then not honoring them.  Then you call up to try to get what you were promised and you just get passed around and no one actually fixes the problem.  It's so frustrating.

I almost want to go back to Comcast, but their prices are even higher than AT&T.  At least I didn't have so many problems with Comcast.  We really need more internet providers to compete with these 2, because they are not getting the job done.

The best thing would be a national service that provides wireless internet for a standard affordable fee.  No scams, no 6 month specials, no changes in billing, just a straight forward plan that would provide reliable internet at a reasonable cost.  Is that so much to ask?

UPDATE: 7-9-12
I got the paper bill in the mail today for $284 so I was about to call AT&T but just in case, I checked my balance online.  To my surprise, they actually took off the installation charge for $149.  I didn't think they would follow through, but they did.

Then about the $100 credit I couldn't apply for.  I got another letter in the mail with a url for how to apply for the credit.  It was not easy, but after a few tries, I was able to apply for it.  The only way I got it was because I happened to have AT&T for wireless also.  If I didn't have that, I would not have been able to get the credit.

Then there was still my old DSL bill that they somehow were trying to charge me $43 for.  The full month was supposed to be only $35 to begin with and I transferred over to DSL in the middle so it should have been prorated.  I was told not to pay the bill and wait for a final bill that would be up to date.  Well today I got a letter from them telling me the $43 was over due and if I didn't pay it, they would refer me to a collection agency.  So I get ready to call up customer service like always, but again, before I do, I check my account online just in case.  When i logged in, the balance showed that I owed only $15.  This was about right, maybe a little more that I should owe, but hey with all the billing problems I have had with these guys, $15 to close the account is not bad.

So for now, things are ok with my account.  Lets pray we can go a full year without any more problems.