A woman is calling out AT&T for being “dishonest” and not valuing her as a long-time customer.
TikTok user Ashlyn Hanks (@ashlyn_hanks) blasted the phone carrier company for allegedly failing to deliver on their promised trade-in value for an iPhone.
In the video, which has garnered more than 278,700 views at the time of writing, Hanks frustratingly retells the story while sitting inside her car at the AT&T parking lot.
“This is why my family will no longer be using AT&T as a service,” she begins.
How a trade-in went wrong
Hanks explains that two weeks before recording the video, she decided to upgrade from a 12 Pro Max to a 15 Pro Max. While purchasing the new phone, she was told she could trade in her old phone and was offered $700 for it.
“To me, that sounded like a great deal,” Hanks says. “And that’s what we did.”
However, the very next day after the trade-in was complete, the content creator mentioned that her dad’s phone—who is also with AT&T—suddenly stopped working.
Upon visiting an AT&T store, Hanks said her dad alleged nobody would help him fix the device.
“He basically said, ‘No, they would not look at the phone,’” Hanks noted. “Apparently AT&T is having this big outage of phones just deciding to collapse on people.”
Afterward, Hanks says her dad was able to fix his phone with the help of a T-Mobile employee, who then offered the entire family a deal to switch to their service.
“So my dad was like, ‘We’re not gonna use AT&T anymore,’” Hanks stated.
Although up to this point, the TikToker said her experience with AT&T had been pleasant, this situation soured her impression, so she agreed to the switch.
To start the switchover process, Hanks said her dad called AT&T to clear out the bills, which is where they ran into another issue.
“They were like, ‘Oh, the $700 credit that she had with the trade-in of the phone was going to be spread out within the time span of three years’,” Hanks recounts, saying she was never informed of this caveat.
When Hanks’ dad asked for the $700 to be taken off the bill, he was allegedly told such a thing was not possible.
“So you technically cannot get the credit unless you keep AT&T for another three years,” she explains.
To see if she could either get her old phone back or receive the credit, Hanks decided to visit an AT&T store. However, once there, she was told that her old phone had already been shipped off, and she was also informed that she couldn’t use the credit.
“They literally were just like, ‘sorry,’ like, ‘you just lost money,’” Hanks says frustratingly.
Hanks concludes the video by calling out AT&T directly. “Do better at AT&T, because I hope this video blows up and everyone decides to switch services,” she remarked. “If you’re not willing to help us and if phones are deciding to just stop working and you can’t help, what’s the point of you being around? Just saying.”
What are the terms of a trade-in deal with AT&T?
According to AT&T’s official Terms and Conditions site, customers “may qualify for specific promotional offers whereby monthly bill credits are applied to the monthly device installment.”
This means that instead of receiving the full trade-in value as a one-time credit, the credit may be spread out over the length of a customer’s device’s installment plan, being applied as a monthly reduction to your bill.
They also clearly state, “AT&T will not be able to return to you any wireless device that you trade-in as part of this trade-in program.”
@ashlyn_hanks Oh im so unhappy. Do better @AT&T . Anddd i’d like my phone back that you took. #phonescrashing #dobetter #badservice ♬ original sound – Ashlyn Hanks
Commenters share their thoughts
In the comments, some users are frustrated by the situation, while others say this is standard practice in the industry.
“That’s what happened to me!! They say ‘no contracts’ but they hold you for 3yrs?” wrote one user.
“Sorry that happened to you, unfortunately that’s standard when it comes to att, tmobile and Verizon,” explained another. “You get the credits divided over 24 month period or whatever the carriers policy is, if you leave.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Ashlyn Hanks (@ashlyn_hanks) via email and Instagram Direct Message, and AT&T via email for further comment.
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