Bought iPhone at ATT store.

[chrozz]

I bought my iPhone at an ATT store and the rep would not let me "just buy it". So I conceded and told him I would start an att account, of course I had no plans of actually activating with att. He took some basic info, including drivers license... So I signed the Screen for the iPhone purchase, left the store and unlocked the iPhone for tmobile. All is working well now, but I am wondering if anyone has experience with what action I should expect from att, if any?

 

[Small White Car]

Well, they're not supposed to do that since the activation is supposed to happen in iTunes.

So there's no telling what will happen, really. I'd say you should call AT&T and make sure you don't have some kind of account with them.

Explain EXACTLY what happened and say you bought the phone as a gift so you don't need the account. Probably there is no account and the store clerk was being stupid, but it's best to check, I'd think.

 

[carfac]

First off, they had no business taking that information from you. You should not have given to them, but you did. But nothing will happen from there.

But you may want to let Apple know- taking that information is contrary to the system Apple set up and wants ATT to use, that is, do all that stuff via iTunes. In fact, ATT and Apple specifically said that YOU HAD to activate at home, and would not allow you to in store.

Sounds like an ATT rep that has stepped out of bounds.

 

[chrozz]

to clarify

To clarify, I did not activate the iPhone in store. The Rep told me I had to start an ATT account. THe iPhone was left in the box sealed. I never signed any contractual papers. Only the electronic screen for iPhone purchase.

 

[carfac]

You are probably OK then. But still, that rep is a bit of a cowboy. They are not supposed to be doing that.

 

[JTrain23]

I actually had a sales rep for AT&T tell me he HAD to run my credit at the store before I could purchase my iPhone. I basically told him to pound salt. Then he had to go to the office to have his manager "OK" the transaction. He was quite a jerk from the start. Then I noticed he was sporting a Voyager..... FROM VERIZON!! It was all clear to me after that!!!

 

[chrozz]

I can only assume all he did was run my credit as well. The information he got was social, drivers license #, name, billing address. Sounds like a credit check to me. I am going to call att and tell them to look my up, if they find me, I will tell them I sold my iphone to a friend and he was planning on activating it soon.

 

[JTrain23]

I can only assume all he did was run my credit as well. The information he got was social, drivers license #, name, billing address. Sounds like a credit check to me. I am going to call att and tell them to look my up, if they find me, I will tell them I sold my iphone to a friend and he was planning on activating it soon.

I wouldn't give them any info and they still sold me mine. I activated through iTunes. I could have done the credit check at the store but it was just principle after he acted like a douche........

 

[rayward]

I've never been anything but lied to by AT&T reps, either in the store or on the phone. The only time I've ever had anything satisfactorily resolved is when my complaint (pre-iPhone account activation) was booted up to a manager because I threatened to cancel the account and return all the equipment, including the BlueTooth headsets and travel/car chargers I'd bought.

What had happened was that I wanted to move from Verizon because of the better BlueTooth phone options, but I very specifically stated to the AT&T (then Cingular) rep that I needed the international roaming package immediately available or I would not open the account. He got on the phone to customer service for a while, told me that it was all approved, and I just had to call in to activate it once the account was open. Yes, alarm bells should've been ringing loud and clear, but I stupidly took him at his word.

Of course, when I called to activate international roaming, they told me I had to wait 6 months (as is the standard practice with all cell providers). I went back to the store looking to open up some new orifices, but my rep wasn't there. The other reps couldn't help, but put me back on the phone with customer service. I told them that I had all the kit I'd purchased with me and it was all returnable, which I would do along with cancelling the account because as far as I was concerned, this was fraud. This kicked it up to the aforementioned manager who was very polite, apologetic and helpful. She activated the international roaming feature.

I was leaving the next day for foreign parts so this was important. Of course, when I got there, my phone didn't work. I had access to a computer so I emailed the manager who was mortified. She had my phone working the next day.

The switch to the iPhone was fine because that was via iTunes. However, I needed the global data package for the same reason I needed the international roaming package before. AT&T added it to my account, then slapped me with $600 of international data charges the first time I went out of the US. I complained, they fixed it by returning the charges and reconfirming the global package. Then I went abroad again, this time it was only $400 in charges. They fixed it, again. I went to Brazil last month - this time it's only $300...

AT&T sucks harder than any other vendor I have had the misfortune to do business with.

 

[rayward]

I can only assume all he did was run my credit as well. The information he got was social, drivers license #, name, billing address. Sounds like a credit check to me. I am going to call att and tell them to look my up, if they find me, I will tell them I sold my iphone to a friend and he was planning on activating it soon.

The credit check will cost you at least 5 points on your credit rating. That can impact the cost of everything from mortgages to car insurance to health insurance.

 

[brn2ski00]

Thats Bs -- At&t Rep Didnt Know What He Was Talking About. Kick Him In The T-nuts

 

[anim8or]

I'm not sure how it works in the Us but here in the UK the iPhone was one of the, if not THE first contract phone that you could purchase without signing up to a contract in store when you buy it.

I have heard that in the past few weeks some O2 stores are now insisting on setting up the phone in store with the customer.

We all know why this is happening and i suppose it was only a matter of time before the stores had the balls to do it.

 

[nomar383]

A Buddy and me set up an iPhone business a while back selling unlocked ones. We purchased about 10-12 from various AT&T stores, no problems, no questions. A few months after we stopped the business, he wanted his own iphone for personal use. He went in to buy his and they wanted the last 4 digits of the social number of the owner of his account. This was about 2 weeks ago. Now I'm sketchy about going to buy 3 at a time lol

 

[rayward]

A Buddy and me set up an iPhone business a while back selling unlocked ones. We purchased about 10-12 from various AT&T stores, no problems, no questions. A few months after we stopped the business, he wanted his own iphone for personal use. He went in to buy his and they wanted the last 4 digits of the social number of the owner of his account. This was about 2 weeks ago. Now I'm sketchy about going to buy 3 at a time lol

Can't you just buy 'em online or in person from Apple?

 

[nomar383]

Apple Store = too far
Online = longer time to ship product

To do our business we require no capital, that is to say: when the customer pays us, we buy the iphone, do the work, and ship it out. If I had to wait for a phone to ship from apple the customer might have to wait 3 weeks for their phone to show up! We can't afford to buy more than the customers order to have inventory on hand.

 

[TEG]

This is mostly due to the people in the store being trained to do one thing. Unlike Starbucks, they haven't had a special training session to reinforce the way the iPhone sales should work. I'll bet that the people who ask you for anything other than maybe a phone number and your money when you buy the phone were hired after iDay and only were taught how to do sales for "regular" phones.

TEG

 

[nomar383]

This is mostly due to the people in the store being trained to do one thing. Unlike Starbucks, they haven't had a special training session to reinforce the way the iPhone sales should work. I'll bet that the people who ask you for anything other than maybe a phone number and your money when you buy the phone were hired after iDay and only were taught how to do sales for "regular" phones.

TEG

So you think it was a fluke? If I went in and wanted 2 or 3 iphones and they asked me for personal info couldnt I just tell them to pound sand?

 

[TEG]

So you think it was a fluke? If I went in and wanted 2 or 3 iphones and they asked me for personal info couldnt I just tell them to pound sand?

Yes. Tell them that there is zero need for them to take any information other than a phone number (used for customer satisfaction surveys) for you to make your purchase. If they protest, leave and find a different store to purchase your iPhone from.

TEG

 

[brn2ski00]

So you think it was a fluke? If I went in and wanted 2 or 3 iphones and they asked me for personal info couldnt I just tell them to pound sand?

Yeah, the At&t store people don't know their mouth from their a$$holes....

Tell 'em to hand over the iPhones and take a long walk off a short pier!

 

[nomar383]

Yes. Tell them that there is zero need for them to take any information other than a phone number (used for customer satisfaction surveys) for you to make your purchase. If they protest, leave and find a different store to purchase your iPhone from.

TEG

lol, you think they would say something if I came in once a week buying 2 or 3 phones?