Customers who usually don’t go over the fine print and who aren’t knowledgeable about various promotions offered by U.S. carriers are typically the quickest to fall prey to sales tactics from employees. Unfortunately, one AT&T customer fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book, as she was convinced to upgrade to a new phone by paying off the installment plan of her current smartphone, forcing her to lose out on all those trade-in credits. Unfortunately, the real victim was the person’s son, whose phone plan was being used.
Returning the new iPhone 17 to AT&T also resulted in a restocking fee, which is once again a tactic employed by carrier employees
The honest thing for the AT&T employee to have done for the customer was to first check whether the current was working properly or not, even though that doesn’t fall under his job description. According to Redditor “Secret_Salad_6672,” his mother’s iPhone 16 Pro Max powered off and wouldn’t charge, so she went to a carrier store to see if her problem could be rectified. Instead of simply trying a new cable and charger to see if the iPhone 16 Pro Max would power back on, the AT&T employee “convinced” her to upgrade to an iPhone 17.
This step involved paying off the installment plan on the existing phone, meaning that the son lost out on a valuable $700 in trade-in credits. However, the damage wasn’t finished, because, after it was found that the iPhone 16 Pro Max could power on with a different set of accessories, the new iPhone 17 provided by the AT&T employee now had to be returned, but not for free, because there was a restocking fee involved in the $35-$55 range.
The Redditor wished that his mother had informed him of making this decision, but these predatory sales tactics should also be called out. At the very least, the AT&T employee could have advised the iPhone 16 Pro Max user to take the device to an Apple retail outlet first and diagnose the problem. Then again, AT&T and all the other carriers are in the business of selling phones, not fixing them, so customers should also learn the differences between the two business models.
On the Reddit thread, there’s a discussion happening on whether the victim should file a complaint with the FCC. While this is an option, some argue that the salesman’s job isn’t to fix phones, but to sell them. However, AT&T did financially benefit from this exchange and withheld vital information, such as the option to head down to an Apple retail outlet, so there’s some merit to the claim that the customer was scammed. Remember, if there’s a hardware problem, go directly to the company that manufactures phones.
News Source: Reddit
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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