AT&T’s subpar service and customer service were quickly in the negative spotlight when a customer on Reddit explained his horrible experience with the U.S. carrier concerning an iPhone 17 Pro that was supposed to arrive brand new at the designated address. Unfortunately, not only was the box shipped with a broken factory seal, but the device also had a smudged display, clearly indicating it had been opened before.
Naturally, the first instinct would have been to return the product, which would have been a simple process, right? Wrong, and after the customer endured the excruciating after-sales support, he was charged triple the amount for obtaining the same phone and the same line, despite not missing any payments.
AT&T customer support initially refused to provide a replacement for the iPhone 17 Pro, ‘because it was an online order’
Not wanting to back down and to acquire what he actually ordered, Redditor ‘snlfanboy’ claims that he was on a call with AT&T for more than 10 hours, with countless chat messages sent over a period of several days. Initially, customer service was least bothered to accommodate the person, and stated that they weren’t able to help him out because he had placed an online order.
If you thought that denying a replacement was bad, snlfanboy also says that since he didn’t provide proof or have witnesses present during the unboxing, he couldn’t be trusted with his claims. Finally, after going back and forth with AT&T’s support department, when his exchange was finally processed, the Redditor received another shock. The financial terms changed in the blink of an eye.
The individual’s original order consisted of $91.30 in sales tax and $0 down payment. With the exchange processed for the same iPhone 17 Pro and same line, he was charged $107.80 sales tax, $165 down payment due to a ‘soft credit check,’ with the total reaching $272.80, or triple the previous amount. On the post, snlfanboy says nothing changed on his end, he didn’t miss a single payment, but he was still charged a hefty sum.
“Nothing changed on my end. No missed payments. Same line. Same device. The only difference is AT&T shipped me an opened phone. Nothing came with the phone saying it was opened or checked for quality assurance. All I wanted was a new phone I could trust. Why would I want an opened, smudgy phone that could have been a return?
When processing the exchange, they re-ran financing and imposed new terms. Meanwhile, my account has been stuck in limbo for 2 weeks with no clean resolution. I refused the new financing terms, and the phone has still not been acknowledged as "returned" on the AT&T portal and I have not been refunded for the original payed tax.”
It is just one of those days when an unlucky customer had to face a ton of bad luck. Going through the Reddit comments, one person says that someone who previously owned the iPhone 17 Pro must have returned it and said that it wasn’t opened. Then, the same device was received by a careless AT&T employee who placed the device in the ‘new’ stock, which was later shipped to snlfanboy. Another person says that a complaint should be filed with the FCC, which could be a proper step towards receiving a brand new iPhone 17 Pro, and at the same bill that was paid before.
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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