Public Mediation

AT&T-Ridiculous CPNI opt-out procedure

S. T. vs. At&T - Headquarters
208 S Akard St Ste 110, Dallas, Texas, 75202-4209 , United States
Amount Involved: $72.90
Complaint(s): Bad business practices
    • Status: In Negotiation
      This claim has posted for public comment and negotiation. It will remain posted until resolved to the claimant's satisfaction. Suggest a resolution to help these parties reach a settlement.
       (seeking public comment)
    • Claimant Seeks: 4 non-monetary items.
    • Claim #: 3028736
    • Amount Involved: 72.90
    • Filed On: Jul 20, 2012
    • Posted On: Jul 31, 2012
    • Complaint(s):
      • Bad business practices
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Statement of Claim
Complaint Involved (1) - View
Claimant says:
"I received two postcards, one for each of our phone lines, noting that the AT&T "family," whatever that is, would be bugging me with all kinds of "offers" unless I chose to opt out. Apparently this is something to do with my 'customer proprietary network information,' or CPNI.

Obviously I want to opt out. So I immediately fired up my computer, confidently entered my phone number and zip code, and got this message: "We're Having Trouble Processing Your CPNI Request. You can still make your request by phone. Please call a representative at 1-800-288-2020." I tried re-entering the info, tried our other phone number twice, ditto

So I called the number they gave. Whoops. You can call that number, but apparently NOT at 5.05 PM. So then I looked further at the postcard and saw the number for an automated line (why isn't this on the error message?). Tried that. Finally figured out that my account number is not the same as my phone number. I have no idea what my account number is and it will be a pain to find it as we pay our bills online, and I'm not the one with the passcode.

And why should I have to go to all this trouble to stop a company from sending me unsolicited ads, anyway? I've just spent an hour of my time messing around trying to understand legal gobbledygook and jump through hoops...and I'm not done. I have to remember to call a live person on Monday, or track down the passcode and pull up AT&T's website again, and no doubt get more error messages.

AT&T is clearly protecting their advertising. Since their customers already pay through the nose for service, why should we have to put up with this nonsense?

**Update: AT&T responded to my claim quickly and pleasantly. They fixed my immediate problem--opting out--and a supervisor called to ensure that I was satisfied. I cannot say enough about how polite, friendly and efficient the reps were. However, I cannot close the claim because they were not able to assure me that the opt-out process would be reviewed and made easier. Being able to opt out with your telephone number should be a no-brainer; AT&T should not make its customers jump through hoops like this."
...
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Additional Communication Between Claimant and At&T - Headquarters Hide
  • Aug 14, 2012, Claiming party added:

  • I have updated my claim to reflect your response--you have great reps who handled my opt-out request and concerns well, but ultimately your opt-out process is terrible and so I can't close my claim. Oddly, I just got an 'opt-out or stay opted-in' email so I hope that my opt-out request really did go through.

What Claimant Wants Hide
Non-Cash
What By When How Much
1. Replace: Have people who want to get advertising opt in instead of having to waste time opting out. Aug 04, 2012 N/A
2. Complete project: 'Opt out' both numbers included in the private message area Aug 04, 2012 N/A
3. Apology: Frankly, I think you owe ALL your customers an apology. Aug 04, 2012 N/A
4. Change of policy: If you are going to insist on making people opt out, at least make it simple by enabling them to use their phone numbers. Aug 04, 2012 N/A
Cash
1. Pay me for my time: One hour of dealing with this. Aug 04, 2012 $50.00
2. Copy claim to regulators Aug 04, 2012 $14.95
3. Pay for claim posting cost Aug 04, 2012 $7.95
Cash total : $72.90
Non-cash: 4 items
  • 0
Do you agree with the claimant’s demands?  (If you are a party to this claim, click here.)

Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from AT&T - Headquarters. This claim will remain posted until resolved
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  • Comment: by CathyJ — Online mediator
    • On: 12-28-2012
    View more
  • lol I had just the same problem. Maybe the FCC or FTC can help if ATT isn't willing to change the process/ It should not be that hard.
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