One Saturday morning, Jim Driano got a knock at the door that he now wishes he never answered. On his doorstep, he found two AT&T salesmen offering a bundle of TV, phone and internet services.
“What a salesman tells you may not always be true,” Driano said. “Between the two of them telling me what a great deal it was, and they knew exactly how much it was to cancel my other cable.”
Driano said he signed on with AT&T and canceled the deal with his previous service provider.
“We filled out some paperwork. He quoted me a price,” he said.
But when Driano called to verify the deal, he heard a different price by phone.
“His price wasn’t the price they had. They actually told me there may have been a deal for that price earlier and it had expired," he added.
In Jim’s case, the bundle price listed on the documents he signed was $115 per month not including taxes and fees. In text messages, he says the salesman offered him an even lower price of $111 total. But then he got his first bill.
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“It was $121.99 before taxes and fees,” Driano said.
He had already been charged for three weeks of service and attempted to get a refund for the difference between the price he expected and the price he was billed. When he was unable, he called NBC 6 Responds.
“I was pretty upset and I called an attorney, a friend. He suggested I call Channel 6," he said.
Cinthya Lavin with the Better Business Bureau says they get complaints every year from people who aren’t happy with their bill after agreeing to a door-to-door sale.
“Our main complaints are really fees, extra fees and things they weren’t aware of,” Lavin said.
We contacted AT&T and they refunded Jim the $105 he paid. They also sent him a $200 check to cover the cancellation fees charged by his previous service provider, Comcast, which is the parent company of NBCUniversal.
An AT&T spokesperson told us: “We apologize for Mr. Driano’s experience. We believe we have reached a resolution that satisfies the customer.”
The BBB says take your time when thinking about making a deal with a door-to-door salesperson.
“Give people the opportunity to leave your home and just think about what you’re going to purchase and do some research. Anyone can come into your house and you can accept that sales pitch but it’s all about reading before buying,” Lavin explained.
Keep in mind, by law, you have three days to change your mind if you agree to a home solicitation sale. But if you do, you’ll have to notify the company in writing within that three-day period.
