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AT&T review: unfair treatment! 54

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Author of the review
12:00 am EST
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I started advertising with Bellsouth Yellowpages a few years ago. Last year they were absorbed by AT&T. In March, I was contacted about renewing my advertising and increasing my internet exposure with more of their products. I had no increase in business for the previous year, but thought that it might help to do as they suggested. The salesman assured me that I could cancel prior to the start of the new contract- November 1. In September, after a brutal year, I called to cancel and was told that I would have had to have called within 30 days of signing. I called a few "customer service" numbers and got nowhere. I finally got to someone who was helpful and she gave me the number for our local sales manager. He told me that he would research whether there were any grounds for terminating the contract (non-performance or lack of response by the original salesman seemed to be the only possibilities; neither seemed provable). I paid the last installment of my 2007 contract- 60 days late... business was so bad. Today I got a call telling me I owed two months in the new contract. I told them I wasn't going to pay it- I had offered compromises after asking to cancel (said I'd pay for print or a reduced internet program) and they had rejected or ignored me. I'm not willing to bankrupt my business to pay for worthless advertising.

I just left a message for the sales manager. I'm going to ask him one more time to do something. If he doesn't, I'm considering taking the story to a local consumer advocate and publishing more details of this story on the www. I can't afford the lawyer if they sue me, so the choice is that or shut down the business and start again under a new name. Just great how much they care about helping their customers, eh?

Update by Stephen
Jun 10, 2008 12:15 pm EDT

I'm the OP.
I have no doubt that there are some people who have done well advertising with the AT&T (or any) online YellowPages.
But I'm [still] a small business owner. I am not getting enough business from the YP to get EVEN on a $450/month investment (and they wanted to raise my rates to over $620/month this year). You guys are talking about it taking thousands of dollars a month- my gross revenue last year was around $300K. You think that I should have to put 10-20% or more of that out for one advertising source? That's about what my profit margin is! So my first year, my sales have to DOUBLE to get even. Not likely.
I've already defaulted on my contract for this year and I'm surprised that I've only gotten one call from their collections department. I'm not going to post the details of my last conversation or correspondence until my business with them is complete. I'm not going to do any name-calling. Yet.
I tend to agree with the opinions that legal action won't get anywhere- and will probably cost more than paying the bills. Even a win or settlement would mean years of legal action just to get paid and they'd probably continue their actions until then. I don't have that time or money and they do.

While they don't have much competition in the print YP, there is plenty of good competition in the online services field. I've been contacted by agencies that are willing to do much more, be held accountable and charge much less. Unfortunately, I can't afford their services until I get rid of these jokers.

I will post more when I finally get some resolution.
Peace.

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54 comments
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Elvisdawg
, US
Mar 11, 2016 11:47 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I have had yellow page ads for over 30 years always having to renew contract. But amazingly last year my contract had a automatic renewal. Maybe before, not sure but always had a rep call to renew. Now on the hook for another year. Very crafty guys, but someday you will want me advertising on your web pages and Now that is out the door. You are just as bad and the rest, adding in ### stuff and its all legal. Shame on you

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Sapusluva
Tucker, US
Aug 27, 2014 3:06 pm EDT

We are now YP.com run by Crooked Managers, General Managers and Cyber-Sales Reps. We all LIE to make a fat commission and BONU$ check! :) Thank you AT&T, Bellsouth and most of all YP Holdings LLC for making me RICH and paying for me and My Ho's to go to CEO club! Raena, Pinkie, Ebony, Tyesha, Renee, Crystal, Nickie, Natasha and Pam. Ya'll gave me great head in Tucker, GA!

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Adam J. Smith
St Louis, US
Apr 10, 2012 8:49 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

AT&T is a great company, but salespeople, who sell on commission, will always want more commission, especially if they are under extreme pressure to obtain objective.

Advertising in any medium is a gamble. No salesperson can guarantee anything.

If any decision maker hears overblown statements be careful. Many headings in the book and the Internet don't have enough traffic to generate positive results. Remember any decision maker is relying on the honesty of the salesperson, who is biased toward commission.

If a company wants to advertise in the AT&T Yellow Pages for the book or the Internet, always try to meet your return on investment, which is based on your conversion rate for the number of calls received, monthly cost of the ad, visitors to the heading, and profit per customer. Statistics quoted by the salesperson are fine, but remember many factors affect the results. True, potential customers, who search the AT&T Real Yellow Pages or their Internet site, are "ready to buy".

Content and dominance are vital, but AT&T is only trying to give companies more calls. AT&T is not converting these people to customers. By all means try to be dominant, and have the proper content. Websites are a must! Even with all the preceding factors, the attitude of the company, product, location, parking, and customer service will have a greater impact to obtain and increase the number of satisfied customers.

Whether your ad works in the AT&T Real Yellow Pages or not, you will be required to pay the fees, if the deadlines to cancel are passed. The advertisement on their internet site will be removed after a certain number of months, if a customer doesn’t pay, but delinquencies are not tolerated at AT&T, whether the ad works or not.

AT&T to enforce the contract uses the voice verification for the sale. Whatever a decision maker is told during the sales part of the call is not legally binding to AT&T, so enforce your rights during the voice verification to use some of the salesperson’s overblown statements against them. If the decision maker calls AT&T customer service with a complaint only the voice verification will be played, so use their business practices for your benefit.

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A Tell Insurance.com
Covington, US
Feb 03, 2012 5:44 pm EST

AT&T are crooks and steal peoples money even disabled people and noone stops them Sad. They rip people off everyday. I know because I own an Insurance agency and they have placed my add wrong three years in a row and wont give me knew add unless I sign there letter stating I wont sue them. I have never seen a bigger scam in my life

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Tom Smith sr
Columbus, US
Mar 30, 2011 5:31 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

AT&T Yellow Page advertising department is corrupt! They omitted info I gave them and placed my ad in the wrong section. I have emailed the proof to them twice and they never reply back. When I advise them of their error, they say they will get back to me and never do. They continue to bill me and call for payment. What planet are they on?
I have been in customer service and sales for years and have never experienced this level of unfairness and unaccountabilty!
Tom Smith

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TPR02
Atlanta, US
Feb 17, 2011 2:49 pm EST

AT&T yellow pages is a disaster. Fortunately, we did not sign up for their questionable internet services but we have been screwed by them nonetheless. I am coowner and marketing director of a medical practice. First, you feel like you are dealing with a used car salesman when trying to figure out their ad options and pricing. They won't give you a straight price and will continously soak up your time trying to upsell you on their bundled packages - a single ad is redicously expensive and mysteriously more expensive than the ad plus other various ad-ons. The first year we signed up they printed our home phone number and fax under our business phone listing causes many awkward phone calls where we had to explain to our patients why they had reached our home phone number.

The next year, I told the rep that I would only buy an ad if they made the process ALOT less painful. I told him the exact ads that we wanted and he proceeded to "talk to his manager" to get us a discount on an ad package that was three times bigger than what I asked for. He then said that he could not discount the ad size I orginally requested (all of their prices are inflated with the expectation of negotiations - just like used cars), because he had already taken up his managers time and was not willing to talk to him again. At that point, I cancelled all of our advertising.

Then I got a call from another sales person disguised as a "customer service rep", wanting to understand why we would no longer run our ads with them. To her credit, she gave us fair pricing (as far as I can tell) for the ads that I actually asked for. Here's the kicker. We ordered 2 1-inch ads as part of a package. She said we could only get the ads at that price if we also took the free on-line presence manager. Now the book is out. The 2- 1" ads were identical ads under different headings. While 1 printed correctly the other one was completely screwed up and only contained 1 e-mail address for 1 of our 2 locations - no address, phone number, description, etc. NO ONE from AT&T will return my phone calls or e-mails. I have filed two "claims" with two different people who have told me that "customer care" will call me back to get the details of the claim. When I don't receive a phone call, I call again to be told by another rep that my complaint was mysteriously not entered into their computer system from the previous calls. One rep even told me that my ad was supposed to turn out that way. I guess she is too lazy to look at the documentation I actually signed off on or think logically. I have sent multiple e-mails to the 3 people who I have spoken to through this ordeal asking if anyone is going to get back to me, and they won't even reply. Worst yet, someone told me that their bundled pricing was listed differently in their internal computer systems than what I was told. Apparently, the ad they screwed up is listed as our "free" ad (under the bundled pricing) and, get this, the "free" online presence manager that they threw in, is listed with a monthly charge. So, why should they have to compensate us for our "free ad"?! Worse yet, the online presence manager does not work! From reading the other reviews, I gather that this broken or fake service will automatically renew next year. This company is FRAUDULENT and a NIGHTMARE. For the 40 patients that found us through the phone book last year, this is simply not worth the heartache and hassle.

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Kathyern
Ft. Worth, US
Nov 18, 2010 6:08 pm EST

Hello,
My name is Kathyern Lane and I have to agree that AT &T does NOT care about the customer at all...it is all about the money to them. I was contacted about placing an ad with the yellow pages as well. I was told I would have the first ad in color under" paint." I would have a secondary listing under" drywall". And the internet ads would be up in February to help me obtain business even before the book came out in April of this year. I was also supposed to get a website, but the guy who builds it for AT &T and I just played "telephone tag" most of the time. In April the book came out...my full color paint ad is the THIRD ad on the left page underneath the big 1/2 page ad. There is no secondary listing under drywall. When I called AT &T after receiving the bill, I spoke with a lady whose name begins with an "M", Melba I think, and she could not find the internet advertising even after sifting through several pages. She was nice and I think intended to resolve the issue. She said her manager would call me. No one did. I received more bills but no service on the bad advertising. Finally, a man named Earl Young called and said he was the investigator for AT &T disputes. I told him about all the problems and said I don't think they should bill me full price when they haven't provided the service that I'm paying for;however, I am willing to re-negoiate a mutually acceptable price for the ad in the book. That was a few months ago. Earl and I played telephone tag and now there is a demand letter for the full amount or they will send it to collections (hurting my credit report). It looks like either I pay the full price for shoddy service or I slam my own credit report, but you know what, I called Ms. Tippy and she said I could get it investigated again but they found "no error on AT&T's part" I told her that was a ridiculous thing to say when their own book shows the "error". She said that was my only choice. Well, she is WRONG. I told her my next move is to sue AT&T and they would lose.
She said she'd make note of that and start the collection proceedings. Does any of this make sense to you? They COULD have gotten some money from me without lawsuits and court costs but, instead, they have only pushed me to sue. Some company. I think either AT&T should re-think their policies or get out of the advertising business...as for me I REFUSE TO BE VICTIMIZED BY ANYONE INCLUDING A BIG CORPORATION. So if you too, need to file a lawsuit, let's talk. I'm ready, willing, and able to go after abusive entities! Kathyern Lane of BOBKAT PROPERTIES

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SbSandra
Sac, US
Sep 25, 2010 10:58 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

After reading everyone's similar complaints about AT&T deceptive advertising and misleading customers to costly advertising with their nonproductive company, I have come to the conclusion that we all need to form a class action suit against AT&T. My attorney in San Francisco would love to take this one on as they deserve the hell out of this! Also, I am going to file a formal complaint with the Public Utilities Commission and see what they have to say about it as well. We are currently being sued to the sum of $54, 000 +/- for all of the same reasons you have all complained about. We did not receive the returns we were promised, we were coerced into advertising with multiple books and signing contracts that had no bottom line dollar amount on them, our internet service was a joke and couldn't spell our business name correctly, fixing it was a nightmare and a public embarrassment, we ultimately had to hire a different company to create our website. This has literally been a financial nightmare. I'm done! They need to be punished in a legal matter and own up to their deceptive practices. I recently learned that because so many people in "our area" had the same problems with their contracts about bottom line prices not revealed on their original contracts, AT&T decided to change the way the their contracts read now. You actually do see a total price before you sign anything on their contract. All this information was provided to me by the original sales rep we had. Incidentally, we will be seeing him in court too. If anyone is interested in joining in on a class action suit, you can contact me at sbsandrakay@gmail.com, We would love to hear from all of you!

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julie A Roseman
Willits, US
Aug 06, 2010 8:59 pm EDT

PLEASE CONTACT IF INTERESTED IN FORMATION OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST AT&T ADVERTISING, (YELLOW PAGES, ONLINE, PRINT, ETC)
[protected]

ROSEMAN LAW OFFICES: I am a California Attorney. I called AT&T advertising to place ads in several of their Yellow pages. They talked me into"Online Advertising" I was supposed to get a reduced rate in the Yellow pages (PRINT/BOOKS), if I agreed to "online Advertising", this was supposed to be a "package deal". I spoke with the representative for over an hour fine tuning the ads; then we taped (audio), what we agreed to.

I followed up with AT&T on several occassions to make sure everything was in order for the Yellow Pages Ads. (they immediately started billing me for the "online advertising" which has to date generated "0", ZERO, clients --all clients are screened as to how they found us). Meanwhile, in June 2010 one of the YellowPage books I was supposed to be listed in came out. I looked in the book for my ad and found I was NOT there. I immediately called AT&T who told me they were "sorry, but your ad was left out".

They assigned the matter to a represenative who today told me I would have to continue paying for the online advertising and would have to pay for being listed in the other Yellow Page book which had not yet gone to print, (I was supposed to be listed in the Lake Tahoe Yellow pages-which I was left out of completely, and the Lake Mendocino Yellow pages which doesn't go to print until November 2010).

I found this to be ludicrious. I have a signed contract with them--which they breached. I am talking with a supervisor within the next 48 hours. but this is absolutely absurd . I would like to file a Complaint in Federal Court against AT&T for numerous causes of actions, (non-performance, breach of contract, unfair business practices, negligence, fraud, deceipt, to name a few).

Regardless of which state you live in, please contact my office. I have a 800 number which you can call free of charge. I am more than willing to go after AT&T--they count on individuals doing nothing and that is why they keep getting away with this. It is not fair nor is it right. Together, as a group, I feel we have a better chance of "WINNING" and STOPPING AT&T from engaging in this type of conduct.

Also, please contact the FAIR TRADE COMMISSION, THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, THE CONSUMER TRADE COMMISSSION, & THE U.S. FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION. I do not have the phone numbers sat this time, but I will post them on my website: www.califonialegalgroup.com and again the phone number is [protected]; my email julieroseman@lawyer.com.
Thank you,
Julie Roseman ESQ.

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kenneth scherle
, US
Jul 07, 2010 8:26 pm EDT

deceptive sales practices by swb att. sales people when i asked what do you do if i cant pay this. they told me everything acept we will sue you this happend at att. okc okla. nw 63 st by veronica ware

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ANTONIO SWEENEY
Cleveland, US
May 31, 2010 1:38 pm EDT

we should all get together and bring a class action lawsuit againt AT&T, THERE MUST BE THOUSANDS MORE JUST LIKE US
MY EMAIL A_SWEENEYJD@MSN.COM

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Mac's Home Improvements
Kent, US
May 19, 2010 1:00 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

AT&T yellow pages called our business phone number while we were driving. I decided to listen as my husband drove. The representative explained a few things and told me there would be a packet coming in the mail if I agreed to look at it and if I like what I saw or needed to alter their design that I could sign and mail back. Then he said if you agree to that (looking over the packet and signing if we liked) would he mind if he got me on tape stating what he just told me. I said no problem, bad decision. The packet came, we looked it over and threw it away. Didn't sign anything, didn't call him back, just forgot about it as it was more than we wanted to spend. About 8 months later we rec'd a phone call from a customer who had seen our ad in the AT&T yellow pages. We didn't tell the customer but thought WOW we never agreed or signed anything to go ahead with this ad. We had no idea it was in there. We did receive mail from AT&T but never opened it up as we thought up until this point that it was more mail sent to get us to place the ad. When we were called from the AT&T rep about a delinquent bill, we told them we never authorized this, they told me they have me on tape agreeing to this. I told them that they had to have left the part out that said they would send us the packet to look over and sign. When they played the tape, sure enough it states I would agree to an ad, but did not capture any of the conversation that was talked about relating to getting a packet and signing before the ad would be placed. Now we continue to receive calls from reps stating we are going to collections. My husband is getting very agitated and not very cooperative with them now. Is there anyone out there that would like to join together to get these guys. I am truly telling the truth, we were totally surprised that a perspective customer called us and said they found us in the AT&T yellow pages as we didn't even approve an ad.

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BUC
, US
Mar 23, 2010 10:04 am EDT

Wow, this is absolutley amazing, i really wish i would have done more research before advertising with At&t yellowpages. I have unfortunatley also been scammed/frauded/bamboozled by a rep and now they have me on the hook for $474 a month. I paid 2 months and after finding out that i was lied to about how many people search for what i was interested in advertising for and also them choosing keywords for my company that are completely irrrelevant to what the services my company actually offers. i changed my card number and will not pay anymore. Obviously now they are threatening to send me to collections and destroy my business. Breach of contract, PERIOD. They told me one thing and delivered something totally different. There has got to be some kind of class action suit against these crooks, with all of these complaints? Does anyone know of anything that we can do as small business owners to not let At&t crush our businesses?

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Yellow Pages Internet Ads are Evil
1857 Freshwater Rd., US
Mar 15, 2010 3:33 pm EDT

All of the above criticisms of AT&T Yellow Pages are right on.! I am feeling like i got slimed after talking with the rep's boss and hearing the obvious lies and lack of concern in her voice. If this is not bad enough, she says we have an automatic renewal in our contract, which, if not canceled IN WRITING, will make you have to stick with this abomination through an entire new 12 month cycle.! This in the face of our repeated, vehement complaints and failed attempts at getting out of this miserable rip off.

We felt we were talking with someone off a 60 Minutes show about scam artists during our conversation with the Claims Dept.who obviously has this same phone call all day long, her responses were so practiced. AVOID AT ALL COSTS. ! SEEK HELP FROM AN EXORCIST AS THESE PEOPLE ARE TRULY EVIL!

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roger wellens
Magnolia, US
Feb 22, 2010 2:26 pm EST

I filed a complaint to the BBB against at&t yellowpages and they inturn took civil action by filing against me in a texas court. I complained to the BBB that they were were ignoring the BBB complaint (of which they are a member, supposedly in good standing-you be the judge) and the BBB did get them back to discussions. AT&T obviously does not care about Customers. No one has EVER treated me like they have. Please review my complaint and their response at this BBB website link:
http://stlouis.app.bbb.org/complaint/view/1384588/c/vd8m8a
The total cost ended up being just over $2, 000, a couple hundred hours of work and the most frustrating ordeal of my life.
STAY AWAY FROM AT&T

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rexs
Las Vegas, US
Feb 15, 2010 12:15 pm EST

I am sorry that you are not happy with yellowpages.com. I was looking online found a website that you can have a ebillboard for FREE. Just go to seekshallfind.com. I was talking to my friend Frank he sign up for a ebillboard. He told me that he is glad that he got a ebillboard. His business just moved to a new building he went to change this info with yellow book and was on hold for 35 Minutes waiting for someone to talk to. When he went to his ebillboard and change his info and it took him just few minutes.

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Wlightning3
Sheffield Lake, US
Feb 05, 2010 8:20 am EST

I have to pick up legal mail today from them ###-I already know it's a lawsuit. They couldn't get the ads right in the first place and I even called and cancelled before it went to print. Also-on the proofs they sent that were all mispelled-I wrote on that proof I already cancelled the contract/advertising thru At & t and you people can't even get it right to begin with. It was also a listing for a area in Cleveland-30 miles away and for my business it wouldn't help me anyhow-people don't come to me from Cleveland. Low and behold-they put it in print then when they started calling for payment I slammed their ### for even printing it. Now they say if I was to cancel it's in the fine print I had to send a certified letter stating this. I said it didn't take a certified letter to start the contract-they are full of ###. Yes any class action suits out there ? Please send me info to Wlightning3@yahoo.com

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gothomas1
Port Orange, US
Jan 25, 2010 1:14 pm EST

complain to the attorney general where your from. there is alot of people including me that is having a dispute with att advertising. Also call better business bureau.
good luck with the deceptive advertisers. who lie and cheet don't pay the rip offs

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Stupid Moron
Umatilla, US
Jan 13, 2010 10:11 pm EST

Take it from me, Pay there bill. they will sue you into bankruptcy. They know there days are numbered. They are scamming as much as they can before they lose all there customers to Google. I will dance on there grave. I laugh with glee every time there new book is less pages than the year before. DIE DIE DIE!

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towman99
Sacramento, US
Jan 10, 2010 9:04 pm EST

I'm 22 and I signed up with ATT yellowpages last August. My sales rep told me I was getting my ad with a website included as part of a "bundle package" He says my first bill starts in March for $580.00, so I agreed in the voice contract. November comes along and ATT calls me saying I'm past due $1, 060 for my website. I told them "No the websites included with my "bundle package" I dont pay you until March, thats what my voice contract says" The ATT collecter then said that if I dont pay a minimum of $580 my ad wont be published. I paid the $580 then found out that I'm paying $300 a month for my yellow page ad and $280 for a website through yellowpages.com. I told them "Look you guys tricked me into your bundle package, my rep never told me I'm paying $280 for a website. I can make my own website for $30 a month, this is B.S. I wont pay that. I'll pay for my yellowpage ad but not this crappy website". Since early december when I started my buisiness, I've advertised on craigslist everyday and have gotten all my calls from them. I ask every customer where they saw my ad and 99% said craigslist, only 2 people have said yellowpages (although the book has just came out) I have yet to pay yellowpages until they get rid of my overpriced website that has my last name spelled wrong. They call me once a week wanting money money money! Its always more than the last time! I would like to join a class action lawsuit against them if there is one in California. I will cancel the yellowpages when my contract ends. I only wish I read this negative feedback last August, lesson well learned.

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Ceri Rich-Odeh
San Francisco, US
Jan 05, 2010 5:44 pm EST

I am interested in joining a class action suit against AT & T yellowpages (they renewed my account without my consent despite the fact that the rep has it on record that I was undecided). His manager just told me AT&T 'can' renew without a consenting signature if they wish. BTW, I have been an AT & T yellowpages advertiser for over 10 years on a year to year annually renewed contract but decided to quit this year as it seemed ineffective. Recommendations please (transwd@aol.com)

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Stupid Moron
Umatilla, US
Dec 24, 2009 8:22 pm EST

I was talked into a full page add in the 08 Orlando Bell South/AT&T Yellow page book and a Internet ad on YellowPages.com for $3000, 00+ a month. They showed me a return of investment print out that stated 100 calls a month and with only 33 sold calls I would get $10, 000.00 in sales.
The most calls I got in a month from AT&T Yellow Page users was 15. And the most sales from people using AT&T ads for a month was $2000.00.
I paid what I could each month but could not keep up with the bill. They sent me to a collection company named Credit Watch. They called every day and told me they would call my neighbors and tell them what a deadbeat I was and They are going to take my house. I told them that I know they can't do that because I was a corporation, but that did not seem to mater to them. I stopped answering there calls and then started getting calls from a different collection company. When the 1 year contract was over I continued to get a bill from AT&T for a $500.00 late charge each month. At that point I realized I would never be able to catch up and stopped paying the bill.
I was served a summons Nov 24 2009 and am being sued for $44000.00+
I can not believe that a company that I hired to make my phone ring and make my business successful is now destroying my company and life. I will have to close my business and file chapter 7 because the Yellow Pages do not work and I signed a contract.
To anyone out there that thinks that AT&T will just write off your debt and leave you alone. Take it from me, They will destroy you and not bat an eye. DO NOT SIGN A 12 MONTH CONTRACT WITH ANY ADVERTISER. GO WITH A SEO THAT CAN GET YOU ON GOOGLE ON A MONTH TO MONTH CONTRACT. I have got more calls from customers using Google than I ever got from AT&T Yellow Pages or YellowPages.com
And if there is a class action law suit I can get in on, Call me.
www.DrainDoctorPlumbers.com
I may only be in business till spring. Good Luck to all of you on your fight. Call if you think I could help.

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sardhadm
Charlotte, US
Dec 22, 2009 9:59 pm EST

We have had a dispute with at&t yellow page (bapco) based out if Georgia. We were misrepresented by the sales rep (he actually lied) and had us sign the contract without any proofs. As the book cameout we saw the ad and others, which he told us will have their city, state listed (NC new ruling that any co. not local must list their city and state on the ads -for perishable goods)...When we brought this up with the regional manager
he told us that the sales rep was not authorized to tell us such things. After writing to them several times and mailing the NC ordinances etc. now they are suing us for nonpayment. we have written a complaint to NC attorney generals office -consumer affairs department. Additionally, our new book is out, we are not on one line listing in the yellow pages (they have tens of complimentary listings of businesse who are not in existence, but took us completely out). Additionally, their new ads from our out-of-state order gatherer (reduced by 50%) have listing of the HQ, which we insisted and were lied to. We will pursue further, but don/t know what the
attorney general's office will do...any other suggestions out there for us. Our case is different but same story, we were lied to and nothing is given in writing.

sardhadm

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Contractor1
O'Fallon, US
Sep 08, 2009 11:49 pm EDT

Had a dishonest rep who kept telling us to go bigger, bigger & bigger. We did and lost money each time our ad increased in size all the way up to a 2 page ad. We got rid of that rep and was on the their next rep. He lied also and we once again got scammed. No one at the company would listen so I quit paying the bill. 6 months later they wanted to talk and admitted they were wrong. Then the send me a manager to take care of the mess. He knows I'm losing money on my ad by my metered calls. This person tells me he created the ad next to mine and that competitor was getting 3 times as many calls as mine and that we needed to let him create our ad. I knew this was a crock and naturally I contacted the competitor. The owner never heard of this guy! He had not created their ad nor was he their sales rep. We had a lengthy conversation and he said they had been losing money on their ad also.

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repair guy
Bedford, US
Aug 27, 2009 11:31 pm EDT

AT&T advertising is suing me for a 1/2 page ad I spoke with a rep about, but never saw a proof of. The ad went to print, was not what I wanted, and I am now being sued over this. any advice?

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Stupid Moron
Umatilla, US
Aug 03, 2009 3:49 pm EDT

I advertised with Bell South/AT&T. I started with a 3 column 1/2 color page for $1470 a month and did OK. The next year I was approached by Sprint and offered the same size add for $800 a month. I took this to AT&T to see if they would match the offer and they did not. I reduced their Ad to a 1/4 page B/W for $900. a month and got the Sprint add also for $800. to be in both the books that serviced Orlando. $1700. a month I was paying now but did not get any more calls that year than before. I added Internet advertising by both YellowPages.com from AT&T and DexKnows.com from Sprint/Embarq the next year and now was paying over $2000. a month. for the next 2 years with no increase in calls. AT&T told me that I needed a Full page add at $3000. a month to get by plumbing business off the ground and get enough calls to hire employees which is what I was trying to do so I went for it and asked each customer that call how they found my number. $4000. a month between the 2 books and still no more calls than the last year. A full Page 2 Color Ad in AT&T and a 3 column Color Ad in Embarq/Sprint and no more calls. My customer were coming from Google or was repeat business or referrals. Very little from the YP books.
I could not pay the bills and got $35, 000. in debt to AT&T and $6, 000. in Debt to Embarq and it was time to renew. Nether book would let me Advertise in the next book till I paid up or prepaid for the next year. Without any advertising I would go out of business and then how would you get your money I told them. I put $6000. on my company credit card to Embarq and signed up for in-column adds for the next year at $600. a month. I put $4000. om my company credit card to AT&T to prepay for Internet ads on YellowPages.com.
The new year starts and I am out of contract from AT&T but they still kept sending a late charge bill each month for $500. adding to the now $40, 000. I owe them and the Economy tanks and I cant come up with the money to pay my own pay check every week now let alone the YP bill. Now this year I am in debt with Embarq again as well as maxed out company credit cards I used to pay them last year but 6 months into the year AT&T stops sending me the late charge bill and I think they gave up on getting any money from me, then I get a call from them saying if I sign up with them for next years book and Internet with a minimum of $400. a month and not default. They would cancel my back bills and I would owe them $0.
I look at the paperwork and it said I could not enter into any suit against them and was wondering if there was a class action suit I was missing out on.
I know that a $400. a month ad would bring no calls at all and I would be just settling with them for $4800. /$400 a month but I still have no calls coming in and may not be able to pay that. Then they would just ad that to what I owe.
Any advice? They pushing a deadline on me.

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ElliotPowell
Portland, US
Jul 24, 2009 12:43 pm EDT

We are in the middle of a nightmarish dispute with AT&T yellowpages.com. The basic story is that the salesperson fraudlently applied my signature to a contract that we were never presented with. We filed a complaint with Better Business Bureau in St. Louis and about to file a consumer complaint with the Missouri States Attortney Generals office. Better Business is working with us to find a resolution. It may go to mediation and then to arbitration. AT&T is required to respond to BBB complaints in 10 days. Attorney General takes longer. Go to www.ago.mo.com to get a complaint form. AT&T is out of Missouri so you must file in that state. I am passing this information along, since it was very difficult to figure out how to get help. We do not have a resolution yet, but I will continue to post with updates on our situation, hopefully it will be helpful to someone one else in the same situation. If anyone one else out there has had success in beating AT&T, I'd appreciate hearing how you did it.

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DC154
Angleton, US
Jul 11, 2009 11:39 pm EDT

We are dealing with AT&T as well except from another angle. I had originally used their yellow pages to advertise our business like many here. We didn't see the results so I told the rep we where not likely to renew, she said she would like to come by and discuss it. I said I would visit as a courtesy but wasn't likely to renew. She came by the office when I wasn't there and when my mother in law was waiting for us to return. My mother in-law(who has no involvement with our company at all) signed the papers with my signature at the behest of the representative.

Weeks later I get a bill, I call and say I never renewed this and won't be paying. They said they have a signature and a contract. They have turned us over to collections but to me this is simply theft. They played a seniour citizen and have a fake signature but heh it's good enough for AT&T. We are thinking about suing them.

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tire guy
, US
Jun 18, 2009 7:25 pm EDT

Word of advice... go with the local Telephone Company book as primary (Whoever it may be), add another independent on if it works well.

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Cathy
Raleigh, US
Apr 01, 2009 2:12 pm EDT

I have been advertosong with them for 11 years and always paid the most to do so thinking that was the way to build business.! Well about 3 years ago the book is printed and they have a new column ad! This is a $200 column ad that is listed first in the book so my $3000 ad is on the next page. I asked why I was not offered this ad and instead it went to a first year company in our field, and was told they had no idea so sorry blah blah blah we will discount your ad. Then the bills come and instead of a discount I get an $895 increase! They decided they would give me some additional online ads! I have email copies where the sales rep admits the seach online was messed up for 2 years but they could not help I had paid for something for 2 years that I did not get. So I go back and forth and back and forth for 2 years and nothing, nothing, nothing! I stopped paying and then I get attention I am not and will not ever advertise with bellsouth/at&t again and we all need to file a class action lawsuit they get by with charging two companies that are in the same category $1000's different for the same size ads, there is no price other than the one they make up! We should be allowed advertise if we choose and the ads should be priced based on size and placement. ( Oh but they don't print the book) they can't guarantee placement! Anyone who would be interested in a class action lawsuit please email me I am working with an attorney in NC right now.

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Andy
, US
Mar 27, 2009 2:53 pm EDT

Just an update. I have decided to sue AT&T yellow pages. If anyone is a lawyer send me some good tips for succesful procedures. Im going through small claims.

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sunglasslarry
Pompano Beach, US
Mar 15, 2009 2:10 pm EDT

I was diagnosed with terminal mesothelioma cancer right after sign up for ATT Yellow page Video - I called and asked to hold the order-it had not gone live- After calling enless numbers, I finally got a supervisor. The bottom line is she told me that even if I died, ATT would expect my hires to pay the contract. This coming after the Drs had told me I had maybe 6 months to live-totally destroyed me. She further said that even if my website became in active when the business closed I (someone would have to pay ATT from the my estate)
Today ATT is still charging me and the Video on line has never worked.- I don't know where to turn- my health/life is more than ATT but they have made me absolutely insignificant in their greed. Where can I turn.
www.info@extremeeyewear.com

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Andy
Knoxville, US
Mar 08, 2009 9:18 pm EDT

Same here. First time I am refusing to pay a bill. REAL YELLOW PAGES are dishonest and unethical. I will never use them again. EVER! I would like nothing more than to smash a yellow page salesman in the mouth. If your a business take heart to these complaints and do not advertise in the yellow pages.

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James MMartin
Corpus Christi, US
Feb 27, 2009 1:11 pm EST

AT&T Yellow Pages gets away with murder. It is basically an adhesion contract: take it leave it, and if you do not read the ambiguous fine print, you are screwed. Their salesman is not about to spend a couple of hours going over the contract, and even if you have The Yellow Book in your neck of the woods, the old Yellow Pages are still consulted. They hire very slick attorneys -- educated suits -- to do their dirty work in court: lie, lie, lie. They repeat the same lies on the stand. You cannot win.

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debcallaghan
La Quinta, US
Jan 27, 2009 2:24 pm EST

I took out 6 different word ad listings for my business for $100 a month, I'm an artist. I do photography, graphic design, faux finish painting, and art commissions. Well, it's been six months and I've only received 1 phone call which turned out to be nothing because I didn't want to take photos on Christmas day. I called AT & T originally because they never sent me the forms for autopay and they added late charges onto my bill. They still haven't sent me the forms I requested but they keep sending me monthly bills. 4 months into the contract I called and told them I wanted to cancel due to to non-performance and they responded by saying I had signed a year contract and that it was too soon to know and I hadn't given them a chance. Then I asked if I could reduce the amount of ads because I couldn't afford the monthly payments. I asked for the manager and she said she was the manager. She said she could remove my listings but I would still have to pay for the ads because I was still under contract. I told her why would I want her to remove the ads if I still had to pay and that she was being ridulous and unreasonable? Then I called back and asked for my sales representataive to call me back that I wanted to make some changes to my ads and got no response. So, I have not paid my bill since my conversation with the manager. I'm going to send a letter to the Better Business Bureau, the California State of Consumer Affairs, and the world wide wide. I may be just a small fish in a big pond but my voice will be heard. After all isn't it the little people who are trying to feed their families and makes ends meat what makes up most of our society. There are way too many rules these days and whoever said America is the land of the free obviously hasn't lived here. About the only thing that is free anymore is the freedom of speech. I have been in the faux painting business for over 8 years and I can't even get the City of La Quinta, where I live, to give me a business license unless I get liabilty insurance and a home inspection, because I'm not a contractor, how ridulous is that? DC 1/27 2009

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name with- held
lawrenceville, US
Jan 25, 2009 8:56 pm EST

We too are in the middle of a mess with AT&T web page advertising. They sold us a web page and search engine. We thought it was pretty expensive, but the rep told us we would get 250 hits a month. We are a very capable pest control company with good prices, so we figured we would be able to sell to most callers, as this is the case with the calls we do receive.
Well, designing the web site was a nightmare, we had to rewrite most of the copy. It was put up a month late. Many of the features didn't work. Requested corrections were slow or non-existent.
they also promised us that we would be on the first page. They didn't tell us that they considered the first page to be the first 50 sites!

The key words were not helpfull, and requests to change them unanswered. The ad was very ineffective, we put a program on the site to monitor clicks. We were getting eight or nine per month. We complained and they blamed the lack of activity on the content of our web site. Their answer to the number of clicks per month, "eventually 250 clicks a month"

I could go on and on. We tried to cancel the website as we couldn't afford unproductive advertising. As many of you did, we made our own new website. We got much more traffic and it cost us considerably less with other companies. The added bonus is having control over our website, its content, key words etc.

As you all probably know, AT&T advertisings response to our request to take down the website, was "you signed the contract, you owe the money." The do not consider their product defective or ineffective.

They are acting like big bullies. I wrote a letter to their VP, (certified) with no response at all. It appears to me that they think they are so big that they don't have to do a good job, or be honest in their sales presentations. They are living off the small print in their contracts, this won't last forever. I am also reminded of the history of the american auto makers. They seem to be forgetting about their market and their customers.

We have been in business for over 22 years and this is the first time We have ever not paid a bill. It is not how we do things. they have turned us over to collections for an additional 4k. We have always had perfect credit, this really hurts, but were not going to pay it. Any body have any good solutions? 64dc1

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Bigshow1616
, US
Dec 20, 2008 12:12 am EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I run a small but relatively well marketed roofing company in the northern Ohio area. My experience with ATT has been abominable. They bold faced lied to me regarding call volume of other customers, tried to sell me another ridiculously expensive line in order to "track" the calls. Fortunately I have Vonage now, which has been great, 4 lines $76 bucks total, vs ATT one line constantly mischarged and always in need of extensive bill monitoring at about $150. Do the math. ATT is a dying dinasaur, they are a corporate beauracratic disaster area that hopefully will get swallowed whole by there growing list of formidable competitor, most of which would have been bite-sized snacks for them even 10 years ago. Ha-ha, I guess that what you get for being a bloated pig. I even have close ties to people who work there, the place may as well be another Detroit automaker. I can't tell you how many times the phrase "class action lawsuit" dribbled across even my feeble brain. It has to be a matter of time. The M.O. is always the same, and the BS from these sales reps is always the same.

Anyway, as far as response from the book goes. He it is - this is the dead-nuts truth. I installed one job last year as the result of a half page ad in several of regional books, total price well over $2000/mo, yeah that's right per month! The ad was actually quite nicely done, and we have a very friendly and comprehensive web-site to go with it, that gets calls coming in with consistentcy when channeled through other sources, i.e. Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. My closing ratio this year was 28%. The call volume was like this about a call every month or two from a true prospect customer, about 80 calls from other people seeking to spend our advertising money, roughly the same number in from people looking for a job. The other who knows how many waste of time calls came from, spaced in random order: Insurance sales, charitable organizations (who clearly must know that you have money to just BLOW to be in the ATT book to begin with), and anyther sales rep I didn't already mention, I'm blathering on.

The point is the book suck, and if it was ever good I wish I had seen those days. Candidly, from my perspective, it was a horrible waste of money, and there not a chance in the world that I would do it again. The web is coming on way too strong, and my results are so much better, so much easier to track, control, and manipulate, and the cost is pennies by comparison, hell less than that. Cheap cheap. Also, if a web campaign bombs you can change it, cancel it, etc, in my case anyway, and even if a campaign totally tanks it won't even affect my weekend. I wish I had seen this forum last year before making that decision which I was putting a great deal of faith behind. Bottom line is if you don't want ATT on your payroll, and they are fat, needy, and innept, don't do the book. If you've read this, and you still make the leap, check back in here next year and pay it forward so someone else's kids aren't having a crappy Christmas.

I hope this is of some use to some good person out there. Have a great new year of business everyone!

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Greengory
Greengory
Winter Park, US
Dec 05, 2008 2:07 pm EST

Hello, I too sold yellow pages for over 20 years. I was told that I was necessary evil sales rep! Year after year I would go to the businesses I sold only to find out they went out of business because their advertising program was so expensive There is an alternative to advertising, www.GreendirectoriesUSA.com.

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Scargo247
, US
Dec 02, 2008 5:54 pm EST

Oh Yes we have experienced basically the same problems as you Joe with AT&T. For the last 4 or 5 years they have managed to screw up on our advertising in some way. This past year was the icing on the cake though and I have already posted that complaint here At&t Advertising — lying scammers but to get to your complaint in 2006 The AT&T Saleswoman called to sell advertising in the book the deadline was coming up quick to get it done and I told her no I didn't want to advertise in the book. She called again and spoke to my husband and he went for it, he specified several changes in the ad and it was recorded on a voice verified contract.
We were also suppose to receive an email of the proof before it went to print, but didn't get one so we called they sent the email proof and it was exactly the same as the year before. So we called to complain( they informed us that the saleswoman was no longer with them) they offered the ad at half price. My husband settled for that.
Every year it's a different salesperson who calls, except this year. This year I sent them a certified letter that I DID NOT WANT TO ADVERTISE WITH THEM ANY LONGER. I do know one thing the salesmen will say anything to make a sale and then they hide behind AT&T to protect them, what a crock, huh.

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Joe
,
Nov 26, 2008 6:36 pm EST

I am a new business owner in Los Angeles County, and have been trying to start a decorating business using AT&T advertising. Two years ago I contacted them to design a small yellow pages ad, to my specifications. Before the ad was published for a year AT&T agreed to send me a "proof" (which was a picture of the exact ad to be printed) but the failed to send me the proof. When I contacted them about the proof to my surprise they said they had already printed an ad for my company. I said what do you mean I didn't receive a proof, I didn't approve the ad. Well you are being billed for it this month, I said I didn't approve the ad & I didn't even get a book to see what the ad looks like. I then decided to pick up the book personally from them. To my dismay the ad was all wrong! It listed services that I don't do, did not list the services I do perform, printed the wrong art work & didn't even list my bonding or license number. So then after discussing the problems with ad with a customer service at AT&T, I gracisouly agreed to pay only 35% of the orginal ad cost. Because the only thing they got correct in the ad was the phone number & company name, otherwise I wouldnt have agreed to paying anything. After little to no results from the ad, I was informed by a friend who had experience in a small business world that it is illegal to run a business without a lincense. So that year was a total lose, but I knew I needed to advertise somehow. And AT&T had the biggest advertisement on the west coast, much bigger then Verizon & Yellow book. And by this time they had already contacted me again to apologize for the past problems that they created, & they were going to make it up to me if I went with them again. Plus the misprint of the ad was a once in a million mistake. They said to make it up to me they would include full color plus many other extras, including 75% discount on a half page ad. Well I went for it, I had no other choice at the time, because of previous bad year. It was my last chance at the business & I wanted to make it happen. A month & half later I was suppose to receive new color proofs of my new ad. And once again I heard nothing from them. So I contacted them to find out the status of my ad. And guess what...not only did they print the ad without sending me the proofs (which had many changes including a new phone number), they printed the original misprinted ad of the year before. My only logical conclusion was that because the yellow pages aren't being used as much as they use to, that the advertising department of AT&T, is not only uncommited to customers but their goal from beginning is only actually a percentage of what they contract for. They basically gave up on the commitment to print a quality product. Compromising for a uncostly collection agency instead. Because of them purposely ruining my ad I am unable to continue the attempt at a decorating business. And am now in the process of suing AT&T because after to agreeing to total dismissel of all charges they started billing me 4months later 50% of a full years half page ad. I call this the percentage scam & I welcome any other people who have been damaged by AT&T advertisement in this or a similar way to contact me in my pursuit of a class action suit. Or anyone who can relate a similar story for my present case.