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So the short story is this:

A friend of mine who is a single mother is about to have her cell phone shut off.  I agree to make a 1 time payment for her.  I call the payment center after hours and receive an automated payment system.  I enter all the required information about her account, given the choice of the payment to make, and give them my credit card information all via push-button cell phone.  I receive an automated payment # as a response.  Congratulating myself on my good deed for the day, I did not realize what a hell hole I had just entered.

About 6 weeks later, I realize there is an odd payment taken out of my account to the tune of almost $500.  I didn’t recognize the “memo” of the payment, obviously did not remember making the payment, and I am very aware of what payments I make each month automatically.  So naturally, I call the bank.  The bank tells me they were not familiar with that entry’s name.  They tell me I should make a fraudulent payment claim, but warn me that it will deactivate my account for two weeks while they issue me a new card.  As I prepare to leave for work to do this, I remembered the payment made above.  I compare the entry from that authorized payment to the one in question.  They were identical, less the payment amount is different.

So then I call AT&T, provide them with the account information I had previously.  They confirm that payment was made by them when the account was terminated because “it was the last payment method used” on the account.  I tell them it was not authorized by me and did not know my credit card information would be stored for future use (I certainly was not told that by their automated payment system).  They tell me they can issue a refund but it will take 10 business days.  I ask to speak with a manager, who tells me she can expedite the refund, and that this “happens all the time” because of the way they terminate accounts, they always use the last payment method on record to satisfy any charges.  Believing this is resolved, she tells me they can issue the refund on Aug 25, 2011 and that someone from AT&T will call me that day to confirm.  She also takes my credit card number, expiration date, and security code so that refund can be issued to this card.  A huge sigh of relief.  I call the bank back and tell them what I found out and that I was satisfied with AT&T’s response and handling of the situation.

Aug 25 I wake up and check my bank account.  The money is not there.  Also, nobody from AT&T called me like I was told.  Believing AT&T to be a good company, I don’t question it but when the money is still not there on Aug 26th, I call them back.  They now tell me that the case had been closed because I did not send them the required documents.  They will have to open a new claim, and I will not receive my money until Sep 05.  When I question the required documents and telephone call, I was told that I was called and told that I needed to send my bank account information to them so they can issue the refund.  Except, I was never called by AT&T and nobody told me I had to provide those documents.  Because I did not provide those documents, the refund was canceled.

So, lets put this into perspective……the average interest rate on a bank account is about .015 – .02%.  They will have had my $500 for a month.  They will actually collect $10 interest on my money during this time, making even more money.  If they did this to say, 1,000 people, which seems like an easy number, they would collect $10,000 for 1 month of stalling.  So, they basically have a loophole in the system.  They make false representation of refunding the money, false representation of calling you to obtain additional documentation, all in the name of “floating” their bank accounts in order to make more money.

If you have ever had a similar instance with AT&T, leave your comments here.  If you have ever had a similar run-in with any other business, leave those comments too.

The new claim # is CM20110826_2597813

Update Sept 08, 2011:

Once again the money was not returned to my account on Sept 05 as stated.  I even waited a few days after speaking with my bank who said it could take a day or two to show up.  AT&T now states that information required for them to refund it was not provided by ME, yet I did not provide them with ANY information for them to TAKE IT OUT OF MY BANK ACCOUNT.  They closed the original claim without calling me, without trying to contact me, without doing anything.  In order to refund the money, a new claim must be opened, which means even more delays and more time to float money that is not theirs.  Now they state the money will be refunded on Sept 15, 2011.  They better hope so, because NOW I AM FUCKING PISSED!

The new claim # is now:  CM20110908_27170645