Mislead

[mig2145587]

Jurisdiction

Arizona

We financed two iPhone's through Sprint. It was getting expensive. We went into AT&T to look around and we were approached by an AT&T salesman. He was telling us if we switched over to them that they would PAY OFF our balance with Sprint. We were mislead with AT&T and now we are in collections. AT&T can only pay up to $650 per phone which included a a $350 trade in product items and the difference in a gift card. Never received gift card. Complained and had a new one reissued. Still have not received. Have spoke to store managers, district managers and they are avoiding me and not returning any calls. What can I do about this? Can I sue? Time keeps passing its been over a month already.

 

[zddoodah]

Anyone can sue anyone for anything, but having the ability to sue has nothing to do with the likelihood of suing successfully. I would expect the contract you signed without reading would preclude you from suing successfully, but one would need to read the contract and have a more clear recitation of the relevant facts to know for sure.

 

[mig2145587]

Did not sign a contract

 

[mightymoose]

If you did not sign a contract what is it that you think obligates them to pay your Sprint bill?
You most likely signed something without realizing it. They would not have been able to establish new accounts for you without doing so.

30 days is really not that long. It is not uncommon for things like this to take at least that long for processing.

 

[cynthiag]

We switched phone companies several years ago, and they had the same sort of deal going on to attract new customers. They said they would pay off the contract with the old carrier, up to a certain dollar limit. They never said they would pay it directly to the carrier, or for any amount over the dollar limit. It was still our responsibility to pay anything we owed the previous carrier, and then when the new carrier issued us gift cards it was considered a reimbursement for the portion they had said they would give us. That's how those deals work. You still remain responsible for whatever you owed the original carrier. The new carrier never assumes responsibility for your bill, they just pay you back for a portion of it.

I agree that a month isn't all that long to get the deal processed, I don't recall exactly but I think it took awhile before we got our gift cards, so I paid whatever I owed the original company and then when the gift cards showed up in the mail, I considered myself reimbursed for a portion of the amount I'd spent.

I'd say this is more likely a case of you misunderstanding how these kind of deals work than being misled by the company.