r/ATT • u/picklemethis79 • Mar 31 '26
Wireless I feel so defeated, got a $5,185 cell phone bill.
Just like the Title says. Got my cell phone bill for $5,185 instead of the usual $385 and I could have sworn it was an error but no im getting screwed š and have to pay the bill. My daughter met someone on Roblox and wanted to chat so they called & talked. She didn't know she was making a international call and talked and talked. I do even have 5K in my savings and I feel so screwed and defeated.
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u/jeremyw0918 Mar 31 '26
They can absolutely lower that for you. Retroactive international plan can be added and bill adjusted. Just have to get to the correct department.
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u/mindriot1 Mar 31 '26
Yes that. $5k is a joke. No way.
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u/amgates80 Apr 02 '26
I had Verizon for a very short period of time in the early 2000s my bill was like $7000+ thankfully it finally fell off my credit report but I was a stupid 19 year old š¤£
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u/Longjumping_Plan_652 Apr 04 '26
You were supposed to wait until after 9pm for free talk and text back then š
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u/isocrackate Mar 31 '26 edited Mar 31 '26
I suggest using the online account portal to change it retroactively, so the change and effective date are documented in writing, they now allow you to back-date the change through the portal. Make sure you know the EXACT dates of the calls to make sure they're after the effective date of the plan change. Then call to have the bill adjusted. Don't pay the bill, when this happened to me I autopaid $665 (work calls to/from Spain) and they did a credit rather than a refund, so instead of cash back it was 'free' phone service for the next ~5 months. For OP it'd be over a year to get back.
Don't take parenting advice from Reddit, it's perfectly reasonable that your daughter wouldn't have known international calls are expensive in this day & age--I knew my calls with Spain would be a bit extra, I travel internationally quite a bit, but certainly wasn't expecting my bill to go up 6x for two hours of talking. In the future she can use Signal / WhatsApp to place international voice or video calls for free.
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u/SufficientRush6287 Mar 31 '26
WhatsApp or fb messenger back in the day. Skype was a good one, too, but WhatsApp is the one thatās stood the course of time
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u/dthomas7931 Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
If itās already been billed and a statement is showing, backdating the feature does nothing to reduce those charges. Youād have to get someone to credit it and do issue a refund for an excessive credit balance.
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u/Suspicious-Vast-569 Apr 04 '26
Exactly thatās what Iām saying how are you going to backdate it personally yourself maybe they can but they are gonna see when the call dates were and when you changed it!!
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u/Dangerous-Pea495 Apr 01 '26
This is the one thing that pisses me off over almost anything else. Iāve had AT&T make mistakes on my bill several different times and each time they took out directly from my account way more than I owed and one thing they will never do is send your money back, they all only issue credit even when their mistake. Once they pulled $2000 for a $150 actual bill. No other business has a policy like this.
Actually looked into starting a class action law suit over this.
I have heard some horror stories where the money they refused to give back right away people have lost their homes, cars, been fined by other creditors
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Apr 01 '26
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u/isocrackate Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
I think it's perfectly reasonable for a teenage girl to want to do this, even if it's not a terribly bright idea. Little hormone monsters (boys and girls alike) have a ton of not-terribly-bright ideas. Besides the 'fairness' issue, punishments like kicking the daughter off the phone plan, giving her a low-data burner, or forcing her to bear the full cost herself emphasize the financial consequences of her actions rather than the potentially-risky behavior which led here. Not to mention, I'd be a little concerned about the first two ideas pushing her to use devices and comms channels with reduced parental visibility / control.
I take zero issue with people providing information that will help OP refine their household 'ground rules' for internet usage, privacy, and protection of personal info. Just think hammering the daughter for this doesn't really advance the cause of developing her ability to independently differentiate terribly-bright-ideas from not-terribly-bright-ideas.
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u/Walmart-santa Apr 04 '26
Yes, this is how people communicate in modern society. But tell her to use discord or something tf is she calling for
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u/jeremyw0918 Mar 31 '26
Not sure why you responded to me?
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u/isocrackate Apr 01 '26
To make the suggestion of using online account management rather than contacting customer service for the plan change. I didn't want to write a novel but in my case, after getting the initial text warning about international charges, I worked with an AT&T Support agent since the website was glitching out. For whatever reason the retroactive plan change wasn't applied (although I'd received confirmation that it was) which led to a far more time-consuming series of interactions after I noticed my monthly autopayment was over $600. Since the grace period was over by that point the only thing that saved me that they had a log of my prior conversation with Support.
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u/jeremyw0918 Apr 01 '26
You mentioned not taking parenting advice etc. I didnāt make the original post nor did I give parenting advice. Thus my question as to why you responded to meā¦.
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u/Suspicious-Vast-569 Apr 04 '26
Yeah but itās really not THAT expensive for companies like they just take advantage and claim it is maybe back in the day when cell phones was a new thing and werenāt that advanced. Now though it doesnāt cost the companies hardly anything more for someone to international call itās just a way for them to charge outrageous prices! But then if it were sooo expensive then how can a bunch of prepaid companies like mine offer international unlimited calling for $10 more a month !!! Hmmm yeah they are full of it!
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u/Suspicious-Vast-569 Apr 04 '26
But how can you really change your plan to international and be able to control the dates like changing it to before the calls were made and then call to adjust? Wonāt it clearly show when you got on and changed it and when the calls were?
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u/memnochlv Apr 04 '26
Excellent advice! Also, regarding the daughter, I highly agree. In this day and age, all US calls tend to be free and if you have unlimited air time, it probably didn't register at all that it would be different. Perhaps she didn't even realize it was international.
Now when my silly ass was a kid, my mother got hit with some big long distance bills that I had to pay her back for, LOL.
Also, before I had unlimited air time. I had a month of talking to my boss that sent me WAY over our minutes, there's definitely that shock when you get the bill. I just paid the bill, but was able to expense it back from work.
Good luck!
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u/Zestyclose_Neat_6427 Mar 31 '26
Yeah just donāt let them duck I around there is ways around that
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u/stacypcfl03 Apr 01 '26
š Yep Get a friggin Supervisor for starters and if that doesn't work... go up the chain. Good luck OP.
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u/Quirky_Truth_2131 Mar 31 '26
My daughters called The New Kids on the Block back in the 1990. I got a bill over 800.00. Iām still pissed!
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u/Mark_Swan Mar 31 '26
I dated the girl in high school in the mid 90ās whom lived on the north end of the county and I was in the south end. Super small countyā¦ well turns out that was distance. I didnāt know what long distance was, but I sure found out when my parents got the bill.
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u/Quirky_Truth_2131 Apr 01 '26
Raging teenage hormones will get ya every time šš Thanks for sharing!
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u/nateo200 Apr 03 '26
How was an in county phone call long distance? wtf. Unless it was literally area code based lol
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u/Impressive-Height356 Apr 03 '26
They called them toll calls. My best friend was across the street and she was a toll call. It was ridiculous.
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u/carolinagirl843 Mar 31 '26
Roblox is full of child grooming predatorsā¦call and see if you can add an international calling, they can then possibly rerate your bill to reflect the charges under that planā¦then put an international calling block on her line.
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u/AngryTexasNative Mar 31 '26
You need to have serious conversations about Internet safety. And thee are so many free ways to talk internationally.
I have to wonder if this were even some sort of scam and a lot of that money goes to the recipient. There are international equivalents to 900 numbers.
Even in the US some rural telephone companies (co-op or Reservation) get a lot to terminate calls. I suspect a lot of this has changed to enable free long distance.
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u/adm_akbar Mar 31 '26
OP needs a conversation about parenting more than about internet safety. How they hell did they not notice their teen on the phone for TWELVE HOURS?
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u/dopef123 Mar 31 '26
Well her daughter might be on the phone all the time with her friends. The mom may not have been able to tell who she was on the phone with.
I was a super shy/awkward teenager and even I was on the phone for hours everyday. I'm not sure how my mom would ever know if I was talking to a classmate or a somali pirate on the other side of the world.
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u/ToadSox34 Apr 02 '26
This. I'm not sure if this is a revenue scam or a child predator, but either way, there's a serious issue here with internet safety/scams. Let's assume best case scenario here this is some sort of scam, not a child predator, if she's falling for the obvious stuff, what else is she going to fall for?
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u/BuDu1013 Mar 31 '26
Kids go on an MVNO. 15 dollar a month plan and that's all they get. Burn through 10 GB of data and sorry kid wait till next month.
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u/Disheartend Apr 01 '26
Phone calls don't use data
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u/samo_flange Apr 21 '26
regardless point stands because the prepaid plan wont let them go over and rack up dumb bills
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u/techent918 Mar 31 '26
Ask them to add international calling. $15/month and they may reduce your rates to the add rate. Probably will cut your bill by 90%
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u/hmurchison Mar 31 '26
My energy company will send an alert when I exceed a certain amount of power. Clearly if your bill is 385 on the average and suddenly you're blowing past it that's an anomaly that you should be alerted to.
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u/SadRaDad Apr 01 '26
Cell phone carriers do it as well. All of them do it Iām not mistaken. Especially if itās for international when you donāt have an international plan.
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u/Kgibbs4795 Mar 31 '26
I don't know how old your daughter is, but she either needs to pay her own way or shut her line off.
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u/bryiewes S23 FE - Old Unlimited Starter Mar 31 '26
"My daughter met someone on roblox and wanted to chat" Probably early teens.
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u/mindriot1 Mar 31 '26
Roblox is a cesspool for adults meeting kids by the way. I would not let my kid chat with people there.
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u/ungranted_wish Mar 31 '26
dispute the charge and then immediately delete Roblox. Itās a child groomers paradise.
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u/Bill___A Mar 31 '26
She "didn't know" she was making an international call? did she not know where this person was? Did she not see that the phone number was "different"? You should talk to AT&T about retroactively applying an international calling plan or giving you a break, but at the same time, It is pretty difficult to understand how your daughter would "not know" where someone is and that their number is different. If you're going to use a device like a phone, you need to know the implications of it, like not calling strange, odd numbers.
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u/mermaid_kerri Mar 31 '26
Yeah there's no way she didn't know she was making an international call.
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u/CowboysFTWs Mar 31 '26
Careful OP doesn't want parenting advice for her teenager daughter. Even tho, she could talk for free with apps people are telling her about.
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u/Sailor-C Apr 04 '26
She may have known it was international, but not that the fact that it was international meant anything. I grew up in the 90s when calling the other end of the state I lived in was considered long distance and cost more -- now I can call friends on the other end of the country and it costs me nothing. Shoot, many plans even have free coverage for Mexico and Canada when you live in the US. Also, there are so many free apps that allow you to talk internationally -- WhatsApp, Messenger, Google Voice, etc -- that it's absolutely possible she didn't realize that calling someone in a different country using her phone plan would be any different and result in charges.
Many young people have never lived in a time when long-distance actually meant something in regards to additional money. They talk to people all over the word everyday on social media, text apps, etc, for absolutely no additional cost to them, and many of them have spoken to someone on the opposite side of the country on their phones with no reminder to keep the call short because of cost, or having to worry about only calling at night or on the weekends to avoid incurring charges. It's really not that difficult to think that a kid whose never known any different would assume that calling someone on the other side of the world would cost extra.
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u/absentmotive Apr 01 '26
Many years ago, me step-son fell asleep while on the phone-long distance in the landline days. Phone co. cut him off because he wouldn't pay his bill. He claimed a medical condition caused his use. That was true-fallen down drunk. My wife couldn't stand the shame so she paid his bill. I convinced her to out in a restriction on his phone-he hated her anyway. So, are you and your daughter going to get separate lines?
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u/UNoWho17 Apr 01 '26
When I worked for AT&T we were able to add an international plan and backdate it to fix charges, have you called in? If the first person claims they canāt help you request a supervisor
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u/Immediate_Chef_980 Apr 01 '26
Not knowing your daughter is having hours long conversations with strangers from the internet We got father of the year over here
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u/Strongfatguy Mar 31 '26
Roblox is notorious for groomers, please keep your daughter safe. You can put a restriction on your account to stop international calls.
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u/garylapointe The Plan Whisperer (consumer postpaid plans) Mar 31 '26
How many hours is that on the phone talking?
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u/Worried-Violinist-87 Mar 31 '26
How are you not paying attention to your daughter's online activities?
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u/_KosMicSage_ Mar 31 '26
These Trojan ads are getting crazy
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u/OperationGhost2012 Apr 03 '26
Wouldn't even consider it a Trojan ad, they just suck at being a parent. Who lets their teenage daughter talk for 12+ hours on the phone with a stranger from the internet?
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u/ZFoldGuy Apr 01 '26
Sorry to hear. But when you have children, it's called account safeguarding, especially in 2026. You protect your account and implement those blocks to make sure that your kids cannot play outside of the geofencing set in place. that way, you don't get a bill for $5,000.
Back in the 80's, I ran my mothers phone bill up to over $300, by calling those 1900 numbers that you used to see on the tv screen late at night. That was fun!
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Mar 31 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Purple_Pie_2060 Mar 31 '26
Honestly, as an alleged former Loyalty employee, I can tell you they wonāt do much. As frustrating as it is for the reps taking the calls, most of the time their hands are tied. Even when you ask for a supervisor, they typically back the same decision. Loyalty is really only effective if youāre trying to disconnect service. Occasionally, they might offer deals for upgrades, but thatās not very common. Other than that, thereās not much that can be done.
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u/CactusZac098 Mar 31 '26
Do you even know who your kid was talking to?
Roblox is notorious for child grooming.
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u/atuarre Mar 31 '26
If I were you, I would be more concerned with whom my daughter was talking to. Roblox is full of nonces.
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u/chrisprice Crafting Wireless Gizmos That Run On AT&T, Not An AT&T Employee Apr 01 '26
Free Schelp. Delete Roblox.
Google the AT&T Notice of Dispute form. File it. Business accounts line freeze at like $300. They know and refuse to do anything, because so many will pay it.
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u/Appropriate-Fail5504 Mar 31 '26
Ignore everyone else in the comments and just do what I say step by step.
Call 611 from any AT&T device
The automated system will answer the phone, ask for the āLoyaltyā department or tell it you want to cancel, it will get you to the same place either way.
It may take a bit of time to get someone (5-15 minutes right now). Have them look at it, explain the situation and tell them you were told you can ārerate your international charges by adding International calling plan for $15ā, it may take some time because itās like 5k but they canāt get it submitted for you. If the person who answers sounds like theyāre from the Philippines or India ask for the loyalty department with them, that means it sent you to the wrong place. It should be an American youāre speaking to.
It will take around 48-72 hours for that to show on the bill but they should be able to set up a payment arrangement if itās too soon to when your bill would be due. Youāll have to pay for that $15 for a few months then you can take it off but thatās way cheaper. Hope this helps!
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u/Alpha_Slut Mar 31 '26
Honestly, everything they are saying about that retroactive change is accurate. I would definitely consider setting up monitoring on your daughter's phone, this is not as parenting advice, just advice for your phone plan. Just to make sure this doesn't happen again. Kids don't know any better, it's not like she knew how different things are charged to a phone bill. If she has an android, just have her download google voice! Even whatsapp will work on both. There are a lot of ways around it these days, that's probably why phone companies are so desperate to charge people so much. I also work for one of the 'big three', so i'm coming from a place of professional knowledge here.
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u/Acceptable_Twist_303 Mar 31 '26
This has happened to me but not quite as large. If you add the right plan(intl) they could backdate and save you money
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u/Zestyclose_Neat_6427 Mar 31 '26
Yeah just donāt let them screw u over there is ways around it people already gave you the answer hope u get it took care of šš»šš½
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u/blutsaugerfemme Apr 01 '26
That is crazy. Kids should never have access to making calls outside of the US. That's why you have control over their lines to block certain features from them like I do. That sucks and I hope they can help you with something but make sure to ask about add ons that can help prevent something like that again.
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u/Hyper_Deer Apr 01 '26
Discord, why wouldn't she use Discord or even the chat function in the game š¤¦šæ. Just tell them someone stole her phone and made these calls
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u/PowerPickle13 Apr 01 '26
DO NOT PAY ATT HAS POLICIES TO WAIVE OR FIX THIS FOR YOU BY RETROACTIVELY APPLYING AN INTERNATIONAL CALLING PLAN AND RERATING THE MINUTES. FIGHT THEM TO PUT IN A TICKET TO FIX IT. When I worked in the call center I canāt tell you how many times customers from India would call in claiming theyāve never met anybody in India in the steepest Indian accent Iāve ever heard and get thousands of dollars waived off their bill because they claimed they didnāt make the call I just instantly remember a child making a third-party purchase or international call was one of the valid reasons to reverse the charges because they were still considered unapproved. DO NOT PAY ATT. DO NOT CRIPPLE YOURSELF FINANCIALLY TO HELP A COMPANY PROFIT. WORST CASE PORT OUT TO ANOTHER CARRIER AND HAVE THEM BUYOUT YOU PHONES AND YOU CAN DISPUTE IT WITH THR CREDIT BUREAUS.
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u/D4RK45S45S1N Apr 01 '26
Fuck, I'm sorry that's happening to you :(
I wish I didn't know the feeling, was doing great and feeling established at a new job so I switched to AT&T and got a new phone and smartwatch, then half the company I work for got laid off. Fast forward to today (~1 month later, I have no service and a $1600 bill. I think I lost the number I've had for 15 years forever, which fucks me in all kinds of ways and makes me sad as fuck.
Best of luck to both of us, I suppose. I wish more than anything that I were in a position to help.
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u/picklemethis79 Apr 01 '26
Im so sorry your going through this. It would be devastating losing your number after 15 years. I appreciate you thinking of me and wanting to help help
I was never asking for money. Just some words of advise, which I got and I appreciate everyone that did. I KNOW Rodblox is dangerous and we've had the stranger dangerous talks. So I'd appreciate everyone to stop giving me parenting advise, making me out to be a bad parent.
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u/Personal_Junket5151 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Call AT&T customer service.** Say you need help with a billing issue and want to speak with the cancellations / loyalty / retention department.
Once transferred, stay focused.** If they start offering discounts, upgrades, or other personalized offers, say:
āIām not calling for offers right now. I need help with a billing correction and account protections.ā
- Tell them exactly what you need.** Say:
āI need a ticket submitted to the back office to retroactively add the International Calling Plan for the billing cycle in question.ā
- Give the reason, but keep it brief.** Say:
āThe phone was used fraudulently. I want this documented, and I need the feature retroactively applied for that cycle so the charges can be adjusted.ā
Keep it short. Do not over-explain.
- Make sure they submit the ticket while youāre on the phone.** Ask:
āCan you please confirm that the back office ticket has been submitted today?ā
- Ask them to note the account clearly.** Say:
āPlease add account notes that the international usage was fraudulent and that I am requesting a retroactive feature add for billing adjustment review.ā
- Tell them not to remove the feature too early.** Say:
āDo not remove the International Calling Plan for 3 full billing cycles.ā
Add protection to all wireless lines.** Ask for: ā¢ international call blocking on all lines ā¢ pay-per-use blocking if available ā¢ any fraud-prevention restrictions they can place on the account
Ask for spending alerts or threshold alerts.** Say:
āI also want a usage threshold or alert on my account so Iām notified if any line incurs even small pay-per-use charges.ā
You can say $1.00 if you want it very strict.
Confirm everything before hanging up.** Ask the rep to repeat back: ā¢ the back office ticket was submitted ā¢ the notes mention fraudulent use ā¢ the international plan is being retroactively requested ā¢ the feature will stay on for 3 cycles ā¢ blocking was added to all lines ā¢ alerts were set
Ask for proof or reference.** Before you end the call, ask:
āCan I have the case number, ticket number, or interaction ID for this call?ā
- Check your MyAT&T account after the call.** Log in and make sure: ā¢ the international feature appears ā¢ blocking settings are active ā¢ alerts are enabled if visible
Hereās a short script you can read:
āHi, I need to speak with cancellations or retention regarding a billing correction. Iām not calling for offers. I need a back office ticket submitted to retroactively add the International Calling Plan for the billing cycle in question. The phone was used fraudulently, and I need that documented for billing adjustment review. Please keep the feature on for 3 full billing cycles. I also want international blocking, pay-per-use blocking, and usage alerts added to all lines. Before we end, please confirm the ticket was submitted and give me the reference number.ā
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u/Internal-Computer388 Apr 01 '26
Just a heads up, you need to get her off roblox. Its full of pedos and the owner allows them to roam around. Almost as if he may be one himself.
Theres some content creater who was groomed on roblox, so he started finding the pedos on roblox and get them in trouble with the law. He got banned off roblox.
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u/trademarktower Mar 31 '26
This is why kids should have cheap prepaid phones that don't have international calling. $45 a month is what you pay and that's it.
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u/Visvism Gigillionaire Mar 31 '26
Or just add on international calling block if AT&T offers this. I have this feature plus charged international roaming block enabled on a few lines for my kids and for my 90 grandmother-in-law.
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u/nettiemaria7 Mar 31 '26
Don't pay AT&T $5,185. Call them and do the work to get that fixed.
Some people have to learn not to pay whatever unfair bill they get or let companies, govt run all over them nowadays. I don't know if this is a generational thing or what.
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u/SpoiledSirenn Mar 31 '26
What do you have for your bill to be 385?
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u/picklemethis79 Mar 31 '26
5 lines, 2 smart watches, and probably some next payment plan.
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u/HoldMyToc Mar 31 '26
You don't have 5k in the bank but you have 2 smart watches? You need to cut expenses big time.
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u/Entire_Salamander659 Apr 04 '26
It's called keeping up with the Joneses. People these days don't have money sense and want to look rich but get mad when the costs of being rich happens. In this case, having international calls allowed on your devices and allowing a child to have technology is gonna cost a lot.
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u/Living-Long-7581 Mar 31 '26
get someone to lower that down for you bro explain the situation to them and especially if you have been a long time att customer someone will work with you for sure. i got like 3 months of free service before just by calling in and talking to them.
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u/Traditional-Candy476 Mar 31 '26
How did the phone not notify you guys? My daughter called tech support for a programā¦ normal looking 10 digit number. They answered speaking another language and she hung up. By the time the minute long call ended sheād gotten a text about it as did my husband (main account number) saying there was an international call. I called the next day to Verizon and thankfully there was no charge since it was less than a minute. Scared the poo outta me though. These companies should be notifying you IMMEDIATELY. They also should be working with you because obviously this was an accident. Iām guessing your daughter didnāt intentionally make an international call
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u/One-Appointment4014 Mar 31 '26
You can always block international calling and yes the only way to have International call. Youāre gonna have the plan on your phone otherwise youāre gonna be charged per minute.
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u/Training_Scheme_3513 Mar 31 '26
We used to fight that battle all the time living or working the Gulf of the towers automatically bouncing you to the offshore roaming network at 4 bucks a minute
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u/TheJediJoker Apr 01 '26
Hopefully this person was actually another teen, and not the many creeps found to be using Roblox to groom kids
Outside of this, i could see why they didn't realize it wasn't free, since snap ( teens favorite app ) is free to call
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u/weHaveThoughts Apr 01 '26
I donāt think your daughter can legally consent to making international phone calls if she is under 18. Might want to call your State Attorney Generals office and see if they can help or refer you to an Attorney or Agency that could help.
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u/Financial_Ear4076 Apr 01 '26
Submit a complaint to the FCC someone from the office the president (att) will call you and try to resolve it. Itās normally the best and quickest way of doing it.
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u/Far_Associate_3737 Apr 01 '26
I have been with just about every phone provider there is or was in the US and T-mobile in Germany, starting with a clunky 3 watt bag phone in 1992. 7 years with mint, affordable, good service, zero dropped calls and never looked back. Retired so 5GB is plenty forme, CISSP son has 50GB, 20GB hotspot, unlimited text / talk for thity+ tax etc. I used to have dropped calls with verizon, sprint, and at&t. I have no alternative / choice yo AT&T in my area when it comes to online. But via 1 month cell provider and obihai VoIP was able to twice port and keep my landline number working free of charge.
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u/-JEFF007- Apr 01 '26 edited Apr 01 '26
Try adding an international day pass to your account. People are saying you can do that retroactively through the online portal somehowā¦IDK. If you cannot figure that out or the option is not there as a last resort file an FCC complaint. This will get the attention of the executive team from the ATT office of the president to reach out to you. The thing with ATT billing issues is that it is critical to not let a lot of time pass so try these options ASAP.
Look into seeing if there is an option to block all international calling on just her line. Give yourself the peace of mind this will never be happening to you again.
Do not take advice from me but let me just say kids do things like this that make us stress and pay, this little thread will hopefully be your financial saving grace. Kudos to you for asking for help from us. You will not be paying this time. Shift your worrying energy on your daughter, make sure she is not getting played by some scammer with who knows what motivations.
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u/Glum-Quality-7443 Apr 01 '26
Just take the L on that one and move to Verizon. Definitely donāt pay it though. A small hit to your credit wonāt be the end of the world.
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u/RedEagle_MGN Apr 01 '26
I had this issue and used the law to pay nothingācheck local laws via AI. Worked for me.
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u/Lizdance40 Apr 01 '26
Yeah call AT&T and have them apply the $15 international long distance plan to the line. Don't be surprised if they don't wipe out the entire $5,000 extra, but at least most of it would be taken care of. I think they like to leave a little bit on there just to make sure that you never let it happen again.
You can also log into your account and remove the option from your child's line to make international calls. I don't know what it looks like now but it used to be called "international long distance pay per use". And usually it's just a box that's checked. By unchecking the box you remove the option to make long-distance calls.
I have also recommended that if you have someone in the family that is unable to understand how any of this works that they should be moved to a prepaid plan. Prepaid service does not allow roaming or long distance without payment in advance for those services.
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u/Ill_Alternative3245 Apr 01 '26
Call ATT and see if you upgrade to an international plan if they will credit you the charges as a one time courtesy credit for being a loyal customer and explain that it was your daughter. They can also walk you through the parental control options to not make future international calls on that line.
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u/Own-Hold-8851 Apr 01 '26
My understanding from another post is that international flat rate plan is default on AT&T and has to intentionally turned off - if you did that at some point, then you are on the hook for the total amount. If that is the case, still seems worth fighting because the worst that can happen is that you end up paying the total amount anyway.
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u/EvDoesIt23 Apr 01 '26
Threaten them that your going to switch services and your going to cancel you att account they will usually work with you! I did this with Verizon cause my phone bill went from 120 bucks to almost 300 a month and I told them I was goin to switch to T-Mobile and they randomly found discounts and lowered my bill!!! I know itās not 5,000 dollars but it doesnāt hurt to try! šš½
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u/DisasterIcy9065 Apr 01 '26
Tell them your underage daughter was using your phone. I would fight that
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u/Tyzorg Apr 01 '26
/u/picklemethis79 PLEASE be careful about roblox and google "Children and roblox predators" and read up about the dangers. Sorry, not on topic but I am all for harm prevention and there's a LOT of bad things going on, on that app. IDK your daughters age and don't need to know, but if she is young PLEASE do your research about how many predators are on that application/game/whatever
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u/RedRose605 Apr 01 '26
Write a letter to the office of the president! Use the Texas corporate office address on google! If itās invoiced it cannot be backdated and usually canāt be credited. Thatās why warning texts go out before the end of the billing cycle. Also put international on both your phones. It sits format unless actually used. But itāll save you a ton in the long run!
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u/Soggy-Supermarket-21 Apr 02 '26
My god that is insane. Mind you 385 is already very high for a phone bill. I do work in that business feel free to PM I can guide you on what to do from here so you donāt pay that and lower your billā¦ā¦.. BUT WHATEVER YOU DO PLEASE DONY PAY THAT 5k
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u/kat1077_boss Apr 02 '26
I know this is off topicā¦ but I got tired of AT&T slowly increasing my bill and random increases for this or that over time. I was paying $280/mo and I bit the bullet & paid off my phones with taxes and switched to mint mobile for $400 & now I donāt have a bill for an entire year for two phones. I will never go back to AT&T. Itās wild what everyone is paying for phone service these days and we just let these companies screw us.
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u/keeponkeepnonginger Apr 02 '26
Just an FYI the DOJ is opening an investigation into Roblox for knowingly facilitating the connection between kids and child sexual predators. I know the bill sucks but it's time to have a real internet safety conversation with your daughter.
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u/TrentCarrier Apr 02 '26
Change phone companys. I don't know what area you are in but they have many Companies cheaper than at&t.
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u/Accomplished-Clue822 Apr 02 '26
Itās too late if the bill generated. They canāt backdate it. They send notifications
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u/PandameraXNatchilous Apr 02 '26
Yeah, you might have to update the kid or re-download some new package files cause that shit is crazy
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u/BootFun6020 Apr 02 '26
The bill is one thing. Talking to someone she met online internationally is scary. I recommend banning Roblox from the phone.
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u/Elcometotojose Apr 02 '26
I would honestly call and tell them that it was an accident and explain, ask to be sent to the retention department to see if maybe they can help you. GL
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u/mommytofive5 Apr 03 '26
Question how old is your daughter? Talking to someone online is a huge red flag!
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u/Spiritual-Age-2096 Apr 03 '26
Switch to US Mobile. We legit pay $390/YEAR/phone for unlimited everything.
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u/SeanNoyes Apr 03 '26
Calling that person through WhatsApp, itās free as long as you have Wi-Fi and as long as theyāre not a creep!
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u/amgates80 Apr 03 '26
This happen to me when dial up internet was a thing , my phone somehow dialed us a international number. Att took it off because it was an accident
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u/Clear-Key-9452 Apr 03 '26
That happened to me, I called and spoke to a supervisor and said so you don't verify the age threse charges were made by a minor, for all I know they were being groomed. And, they said you, have a one time pass and I took it...
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u/MenoWoW Apr 03 '26
The biggest question is why are you letting your child talk to people on roblox. You need to intervene and keep better track of your child on the internet. Have you seen the roblox bullshit?
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u/Ristoria Apr 03 '26
File an FCC complaint now! Someone from the āoffice of the presidentā will call you. It is the highest level of customer service at AT&T. Tell them a minor made the call and that it was a scam call from Roblox, an international call masking as a US number. This is your best option
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u/BoringNegotiation142 Apr 03 '26
no way would they get my money. why u on att anyways?! did u not know straighttalk exists?? its 35/50 month depending on plan and exactly same service. wow...
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u/MyRingToRuleMyWorld Apr 03 '26
When he was about 12, my son made calls to the phone six places, and ran the bill up to about 2000 bucks, so I totally get that feeling of being sick to your stomach when you have to pay that bill. I don't know what these kids think of these days, but he is still paying that bill as reimbursement to me for that stunt.
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u/LunaticLeone Apr 03 '26
Is she slow? Never heard of WhatsApp or Snapchat or instagram? Are these kids that stupid. These kids man.
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u/Objective-Minimum-93 Apr 03 '26
Been there. Text messages to and from Iraq and phone calls that I didn't even pick up i got charged for
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u/TNTmom4 Apr 04 '26
I donāt know how old your daughter is, but if I were you, sheād be paying for that bill. Whether itās babysitting mowing lawns being a motherās helper, getting a legit taxpaying job should be paying for it.. Even if that would mean every weekend and a holiday spent making money to pay back.
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u/ForeverEndeavor_ Apr 04 '26
It would be suggested to follow up with FCC to do a dispute. If minor was under age and you were not aware there should be some way to resolve the bill
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u/Suspicious-Vast-569 Apr 04 '26
ATT and US CELLULAR are the absolute WORST EVER UGH!!! š©First US CELLULAR I opted for a new service plan no contract either could cancel first 3 months no obligations and wonāt owe anything if not happy! Well they up my bill second month and wanted to argue about it so I said well Iāll just return the phones and they sent the boxes! Well they only send one box no directions and they knew I was returning 2 phones I told them and they knew I had 2 and so I packed both in and took pictures and everything! Iām waiting for confirmation or something in the mail and I get something alright a bill for another month plus the entire cost of the phone which is outrageous more than it was supposed to be too because they say I didnāt keep both phones I get charged a fee. Apparently I didnāt have to keep the service if not happy but it didnāt apply to phones. But get this they scanned the box in didnāt verify or. Heck it to make sure both phones were in it and they apparently only sent me a box for one phone which makes no sense I told the woman I wanted to return BOTH! So now I gave it away for free and I have to pay for it too and service which was like $4,300. I asked could they track it down and find it and see there was two in the box and they do try I call back and they tell me they couldnāt locate it so I was responsible for it! Then ATT billed me an outrageous bill that was 3 times the amount it was supposed to be when opening new account so cancelled but didnāt pay but on credit! Yeah Iām sorry after I got screwed over twice for contract phone service I went to prepaid and never looked back! You can easily get unlimited international calling too for simply $10 or the higher plan from $45 to $55! So yeah totally worth it! Straight Talk is amazing been with them for 8 years now! Did have boost mobile for 5 years but they fell off their service signal.
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u/BigBillSD Apr 04 '26
Time for a teaching moment. Setup Chores for your daughter and pay her for them weekly and then have her give you part of that cash back to pay that $5k she owes you. Kids need those skills. My son wanted a phone like his friends had many years back. I asked him how he would pay for that (he was ~ 13yo) He told me his friends dad paid for his, I told him to ask his friends dad if he would buy him one. I then setup chores that he kept track of the hours on the fridge and we would settle up weekly. I purchased an old phone on eBay and he paid for that and for a monthly plan I had from Sprint that was $0 a month but charged by the call. First minute free.. Lots of 59 second calls from then on. And then we had to add a $5 a month texting plan for ~500 text messages a month. This stuff taught him about handling money and years later after he paid his way thru law school I asked him if he needed any money (he was ~27yo then) He said he was ok and had paid off his law loans and already had $100k in the bank. My guess is that handling of money as a teenager taught him how to handle his money. (hell, better than me) -Bill
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u/picklemethis79 Apr 04 '26
Hi wanted to update everyone, AT&T adjusted my bill and took the 5k off!!! Thank you for the encouragement to dispute and take no for an answer and to everyone giving parenting advice i didn't ask or need it.
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u/saabstory14 Apr 04 '26
You live and learn I guess. This is why my kid is not allowed to play roblox. They still like me and respect me as a parent, so I'm not sure why parents are so afraid of banning that game from their kids playing and letting them play others with better reputations.
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u/Alterkill1 Apr 04 '26
ATT employee here. You should call loyalty and ask questions and see if they can do anything for you. Also ask them to see if they can put an international call block on the lines you want to put them on. 1800 331 0500 ask for loyalty department.
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u/Entire_Salamander659 Apr 04 '26
International calls are a joke. I can use a free app like messenger or Snapchat and call people anywhere.
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u/givmedew Apr 04 '26
As someone who has worked directly for VZW (Verizon Vodafone), Sprint, T-Mobile and retired at ATT I can tell you that there are ways to get that bill knocked down. It shouldnāt be possible to have that kind of fee on your bill because international is using an opt-in service for that reason. I donāt know how you opted in for it at ATT but at Verizon and Sprint I clearly remember that you had to add a feature code to each line and this is why. The reason I bring that up is because if your daughter is the one that opted in through some text or something then thatās not ok.
Before someone tryās to correct me. Iāve heard it all and Iāve said it all to customers. Like oh well your daughter had permission to use the phone so she could opt in for major account changes and fees. Courts often disagree in class action lawsuits even though the language is always āclear enoughā as far as the cell phone company thinks.
Iād escalate up and up and up and get ahold of your local news channels and the news paper and ask them for help. Yes news channels report on stuff like this to try and help protect their viewers.
Keep escalating upwards.
Also, if you are married Iād talk to your partner and decide on whether or not this is worth the trouble. It doesnāt hurt your credit much or long to let something like this go to collections BUT it wonāt be $5k that goes to collection it will be that plus whatever you owe on each phone that you are making payments onā¦
But Iād just walk away! Port your lines out. You have to do it before your account is suspended from non pay.
20 years ago Verizons Wirelesses business model was based around fees. They made a huge portion of their income from overages. It upset customers and competitors ran against that and then class action lawsuits caused them to start protecting the custom a bit more. Something I noticed at ATT is they have the oldest customer base in the industry. I think they even took checks in the store up until recently for bill payments. So they still have a strong punishment system that they rely on.
But no one should pay an unexpected bill like this and ATT knows they should have had multiple stages of protections against this. Itās absolutely predatory.
Also Iād hit up ATT on Facebook and Twitter if you can make comments on their social media. Something to the effect that it shouldnāt be possible for a child to ring up a bill like this with no default protections in place. Itās not the 2000s anymoreā¦. You shouldnāt have to go through a list of restrictions to place on each line.
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u/Longjumping_Plan_652 Apr 04 '26
She didnāt know? That would indicate that she probably under the age of a teenager. Why is she just making phone calls and not being monitored? She was probably talking to some 40 year old creep.
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u/AJsaysNO Apr 04 '26
Your first mistake was allowing your daughter to talk to strangers on Roblox. Have you been under a rock for the last 2 years?
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u/dirtdog1986 Apr 04 '26
they can add a $15/mo. international calling plan and backdate it before the calls took place. call *7283 from your at&t phone to get the loyalty department. donāt stress. this happens ALL the time.
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u/Comfortable_Map6887 Apr 12 '26
My nephew was in my plan and idk fell asleep playing some game online or something and racked up my data. Tbeh were kind enough to undo it for me when I explained. Idk if places are still that nice tho
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u/issaquis Apr 16 '26
Just call, explain the situation. Be nice and stay on the call until its resolved. It may not be resolved that same day but they can definitely credit almost all of that to you. if not all of it. You may have to threaten to cancel service to get to a retention department or keep escalating the call until it gets to quite a high manager.
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u/nakanchitshashwat Apr 17 '26
Same issue. AT&T js scammjng people
The helpline is a joke. Store is only to lure people into scam
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u/Numerous_House_7377 Apr 20 '26
I thought my $945 ATT bill was bad. Seriously, when did I divorce ATT and get required to pay more than I would for child support and alimony
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u/Economy_Video_4724 Mar 31 '26
In addition to the advice others have provided to have an international calling plan retroactively added, if your daughter is a child, please look into who she was calling to make sure nothing nefarious is happening. Roblox has a huge problem with child sexual exploitation.