WHATTTT... Amazon sells ATT phones AND contracts for WAY cheaper?!

I'm not going to lie, I'm fuming right now.  Just purchased a new family plan with the girlfriend and two new phones earlier this afternoon from AT&T's website.  I assumed that would be the cheapest and most effective way to get the phones and the contract, especially since AT&T's website keeps reminding you how you "get the lowest prices" when buying the phones direct and with a contract. 

Shortly after purchasing them the same day, I started browsing Amazon.com for a new case for the phone, and just happened to see that Amazon was actually SELLING the same phone itself for $100 less, a whopping 50% less to be exact.  I couldn't believe my eyes... I checked Amazon for the phone my girlfriend bought, and yep, it was there for sale too at 40% less!!!  WHAT?!!!

To see if I was actually in real life, I decided to add the phones to my cart, and then realized you can even set up and buy your whole ATT contract through Amazon, and it was 100 times more understandable and clear cut than ATT's website was as well!  Yep, a couple pages of checking out, all the same plan options and features available, and phones 50% cheaper than ATT's "lowest prices because you got a contract at OUR website".  We could have saved $140, which is substantial when you realize it's 50% of what you paid elsewhere.  I'll search for 10-20% savings, to miss a 50% savings feels like death, lol.  I'm just so pissed at ATT right now, it feels like I've been cheated and spit on, while ATT and laughing with the extra money I paid.

Is there anything I can do?  My order is less than 24 hours old, and I'm planning to call them in the morning to see if I can get reimbursed the difference.  I've tried to send an email, but apparently I need an account to do that, and apparently I need an activated phone to make an account.  Wonderful...  I thought maybe I could try to cancel the order, but it might be too late or ATT will start throwing cancellation fees in my face. 

Any suggestions? 

EDIT:  The worse part about this is that I am shopping on Amazon all the time.  I figured you could buy the phones there, you can buy the phones from any retailer, but usually it's just the phone and you pay the full $400-600 price.  Who would have seriously thought you can get an ATT contract at Amazon too?

I feel your pain. Take it as an expensive lesson and move on. Always do your homework. Never, ever listen to a company's claim without checking it out first. Companies make a lot of money off of information asymmetry and there are tools available to even the playing field. One tool is as simple as Google.

The same way you come here to get information on the lowest video game prices is the same way you should be living the rest of your life.

What you could do is call AT&T on their "lowest price" bullshit and request a price match after the fact. They are under no obligation to do so, however.

If you decide to say screw it and send the phones back when they try to deliver them.  Use the return label(if they provide one), as it's a headache if you refuse the package(even though they tell you to refuse the package if you don't want it). 

I know that due to them sending the wrong phone back in July.  Spent over an hour getting tranferred around.  Because for over a month they said they didn't receive it(tracking says otherwise) and had to have a supervisor issue an adjustment(after threatening to dispute the charge with my bank).  I can see why they're ranked as one of the worse companies for customer service.

tangytangerine said:

If you decide to say screw it and send the phones back when they try to deliver them. Use the return label(if they provide one), as it's a headache if you refuse the package(even though they tell you to refuse the package if you don't want it).

I know that due to them sending the wrong phone back in July. Spent over an hour getting tranferred around. Because for over a month they said they didn't receive it(tracking says otherwise) and had to have a supervisor issue an adjustment(after threatening to dispute the charge with my bank). I can see why they're ranked as one of the worse companies for customer service.

Click to expand...

I talked with them this morning and they suggested I refuse the shipment. Basically this would void my contract and phone order, then I could go on Amazon and set up the new contract and phone purchase there. However, they also mentioned it could take up to 3-4 weeks to receive and process the refund... I'm also worried about the delivery getting lost in transit back to ATT since refused shipments have no way to track them. Also like your story, I don't want to end up in a similar boat!

SIgh... not sure what I'll do. They wouldn't price match Amazon, and the CSR I talked with pretty much said my only option is to just refuse shipment. I think she was mentioning that if the phones get delivered and tracking updates to "Delivery confirmed", they consider that acceptance of the order, and trying to return even an unopened box of phones can POSSIBLY be problematic if you want to cancel the entire order (the contract, not just swap the phones of whatever). To make matters worse, all my shipments are ALWAYS left on my doorstep. I can't remember the last time I interacted with a delivery driver. Not exactly sure how I can refuse it without it getting delivered and updating to delivery complete...

Any other options? I found a post online that ATT can issue a RMA and return authorization but only before the phones arrive. That way you can still get the package, keep it unopened, and slap on the return shipping label and RMA numbers and send it back. Plus it has tracking. Not sure if ATT still does this though and the post was several years old. I know my CSR didn't say anything about this method either. Might be worth a try, don't think my phones are scheduled to be delivered till Thursday.

*BIG SIGH

the_grimace said:

Any other options? I found a post online that ATT can issue a RMA and return authorization but only before the phones arrive. That way you can still get the package, keep it unopened, and slap on the return shipping label and RMA numbers and send it back. Plus it has tracking. Not sure if ATT still does this though and the post was several years old. I know my CSR didn't say anything about this method either. Might be worth a try, don't think my phones are scheduled to be delivered till Thursday.

*BIG SIGH

Click to expand...

You can try and see if they'll issue a RMA for it. ATT can also authorize UPS to intercept the package and return it before they attempt the first delivery(they have to do it, since they're the sender).

At this point, you can try to send them back after they are delivered. Or take your chances with refusing the package and hope that they say that it was returned.