I was in dire need of a new phone for a very long time, and my mother decided to upgrade from an iPhone 4 to a 5s. Then, at the last second, she decided she wanted a refurbished 5 since it was cheaper. She gave me the 5s instead of cancelling the order, however, and we did a cross-upgrade. Once the 5s arrived in the mail, however, it had a crack in the screen, so I returned it on December 19th, 2-3 days after it had arrived (I had been busy). I sent it using the return label, and it took 2 weeks for the return to FINALLY be processed (on January 2nd, or so). In the midst of its return, I had called several times to make sure my return was on its way/processing/in the warehouse. I did this because I had read many horror stories involving AT&T returns that never arrived, were processed MONTHS later, etc.
Somehow, by some absolutely ridiculous "miscommunication" (as quoted by a rep), one of the AT&T employees took it upon themselves to cancel my upgrade -entirely-. I never requested this, nor did I ever hint at such an idea. They knew perfectly well I wanted an unscathed iPhone returned immediately. I was then told that this cancellation could not be reversed, and I would have to wait until my money was refunded and the system processed the cancellation. Then, and only then, could I reorder my phone as an upgrade.
Unfortunately, I STILL could not order my phone. The most recent bill payment we made was on December 7th from the most recent paycheck. After I returned my phone (after December 19th), however, a due payment alert showed up on our account. That due payment, which came to exist after I upgraded my phone, does not allow me to sign up for the new upgrade again.
Why am I being punished for an employee's mistake? I have not had a phone for two weeks, and I placed my upgrade long before the past due alert ever showed up. I need a phone right now-- I am returning to college before we will be able to pay the balance and I need to stay in contact with my family at all times in case of emergencies. I find it ridiculously suspect to have my upgrade cancelled immediately following the past due alert. It feels like I'm being held down and forced to pay everything at once which I simply cannot do.
Is there nothing that can be done to rectify this situation? I am leaving tomorrow. We will pay everything, but we cannot at this very second, but I need my phone immediately.