THOMASVILLE, N.C. — Ruby Edmonds is spending more time at home these days. She recently signed up for a new Wi-Fi package with AT&T.
After signing up for the service, Edmonds had a problem. Her Wi-Fi would not work. When she called AT&T for help, she discovered a bigger problem.
"I asked how much is my bill, and AT&T said, right now, the bill is $7,000 and blah, blah, blah," Edmonds said. I said, 'There is no way, no way! You all must have the wrong account.'”
After some investigating, the representative informed Edmonds it was her account, so the bill was accurate. Edmonds was shocked and confused.
“I was like, what the what,” Edmonds said.
An AT&T representative told Edmonds the plan she signed up for was charging her by the megabyte, which is extremely expensive when streaming shows and downloading tons of things on her laptop. Edmonds discussed the matter with a representative.
“She said when I told them I wanted Wi-Fi, they should not have signed me up for that plan,” Edmonds said.
She said AT&T refused to cancel the charges. A short time after discovering the initial bill for more than $7,000, the bill jumped to more than $9,000.
“It was $9,259.66,” Edmonds said.
A couple of days later, Edmonds decided she needed some help. It was about then she called our 2 Wants to Know line.
“I have pondered on it, pondered on it, and I said, 'You know what, I see 2 Wants to Know all the time when watching TV. I'll call 2 Wants to Know,'” Edmonds said.
Once Edmonds contacted us, we called AT&T to ask about the bill and the issue. We explained the problem and relayed as much information about the plan as we knew. A representative told us the company would investigate and get back to WFMY or Edmonds.
A week later, Edmonds received a call from an AT&T representative.
“She called me back, and she said, 'Ruby,' she said. 'I got rid of the bill for you,'” Edmonds said.
What was a stressful situation, was now over. The massive bill was wiped clean, and Edmonds was allowed to cancel the service.
AT&T sent us a statement:
"After our investigation, we credited the customer’s account as a courtesy and canceled it at her request."
Edmonds has a new Wi-Fi provider, and she is charged monthly, so she knows her exact bill amount.