ATT Ripoff

I have a 199 pesos TelCel plan, and it is month to month. I signed papers but checked the part where I am not locked in for 2 years. You can pre pay for 6 months or a year or whatever. I had some pesos stacked up on my dumb phone when I was using an Amigo card every 60 days, and all of the pesos were transferred as a credit to my TelCel plan, so I won't have to pay out of pocket for a while. I also get a factura from them every month showing the deduction of the 199 + IVA and the credit balance. When you set up a TelCel plan, take everything with you as usual. Passport, visa, utility bill, CURP and they will ask you for phone references they can check. I don't know why because if you don't pay they will cut off your service.

DaveP wrote:All I know is that according to my Lawyer the collection agency indicates that I have another AT&T telephone number in my name of which I was totally unaware.

Ahhh, that must be the one the cartels are using for ransom demands. No problem.

Could be. I hope they will be giving me some of the proceeds.

Maybe you guys should use ALex full name so you would know if it is the same person.It would be pretty bad to accuse a person that has nothing to do with the problem.

Don't be using anyone's "full name" on here por favor. Send PM's to each other.

On January 22nd 2016 I purchased a prepaid two-year contract from Alejandro. He seemed to me to be honest and well informed in this process.  He had a good knowledge of smartphones and spoke excellent English. I have had no problems with my account.

I was really surprised when I heard about this yesterday.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Went by ATT today and I can confirm Alejandro is gone and the Laguna Centro office said it is not their problem. My son got stiffed for 2000 MXN. Lesson learned, time to move to Spider Web for internet service.

Kiko,what are the upload and download speeds advertised on Spider Web. I know they are Fixed WiFi just like Laguna Net is. (Laguna net is still providing fixed WiFi in Joco)

And where is the main Spider Web antenna, Chapala?

I only know that my neighbor in El Chante has Spider Web and he is getting 10.7 download speeds. I do not know tower location or cost. On Telmex we get 3.6 down and about 1 up on a good day.

Could you please provide contact info for Spider Web. I have friends in Rancho Alegre who used to be with Laguna Net but Rod is not covering that area any more. They are tearing their hair out with Telmex service.
Rancho Alegre is between El Chante and Los Fuentes so I'm hoping that Spider Web may give them another alternative.

http://www.chapala.com/webboard/index.php?/topic/59531-spiderweb/

The above thread has some not so happy customers of Spider Web in Joco, I think in the Roca Azul RV park. Thread is 18 mos old but does note the office address in Chapala on Madero. Good luck.

Thank kiko. I did read a couple of threads over there but was wondering if there was updated information.

FYI, Telcel also has a wireless router just for internet use. They have a number of models but, imho, the Alcatel 4 is their best one. Outright it will cost 2800 pesos and they are offering more and more plans for the service you will need. Their most expensive plan is 1100 pesos per month for 20 Gigabytes. Pricey? Youbetcha! But if it's all you can get and you need it then it's a no brainer. The speed is the same as using your iPhone as a hotspot for your computer... and that's fast, really really fast. Options. I like options.

I use my phone as a hot spot when Telmex is down or the power is out. I don't find it any faster than my usual 10 MB/S from Telmex though.

Apparently Alejandro had a lot of victims. I thought I had a 2 year plan that I purchased about a year ago. Every month my service was turned off and I would call Alejandro and it would be restored.
It turns out I only had a monthly plan and someone was paying it monthly.
Alejandro told me that there was a system problem with ATT that was causing me to be cut off once a month, and that he had other customers with the same problem.
He stopped answering his phone last week and now I find out that he was fired.

Another lesson learned in Mexico.

Maybe one take away here is to never pay for anything in advance in Mexico. The legal and collection systems surrounding this type of fraud is non-existent. I won't even allow automatic debit for things such as CFE or Telmex. Pay as you play whenever you can.

CanuckBob wrote:I use my phone as a hot spot when Telmex is down or the power is out. I don't find it any faster than my usual 10 MB/S from Telmex though.

This is absolutely the opposite of what I got before.

I just started another thread on this specific topic.

CanuckBob wrote:Maybe one take away here is to never pay for anything in advance in Mexico. The legal and collection systems surrounding this type of fraud is non-existent. I won't even allow automatic debit for things such as CFE or Telmex. Pay as you play whenever you can.

Absolutely right.

Think of it this way. . .would a Mexican ever hand over to a total stranger 5000 pesos for something to cover the next 2 years? Not a chance.

CanuckBob wrote:Maybe one take away here is to never pay for anything in advance in Mexico. The legal and collection systems surrounding this type of fraud is non-existent. I won't even allow automatic debit for things such as CFE or Telmex. Pay as you play whenever you can.

The thing here Bob is that not all the fraud involved prepaid long term plans. Mine for instance is a standard 2 year contract paid monthly however someone (A?) had used my personal information to create another account in my name for a friend maybe who had no credit. It only shows up when the account is not paid and goes to collection. My regular account is fine. It could take months for others with problems like mine to realise they have been cloned.

Also, does A still have access to all the personal files created in his 2 offices? That concerns me.

I am using Spenser McMullen as a trouble shooter so he is becoming aware of what is happening.

Trailrunner wrote:

CanuckBob wrote:Maybe one take away here is to never pay for anything in advance in Mexico. The legal and collection systems surrounding this type of fraud is non-existent. I won't even allow automatic debit for things such as CFE or Telmex. Pay as you play whenever you can.

Absolutely right.

Think of it this way. . .would a Mexican ever hand over to a total stranger 5000 pesos for something to cover the next 2 years? Not a chance.

Absolutely agree! On one of the Facebook expat sites some newbie said she was interested in a house to rent and the landlord wanted a year's rent in advance. She wondered if this was standard here and was this a good idea. DINGDINGDINGDING! Redlights flashing! Red flags flapping! NOOOOOOOOO. DO NOT DO IT!

lolololol

I can't even read those sites anymore, it's the blind leading the blind.

No kidding. I can't believe these people who get involved with "presale" deposits on condo developments and what not. I think it's even crazy to do NOB let alone here in Mexico. No way Jose.........

If I had a fraudulent phone account, or any other problems with ATT accounts, that may or may not have been serviced by Alejandro, I would abandon that account immediately and probably the phone too.

I would imagine the bad guys use players like him to set up their accounts and service them. No telling who your accounts are really being used by.

Trailrunner wrote:If I had a fraudulent phone account, or any other problems with ATT accounts, that may or may not have been serviced by Alejandro, I would abandon that account immediately and probably the phone too.

I would imagine the bad guys use players like him to set up their accounts and service them. No telling who your accounts are really being used by.

Good point!

It sounds to me that Alex or Alejandro ripped you off NOT ATT

Trailrunner wrote:
Think of it this way. . .would a Mexican ever hand over to a total stranger 5000 pesos for something to cover the next 2 years? Not a chance.

There's even a common Mexican saying that sums up that idea: "Mariachi pagado toca mal son." (Mariachi paid in advance play poorly.)