- Robert Parkinson faced a $1,618.78 AT&T bill for nonexistent service.
- After four years of disputes AT&T resolved the issue with KSL's help.
- Consumers can file complaints with the CFPB FTC and Utah's Consumer Protection.
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — Robert Parkinson showed KSL a file filled with paperwork, bills and collections notices.
"As you can see, the file is pretty thick with all of the billings that come in over time," Parkinson said.
Yes, it's an awfully thick file, I think you'd agree, considering it is all paperwork documenting a cellphone service agreement that never actually existed.
Parkinson's story begins back in 2022. He said he was approached by an AT&T salesman offering to switch his family from Verizon to AT&T with the offer of two new iPhones.
But as Parkinson began filling out the paperwork ,he says he got a surprise.
"They required a $400 deposit, which they hadn't told us about at all," he said.
Parkinson said he canceled everything right there on the spot.
Two weeks later, a bill arrived from AT&T demanding $1,618.78.
Parkinson says he called AT&T.
"When I called them, they said, 'Well, we can see you didn't start service. It never even occurred,'" Parkinson said. "And they said, 'But the billing is for phones that were shipped,' and they never shipped phones."
Parkinson said AT&T eventually agreed, and he thought that was that.
It was not.
The same bill came back over and over.
"I spent probably, that six months alone, probably 25, 30 hours on the phone with them, different departments, and everybody could see at AT&T that they said that phones hadn't been shipped in, service hadn't been started, but they had no way of taking the bill off," he said.
Then came collection notices. First one agency. Then another. Then a third — the last one refusing to budge.
"They just responded to us and said, 'Nope. AT&T says it's a verified account and that you have to pay it,'" Parkinson said.
After four years of fighting on his own, Parkinson decided it was time to contact the KSL Investigators.
KSL reached out to AT&T on Parkinson's behalf, not through customer service, but through the company's corporate public relations team.
A spokesperson responded: "We strive to make returns and account closures as seamless as possible. Unfortunately, that did not happen in this instance, and for that, we have apologized."
For Parkinson, the goal was simple.
"Just want the bill to go away. That's it," he said.
Good news, for Robert: AT&T says it has now resolved the issue — hopefully once and for all.
You should know: If you are being continually harassed to pay a debt you do not owe, you have rights. You can file complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and Utah's Division of Consumer Protection.
