- ORIGINAL NEWS
In wake of AT&T outage, consumer advocates say you should always ask for money back if there’s a blackout
- SUMMARY
AT&T recently experienced a major outage that impacted numerous customers.
In response, the company announced it will automatically apply $5 credits to the accounts of affected consumers.
However, consumer advocates advise that customers should not rely solely on automatic reimbursements.
They recommend proactively reaching out to their service providers when faced with outages, even if the credit is not immediately applied.
Unlike certain industries, such as airlines, there is currently no federal law requiring phone and internet providers to offer refunds in the event of blackouts.
As a result, customers must take the initiative to request reimbursement.
Experts suggest calling customer service, using online portals, or chatbots to expedite the process.
By proactively seeking a refund, consumers can ensure they receive compensation for any inconvenience caused by outages.
- NEWS SENTIMENT CHECK
- Overall sentiment:
negative
Positive
“AT&T is reimbursing customers affected by a massive nationwide cellular outage with an $5 credit, which the company expects to apply automatically in the next one or two billing cycles.”
“But if faced with a future phone or internet blackout — whether AT&T or another provider — it behooves customers to proactively ask for a reimbursement since many companies don’t give them automatically, consumer advocates said.”
Negative
“AT&T’s outage on Thursday knocked out service for tens of thousands of customers, who were unable to use their phones without access to Wi-Fi.”
“It was the result of an internal company error — not a cyberattack — as AT&T worked to expand its network, it said.”