AT&T Door-To-Door Reps May Be Con Men

A pair of men claiming to be AT&T representatives hit the Inman Park neighborhood Monday afternoon, telling residents they wanted to discuss a new service.

In one instance, as one resident explained on the Inman Park neighborhood listserv, a man came to a home Monday afternoon dressed in a skullcap and an AT&T vest to tout a new service.

The man came back later that evening with another man, also dressed in an AT&T vest to the same home to make the same pitch. In another instance, one of the men went to another home in the neighborhood with a pitch about AT&T switching Inman Park to fiber optics though he offered few details.

AT&T has been reaching out to its customers through door-to-door efforts for several months to sell the company's U-Verse service, spokeswoman Emily J. Edmonds told East Atlanta Patch. Those salespeople are not direct AT&T employees; they're called "AT&T Solution Providers" and are contracted through a third-party vendor.

Edmonds, who alerted AT&T's security team after being contacted by Patch, said it's not entirely clear if the man the first instance was connected to AT&T. In the second instance, the men may have been contracted salesmen, she said, adding the security team is investigating.

Edmonds also shared these tips customers should keep in mind when dealing with AT&T employees:

• The only reason an AT&T technician would be on a customer’s property is if the customer has placed an order or reported trouble. AT&T does not enter a residence during these visits, unless the customer asks us to.
• If AT&T needs access to work inside a residence, our policy is to ALWAYS telephone the customer ahead of time to request permission and to verify a convenient time when they will be home. A technician should not show up unexpectedly.
• All AT&T technicians drive company vehicles with the AT&T logo on the side and all of them wear company provided uniforms with the AT&T logo on them.  In addition, all AT&T techs are instructed to show their AT&T ID badge when they meet a customer.
• If a customer isn’t aware of a reason that a technician would need to work inside the home, ask the person outside your door to show you their company photo ID and tell you their employee ID number. If you are still unsure of their identity, please call our toll-free repair hotline to verify at 800-515-7272.

As for AT&T Solution Providers:

• All reps must have an AT&T Solution Providers ID. These are authorized AT&T Solutions Providers and not AT&T employees; therefore they will NOT have an AT&T vehicle.
• AT&T Solution Providers clothing is optional (at the vendor’s discretion).
• They typically knock Monday-Saturday and sometimes on Sunday, and typically knock between 11 am – 8 pm local time (in accordance with any local requirements).
• AT&T Solution Providers are never supposed to enter a residence (except under limited extreme weather conditions as outlined in the policy manual for safety purposes – visible lightning, tornadoes, frozen participation, temperatures at or below 32 degrees, extreme heat temperatures greater than 100 degrees, etc.). For the above exceptions they MUST be invited in by the customer and must note on any order form that they entered the customer’s home.
• If any customer is concerned about the validity of an AT&T Solutions Provider, they should state that they are not interested and shut the door (our Solution Provider Agents are expected to be respectful, courteous, and leave the customer’s premise). If still concerned, the customer should call 1-800-288-2020 to report their concern to AT&T.