Consumer Federation of California

A Rancho Cordova man says AT&T made a huge mistake on his account.

He says no matter how many times he asked to speak to a supervisor, they said no.

It was time to call Kurtis.

We all want to get to the supervisor when we feel like the customer service representative isn’t listening. So how frustrating would it be if you’re told no?

Harassed with calls and letters for a debt he doesn’t owe, Tony Cosentino has been battling AT&T and collection agencies for a year and a half.

They claim he owes $652.52 for U-Verse equipment, but he has a shipping confirmation that proves he returned the equipment. It’s caused his credit to take a nearly 80-point hit, keeping him from refinancing his house.

‘Actions like these from companies like AT&T can really, really upset and basically ruin people’s financial future for years,’ said Tony.

The last four times he called AT&T, he says they refused to put him through to a supervisor.

‘Nobody could help me. All I could get was a customer service person,’ said Tony.

‘This is an outrage,’ said Richard Holober, executive director of the Consumer Federation of California.

Holober says when customers can’t get results, they should make as much noise as possible.

‘There are lots of retailers that make a point of monitoring twitter feeds and blog sites to see who’s saying bad things about them,’ said Holober.

We asked AT&T about Tony’s claim he couldn’t get through to a supervisor.

They could only say its ‘policy is to’ make a supervising manager available or call the customer back as soon as possible if the manager is not immediately available.’

As for the collection mistake, AT&T spokesman Dan Newman called it a ‘system error,’ saying ‘we appreciate you flagging it’.

They apologized and agreed to remove the blemish from Tony’s credit, clearing the way for him to refinance.

‘Hurray!’ said Tony.

If AT&T customer service is not addressing your issue, AT&T says you should call its executive offices at (800) 791-6661.

You may have to leave a message but they claim you’ll hear back within 24 hours.