WINK News helps Arcadia woman get $569 refund from AT&T

ARCADIA, Fla. (WINK) — An Arcadia woman turned to WINK Listens after months of frustration with AT&T left her paying for a device she never wanted.

Karen Stansberry contacted WINK Listens, hoping the station could resolve her issue with the cell phone company. After her phone was hacked in October, she called AT&T for help, but said she encountered more problems.

"They demanded that they would. They were going to send me a gift, a free gift. And you know, it's not like you want it. You just can't get them off the phone," Stansberry said.

AT&T sent her an Apple iPad Pro, but it wasn't a gift. Stansberry was being charged $47 for the iPad and nearly $21 for service every month on her phone bill.

"Oh, then they call me. Oh, we sent you the wrong thing. You have to send it back immediately," Stansberry said.

Even after sending the device back, the charges continued. Stansberry wondered if she would have to pay off the device just to end the billing cycle.

WINK News reached out to AT&T on Stansberry's behalf. Later that same day, a company representative contacted her.

"The man called me...it says he was the president of AT&T...he checked it out and realized that someone other than myself had ordered the computer...and the money would be refunded to me," Stansberry said.

AT&T decided to reimburse Stansberry for everything she had already paid, totaling $569. The resolution brought her significant relief after months of stress.

"Like I had a new life, let out of jail...I was so upset that I had to pay for nothing," Stansberry said.

In a statement to WINK News, AT&T said, 

"We take the security of customer accounts very seriously and have processes in place to help ensure that any changes to accounts are authorized by the primary account holders. Customers should remain vigilant and never share account information or authorize people they don’t know to access their accounts. For tips on how to spot scams, please visit AT&T Cyber Aware | Fraud Prevention & Cybersecurity Program."

She expressed gratitude to WINK News for stepping in and helping resolve the situation.