Switching to AT&T online should be easy - but for some, it's anything but

Some users on Reddit are expressing their confusion and frustration over AT&T's fraud department (potentially) preventing them from switching online and bringing their own devices.

Online services are getting more and more popular, and for a good reason - doing something online saves you time and energy to travel to a place, and may be even better so you can read all the fine print at your own pace. And carriers now allow you to do most things (if not all) online as well.

However, for some AT&T customers, ordering online and things going quickly, easily, and hassle-freely was a dream that didn't come true. A confused user has taken to Reddit to share the situation they encountered when trying to switch to AT&T with BYOD (Bring Your Own Device).

They say that when they placed the order, they received an email saying they should go to a store and place the order again. However, when they went to an authorized retailer AT&T store still experienced the same issue. It seems AT&T's fraud department was denying them, without apparently providing an explanation.



Other Redditors have chimed in, surprisingly revealing they have experienced a similar situation. One user says they had to add a new line and upgrade their phone that way, and were forced to settle for a whole new phone number, while the BYOD was put on a 90-day hold.

The situation doesn't seem unsolvable, though. One user reports having a similar thing occur but then get resolved when a Costco representative called an AT&T department. The customer had to answer a few questions and submit their ID, but in the end, the store didn't have the phones they wanted and they ended up ordering online (which, in their case, worked).

Others advise people experiencing the same issue to go directly to an AT&T store, not a retailer:



In the meantime, another user experiencing an issue with BYOD opened another thread on Reddit. The user expressed their frustration when trying to port in with a BYOD at AT&T, but their order got canceled and they had to go to a store. However, they say they don't have time for a store and ended up switching to Cricket instead.



Meanwhile, some AT&T employees and customers have been complaining about issues with the carrier's fraud department, alleging that sometimes people get blocked for no apparent reason.

In this day and age, it's important to prevent fraud online, so having an engaged fraud department is important. Nevertheless, though, I believe these processes of fraud prevention should ensure regular customers don't experience a huge hassle when trying to switch. Especially when the option to do it online exists, an issue arising from doing something online should also be able to be resolved online, or at least, with the most hassle-free way possible.

We have reached out to AT&T for a comment and will update this story when we have a response.