AT&T Sent Nearly Expired Reward Cards to New Customers, Alleges Class Action

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AT&T Reward Cards Class Action Lawsuit Overview:

• Who: A Florida consumer has lodged a class action against AT&T, Inc. 
• Why: The plaintiff says that Dallas-based AT&T offered pre-paid Visa gift cards worth hundreds of dollars to consumers who switched, but then either failed to send the cards or sent nearly expired ones that the company refused to replace.  
• Where: The lawsuit was filed in Texas federal court.  

A Florida man accuses AT&T of offering Reward Cards worth up to $400 to consumers who switch to its services, but then never sending the cards or sending them so close to their expiration date that they become unusable in a class action lawsuit filed Wednesday. 

Lead plaintiff Steven Palumbo wants to represent other consumers who switched services because they were offered AT&T Reward Cards, according to the complaint lodged in Texas federal court. He accuses AT&T of failing to disclose the restrictions related to the Reward Cards and refusing to honor or replace cards that expire due to those restrictions.  

Palumbo says that he was lured into a more expensive “bundled” TV and telecommunications package because the offer included $200 in AT&T Reward Cards. Unbeknownst to him, his card would not arrive for more than seven months — far past the 150-day expiration date on the Visa gift card.  

AT&T Reward Cards Sent Late or Not At All 

“AT&T delays sending Reward Cards to new customers,” alleges the class action lawsuit. 

“Rather than sending the card to new customers immediately after they contract and pay for their new AT&T services, AT&T either never sends the Reward Card or delays sending it such that new customer recipients don’t receive it until near or after the card’s short 150-day expiry period.” 

Use of AT&T Reward Cards Restricted 

AT&T Reward Cards are subject to a number of other restrictions that make it nearly impossible for recipients to use, according to the class action lawsuit.  

Palumbo claims that users must take additional steps to activate their AT&T Reward Cards. First, they must keep track of a notification that is often sent to the AT&T Reward Card recipient’s spam folder or thrown out as junk mail.  

Recipients must also “activate” their AT&T Reward Cards, facing a whole new host of obstacles, says the plaintiff.  

“AT&T further restricts, if not prevents, the full usage of Reward Cards even if they are delivered and activated before the expiry of the 150-day use period,” alleges the class action lawsuit. “When a card recipient spends a threshold amount available on the Reward Card, the card is frozen, and the recipient is blocked from spending the remaining value for an extended period of time.” 

Palumbo wants to represent a nationwide Class of consumers who were offered AT&T Reward Cards. He is seeking damages and a court order stopping the allegedly deceptive advertising campaign.  

Other major retailers have been accused of offering gift cards that are rendered unusable to recipients. Google is fighting a class action lawsuit alleging its Google Play gift cards are almost impossible to redeem because of the company’s security system. Target was accused of selling Apple iTunes gift cards that can be used by scammers to access money customers put on the cards. 

Did you receive one of the nearly expired AT&T Reward Cards? Did you not get your Reward Cards at all? Tell us about it in the comment section below! 

The plaintiff is represented by William B. Federman and John Charles Sherwood of Federman & Sherwood, and James M. Evangelista, David J. Worley, Kristi Stahnke McGregor, and Hannah Drosky of Evangelista Worley, LLC.  

The AT&T Reward Cards Class Action Lawsuit is Palumbo v. AT&T, Inc., Case No. 3:21-cv-01818-N in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division.

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