What if switching to AT&T cost you $21,000 – it happened, and here’s how

Trying to switch to AT&T, but ending up without a phone service for nearly a month: that shouldn’t happen, yet here we are. Could things get somehow worse? Why, of course! The lost phone service was attached to a small business, causing the owner to lose more than $20,000 after customers couldn’t get in touch during the blackout period.The above happened to Nikki Jackson, a successful Rowlett caterer who says her business nearly came to a standstill after she tried to switch phone service providers. A technical issue during the transition left her without a working business line.

For 21 years, Nikki Jackson had operated in the same location, with the sound of a ringing phone marking the steady rhythm of incoming orders, Fox 4 KDFW reports. But for nearly a month, that sound disappeared. It was not due to a lack of customers trying to reach her, but because her phone service went down after she attempted to move her account to AT&T.

What got her convinced to switch was the company’s promises of free equipment, no strings attached, and monthly savings of $140 to $150. Believing the offer, she agreed to switch. But within an hour of the technician leaving her shop, her phones and internet went silent. Her texts to the technician went unanswered, and she found herself unable to make or receive calls.

To try to keep business afloat, Jackson turned to social media, posting updates, running ads, and even going live. Still, compared to the same day’s sales a year earlier, she was down $2,300.

She tried repeatedly to reach AT&T. Between June 17 and 19, she documented 87 calls, totaling more than 19 hours of conversations. She also visited three separate AT&T locations, only to be told there was nothing they could do.

An attempt to return to her previous provider also hit a roadblock. Because her devices could not receive any communications, she was unable to complete two-factor authentication. When she tried to verify her identity through another method, she was told no changes could be made for 30 days because her account was too new.

Frustrated, Jackson contacted a local news outlet. Soon after, she received a call from AT&T‘s Office of the President assuring her they would resolve the situation. The company ultimately switched her back to her original provider, but by then, the damage to her business was significant. Compared to the same period in 2024, she calculated her losses at $21,000.

– An AT&T spokesperson for Fox 4, August 2025

AT&T declined to speak on camera for Fox 4 but issued a statement apologizing for the inconvenience.

When it came to compensation, Jackson said AT&T offered her $2,000 to settle the matter, an amount she felt fell far short of making her whole. Yes, that’s too little and too late: such a royal screw up should never have happened in the first place.