I signed up for U-verse service and because I do not have perfect credit (it actually isn't bad at all) I was asked for $450. I asked the sales rep how long refund of that money would take after the return of the equipment and she said, "That's not a deposit, that is just for us to give you service. That fee is non-refundable."

So I say, they want me to give them $450 for them to give me service and it is not refundable...what that is is extortion!

Renlonc and all,

I hear you brothers...myself (Canadian) recently relocated to Houston, TX for a high paying job in the energy sector. We bought a house, and the previous owners left their U-verse receivers & remotes so we could quickly restore service in our name.

Same story with the non-refundable $450 fee due to a lack of credit history in the US. Needless to say, we returned the U-verse equipment to the previous owners and have gone ahead with Comcast. We are very fiscally responsible with excellent credit in Canada, which made this experience all the more insulting. Unfortunately the US system is built around credit, and in the eyes of AT&T we are degenerates who cannot be trusted and need to pay more. Guilty until proven innocent.

This whole situation smacks of discrimination, and I'd be very interested in hearing from the ACLU or law students on this issue - one of my motivations for posting. Charging a large deposit to persons with an unknown or poor credit is one thing...physically charging more a service is an entirely different matter.

In the meantime, I encourage other expats to vote with their feet and head to the competition (Comcast).

The experience was