How to get AT&T to stop their fraudulent scheme to extort money

I'd like to know how I can get AT&T and their debt collectors to stop trying to collect a debt that AT&T knows DOES NOT exist. This has been going on since July 2017. Here is the letter that I was asked by the debt collector so send, explaining the situation.

To whom it may concern,

As I explained to your agent when they called me several days ago regarding this matter:
 

I don’t have the exact dates and names as I no longer have my notes from when all this took place back in February of this year.  I never imagined AT&T would engage in a fraudulent scheme to extort like they seem to be doing now, so I didn’t see a need back in February to preserve evidence.

My landline home phone number I have had since first getting a home phone back in the early 1990’s through BellSouth.  BellSouth was eventually bought out by AT&T.  Sometime in the mid 2000’s I changed carriers from AT&T to Birch Communications and remained with Birch up until February of this year.

In February 2017, I changed carriers and ported the phone number for my landline home phone from Birch Communications to Spectrum.  On the day that Spectrum came to my home to do the job, they were unable to port my number because Birch apparently had already deactivated it.

On the Monday after Spectrum tried to port my number, I called Birch to ask them to reactivate the number.  They said they weren’t able to do that because they no longer controlled the number as it was already released and returned to the “owner,” AT&T.  Birch suggested that I call AT&T.

As suggested by Birch, I then called AT&T.  I explained to the representative what the situation was and what I was trying to do; to have my phone number reactivated so that Spectrum could port my number to their service.

The representative said that would not be a problem, “that this sort of thing happens all the time,” and that she could make these arrangements for me so that I could port the number.

She then explained that what she (AT&T) would do is open an account in which to activate my phone number to, AT&T would then call me in three to five business days to advise me that the phone number is active so that I could then call Spectrum to do the porting, after which the account would simply “wash away.”  She specifically told me that “everything happens on our (AT&T’s) end” and related that a technician does not need to go to the home.

A few days later I received a phone call from an AT&T service technician.  He was calling to advise me that he was on his way to my home to install my new service and would be there within forty five to sixty minutes.  I asked him what new service he was talking about, telling him that I did not sign up or ask for any new service.  He said he would be installing U-Verse phone, internet, and cable television.  I then told the technician again that I did not sign up for any of that and then explained to the technician the situation with my home phone, with porting the number, AT&T’s involvement in that, etc.  The technician then said that his work order is to install U-Verse phone, internet, and television.  I told the technician that his work order is wrong and that I would not let him do the work that his work order lists.  He said he understands the situation, including the issue with porting the phone number, and that he would just cancel the work order.

So this claim by AT&T that I owe them $277.09 is an absolute bogus claim and nothing short of a scheme by AT&T to attempt to extort money.  AT&T knows that I never signed up for U-Verse phone, internet, or television.  AT&T also knows that they never installed U-Verse phone, internet, or television.

To that end, I absolutely and unequivocally dispute AT&T’s claim and as such will not submit to their fraudulent attempt to extort from me $277.09, or any part thereof.

PS: Regarding the porting the phone number; as it turned out AT&T never had control over the number.  Birch Communications still controlled the number and facilitated the porting after more than a month of unnecessary drama.