Returned equipment help

Hello, 

Long time (almost 15 year), now former U-Verse account holder, just closed out service the other week. After I called to end service, I received an email detailing which equipment needed to be returned, with the serial numbers. On that list, the gateway S/N provided was for a gateway that became defective and that I returned to AT&T 15 months prior and was not the current gateway I was using.

I figured this was going to be an issue, so I called CS and explained the issue. I was told by the rep that as long as I send whatever equipment I had, it would be OK and the S/N did not have to match. She even asked if I had replaced the item (gateway) and I said yes, and that was the old S/N that was showing to be returned, but it had already been returned. So now I figured it might not be an issue.

I dropped off all my equipment yesterday at the UPS store. There was a slight issue, which was either due to the gateway or the WAP (email didn't ask for it, but since I have no use for it, I returned it anyway), and the worker saying that the item was not found on my account or something like that. After a few minutes something on their computer went through and she printed me out the receipt with all the items I returned and the S/N. Now I just hoped I was OK.

Then this morning I received an email thanking me for returning my equipment. Except that it only listed the 3 items where the serial numbers matched what was shown on the original AT&T email (1xDVR, 2x wireless receivers), the gateway was not on there.

Yeah, I guess some part of me figured that was going to happen. I just spent nearly 2 hours on chat explaining all this and going over with both a rep and his supervisor and I got nowhere. They said, understandably, it was too early for it to have been returned, so I had not yet been charged a non-return fee. I was told a few times, don't worry, if you get charged just contact us back and we'll start a ticket. I had to tell them both I was being proactive and that I was not interested in that. I did not wish to expend any more effort for something that is wholly AT&T's fault. I was polite but firm. I asked the rep how AT&T would know which gateway was mine since the one I returned didn't seem to be linked to my account and the UPS store can package up returned equipment from multiple customers. I didn't see a connection, so I figured AT&T would not either.

I reiterated, if AT&T was expecting a piece of equipment with a certain S/N, that was never going to happen because I already returned that equipment to them in Jan 2023*. And if it was not an issue, why was the gateway I did have not listed with the other 3 items as returned? That meant that I was definitely going to have to contact CS again and go through all this. I was told they can make notes in the system, but I am suspect of how much that will help. Anyway, I asked the supervisor to go a little extra and simply look at my account to see what gateway(s) AT&T thinks are assigned to me. He was helpful and attempted it, but said that he can't see any S/N for my equipment.

So I ask, is there anyone here that knows a specific department or person who I can contact to get, what is essentially a B-plot of a Three's Company episode, straightened out with the least amount of further effort on my part? Maybe AT&T is OK with wasting their employees time as long as they are paying them, but I'd rather avoid all of this.

* I went back to old email and noticed that AT&T emailed me they received my returned gateway, but the S/N they provided in that email was the S/N of the REPLACEMENT gateway they sent me. I think I might have dropped off the old gateway in the new gateway box; maybe it somehow had the new gateway S/N on it and that got scanned instead of the S/N on the actual equipment?