I just moved to Lake Bluff and was looking for a new ISP (trying to avoid Comcast). I searched for "at&t internet service lake bluff illinois" and came up with a Google listing at the top (right underneath "Business Listings") that read: "ATT U-Verse Deals Lake Bluff IL | Lake Bluff Illinois AT&T High Lake Bluff IL AT&T U-Verse is changing the way you think about home entertainment. Get the best in television, phone, and internet services with advanced, etc. --> www.newtechnologytv.com/att/lake-bluff-il-att-internet.html"

If you go to the url, it looks like an AT&T page. There is nothing on there to suggest that it is NOT AT&T, but White Fence. I mistakenly assumed that AT&T (with some of the other name changes going on) had decided to call their site "newtechnologytv". That was my mistake, but White Fence should be more explicit about who they are.

I talked to someone on the phone and ended up giving them my SS# and DOB thinking that they were AT&T doing a legit background check. Only after getting off the phone, and getting email from them did I discover otherwise. It is disturbing to realize that I had no idea who was on the line.

When I realized that it was not AT&T that I spoke with, I called up AT&T for real. I did have a long (21 minute) wait until I got a hold of customer service, but the agent I worked with was VERY helpful. She explained all the fees that were involved. White Fence only said it was $14.95/mo and then it would change depending on offers and may even be reduced. (Yes, White Fence said "reduced"!) AT&T said that the normal fee was $40/mo and that my fee would be increased to that rate after 12 months. AT&T also explained that I could order two different types of modems (basic or wireless -- White Fence gave me no such choice). AT&T also gave me options on how fast to order the service, when the installation would occur, and an account number.

The Bottom Line: White Fence is "legit" but they do not describe themselves well and allow customers to be deceived and think they are dealing with the actual company. They never say anything intentionally deceitful, but do everything possible to allow deception to occur. The problem is that the customer does not get all the information that is necessary in order to make prudent decisions.