AT&T Wireless' Scam-like Billing Policies
OK, I'm sure other people here use AT&T wireless so I'm hoping someone can shed some light on one of the worst billing policies I can think of.
Can anyone tell me which FCC ruling makes it illegal for AT&T to list the phone number associated with incoming calls on my cell bill? I think this is a total crock of shit because:
A. Presumably if I answer the phone and talk for X number of minutes - I ALREADY KNOW who it is/was...I just don't have the time to make a detailed log of every damn phone call I receive every month. This is clearly not a privacy thing, because someone could easily *67 if they wanted that.
B. There is no way for me as a customer to verify all of the incoming calls and their associated minutes - even if I track them and dispute a call, AT&T claims that it "couldn't be wrong" because of some kind of verification technology their digital phones supposedly have. I've already had this happen to me twice, and the service people are clueless / full of it.
One person tells me "Oh, we couldn't track that phone number down even if we wanted to." Yah OK. That ALMOST makes sense. So if some guy is under surveillance by the police and he gets a cell call, you can't tell the warrant-toting cops who it was that called. BULLSHIT.
Another tells me "We can track the number, but it is against federal law for us to put the number on your bill." Again, this makes absolutely no sense, going on the assumption that I'm the only person who uses my phone and hence took all the calls.
C. Does anyone here know of a wireless provider who DOES provide the incoming call phone numbers? This would drive a steak into their evil little skulls if I can verify it....
Can someone help me on this one? I have a mind to start a class action lawsuit, should there be a way to prove they are padding the bills (which I think they are, either by adding minutes legit incoming calls, or by adding imaginary incoming calls that I can't dispute because "they can't be wrong").
As a side note - we have their cable serivce too and they've padded our bill with bogus installation and service fees more than once. I think they've become a borderline unethical / corrupt company again. It's really pitiful.
[ 02-16-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ? ]</p>
Can anyone tell me which FCC ruling makes it illegal for AT&T to list the phone number associated with incoming calls on my cell bill? I think this is a total crock of shit because:
A. Presumably if I answer the phone and talk for X number of minutes - I ALREADY KNOW who it is/was...I just don't have the time to make a detailed log of every damn phone call I receive every month. This is clearly not a privacy thing, because someone could easily *67 if they wanted that.
B. There is no way for me as a customer to verify all of the incoming calls and their associated minutes - even if I track them and dispute a call, AT&T claims that it "couldn't be wrong" because of some kind of verification technology their digital phones supposedly have. I've already had this happen to me twice, and the service people are clueless / full of it.
One person tells me "Oh, we couldn't track that phone number down even if we wanted to." Yah OK. That ALMOST makes sense. So if some guy is under surveillance by the police and he gets a cell call, you can't tell the warrant-toting cops who it was that called. BULLSHIT.
Another tells me "We can track the number, but it is against federal law for us to put the number on your bill." Again, this makes absolutely no sense, going on the assumption that I'm the only person who uses my phone and hence took all the calls.
C. Does anyone here know of a wireless provider who DOES provide the incoming call phone numbers? This would drive a steak into their evil little skulls if I can verify it....
Can someone help me on this one? I have a mind to start a class action lawsuit, should there be a way to prove they are padding the bills (which I think they are, either by adding minutes legit incoming calls, or by adding imaginary incoming calls that I can't dispute because "they can't be wrong").
As a side note - we have their cable serivce too and they've padded our bill with bogus installation and service fees more than once. I think they've become a borderline unethical / corrupt company again. It's really pitiful.
[ 02-16-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ? ]</p>
Comments
I got a email from them about a month ago saying that they are just going to change all of the emails...!! SO i am going to have to send out a bunch of forwarding notices and all they are offering me for the inconvenience is $250 in realplayer networks games crap (I hate real networks) its worthless...
And I get a call from them today to tell me they are "going digital" so all of my packages (HBO and stuff) is gone and they will be happy to switch me to a digital plan THAT COST MORE! I got digital cable when it first came out with them - when they offered it for $40, but canceled it when I learned how sensitive the boxes are and when they raised the price up too $80... And now they are telling me that either I get the $80 Platinum (most expensive) package or I will lose my extra channels... And their special deal for the inconvenience is the first three months will only cost me $60... twenty dollars more than I am paying now!!!!
I hate AT&T!!!!
My friend had DishTV satalite system installed yesterday and all I can say is "OH MY GOD!" even platinum cable service is "shite" compared this DishTV! I Am canceling all my cable extras (I would cancel it altogether if it wasnt for the cable internet service, which I couldnt bare to be without) and getting this next week! Every dam picture is DVD quality and brilliant audio...
------------------------------------
E PLURIBUS UNIX
Thanks for respoding to both of my related AT&T posts Ferro....
[Short time later]
HA! And double-HA! AT&T you F*cking bunch of rat bastards! Seems Voice Stream - by default - lists the number on incoming phone calls...and the Federal Government is NOT after them. Imagine! You lying sacks of dog shit...you're DONE LIKE DINNER, chumps. Lie to me once, I'll ask another rep...lie to me twice and you lose my business.
[ 02-17-2002: Message edited by: Moogs ? ]</p>
I just cannot believe AT&T encourages its cs people to make up stories in order to get customers off their backs. That is so pathetic. And if it's the case that their reps are that poorly trained / educated on the products, that's even MORE pathetic....
<img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" />
<strong>
I just cannot believe AT&T encourages its cs people to make up stories in order to get customers off their backs. That is so pathetic. And if it's the case that their reps are that poorly trained / educated on the products, that's even MORE pathetic....
<img src="graemlins/oyvey.gif" border="0" alt="[No]" /> </strong><hr></blockquote>
Hmm, were you talking to actual ATT employess or to somebody at one of their authorized dealers?
<img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
We signed up for the 3 month free offer because we needed a dial up connection, and the guy told us that on such a date we'd have to cancel or else wed be billed for a month. We ask the usual "So as long as we cancel on that day were ok?" and the guy confirms that we just have to cancel durring working hours. So the day before that date (to be safe, leaving it to the last minute often causes... unfortunate occurances) we called up to cancel.
"Im sorry, all lines are down at the moment, we are undergoing technical difficulties"
We tried again a couple times throughout the day and then say "Oh screw it, well cancel tomorrow (its not too late, right? right?)"
So we call up and they so politely inform us that we had to cancel by the day before (when the lines were down) and that we have to pay the $30.
We test everything out, try to cancel it on our credit cards, everything, but none of it works.
Actually in the end we switched to their cheapest plan ($9) so that wed only have to pay that, then called up later and cancelled that.
Another one was with Earthlink, where, after using them for months, they snuk a clause into their contract with us which charged us by the minute for internet use. "Its because your not in the states" they said.
Bull shit.
It cost us over $100 that month.
Needless ot say we cancelled and havent gone back. Signed up for a local ISP which was WAY better (faster, got insane speeds on my 28.8) and then moved to cable as soon as it was available.