AT&T Robbery Aurora Colorado
We stopped AT&T phone service one year ago when we rolled phone into internet and cable bundled service. My wife was hospitalized at Menninger Clinic (mental health) in Houston at the end of Oct. She couldn't use cell phone and hadn't purchased a phone card, but remembered our AT&T calling card number. She made 56 calls, the bulk of them
I got a bill from AT&T for $840. I called to complain. The first customer service rep said they made a mistake and the card number shouldn't have worked since we didn't have service, but he wouldn't reduce the charge. I called two subsequent times and asked to talk to their supervisor. That fellow would only reduce it to $357 if I switched back to AT&T long distance. I told him that was outragous since the calls were only worth $50 max and that we didn't have any contract with AT&T. I asked to talk to his supervisor and he indicated that there wasn't anyone above him to talk to. I asked to talk to whoever set policy and he refused. He said they don't take calls.
Our bill was due the 18th. A collection agency called Christmas Eve.
Paul
Great Falls, Montana
U.S.A.
3 Updates & Rebuttals
Striderq
Columbia,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Let's see...
#4Consumer Comment
Sat, December 29, 2007
First of all I'm sorry to hear of your wife's hospitalization. I hope she is doing well.
Most cards have a minimum minute charge per call, so a call of less than 1 minute might still be charged at say 3 minutes. Also the hospital in Houston, home in Montana, so most calls were probably long distance with that charge.
Should the number have worked, no. However since it did and the calls were made, I'm not sure you're going to be able to not pay them. Seems a little fast to contact a collection agency, but if you indicated that you weren't going to pay then I'm not surprised they did so this quickly.
Good luck in resolving this.
Striderq
Columbia,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Let's see...
#4Consumer Comment
Sat, December 29, 2007
First of all I'm sorry to hear of your wife's hospitalization. I hope she is doing well.
Most cards have a minimum minute charge per call, so a call of less than 1 minute might still be charged at say 3 minutes. Also the hospital in Houston, home in Montana, so most calls were probably long distance with that charge.
Should the number have worked, no. However since it did and the calls were made, I'm not sure you're going to be able to not pay them. Seems a little fast to contact a collection agency, but if you indicated that you weren't going to pay then I'm not surprised they did so this quickly.
Good luck in resolving this.
Striderq
Columbia,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Let's see...
#4Consumer Comment
Sat, December 29, 2007
First of all I'm sorry to hear of your wife's hospitalization. I hope she is doing well.
Most cards have a minimum minute charge per call, so a call of less than 1 minute might still be charged at say 3 minutes. Also the hospital in Houston, home in Montana, so most calls were probably long distance with that charge.
Should the number have worked, no. However since it did and the calls were made, I'm not sure you're going to be able to not pay them. Seems a little fast to contact a collection agency, but if you indicated that you weren't going to pay then I'm not surprised they did so this quickly.
Good luck in resolving this.