Cingular Wireless

[This is a copy of a complaint I sent to the FCC. i was not able to cc

Cingular because their website is so abominably difficult to use, I

could not get to an email form. I kept getting referred to call

customer service, which previously had done nothing to help.]

Dear Mr. Copps,

I am writing to you as a consumer and as an attorney. Our family has

three Cingular cell phones. We recently upgraded our phones. I was

shocked to get the recent bill. On two of the phones we had downloaded

one ring tone each. When downloading the ringtones, we were advised

that the cost per ring tone was $2.49. However, our bill also

reflected download charges of $4.20 and $3.30, respectively, in

addition to an extra ringtone that was never purchased.

I called customer service and spent about 30 minutes with the customer

service rep trying to figure out how I, as a consumer, could have known

that in addition to the $2.49 for the ringtone, I would need to pay

several dollars extra for the download. Nothing in the customer manual

or the website stated these exhorbitant prices. In addition, Cingular

refused to credit the charges. In my mind, this is like going to the

grocery store to buy a package of pasta. When the credit card shows

up, there is an additional charge for taking the pasta off the shelf

and going through the checkout line that is twice as much as the pasta.

Had I known the true cost of the ringtone, I never would have

downloaded it.

I am urging you to require Cingular to refund these fees. In addition,

Cingular should inform the consumer pre-purchasing what the true cost

of the purchase is.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[LK]

Attorney