AT&T - long distance billing problems

# 16 for April 16, 2003

Complaints.com received the following on April 15, 2003:

From: Leona Maxwell [Email User]

RE: AT&T - long distance billing problems

April 15, 2003

AT&T Customer Service

I transferred my long distance service from AT&T to Valor Telecom. The long distance service with AT&T was supposed to have been discontinued on 2-13-03.

The program I was on with AT&T required me to pay $12.00 in advance for 120 minutes of long distance at 10 cents a minute.

I received a bill for charges from January 6 to February 5, 2003 from AT&T and it had the $12.00 charge for the next month on it.

I called AT&T on February 24th and told them that I had cancelled this service on February 13th. I was advised to go ahead and pay this bill and they would refund any of the $12.00 fee that was not used between February 5th

and February 13th.

I sent this payment. This bill was due on March 175h and I paid it on February 24th.

I received a letter dated March 13, 2003 from AT&T offering me $35.00 to return to AT&T. I did not return to AT&T. Now, I have received a bill from AT&T saying that I have an unpaid balance due upon receipt in the amount of $14.98, plus the current charge of $12.00 plus taxes for March 6-April 5, 2003. It also included 3 collect calls, which I do not dispute. I did not receive a bill for February 6 to March 5, 2003 and I thought I was through with AT&T until I just received this current bill.

I called AT&T today. I explained my problem to the representative. He advised that since I had two phones and cancelled only the long distance to one phone, the $12.00 charge was still in effect. My second phone is to my computer and I do not make long distance calls on it. I do not even have a phone hooked to that line, only my computer. I never wanted that $12.00 long distance service on that phone and did not understand that it was a part of it and do not believe that it was a part of it. I told them to cancel long distance service on that phone immediately. The cancellation confirmation # is SF3J0415.

I asked to speak with a supervisor, six times. Finally I was asked to hold on and he would try to connect me with a supervisor. I held on as requested and he finally came back and said he was authorized to take the current $12.00 charge off of my bill but not the one for last month (for which I never received a bill anyway). I advised the representative that this was unacceptable and again requested to speak to a supervisor.

I was told that he was unable to do that. I asked for the name and extension number for a supervisor and said I would call back. He said there was no number for a supervisor. At that point, I realized that I was being given the run around and being lied to in addition. It is unbelievable that a supervisor working for AT&T does not have a telephone or a telephone number, or even a name.

What would be acceptable to me is to have all of the charges taken off of this bill except the legitimate ones, the three collect calls plus taxes referring to those charges.

Leona T. Maxwell

Checotah, OK 74426

Email User