3000.00 PHONE BILL, HELP!!!
kim shaffer
My mother, bless her computer ignorant soul, just purchased a computer
for Christmas and managed to sign up with ATT WorldNet Services for her
ISP. Unfortunately, she chose a long-distance access number thinking
all she had to choose was a number in her state. I know, I know.....
god, I have been on the phone with her all night. I work in the
computer industry and I was proud of her for doing this by herself I
didn't even think to check what number she was using, I feel so
guilty...... She said that after she almost dropped dead of the shock,
(she thought she was being scammed by someone who had stolen her phone
card, that is how naive she is.....) she called her phone provider - who
referred her to ATT. The person at ATT said she probably would not have
to pay - but I am so worried!!! ATT is her long distance provider - US
West is her local something and she goes through a small rural telephone
company - PTI out of Forks, Washington. I swear I have always thought
that these were bad horror stories that only happened in suburbia
jokes....... has anyone heard of this before????? HELP! I am in total
shock over this whole thing myself.......
PLEASE RESPOND BACK!
kimberley
--
Kimberly Shaffer
http://www.bellydance.net
http://home1.gte.net/~pcbunny
http://www.geocities.com/paris/4373
Justa Lurker
On Sun, 15 Feb 1998 12:18:43 -0800, in comp.dcom.telecom.tech, kim
shaffer <pcb...@gte.net> wrote:
| My mother, bless her computer ignorant soul, just purchased a computer
| for Christmas and managed to sign up with ATT WorldNet Services for her
| ISP. Unfortunately, she chose a long-distance access number thinking
| all she had to choose was a number in her state. I know, I know.....
I'm not sure I I should believe this or not, but it is not AT&T's
fault that mom set up the wrong number for service, or that she
managed to rack up $3000.00 in one month (200 hrs at 25c a minute,
about six hours a day unless her rates are higher).
Feel happy to get any sort of refund, credit, etc. from the phone
company, but don't expect it. This was not a 'pay per call' scam,
this was a customer mistake.
(The only reason why I have any belief in the post is that there
was not a request for donations.)
JL
kim shaffer
I assure you I am a real person and this really happened. I simply cannot
believe that because of mistake on a computer illiterate person they would
actually be charged 3000.00. This really happened in a small town called
Forks, and I posted to this newsgroup in the hopes that someone would tell me
that perhaps this actually happened and they had a happy outcome to the
story. Put yourself in my position and maybe you can have a little more
sympathy. I post to several newsgroups on the database programming side and
I have never come across unkindness or the type of cynicism I see in your
remark to me.
If you don't have any direct experience with this type of situation, don't
say anything at all, if all you can say is something mean.
kimberly shaffer
kimberly...@pgn.com
Justa Lurker wrote:
--
Robb Topolski
kim shaffer wrote in message <6c7qkq$j6b$1...@gte1.gte.net>...
>I assure you I am a real person and this really happened. I simply cannot
>believe that because of mistake on a computer illiterate person they would
>actually be charged 3000.00.
I'd love to tell you what you apparently want to hear, but I cannot.
At 15c a minute, she's online over 11 hours a day, every day, to get that
kind of bill. Wow!
Call the long distance company and beg. But if you take the position that
they're the bad guys because they are charging you for calls you make,
you're not going to get anywhere.
Robb Topolski
Terry Kennedy
kim shaffer <pcb...@gte.net> writes:
> I assure you I am a real person and this really happened. I simply cannot
> believe that because of mistake on a computer illiterate person they would
> Forks, and I posted to this newsgroup in the hopes that someone would tell me
> that perhaps this actually happened and they had a happy outcome to the
> story. Put yourself in my position and maybe you can have a little more
> sympathy. I post to several newsgroups on the database programming side and
> I have never come across unkindness or the type of cynicism I see in your
> remark to me.
If you haven't followed this group for some time, then you wouldn't know that
there have been several attempted scams: "I've got this huge phone bill, can
you please send me some money to help me out?".
Unfortunately, the facts of this case don't seem to be in dispute - you agree
that the calls were made, so there aren't any "loopholes" that people here can
help you with - your best bet is to talk to the carrier and explain that it was
an honest mistake and won't happen again. They may choose to write off some or
all of the bill for goodwill purposes. At the very least they should offer some
sort of time payment program.
Terry Kennedy Operations Manager, Academic Computing
te...@spcvxa.spc.edu St. Peter's College, Jersey City, NJ USA
+1 201 915 9381 (voice) +1 201 435-3662 (FAX)
Ted Potter
Sorry to say but I ran into someone with the same problem. Most of the
area where I live is serviced by PacBell. However one town is held by
GTE.
Not knowing this, the ISP gave an access number that for the rest of
the county would have been a local flat rate call. GTE however had
this number as an local long distance call (sorry I do not know the
exact terminology for this type of call).
While they did not ring up a bill in the thousands they were paying
something like $150.00 to $200.00 a month for the calls, and of course
the monthly ISP charge.
Hopefully ATT will offer some financial relief and perhaps pushing the
issue both up the corporate ladder and via publicity will result in
some relief. GTE simply did not flinch while holding out it's cold
corporate hand for payment.
I would pursue these avenues for seeking relief. Why not send it the
story to Hard Copy - they might take it up.
Also use the local newspaper/tv/radio to publish the situation.
On Sun, 15 Feb 1998 12:18:43 -0800, kim shaffer <pcb...@gte.net>
wrote:
>My mother, bless her computer ignorant soul, just purchased a computer
>for Christmas and managed to sign up with ATT WorldNet Services for her
>ISP. Unfortunately, she chose a long-distance access number thinking
>all she had to choose was a number in her state. I know, I know.....
>god, I have been on the phone with her all night. I work in the
>computer industry and I was proud of her for doing this by herself I
>didn't even think to check what number she was using, I feel so
>guilty...... She said that after she almost dropped dead of the shock,
>(she thought she was being scammed by someone who had stolen her phone
>card, that is how naive she is.....) she called her phone provider - who
>referred her to ATT. The person at ATT said she probably would not have
>to pay - but I am so worried!!! ATT is her long distance provider - US
>West is her local something and she goes through a small rural telephone
>company - PTI out of Forks, Washington. I swear I have always thought
>that these were bad horror stories that only happened in suburbia
>jokes....... has anyone heard of this before????? HELP! I am in total
>shock over this whole thing myself.......
>
>PLEASE RESPOND BACK!
>
>kimberley
>
David Lesher
tpo...@tedshome.com (Ted Potter) writes:
>Sorry to say but I ran into someone with the same problem. Most of the
>area where I live is serviced by PacBell. However one town is held by
>GTE.
The more I read the more I love the solution here in MD.
If you dial 10D, it is never ever a toll call.
If it's toll, you MUST dial 11D.
You *optionally* can dial 11D on local calls.
With new prefixes & NPA's emerging daily [we just added 2 NPA's;
parts of which are local] and no way to know what rate zone they
are in, this is not a luxury, it's essential...
--
A host is a host from coast to coast.................wb8foz@nrk.com
& no one will talk to a host that's close........[v].(301) 56-LINUX
Unless the host (that isn't close).........................pob 1433
is busy, hung or dead....................................20915-1433
Christopher J. Pilkington
David Lesher wrote:
> If you dial 10D, it is never ever a toll call.
> If it's toll, you MUST dial 11D.
> You *optionally* can dial 11D on local calls.
>
> With new prefixes & NPA's emerging daily [we just added 2 NPA's;
> parts of which are local] and no way to know what rate zone they
> are in, this is not a luxury, it's essential...
I still prefer our region, Long Island, New York (516).
There are virtually* no toll calls in our NPA. Virtually* all parts of
516 are in the New York Metro LATA, along with all of 212, 718, 917 and
much of 914!
(* Fisher's Island has a single NXX in the 516 NPA. It is it's own LATA.
However, it is almost unpopulated.)
Scott Shattles
This may be your lucky day.
The company I work for has remote users in the field dial into
AT&T worldnet for access to our system. They were chosen
because they are country wide and they also provide our
LD service. For fee of 4.25 an hour users anywhere in the country
can get to our system. Great! Here is your loophole. Part of our
agreement is to disconnect idle users after 20 minutes and
be able to tell us who used how much time. They are not capable
of doing either. Just tell your LD provider that mom understood
she would be dropped (to save precious bandwidth) and ask why
she wasnt. Im quite sure your troubles will be over.
Good luck!
Scott
wb8...@netcom.com (David Lesher) wrote:
>tpo...@tedshome.com (Ted Potter) writes:
>
>
>>Sorry to say but I ran into someone with the same problem. Most of the
>>area where I live is serviced by PacBell. However one town is held by
>>GTE.
>
>The more I read the more I love the solution here in MD.
>
Mark J. Cuccia
Christopher J. Pilkington wrote:
> David Lesher wrote:
>
> > If you dial 10D, it is never ever a toll call.
> > If it's toll, you MUST dial 11D.
> > You *optionally* can dial 11D on local calls.
> >
> > With new prefixes & NPA's emerging daily [we just added 2 NPA's;
> > parts of which are local] and no way to know what rate zone they
> > are in, this is not a luxury, it's essential...
>
> I still prefer our region, Long Island, New York (516).
>
> There are virtually* no toll calls in our NPA. Virtually* all parts of
> 516 are in the New York Metro LATA, along with all of 212, 718, 917 and
> much of 914!
>
> (* Fisher's Island has a single NXX in the 516 NPA. It is it's own LATA.
> However, it is almost unpopulated.)
Unfortunately the first part of this thread hasn't yet appeared on our
news-server (if it ever will). Yes, I _could_ look up the earlier part of the
thread on Deja-News...
But if you are calling between the eastern tip of Long Island (not Fisher's
Is) and Nassau County L.I. (just outside of Queens), both in NPA 516 and also
in the NYC Metro LATA, isn't that considered an inTRA-LATA toll call? I
really doubt that NYTel/NYNEX/BA is billing that as a 'flat-rate local' call.
Even if it is a zoned message-unit call, I assume that it would be a rather
high multi-unit call.
I like the way Maryland has implemented the dialing schemes (as Dave Lesher
points out). A 1+ _required_ on station toll calls, dialed with all
ten-digits (NPA+seven-digits), _permissable_ on local calls when dialed with
all ten-digits (i.e. adjacent/nearby NPA local calls, overlay situations with
local, and even permissive on home-NPA local calls whether or not an overlay
is persent). But local area (either free monthly-flat-rate or zoned/measured
under a certain locally-defined price threshold), IMO should never 'require'
a 1+. In dense metro areas where overlays, IMO, _should_ be introduced,
local/free (and 800/888/etc) calls would be the only calls dialable as
'straight' ten-digits.
In Atlanta's overlay, I don't think that local are permissively dialable as
1+ten-digits, but in that super-mega monthly-flat-rate local calling area,
_all_ local calls now _must_ (or at least are supposed to be) dialed as
(straight) ten-digits.
Denver Metro (NPA 303) is presently in a permissive ten-digit local dialing
situation, in preparation for the mid-1998 introduction of the 720 overlay
NPA. Ten-digit local dialing will become mandatory in June 1998. While USWest
isn't really going to announce it, they will try to allow _permissive_
1+ten-digit local dialing to route/bill as 'local' (actually permissive 1+ten
local will route as local, and not bill as toll).
Eventually, ten-digit dialing for all calls, both local and toll, will need
to become the norm in most (if not all) of the NANP. Let's keep (or introduce
where not presently used) some _standard_ toll (or all calling) vs.
"local/free-only" meaning attached to the 1+ or lack of it!
MARK_J._CUCCIA__PHONE/WRITE/WIRE/CABLE:__HOME:__(USA)__Tel:_CHestnut-1-2497
WORK:__mc...@mailhost.tcs.tulane.edu|4710-Wright-Road|__(+1-504-241-2497)
Tel:UNiversity-5-5954(+1-504-865-5954)|New-Orleans-28__|fwds-on-no-answr-to
Fax:UNiversity-5-5917(+1-504-865-5917)|Louisiana(70128)|cellular/voicemail-
Harley McClure
I've had 2 friends both do this, one in USWest territory, one in
Ameritech. Both wound up paying the bill, but the charges seem
extreme, my friends only racked up around $300 each in long distance.
It's hard to beat, since your mom DID use the time, but if the person
she talked to said different, maybe she's luckier than my friends.
Harley
Linc Madison
In article <34E8D025...@yahoo.com>, "Christopher J. Pilkington"
<cpil...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> David Lesher wrote:
>
> > If you dial 10D, it is never ever a toll call.
> > If it's toll, you MUST dial 11D.
> > You *optionally* can dial 11D on local calls.
> >
> > With new prefixes & NPA's emerging daily [we just added 2 NPA's;
> > parts of which are local] and no way to know what rate zone they
> > are in, this is not a luxury, it's essential...
>
> I still prefer our region, Long Island, New York (516).
>
> There are virtually* no toll calls in our NPA. Virtually* all parts of
> 516 are in the New York Metro LATA, along with all of 212, 718, 917 and
> much of 914!
>
> (* Fisher's Island has a single NXX in the 516 NPA. It is it's own LATA.
> However, it is almost unpopulated.)
I seriously doubt that even "virtually all" calls within 516 are local.
If you call from Great Neck to Montauk, it will cost quite a bit more
than calling across the street. I'm sure there are even plenty of toll
calls within Suffolk County, although perhaps not within Nassau County.
The call may be handled by Bell Atlantic/NYNEX, but that doesn't mean
it's not toll.
--
** Do not send me unsolicited commercial e-mail spam of any kind **
Linc Madison * San Francisco, California * Telecom@LincMad-com
URL:< http://www.lincmad.com > * North American Area Codes & Splits
>> NOTE: if you autoreply, you must change "NOSPAM" to "com" <<
David Lesher
"Christopher J. Pilkington" <cpil...@yahoo.com> writes:
>> With new prefixes & NPA's emerging daily [we just added 2 NPA's;
>> parts of which are local] and no way to know what rate zone they
>> are in, this is not a luxury, it's essential...
>I still prefer our region, Long Island, New York (516).
>There are virtually* no toll calls in our NPA. Virtually* all parts of
>516 are in the New York Metro LATA, along with all of 212, 718, 917 and
>much of 914!
All these numbers are FLAT RATE, not metered, uncharged, you use
your term, local calls?
Wow....
Ken Eikert
Mark J. Cuccia wrote:
>
> In Atlanta's overlay, I don't think that local are permissively dialable as
> 1+ten-digits, but in that super-mega monthly-flat-rate local calling area,
> _all_ local calls now _must_ (or at least are supposed to be) dialed as
> (straight) ten-digits.
Generally correct on both counts, although I have found COCOTs that permit
1+10D local dialing. BTW, more than two years after the 404/770 split and
more than a month into mandatory 10D dialing, many Atlanta area businesses
are still running ads that have only 7D numbers listed.