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AT&T Long Distance USA Complaint - AT&T Collect Calls - Bogus Charges - Collect Calls
Complaint
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA -- We often receive collect calls from my father-in-law, which we NEVER accept. In February, I received another AT&T collect call, which I promptly declined to accept and hung up my telephone. Within a few seconds, my telephone rang back with a recorded "Thank you for using AT&T" message. It seemed like an odd computer glitch, but I didn't think much of it since I hadn't accepted any collect calls.
Now I have received a bill from AT&T for $15.12 for a one-minute collect call that was never accepted. I contacted AT&T to straighten this out. The first representative told me she could not cancel the charges. I asked to speak with her supervisor, and she hung up on me. I called back again, spoke to another representative and asked to speak with his supervisor. He connected me to Anna, who also told me that AT&T does not cancel charges for collect calls. I asked her if it was AT&T's policy to charge customers for glitches in their system, and she declined to respond. I asked for the name of her supervisor, which she offered as Derrick Neal (although it was hard to tell for sure because she, like the other two reprensentatives I spoke with, did not speak English as their first language). When I asked to speak with Mr. Neal, amazingly he was not in his office, nor did he have a direct number I could reach him at later.
Since it does not seem that AT&T will do the honorable thing here, I am stuck paying for a telephone call I never accepted. While I realize $15 is not a great deal of money, I am furious with AT&T for their refusal to credit me for their mistake. Therefore, I am determined to make sure everyone that I know will be aware of AT&T's unscrupulous policies and terrible customer service. And I am sure that the business they will lose or never receive from my friends and family will definitely be in excess of $15.
Now I have received a bill from AT&T for $15.12 for a one-minute collect call that was never accepted. I contacted AT&T to straighten this out. The first representative told me she could not cancel the charges. I asked to speak with her supervisor, and she hung up on me. I called back again, spoke to another representative and asked to speak with his supervisor. He connected me to Anna, who also told me that AT&T does not cancel charges for collect calls. I asked her if it was AT&T's policy to charge customers for glitches in their system, and she declined to respond. I asked for the name of her supervisor, which she offered as Derrick Neal (although it was hard to tell for sure because she, like the other two reprensentatives I spoke with, did not speak English as their first language). When I asked to speak with Mr. Neal, amazingly he was not in his office, nor did he have a direct number I could reach him at later.
Since it does not seem that AT&T will do the honorable thing here, I am stuck paying for a telephone call I never accepted. While I realize $15 is not a great deal of money, I am furious with AT&T for their refusal to credit me for their mistake. Therefore, I am determined to make sure everyone that I know will be aware of AT&T's unscrupulous policies and terrible customer service. And I am sure that the business they will lose or never receive from my friends and family will definitely be in excess of $15.
Comments:
Posted by Slimjim on 2005-05-03:
Often? I knew someone that would call their parents collect when they needed to be picked up. Game was, parents never accepted, yet still knew it was time to leave. Why would he still call often, if you NEVER accept?
Posted by LegalCollector on 2005-05-05:
Id call your local mental health institution.
Posted by familytravel on 2006-09-01:
I have had ATT for many years now...and about a year ago I was billed for two directory assistance calls, WHICH I NEVER MADE. I was billed about $10.00 for them, and ATT refused to do anything about it. However, I never cancelled my service because they are the cheapest company in my area.
Posted by Goofy3697 on 2006-10-28:
You have the capabilities of disputing any charges on your phone bill. I am in saint Louis, and have suffered the same type of customer no-service. I got my bill once and there was a charge from a long distance carrier what I never heard of. Now, I do not have a long distance carrier on my line (my cell phone takes care of that) and the charge was for $74 and change. It took me over 30 minutes just to get hold of a customer no-service representative to explain my situation. She started to tell me that there was nothing that could be done, but before she could get the words out of her mouth I asked a simple question. "How can you bill me for a service that I do not have?" She still refused to reverse the charge. I immediately demanded her stupid-visor. The stupid-visor fought with me about the charge. I asked "Do you know what this phone number is (210) 821-4105? She asked me "What phone number is that?" I stated that it is the direct number to the main switch board of AT&T and it would not be any trouble to have the office of Mr. Whitacre, the Chairman and CEO, look into the situation and investigate your practices and your improper handling of calls. Furthermore, your whole attitude toward me was totally inappropriate. She stated, "Well, it's my word against yours and who think they will believe?" I stated "Me! Because I am recording this phone call. Your phone system states that this call might be recorded for quality assurance, but never specifies by whom. She had no response. She stated that she would charge the call back to the LD provider and take it off of my bill.
In closing, I would like to state that I still called the office of the president and played the tape for them and gave them my reasoning for doing so. The lady with whom I spoke stated that she has never listened to a customer recorded phone conversation with their customer no-service department. She profusely apologized and applied a $100 credit on my account. I am still with AT&T because I do not have a choice. It is unfortunate that we need to have a phone and it is scary that they know this. Most of the CSRs take advantage of this knowledge ad treat us customers like crap. Their are very few out there that will not take it and we need to put a stop to it.
In closing, I would like to state that I still called the office of the president and played the tape for them and gave them my reasoning for doing so. The lady with whom I spoke stated that she has never listened to a customer recorded phone conversation with their customer no-service department. She profusely apologized and applied a $100 credit on my account. I am still with AT&T because I do not have a choice. It is unfortunate that we need to have a phone and it is scary that they know this. Most of the CSRs take advantage of this knowledge ad treat us customers like crap. Their are very few out there that will not take it and we need to put a stop to it.
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