Gollapudi Pramod <pyg@pc.usl.edu> (06/09/91)
Since January of this year, AT&T has been billing me $0.00 for long distance usage of their services. I called in to report the error and asked for verification as I share my apartment with three others and there is no way of knowing how much I should bill each one for their usage. (The billing name is mine). The representatives always told me 'This is what our computers indicate'. South central Bell, through whom their billing is routed, said they only collect what AT&T charges and so I should discuss with AT&T. When I finally disconnected the services in May, I was sent a whopping four figure bill which dated back to calls from previous months. There are significant errors on the bill (will elaborate later) and when asked for an explanation, AT&T could not provide satisfactory answers. Previously, (in September) when my charges exceeded $250, I was sent a notice saying that I should pay up or my services would be disconnected. So what were they doing now when my bills were running so high ??!! When asked why I was not contacted sooner and sent a notice, they said they don't have to do so. They insist that it is a case of 'late billing'. Why establish a credit limit or collect deposits when you don't adhere to policies?? To quote a few discrepancies, A New Orleans number begins with 04xxxxxxx when it should have been 504xxxxxxx. When questioned, AT&T answered, the five could have fallen off or there is a printing error. If a '5' could have fallen off in one place, isn't it possible that it could be added elsewhere? Two calls have been registered to the same number, starting at the same time, for different amounts of time. They did give me credit for the call, but isn't it an error? Some international calls appear with a '0' appended at the end in some places, with a '00' appended at the end in some other places and appear with the right number in some places. Please note that the same number is being talked about. When questioned, no convincing answers! If a portion of the billing is suspect, doesn't it make the whole thing suspect ?? Although I am willing to pay up for calls that I have made, or for that matter, any correctly billed calls originating from my number, I need answers to these questions. Any suggestions, comments welcome on how I should handle the situation. Pramod. pyg@pc.usl.edu (INTERNET)