Dave_JOHNSTON%01%SRJC@odie.santarosa.edu (02/13/91)
I hate to bring up slamming again. I think Pat squelched the topic some time ago after it started getting crazy, but I have a story that some of you might be interested in. I came to this job almost a year ago and found our telecom in great need of help. We were using MCI and Pac Bell/ATT WATS and not very efficiently either. A Utility Rate Consortium of which we are a member reached an agreement with Metromedia/ITT for 8.75 cents per minute anywhere within the US. While we don't have huge amounts of LD, it did save us several hundred dollars a month. So we signed up and Pac Bell switched our service in August. We had some initial problems with their billing because they claimed their software couldn't handle our special rate. The Metromedia/ITT employee who made the deal lost their job, BTW. They finally determined they could apply manual credits to resolve their software deficiencies. Well, all went well until January 20th or so when I received a marketing call from AT&T. The salesperson told me we had over $600 on our last AT&T bill and weren't on any of the calling plans. I questioned her about the numbers in question, thinking it was one of our off-site locations who aren't on the Metromedia/ITT contract. However, she informed me that the number in question was our MAIN outgoing group. I called Pac Bell and spoke with our rep. She told me that for some reason AT&T had requested our PIC be changed on 12/31/90. She also told me the record showed the request came from CESAR (the automated system used by LD companies to place LEC orders) but that it didn't show a AT&T contact person's name. I called the rep at AT&T back, explaining the situation. She researched it further. I went through two more people at AT&T and one more at Pac Bell and they all agreed that they couldn't imagine how this could have happened. Their only thoughts were that is must have come from an outside marketing organization. I called AT&T again and very slowly and carefully explained to the original AT&T rep that I expected full credit for the difference between their MTS rate and my normal 8.75 cent rate. She said that they couldn't do it. I pushed to speak with a supervisor and reached an agreement with her that AT&T will credit us the difference from the date of change until the date Pac Bell changed us back, plus pay the $5 per line for both changes. I have yet to actually see the credit, but apparently AT&T is sensitive to slamming, particularly after their legal hassles with MCI. I hope this gives others the courage to stand up for your rights and make LD companies who slam pay for it. Dave Johnston Santa Rosa Junior College johnston@odie.SantaRosa.edu Santa Rosa, CA. Supervisor, Campus Data/Telecom +1 707 527 4853
Jim.Redelfs@iugate.unomaha.edu (Jim Redelfs) (02/17/91)
Dave_johnston%01%srjc@od wrote: > I hate to bring up slamming again. I think Pat squelched the topic > some time ago after it started getting crazy... I don't remember that, sooooooooo... (is that a good enough excuse for another such story?) I am the "friendly, neighborhood phoneman" in Elkhorn, NE - an Omaha CDO. In my immediate area is a service station the does all the service on my company van, as well as sell me the bulk of the gas it uses. Although we've "gone cellular", the performace of my particular setup is such that I occasionally use their drive-up coin station. This particular phone is like a breath of fresh air: It is U S WEST Communications owned (and locally served) and has AT&T for its PIC. Some months ago, I used the station to place a toll call and was "thanked" for using "Acme Long Distance A-Go-Go" (or something)! The information plate on the set still indicated "AT&T" and, knowing that the station owner's wife WORKED FOR AT&T, I was very concerned - as was Howard, the owner! I made a BUNCH of calls (all in the name of good P.R., right?) and the bottom line was that "someone" had placed the order, but that it would be cancelled. The rep at "Acme" couldn't tell me WHO placed the order, nor could U S WEST Communications (my employer). I believe that long distance useage is the most costly consumer service (right up there with credit cards, etc) that can be manipulated with a mere telephone call - frequently (apparently) by most ANYONE! Can you imagine CitiBank slamming VISA accounts from other banks? Although I rarely am in favor of additional, PUC-induced requirements on the industry, I think it is about time the local companies be required voice-verify all PIC changes before implementing them. The cost of this requirement could be recoverd by appropriately raising the Service Order Charge - which is frequently "covered" by the enticing toll company. Failing this, I think the net cost increase would be very minimal, once the slamming stops. Billing Error repairs probably cost the system as much (or more) than half the physical plant repairs that *I* make. Jim Redelfs Copernicus V1.02 Elkhorn, NE [200:5010/666.14] (200:5010/2.14)