IZZYAS1@oac.ucla.edu (Andy Jacobson) (12/15/90)
Two days ago one of my POTS lines was disconnected by GTE California for supposed non-payment. Generally when this happens anywhere else I've encountered, the line still has DC on it, but no dial tone. All incoming calls reach a recording explaining that the number has been temporarily disconnected, and you have to go deal with the service office. Here however, GTE does things differently. You have dial tone, and can dial any number you want. As you enter the last digit though, instead of a pause or a ring (if the same switch), you instantly get this stern but mellow low key recording saying something to the effect that "Your number has been temporarily disconnected. Please call the GTE billing office at 1- 800-223-6177" Click. Dialing in to my number, you get the standard GTE "The number you have reached is not in service, please check the number ..." No mention of it being temporary, or ever having been in service for that matter. Well I tried a few things out. You can call 611, and also get your number read back to you (1223), but you can't call 0, 411, or any seven or 10 digit number except the one for their billing office. I decided to try 611, as they seem to have access to at least read your service records, and they don't suffer from additude problems like the service office people. The operator explained that I could also have gotten 911 if needed, and explained they have been doing things this way for at least four years. When he explained the problem, and I explained that the bill had been paid promptly, over two weaks before (I got no warning written or otherwise that there was any problem at all). He seemed to actually believe me! "...Um....er....can you hold on a minute?...." After a brief delay, he returned and said the problem had been taken care of and said the service would be back on by 8:00 pm. It was 5:00 at the time, and it was back on by 6:30. No further explanation. Though I found it interesting to deal with GTE's sort of soft disconnect, I wonder how many people get put through this by them. Maybe they're fishing for added revenue with reconnect charges. I really think common carriers should be licensed by the FCC like broadcasters are. If they were subject to periodic license renewal reviews, both technical and operational, they would probably have quite a different additude about performance for their captive customers. Andy Jacobson<izzyas1@oac.ucla.edu> or <izzyas1@UCLAMVS.bitnet> [Moderator's Note: I've never had my phone disconnected in that manner, but IBT leaves battery on the line and nothing else. You can always distinquish a credit disconnect from other types here by the intercept message. For a credit disconnect the message says, "The number you dialed, ABC-DEFG has been temporarily disconnected." If the temporary disconnect is due to a customer request, then the phrase "at the customer's request" is prepended to the above message. PAT]
IZZYAS1@oac.ucla.edu (Andy Jacobson) (12/20/90)
Just a brief addendum to my note in Vol. 10, #883: I had a chance to play with this non-payment disconnect a little further with a friend's line. It seems that calls are not limited to one number, but to two 800 prefixes. You can call to 800-223, and 800-482, which are both used as far as I can tell only by GTE for various customer service type lines (local in NPA 213). From what I surmise from talking to reps at the residential service office, the customer service numbers are and handled by some kind of ACD, and translated to regular seven digit numbers at the locations of their various service centers. For West L.A./Santa Monica, its in prefix 310, (which is definitely used only by GTE, kind of like 312-727 with IBT). You can not call these directly as 310- XXXX, only as the 800 numbers. You can get ring back (195n-nnnn), and as mentioned previously, you can get your number read back to you (1223) and call 611, 911 (supposedly), but not 411, or any operator. Our esteemed Moderator writes: >intercept message. For a credit disconnect the message says, "The >number you dialed, ABC-DEFG has been temporarily disconnected." If the >temporary disconnect is due to a customer request, then the phrase "at >the customer's request" is prepended to the above message. PAT Not that I need to reinforce the sleaziness of GTE's image, but when you disconnect, move, or change your number they will _not_ put a "The number you dialed, ABC-DEFG has been ... " type message on your line at all unless you beg and plead with them, (They strongly discourage this sort of thing), and then you only get thirty days. If you raise absolute hell, you might get sixty days, but that's only for the extremely persistent. You can get more of course, but they charge you a price comparable to regular service! When your time is up, no matter how long, you get the "I'm sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service, please check the number and dial again... " recording. When I left Evanston, Il. (IBT) I had a forwarding message on my line (312-492) for _4_years_! I never asked for it, but I sure appreciated it! Andy Jacobson<izzyas1@oac.ucla.edu> or <izzyas1@UCLAMVS.bitnet>