van@ocsmd.ocs.com (Van Gale) (12/05/90)
I've just had a horrifying experience and need some advice. Around September 21 my wife and I moved into our new house. Since I didn't want call waiting on the modem line, etc., I told her I would take care of contacting C&P for the new service. She then assumed I would contact Contel to disconnect our previous service from the home we were renting. I assumed she would since she was disconnecting the other services. Well, last weekend we received a bill from Contel for several thousand dollars!!!!! Is this horrifying or what? Apparently, someone knew the house was empty, entered the home with their own phone and spent MANY hours calling some 900 date service. My god. What makes this (especially) surprising is that the house was on a (very) remote farm where all the neighbors know each other. In fact, the entire year we lived there we never locked the door. Anyway (aaargh), anybody have a good recommendation? I've already started talking to Contel and they are "investigating." Has this kind of thing happened before? Should I uncross my fingers and head for the lawyers office? Van Gale van@ocsmd.ocs.com
mvanbusk@bcm1a05.attmail.com (12/07/90)
As a billing representative who has investigated many fraud cases my
advice to Mr/Ms Van Gale would be:
1) Ask Contel for a one time goodwill adjustment (assuming they have no
previous claim history).
2) Check with your insurance agent to see if this type of loss is covered
under your homeowners policy.
3) If the first two fail cross your fingers and head for the lawyers
office.
Good Luck!
Mark Van Buskirk Rolling Meadows Il 708-228-7075