ehopper@ehpcb.wlk.com (Ed Hopper) (10/29/90)
I was slammed by US Sprint a few years ago (1986). I noticed it when the line quality went down and I couldn't reach certain 201-221 numbers (the AT&T puzzle palace in Basking Ridge, NJ) from my home phone. I got suspicious. I called the 700 number for carrier validation and, lo and behold, received the message "Thanking you for choosing US Sprint". I immediately called SWBT. They had a record of a change of primary carrier from AT&T to US Sprint issued by Sprint. Yes, they would switch me back ASAP, for free. I then called AT&T (800-222-0300) and told them about it. Finally I confronted Sprint. I called and after an interminable ACD delay, got to a rep. I asked her to put her boss on the line at the outset as I wanted things that she wasn't, I was sure, authorized to do. I also wanted to yell at a manager, not a peon. When the manager came on, I told him that his company had goofed, would he please make it right. I advised him I was an AT&T employee. As such I had a certain amount of free LD as a company benefit. By slamming me, US Sprint was expecting me to pay for what would normally be free. Additionally, several of my calls (I had been on Sprint for about a week) were work related. AT&T would also pay for those, but ONLY if they were made on AT&T. I advised him that I had no intention of paying for ANY of the Sprint calls. Would he please write them off and also make sure I was switched back to AT&T. I got very little hassle out of them. They agreed to all I wanted and wrote off all charges. Quite frankly, if all slammees would insist on not paying for slammed calls AT ALL, I think the practice would stop. After all, the charges for LD calls are ill-gotten gains and I believe that an IXC would have a hard time substantiating them. Just follow the practice of screaming loudly, rationally (don't curse) and highly (keep insisting on the next level up when you get a "no"). To this day, I call 1-700-555-4141 once a month to make sure that I am still on my preferred carrier. Ed Hopper AT&T Computer Systems