DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan.edu) (DOUGLAS SCOTT REUBEN) (07/20/89)
Hi all! Since we are seem to be on the topic of US Sprint and the way they deal with calling card fraud, I thought I'd mention a similar experience I had with them. I was a US Telecom "access port" customer. This was before the days of "US Sprint", and we didn't have Equal Access, nor did I want US Tel. as my 1+ company. I signed up so I could use their service when their rates were less than AT&T's, and would use the 950-1033 access port to call via US Tel. I used it for about 5 months, and finally realized that there was so little difference (even 'back' then, 1986) between US Tel and AT&T that I rarely used them. A little while later, I tried using US Tel, yet when I entered my code, I got a message "Your long distance service has been temporarily suspended." So I called Customer Service (a misnomer, I know...:-) ), waited the mandatory 30 minutes on hold, got the usual "It's all your fault" customer service rep, who said "Well, if you didn't use us for 4 months how should WE know that you still were our customer?" (Well, like, just MAYBE you could have used that great network of yours and call me from wherever you are and ASK me if I still wanted US Tel, see??!?) So they re-issue the code to me, and I used it maybe 3 times. Then I get a call from them, saying that "We have turned of your service since we have detected code abuse". So I asked, "Well, to where?" They didn't know. I asked "how many calls?" Same answer. I asked "How *much* is the bill?" No idea. But they *did* know someone was using my code! So I told them to call me back when they knew something more definite, and in the meantime they turned off my code again. (no big loss...) I got a call from them 3 days later saying "Since you didn't use your code number for 4 months, we thought that maybe someone found your card and was making illegal calls..." I asked, "Well, how many were there?" And the guy checks and says "Uhhh..I think 3..." Hmmm...wow...3 calls...fraudulent use! Geee...sounds like a great method for detecting little kiddie hackers to me! (Actually, a great way to get rid of customers, which they did indeed!) Now, 3 years later, I use my AT&T card over 32 times in one hour. This triggers off a "high roller" trouble card (?) at the SNET office back in CT. (I was in California). They called my machine, told me that there was trouble, told me they'd have the numbers that were being called in 24 hours, and told me they would cancel the card until I called back. So I call back on a SATURDAY, get someone at the emergency repair unit, and after explaining it to him for 2 minutes, he understands completely (he was the one who told me they call people who use the "#" sign too frequently "high rollers".) He told me that my SNET/ATT card would be back in service in CT almost immediately, and throughout North America within 3 hours. Now you can draw whatever conclsusions you want from this, however, you may want to note that I spent maybe 3 hours in total dealing with US Tel, while I called COLLECT back to CT and had SNET rectify the problem with my AT&T card in 5 minutes. And they did indeed take the matter quite seriously. They didn't ask me why I made the calls, or have some lame "It's not our fault" excuse. Rather, they handled the matter as if they were embarrassed to bother me so much, and apologized for having to cut off my Calling Card for a while. This is not to say that all my experiences with AT&T have been quite as pleasant, as they have been a bit sloppy in one or two cases. But AT&T has always taken the approach that "the customer is always right", while after plenty of other bad experiences with Sprint, US Tel, and Allnet, I am convinced, that despite whatever extra-perky/cheerful/etc. customer service reps. they have hired since I subscribed to them, their attitude is more like "..and why should WE care about you, anyhow?". And I *don't* work for or in any way have anything to do with AT&T other than being a customer of theirs, so please don't use that as an excuse to flame me! :-) Thanks! -Doug dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu dreuben%eagle.weslyn@wesleyan.bitnet (and just plain old "dreuben" to locals!:-) )