Patrick_A_Townson@cup.portal.com (09/30/88)
This discussion about the use of an AT&T Credit Card at the local telco level is confusing to me. I do not think, strictly speaking, there is any such thing as an "AT&T Card" or a "Sprint FONcard", etc. What there *is* is PINS, or Personal Identification Numbers, which are programmed into the computers of the various local telephone companies which indicate that the person using the PIN has established credit with some telephone company somewhere. The design on the front of the card, whether it be AT&T, Sprint, or the very attractive one I have which says "Illinois Bell Credit Card" is merely an advertisement for the company which set up the account. The PIN is assigned and maintained at the local telephone company level, regardless of the issuing carrier. How else could the local switch process your calls? Your card from AT&T/local Bell can be used both for local calls and interstate long distance calls. For example, let's say you have a card issued by Sprint. The only thing that makes this different than the one you got from AT&T is the PIN on the end, is it not? If you go to a pay phone and place a credit card call, and insert that PIN on the end, the call will go through, even if the payphone itself defaults to AT&T (assuming you are using the payphone which belongs to the local telco.) If you make a local call in the community, using the credit card you are going to be billed by the local telco for the call on the number associated with the FONcard. I can see two possible problems which is causing Correspondent to get his billing requests rejected. If he is using a phone which defaults to Sprint, then he should note that dialing "0" will fetch the local telco operator but dialing "00" will fetch the Sprint operator. In most areas, to make a credit card call -- local area or long distance -- you do NOT one plus the number, but rather you zero plus the number, meaning it may be the Sprint Operator who is getting the AT&T billing number and refusing it, rather than the local telco operator. Another possibility is that the PIN, while valid, was somehow never installed in the computer of the local telco he is using. It does happen sometimes that small local telcos make mistakes, just like the Bells make mistakes. In other words, they are telling him they will not accept the billing, not because they do not accept AT&T, but rather, because the PIN appears to them to be invalid. I think the only way to solve this for our Correspondent is with specifics about the calls, etc. Perhaps he will send email to me with the following specific information -- 1. What area code and number are you calling FROM? Always the same one? 2. What area code and number are you trying to call? Always the same one? 3. Tell me exactly, digit by digit, what you dial. Do not assume I know the appropriate dialing sequence, etc.. 4. Do you know the name of the local telephone company serving you? 5. Have you tried the card from within the territory of some other telco? 6. Have you discussed this with AT&T, and asked them specifically if the PIN was valid, or if there was some problem? 7. Does the local telco accept calls via 10288-1-AC-NUMBER? What happens when you attempt to put the call through that way? I feel rather certain Correspondent is not being victimized by some local telephone company nearly as much as he is being victimized as all of us are by the massive confusion caused when Judge Greene made the 'right choice' a few years ago. I would refer Correspondent to my own story, posted here a few months ago entitled, "We Get Our New PIN" for information on how the phone companies and AT&T manage to mess this up. Patrick_A_Townson@cup.portal.com.uucp [Actually, only ATT has access to the PIN database (and of course the local companies). The other carriers make the PIN up. That's why you can't use your sprint FONCARD when placing an ATT call. If the PIN database included SPRINT (and SPRINT had the appropriate cross-billing agreement with ATT), then you wouldn't need to have calling cards for each carrier. --jsol]