sparks@kvue.UUCP (10/13/87)
Recently, my wife and I were contacted by a representative of U.S. Sprint
who informed us that "Sprint One-Plus service is now available in your
area", and asked us to "confirm our address". At no time during the
conversation did the representative ask us to change our direct access LD
carrier to Sprint, nor inform us that she would change our LD carrier, and
we did not agree to such a change.
We immediately contacted a Sprint Customer Service representative at the
800 number, related the story, and asked Sprint not to take any further
action. The rep told us that he would "flag our account" and that Sprint
would _not_ request Southwestern Bell to change our carrier.
We also sent a notarized letter to Southwestern Bell (at Bell's request)
stating that we did not want our direct access LD carrier changed without
our written permission.
However when our next Southwestern Bell invoice came, (about four weeks
later) there was a small note at the bottom of the bill informing us that
our new "Long Distance Carrier of Choice" was now U.S. Sprint. We were
charged $5.00 for the carrier change-over.
Southwestern Bell has agreed to change our LD carrier back to our original
carrier, remove the $5.00 charge from our bill, and back-charge U.S.
Sprint $5.00. When asked why Southwestern Bell ignored my notarized
letter, a SW Bell customer service rep told me that they never received the
letter, and even if they did, it would have been on the wrong form anyway(!)
(They have since sent me the "correct" form to fill out - it had the same
wording as my letter!)
Southwestern Bell referred that situation to their "Specialty Group" for
investigation. I was told this situation is becoming increasingly common
among the various LD carriers.
The Texas Public Utility Commission, while explaining that they had no
regulatory authority over Sprint, told me they had received numerous
complaints regarding this problem, and asked that I sent a formal complaint
to the Texas Attorney General's Office of Consumer Protection.
We have done the following:
Cancelled my service with U.S. Sprint.
Sent SW Bell another letter asking that they not change my LD carrier.
Sent formal complaints, in writing to: The President of U.S. Sprint,
The Austin Better Business Bureau, The Texas AG Office of
Consumer Protection, The FCC Consumer Affairs Division, and
the Texas Public Utilities Commission.
(In the letter to U.S. Sprint, I mentioned that I was posting a
description of their actions to USENET, explaining what it was, and how
many people would probably read this.)
Each of the regulatory agencies will require U.S. Sprint to explain their
actions in this matter, in writing.
I would urge anyone treated like this by their LD carrier to cancel their
service immediately, and complain in writing to the appropriate regulatory
agency. Slimy marketing techniques, like the ones used by U.S. Sprint, can
be eliminated if people complain loudly!
Regards,
Ed
Edward Sparks, KVUE-TV Austin, TX (sparks@kvue.uucp)
{asci1,ihnp4,seismo,gatech,harvard,ctvax,ucbvax}!ut-sally!kvue!sparksjeff@bucc2.UUCP (10/21/87)
> [story of Sprint causing unauthorized LD carrier change] > > Southwestern Bell has agreed to change our LD carrier back to our original > carrier, remove the $5.00 charge from our bill, and back-charge U.S. > Sprint $5.00. That was nice of SW Bell. My LD carrier had been Teleconnect for quite a while when suddenly one day (with absolutely no prior communication) I received a bill from AT&T, and a $5 charge for LD carrier change from Illinois Bell. When I questioned the friendly people at Illinois Bell, they told me that AT&T had requested the change. Despite as much fuss as I was up to generating at the time, they refused to refund the $5, and then had the gall to charge me ANOTHER $5 to change it back to the way I wanted it in the first place. I eventually got my $10 back from AT&T, but that took many, many complaints, and about 8 months.