I just recently found out my husband's cell phone which was AT&T here
in TX Collin County area was switched over to Alltel without
notification.
We received a $1100 phone bill. All calls including local was charged
for roaming at .99 a minute. Do you have any contact info on who we
can contact about this? We have tried calling the number on the bill
to no avail. No one will discuss it. They will not transfer you to a
manager or someone higher up they state no one is available.
We have contacted Alltel; the account number is not valid with
Alltel. They show no records of my husband being an AllTel customer
and have stated the charges are excessive.
AT&T or Cingular is unwilling stating it is an Alltel problem.
If you have any contact info of someone we can contact would
appreciate it. Otherwise we just will not pay the bill. It will go to
collections.
We would rather not hurt our credit. But if that is what it takes we
will.
This is a total nightmare. Imagine last month's bill was from AT&T for
$49.00, the next month we receive a bill for $1100.00 from AllTel.
Thanks,
Donna Eakins
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: What you describe is a typical thing
since AT&T Wireless went out of business. Much of it went to Cingular
(for example, my AT&T Free to Go prepaid wound up with Cingular) but
I understand other accounts went wherever. I do not know what the
logic was behind that. Can AT&T tell you _why_ the account was sold
to Alltel, and _why_ no advance notice was given? I know that
Cingular 'customer care' is now outsourced to India and _those people_
know absolutely nothing about anything. My (former) AT&T Wireless
(now Cingular Wireless) account was totally screwed up; The 'customer
care' people (now located in India) know nothing except how to ask for
your credit card number and how to say 'no refunds given'. India (my
generic name for 'customer care') even denied I could have any service
at all since 'Cingular has no service in area 620' (southeast Kansas).
I told them my service was out of Wichita, KS area 316 and the dumbos
even told me 'when you get back to Wichita your phone will start
working again.
Please make a note of this address:
Cingular Wireless/AT&T Free2Go
Attention: Management person
Post Office Box 68056
Anaheim Hills, CA 92807
They have no phones there; no email nor fax, or so they claimed when
the India 'customer care' people refused to give me any number to
call. You may wish to write to that address also. I wrote a letter
to them around July 1 demanding the return of the $20 prepayment they
ripped off from me. July 18 I got an answer from them giving the
usual 'no refunds on prepaid service' line. I wrote them back and
said maybe usually no refunds, but in this case _you will make a
refund_ or you will get sued in Small Claims Court. The Montgomery
County courthouse is five blocks up the street from my home, and as
luck would have it, there is a local agent here in town I can give
the legal service to. So its no skin off my nose either way. Even
their agreement with me did not make any provision for _fraud_. I
am waiting now for an answer to that second letter. That post office
box seems to go to something called 'Cingular Wireless/AT&T Free2Go'
correspondence unit. I'll put something here depending on what
response I get back. The first letter back from them was a boiler
plate response, not even signed with any name at all; that is why
my second letter was to 'Attention Management Person'.
In your case my suggestion would be _make copies of all paperwork
Alltel sent you (the invoice for $1100 I assume) showing whatever
account number was assigned to you -- the number Alltel now claims
they do not recognize as an account of theirs -- and ask what is the
meaning of the thing. Send it registered mail. Tell them to find
the proper department for your letter. Ask them if it is true your
cell phone account was sold to (or transferred to) Alltel, and if so
why was no notification given to customers? I assume in Collin
County, Texas there is a _local cellular tower_ and you were paying
local rates (not roaming rates) prior to this fiasco. If so, then
you still should be paying local rates. Offer to send them a check
for whatever your usual bill should be. And _do not worry_ about the
very unlikely event your credit will be harmed any. Frankly put, that
just sounds like a collection bluff. Obviously, document all the
paperwork and keep copies of it. If Alltel wishes to change the terms
of the contract mid-stream, you have a perfect right to get out of
any contract. Please stay in touch and let us know how this is
resolved. You may wish to send copies of this file to the Alltel
corporate office also, which is in Little Rock, Arkansas I think. PAT]
Donna Eakins (daeakins@webbwireless.net)