Beaten at its own game, AT&T discounts the bill I DON'T owe 'em

Update 5/1/2019 - My savings for not having a phone are now approaching $4,000. 

Update 10/26/2017 - AT&T has further reduced the bill I don't owe 'em - this time to $59.05 -  and the bullying thugs aren't one bit closer to getting one cent outta me. No surprise that a bully like AT&T sponsors LGBTQQIAAP activities. 

Life jus' doesn't get much better. I chose to allow AT&T to discontinue my "service" (rather than be bullied into paying their fabricated bill) on 5/13/2015, and I've had FUN GALORE ever since. Not to mention the heavenly peace n quiet that comes with not being bombarded by robocalls. Bicycling to use a computer at the library, shopping n running errands along the way, and using a pay phone has worked out FAR better than I ever DREAMED.

But wunna the ABSOLUTE BEST experiences came a few weeks ago when I got a letter from Afni, Inc., wunna AT&T's collection gangs, discounting my "bill" from $118.09 to $64.95. Not that I trust AT&T or its "enforcers," and actually, over the past year and seven months, I haven't gotten many collection letters from any of AT&T's thugs. Once the goons realize I don't have a phone they can incessantly ring, they back off quick.

Ah, the SHEER DELIGHT of sockin' it to a crooked bunch like AT&T, ANOTHER CORPORATE SLOB that thinks it can kick ALL consumers around with impunity. A gang that uses robocalls and charges exorbitant, deceitful fees to force folks to give up their landlines and buy cell phones. Just for the record, AT&T, if there's anything I HATE, LOATH, AND DESPISE, it's a cell phone. And from asking around, it appears that I've got WAY more company than your presstitute mainstream media friends would have the gullible American public believe.

It'll be such a pleasure to send AT&T and their lapdog, the SC Department of Consumer Affairs, links to this post. I'm not givin' AT&T ONE RED CENT, and along the way, I've discerned a few things that I'll take this opportunity to point out.

If anyone owes anyone anything, AT&T owes ME for at least a year's worth of home phone (landline) and Internet for the $34.95 per month CONTRACT they entered into - IN WRITING - with no mention of any additional fees, taxes, etc. At this point, I'm willing to overlook their illegalities and the inconvenience they've caused me, in exchange for the few months they billed me correctly for, only to fire up their nonsense again, which ultimately led to their cutting off my "service" entirely after attempting to intimidate me with extended periods of "partial service." 

Then there's that threatening collection letter they first mailed me, pointing out that unless I forked over the amount they came up with (I still can't figure out how they arrived at it), I would be responsible for attorney fees, court costs, etc. when their fleet of scumballs - er I mean lawyers - took legal action. Of course, once they realized that I was SERIOUS about not having a home phone, and could actually pull it off, their tone got a lot less threatening.

And factor in over a decade's worth of robocalls (the precipitating feature of this whole matter), which had gotten so bad I usually didn't even bother to answer the phone. AT&T owes me an allowance for all the harassment, essentially cutting my "service" in half. 

I have a suggestion, AT&T.

Let's do what you initially threatened to do. Tell your gang of lawyers to file charges, haul me into court, and let's see what a jury of my peers has to say about the bill you cooked up. I'd LOVE to present that e-mail you sent me with the itemized charges guaranteed for a year, neatly summed up, without further ado as a GRAND TOTAL.I'll even act as my own attorney.

So PUT 'EM UP, AT&T. Yer not scared of a 71-year-old and his antique, steel-framed, easy-ridin' 10 speed bicycle... 

ARE YA?

9/14/2017 update - AT&T solicited door to door again last Saturday. Always such a JOY tellin' 'em how much money I've saved - now over $2,800 - and how DELIGHTED I am not watching TV and not having a landline, a cell phone, or home Internet.

5/14/2017 update: TWO YEARS without home phone or Internet and I like it all the more as time goes by. Applying a bit of creativity, including rare use of snail mail, I don't even need pay phones. And that's a good thing, since a dumbed-up American public has permitted crooks like AT&T to eliminate pay phones. So far, I've saved about $2,500 and I've also noticed a decrease in junk mail.

Good riddance, AT&T. No robocalls, I save $80 per month

AT&T plans to throw this rabbit in the briar patch come 5/12 by "permanently" disconnecting my U-verse "service" that they promised me - in writing - for a "Grand Total" of $34.95 per month, then jacked up the price, and I refused to pay. Actually, I view AT&T's high-handed behavior as an opportunity.

For quite some time, I've been concerned not only about a constant barrage of robocalls, but also the fact that I've been spending way too much time sitting in front of my computer. Prolonged sitting isn't good for anyone, neither is the glare from monitor screens. Adding insult to injury, computers tend to be addictive, especially for folks like me who are retired and like to write. I've exchanged one bad habit - watching TV - for another. Fortunately, writing is only one of many interests, and the others cost a lot less than the $80 per month I've been handing over to AT&T.

An extended break in routine is an idea whose time has come, and I look forward to the peace and quiet of not being bothered with robocalls. Never wanted a cell phone, and I refuse to shell out one cent to avoid harassment that greedy, dishonest carriers like AT&T could have eliminated years ago. Things have gotten to the point where I rarely answer my phone. Pay to be harassed? No, thanks.

Last but not least is the satisfaction of not handing over about $200 per year in extra taxes to the corrupt state of South Carolina via the phone-tax scam. Dunno what the state's scumball legislators do with all the revenue they rake in, but they sure don't do anything for consumers. It's been a real hoot watching the South Carolina Attorney General's Office, the so-called Department of Consumer Affairs, and AT&T squirm after I obtained written evidence of AT&T's false advertising and insisted that all communications to "resolve" my complaint with Consumer Affairs be done by e-mail. AT&T and Consumer Affairs - bullies that they are - thought they could force me to go "off record" by AT&T constantly ringing my phone a ridiculous number of times, about 85 on at least one occasion.

America has fallen prey to a government - Repukes n Demagogues alike - owned by unscrupulous corporations. The situation is propped up by a cowardly, brain-dead public that accepts anything dished out by this warmongering, police-state oligarchy and its presstitute mainstream media. Just for the record, I don't blog under any illusion that my efforts will change a thing. Really, folks: I just enjoy speaking the truth.

Will using library computers and pay phones work out? I dunno. It'll be quite a change, but it's worth a try, especially when ya factor in the $80 per month I'll be saving. Considering what I've refused to pay AT&T, I'll come out of the starting gate at least $330 ahead.

Let the game begin.

Update 5/12/2015 - At least for the time-being, I still have partial access to the Internet. I've been without phone service for almost a month, and robocalls have continued, along with efforts by AT&T to contact me by phone instead of e-mail. AT&T is now billing me for $183.76, and I've updated the SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs, encouraging them to refer this matter to the appropriate authorities for an investigation of AT&T for fraudulent business practices.  

Update 5/13/2015 - Speaking of fraudulent business practices, AT&T and other carriers have been scamming customers with unauthorized charges, $50-70 million settlement reached this week with Sprint and Verizon. Kansas Attorney General said it well: "Consumers have a right to know what services they are signing up for and to be clearly informed about the cost of those services." 

Update 6/19/2015 - AT&T disconnected my "service" on 5/13/2015. So far so good without home phone or Internet. KNOWING my phone ain't gonna ring is jus' flat out DELICIOUS, and I have no shortage of better things to do than sit in front of a computer all day. Hope to publish a blog post about how things have been going - in the meantime, here's to PEACE and QUIET. :-)

Update 7/1/2015 - It wuzza hoot seein' AT&T get fined millions (drop in the bucket for 'em, of course) for misleading customers. Thang of it is, AT&T's customers should be reimbursed.

AT&T promotes government tax scam

No wonder AT&T deceitfully quoted me a "Grand Total" and made no mention of taxes and surcharges. These exorbitant fees are quietly levied by crooked, cash-strapped state governments, amounts vary from state to state, and it's a matter that neither phone companies nor legislators wanna talk about. From their point of view, it's best if the public can be duped and cowed into "just paying" phone bills without further ado. Sucker 'em in with misleading rate quotes, then tack on exorbitant charges when bill time rolls around. Exorbitant indeed. In my case, the additional charges amounted to about 50 percent of the rate I was promised.

Last thing the culprits want is news headlines that might cause an overtaxed citizenry to reflect on how they're being ripped off. That explains why so-called news media in my area and elsewhere have turned a blind eye to AT&T's outrageous bait and switch marketing ploy, and why the South Carolina Attorney General's Office quickly referred me to the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs, a toothless agency limited to "facilitating a resolution" of disputes with businesses.

My situation doesn't really constitute a "dispute" at all. It constitutes a simple, straightforward case of the marketing ploy known as bait and switch. The reason nothing is being done to stop crooks like AT&T is due to the nature of this corporate-controlled government and a paid-off mainstream media. If I hadn't lucked out and managed to obtain written confirmation of the rate I was promised, I wouldn't have ever attempted to confront the power structure's deceitful effort to soak people for extra revenue. Trying to downplay taxes, surcharges, fees, etc. is bad enough, but when there's no mention of such charges, even in general terms, and a rate is touted in writing as a "Grand Total," it becomes fraud, pure and simple.

It wuzza hoot the way AT&T "mistakenly" overbilled me about $165 when I got my first statement for U-verse, and then gradually - as I complained - lowered the amount down to an additional $17 in an effort to dupe me into thinking "Wow - look how much AT&T has reduced my bill," when in fact, of course, AT&T was increasing my bill from the $34.95 per month I was promised to a whoppin' $52 per month. The absurd ploy was even emblazoned on my account in the form of a graph. Along the way, billing amounts have inexpicably changed several times, raising questions about exactly how AT&T "computes" these additional charges.

AT&T's nauseating degree of gall evidences how utterly corrupt this government - Repukes and Demagogues alike - has become, and how powerless consumers are when confronted with corporate fraud. Likewise for AT&T claiming (I got it in writing in an e-mail) that they "couldn't calculate" the additional charges. Never mind, of course, that they have no problem "calculating" such charges when bill time rolls around. The person I communicated with in their president's office never did get around to offering a reasonable explaintion of the company's glaring misuse of the term "Grand Total," and I wasn't surprised that AT&T balked at my insistence on communicating only by e-mail. Nor was I surprised that the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs tried to persuade me to communicate with AT&T on the phone instead of by e-mail. It was a hoot when AT&T stated (here again, I got it in writing in an e-mail) that they would never include those additional charges as part of a "Grand Total." Standard definitions of terminology aside, AT&T apparently thinks folks should agree to buy their products wihout knowing how much they cost.

Isn't it a shame when government aligns itself with crooked corporations like AT&T, Toyota, GM, etc. ad nauseum in an effort to pump ill-gotten gain into corporate coffers? The "phone-tax and surcharge" scam bears stark similarity to the Homeowners Association (HOA) scam, whereby crooked legislators allow neighborhood gangs to bully homeowners into handing over what amounts to extra taxes.

I quit voting over a decade ago, and the fact that elected officials are beholden to crooks like AT&T epitomizes my reasons for refusing to participate in this corporate-controlled sham of an electoral system. It's gotten to the point where we don't even have a free press in this country. Americans are confronted with a pervasively crooked power structure - tyranny is the word - that cannot be remedied at the ballot box.

Update 4/29/2015 - It has now come to light that AT&T's top advertising honcho - Aaron Slator - has been fired, and the company sued, due to a whistleblowing employee exposing racist images she found on Slator's cell phone. Nothin' like pristine, unassailable character when it comes to advertising. Worse yet, racism seems to be a systemic problem within AT&T.

Update 5/3/2015 - check out Time Warner's claim - at least they attach fine-print making vague reference to "additional" charges - of Internet only for $14.99. In South Carolina, that quietly prompts a tax - er I mean "surcharge" - of about 40%, increasing the monthly fee to around $21.00. 

Update 4/9/2015 - Not surprised that South Carolina's Attorney General - the son of Congressman Joe Wilson - is embroiled in controversy over his dismissal of a Special Prosecutor charged with investigating public corruption in the South Carolina legislature. Maybe he should hand the investigation over to the South Carolina Dept. of Consumer Affairs...

AT&T tries bait and switch

4/3/2018 update: AT&T illegally disconnected my access to 911 when they permanently disconnected my telephone. Stay tuned.

I'm fed up with the telephone industry, especially AT&T. Robocalls are bad enough - I get two or three per day Monday thru Saturday - and now it's an ongoing, inexcusable effort to force me to pay more for U-verse than I was quoted.

It all began the first few days of last December when I called AT&T to discuss cancelling both my Internet and phone (I have a land line) service. Charges had been runnin' 'bout $72 - $80 per month, and given the constant barrage of robocalls - which had prompted me to generally avoid answering my phone - it just didn't seem worth it.

The lady I spoke with was very nice, seemed sincerely interested in helping me, and wound up quoting me a rate of $34.95 per month for a year if I would sign up for U-verse, which I gladly accepted. When AT&T showed up to install the U-verse, I inquired again about the rate. He quickly confirmed what I'd been told, and e-mailed me a copy of the charges (installation and modem fees waived), which ended off with a "Grand Total" of $34.95 per month.

No mention was made verbally or in writing of any addtional charges.

All well and good until charges showed up on my new U-verse account. Initially, I was billed for over $200, but after several online chat conversations with AT&T, that was gradually reduced to a little over $52 per month. AT&T dug their heels in for the $52 per month, and the online chats got somewhat less than cordial. 

ALWAYS - I repeat ALWAYS - get it in writing when AT&T specifies charges that you are in agreement with. Had I not obtained written confirmation, it's anybody's guess as to what I would have wound up being charged.

I refused to pay anything unless I was billed for the amount I had been quoted, and the next thing I knew, I got a nasty notice via snail mail advising me that my service would be "temporarily interrupted" the following day unless I forked over the $52 per month. So I immediately filed an online complaint with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.

Good thing I got to Consumer Affairs' website when I did.

Next morning, my phone had been disconnected for all but emergency calls (see 4/3/2018 update). Of course, the robocalls continued, and my Internet usage was restricted to e-mail, Facebook, and, for a short while, Blogger. Attempts to navigate to other websites prompted a nasty, full-screen pop-up berating me to pay the fifty-two bucks. 

I persevered, and it took about a week before Consumer Affairs e-mailed me confirmation that AT&T had agreed to $34.95 per month, and I needed to pay for two months based on that rate. I paid the amount within hours after receiving notification from Consumer Affairs, full service was restored, and I hoped the matter had been resolved.

But alas.

My next bill (the current one) popped up for about $92, and I've again complained to AT&T (Consumer Affairs had given me contact info for someone in AT&T's president's office), with a copy of this latest complaint to the person I initially communicated with at Consumer Affairs. I e-mailed my complaint Monday, my bill is due on the 27th, and I haven't heard hide nor hair from Consumer Affairs or AT&T.

I can understand errors on the first bill for U-verse. But there's no excuse whatsoever for my service being interrupted for a week. Nor is there any excuse for the same thing starting all over again. This entire matter amounts to nothing more than a bait and switch tactic, with a dose of bullying thrown in for good measure. The 27th will be here soon, and I suppose AT&T plans to once again "temporarily interrupt my service" in an effort to make me accept a higher monthly rate than I was quoted. 

Clean up your act, AT&T.

Update 2/19/2015 - AT&T is developing quite a reputation for bait and switch. The FTC is suing AT&T over the company charging customers for "unlimited" data, then throttling the data. "'Unlimited' means 'unlimited," says the FTC. Someone also needs to tell AT&T that "'Grand Total' means 'Grand Total.'"

Update 2/20/2015 - 
> My tweets with a link to this blog post are being blocked from appearing in Twitter's real-time posts. Likewise re the tweets appearing on my Twitter profile page. Corporate CENSORSHIP in the age of the Internet. My pleasure to expose Twitter and AT&T on Facebook. 
> Who woulda thought? My Facebook posts with a link to this blog post are also being blocked from appearing in real-time. AT&T and their crooked, bullying cohorts don't like it when folks dare to expose AT&T's inexcusable behavior.

Update 2/23/2015 - 
> This morning I heard from the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs advising me that they will once again reach out to AT&T. Stay tuned as consumers get a firsthand look at how AT&T bullies its customers.
> AT&T prefers to argue instead of correcting my bill, realizing, of course, that the so-called South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs has no legal jurisdiction in the matter. Here's a copy of the e-mail I just now sent to Consumer Affairs with a copy to AT&T:

"I didn't speak with AT&T the last time you resolved my complaint, and I complained to Consumer Affairs only after repeated conversations with AT&T. I'm not interested in arguing with AT&T - that's why I contacted Consumer Affairs. 

If AT&T wanted to correct my bill, they would have done so by now - the bill continues to reflect over $90 instead of the $34.95 I was promised - so it appears the situation cannot be resolved through Consumer Affairs.

There's no reason whatsoever - other than a lack of good faith on AT&T's part - that AT&T can't respond to Consumer Affairs' inquiry the same way they did last time, taking action to correct my bill."

> I just love it when crooked corporations like AT&T feign ignorance in an attempt to bully customers into complying with unjust demands. Just now heard from Consumer Affairs with the "news" - who woulda thought? - that AT&T sees nothing wrong with my current bill for over $90. Consumer Affairs wants me to have yet another verbal exchange with AT&T, when the facts of my case have been clear to AT&T since the first part of last December. I refuse to be baited in such a manner. Toothless state "Consumer Affairs" departments - looking out for business interests instead of consumers - are part of the problem when it comes to crooked corporations. I never expected much when I contacted the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs to begin with.

> I understand, AT&T: Crooked corporations and their stooges in state government would rather not converse in writing. Sure am glad I lucked out and got a copy of that quote for U-verse at $34.95 per month.

Updates 2/28/2015 - 
> Consumer Affairs says their actions are limited to facilitating a resolution between customers and businesses. They do not render decisions and have no legal jurisdiction over entities such as AT&T. In other words, the SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs is just another toothless, tax-funded agency that wears consumers out with meaningless back and forth chit-chat.
> AT&T reduced my current bill to about $38 and sent me an e-mail (copy to Consumer Affairs) claiming they would never include taxes and surcharges in a "Grand Total" because they "cannot calculate" such charges. Perhaps AT&T expects folks to purchase U-verse without knowing what it costs. My bill was due yesterday, I'll pay it when the amount is corrected to what I was promised, and I have advised AT&T (copy to Consumer Affairs) to review the definition of "Grand Total." 
> AT&T's claim that they "cannot calculate" taxes and surcharges is at odds not only with common sense, but also contradicts what they state on their website. Obviously, they are able to calculate such amounts and should advise potential customers accordingly. Failure to mention such amounts while offering a "Grand Total" price for U-verse, and then billing customers for such amounts epitomizes the marketing ploy known as "bait and switch." 

Update 3/9/2015 - Just for the record, I was referred to Consumer Affairs by the SC Attorney General's Office. Wonder why the SC Attorney General isn't taking a direct interest in what appears to be a bait and switch tactic.

Update 2/12/2015 - AT&T is now billing me for $86.40 - the correct amount (for two months) should be $69.90. I've updated Consumer Affairs (copy to AT&T) and have once again emphasized my willingness to pay the bill as soon as it's corrected to the amount I was promised. Truly a shame that paid-off legislators - Repukes and Demagogues alike - allow crooked corporations like AT&T to kick consumers around. 

Update 4/15/2015 - Effective today, AT&T has once again interrupted my service. I notified AT&T and Consumer Affairs via e-mail that I have no intentions whatsoever of paying AT&T one cent until my bill - now three months worth including April - is corrected to $34.95 per month. Consumer Affairs replied back that there's nothing more they can do. Isn't it wonderful that this paid-off, corporate-controlled government gives consumers such great recourse against crooked corporations?

Update 4/16/2015 - Future payments to AT&T - if any - will reflect a credit for each day my service has been interrupted.

Update 4/29/2015 - AT&T now says they will "permanently" disconnect my service if I don't pay by May 11. Real hoot when corporations are allowed to promise a rate in writing, then not honor it, and tack on about 50% of the rate as an additional charge. Apparently, AT&T expects folks to agree to pay for their product without knowing the cost.