AT&T Are Scum

[stdesjardins]

AT&T has slammed my long-distance phone service for the third time. After the first time, I put a freeze on my long-distance service to stop them from switching it again, but I got a new phone number when I moved a couple of years ago and the freeze evidently didn't carry over. (Nor did it stop them from slamming me a second time, which really ticked me off, but after I chewed out my local phone company for letting it happen, the freeze seems to have prevented any further problems.)

So, just for the record: AT&T are scum. I will never willingly do business with them, and I recommend you don't either, because they're scum, and I'd rather my friends not have to deal with scummy people. I've reported the fraud to the DC Public Service commission, who hopefully will claw back some of the money they ripped me off for. (I'm just annoyed I didn't notice earlier—they slammed me back in March, apparently, but my local carrier was collecting money from them and since I pay a flat rate for local calls, and have the money automatically deducted each month, I often don't look at those bills. Guess I should have.)

Comments

Slamming

[markiv1111.livejournal.com]

I don't know what you mean by "has slammed," "slamming me a second time," etc. Louie and I are not currently dealing with AT&T, but I'd like to know what the risks are. (And in what context is the verb "to slam" immediately understandable as what you used it for? It's obviously a context in which I do not circulate.)

Nate

Re: Slamming

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

slamming in this context means to change an individual's long distance service without their approval.

Re: Slamming

[stevendj.livejournal.com]

http://www.fcc.gov/slamming/

"Slamming is the illegal practice of changing a consumer's telephone service - local, intralata service, or interlata service (including state to state, in state and international long distance) - without permission."

Basically, they lie, and claim you asked them to become your new long-distance carrier. It was a bigger problem before the FCC cracked down on it; for a while, sleazy phone companies could make themselves your long-distance carrier, charge flabbergastingly outrageous rates, and get away with it. Now the rules are tougher, and if you notice the fraud within 30 days, you not only don't have to pay the slammers for the calls you made after they slammed you, you don't even have to pay the old company. Past that, you should at the very least be able to get your bill reduced to the rates at your old company. So it's now more of an annoyance than a real problem.

[shsilver.livejournal.com]

Years ago, back before the telecoms all re-merged, I was part of a team trying to set up long distance service for one of the Baby Bells. One day, while testing our equipment and process for switching people over to our long distance service, someone inadvertantly wound up slamming AT&T (at the time, only a long distance company). We fixed the problem pretty quickly, but I still chuckle over the mistake.