|
PureBytes Links
Trading Reference Links
|
Sponsored by<IMG alt="Harris Bank"
src="" border=0>http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0402170333feb17,1,4331943.story
Stealth phone charges rile customers
Advertisement
>
<img src=""
alt="Click Here" border="0">
By Jon VanTribune staff reporterFebruary 17, 2004Looking back, Judy Leach realizes that her mistake was thinking that SBC's unlimited calling plan meant just that."They have limits, but they don't tell you about them," the Marengo resident says.Leach's phone line was cut off after she rang up a monthly bill of more than $2,500. She had signed up for a flat-rate long-distance plan advertised for less than $50 a month.She never saw the fine print that said Internet use was not part of the deal. Nor did she anticipate such a rule since she had been dialing her Internet service provider through SBC's local service for four years.Leach is not alone in her frustration. As SBC battles other phone companies for new long-distance customers, bills are
getting more complex and new fees, while not hidden, are easy to miss.SBC and other giant local phone companies are doing a delicate balancing act as competition continues to roil telecommunications.On one hand, SBC and others are offering low prices to lure new customers. On the other, they are raising certain rates and adding restrictions intended to bolster sagging profit margins.With wireless calling and the Internet siphoning traffic away from traditional phone networks, the companies are grasping for a bigger share of whatever is left.Since state regulators gave SBC the go-ahead to begin selling long-distance in the Midwest late last year, SBC has signed up more than 1.7 million long-distance customers in Illinois and surrounding states, stealing them away from AT&T, MCI and Sprint.But while SBC was signing up new long-distance customers, it has been losing local customers to competitors.AT&T share risingAT&T,
for instance, serves more than 4 million local-service residential customers nationwide, including "several hundred thousand" in the Midwest, said Mike Pruyn, an AT&T spokesman.To wring more profits from customers who have not left, long-distance companies are quietly raising rates.In two weeks, Sprint will apply several increases that range from 10 to 33 percent over current rates. SBC will boost its basic rate for local toll service from a dime a minute to 12 cents in March.Customers who do not pay close attention to their phone bills will shell out more each month, said Martin Cohen, executive director for the Citizens Utility Board.But even those who try to shop for the best deal may be flummoxed by catches the phone companies impose.That is what happened to Leach, who was attracted to SBC's low promotional rate for unlimited calling. She didn't notice the small print in the ads that mentioned the service was not available for
long-distance business or Internet use.But had she noticed, it probably would not have kept her from buying the unlimited service because she has been using SBC's local service for more than four years to reach her dial-up Internet service provider. It has always been classed as a local call under SBC's Band C category, which carries a per-minute toll charge.During Leach's first month under the unlimited calling plan, she got a cryptic letter from SBC accusing her of "misusing" her service."I called an SBC representative to ask them what that meant," said Leach. "She said to ignore it, to throw it away. So I did."Accused of misuseLater, Leach got a recorded message that also accused her of "misusing" the service, and soon her service was cut off. After many calls and much waiting, Leach was told about SBC's ban on using long-distance for Internet dial-up service and was informed that she had racked up $2,500 in charges."They said I'd
have to pay the bill before my service could be restored," Leach said. "They also said that because I didn't know about the restrictions, I could probably get a refund."An SBC spokesman, Steve Kauffman, said that once Leach signed up for SBC's long-distance service, her calls to the Internet service provider located more than 15 miles from her home were considered long-distance rather than local, and were banned under her new plan.The Internet use had been charged as metered long-distance calls rather than under her new flat rate."When she called to ask about her first notice, our representative was mistaken to tell her to ignore it," he said.SBC has cleared Leach's $2,500 phone charges and restored her to the plan she had before taking their unlimited service, Kauffman said.CUB has received similar complaints from other customers related to Internet service, Cohen said.He has also received complaints from SBC retirees irked that their former
employer requires them to sign up for its long-distance service if they want to retain their retiree discount on phone service."Since they're getting a special discount from the company, there's nothing I can do about it but to recommend they sign up," said Cohen.He noted that buried in the fine print of recent phone bills, SBC announced that its basic rate for local toll service will go from a dime a minute to 12 cents."If you sign up for a special plan, or even if you just ask, you can get a local toll rate of a nickel a minute," said Cohen. "But most people won't notice and will pay the 12 cents a minute."Long-distance companies have been raising several rates while keeping others low for some time, said Rich Sayers, founder of Phone-Bill-Alert.com.Sprint's new rates will be as high as 44 cents a minute for the same service offered by others for a nickel, he said.Sprint's latest hike follows earlier increases by AT&T, and Sayers
said that he expects that MCI will soon follow suit.- - -Phone bill translations neededWhile competition in the long-distance market has led to lower prices, phone bills are getting more complex and new fees are easy to miss.Finding the rate changes--and understanding what they mean--can challenge the most knowledgeable consumers.In January phone bills, SBC included this item under the heading "News You Can Use": "Effective 3/1/2004, the Band C per minute rate will change from $0.10 to $0.12." What's a Band C rate? That refers to any local phone call of more than 15 miles.That is not the only price hike announced in the January bill. Others were on popular features such as 3-way calling, auto call back and directory assistance.-- Jon Van
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance: Get your refund fast by filing online
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor
ADVERTISEMENT
Click Here
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:http://groups.yahoo.com/group/realtraders/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:realtraders-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
|