Re: Cingular TAKE CHARGE promotion a total ripoff

gee, a cell company trying to get into your bank account - big surprise


<bryan_adrian@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1103924835.679013.53830@f14g2000cwb.googlegro ups.com...
> Please BEWARE !!
>
> Cingular-ATT has been offering to people with no credit card a new cell
> phone account which promises for $49.99 per month 400 free minutes
> during non-free times, and free calls after 9pm and all weekend.
>
> They can debit your checking account or your debit card once per month.
>
> Well, here's the rub.
>
> The database for Cingular for the TAKE CHARGE account is divided into
> two dissociated databases, one which shows to Customer Care for
> Cingular a ZERO charge for all calls made during so called free minute
> times of day, and this is called the TOTAL AMOUNT column. This is ALL
> Customer Care can see on their screens.
>
> Yet, on the customer online CALLS LIST a Take Charge user/customer can
> go to the full detail history list of all calls and on the extreme
> right hand column of the complete calls list, there is a blue ball with
> a white carat in it that is called CALL DETAIL for each individual
> call. If you click on this, you get many more details than are given
> to the Customer Care call center rep.
>
> You must scroll down in this pull down box past the ZERO amount and
> just below is the MAIN ACCOUNT AMOUNT which charges your debit card
> and/or account balance for your Cingular service at 12.5 cents per
> minute DURING the free minutes times of the week!! Your calls from -
> to 399 of the free 400 minutes are billed at 12.5 cents per minute
> also!!
>
> So, if you made an hour call on your cell phone account on the weekend
> it will be deducted about $5 ASAP and your phone service will be
> discontinued quickly due to this ploy unless you address the issue
> brought up by voice and text mail to you that YOU MUST CHARGE ON YOUR
> DEBIT CARD as soon as possible either $15 for 100 minutes or $25 for
> 150.
>
> This is a reprehensible business practice that should blemish the
> reputation of ATT also, and not just Cingular cell phone company.
>
> Dec. 24th, today, Christmas Eve, is a day off for most of the 'Take
> Charge' Cingular call center helpers, so the bulk of the complaints
> about this criminal billing procedure practice at Take Charge are going
> to the main general Cingular help center workers, who are much more
> helpful than the usual Take Charge specialist call center workers [have
> the Take Charge customer care center workers been trained to be
> uncooperative and play dumb about this horrible glitch and thieving
> tactic of the Cingular management?].
>
> Each time [about 15 times i have called and had to spend over an hour
> trying to resolve this snafu to no avail and to suffer the damage of
> severe microwave headaches from the cell phone radio waves after so
> much exposure], the Take Charge staffers are very rude in putting the
> fault of the service charges and billing during free minutes on the
> stupidity of the customer/client. It is a crime up there with Enron,
> Halliburton, and Global Crossing scams. Cingular is blaming the
> consumer for a rip off product.
>
> Nothing else could promote WORSE customer relations on the globe !!!
> Would anyone disagree?
>
> Please call your Better Business Bureau and your local 'CONSUMER
> COMPLAINT, SHAME ON YOU' local TV network to look into this,
> investigate it, and report it around the world.
>