AT&T Randomly Sends You A Check For $2.82
Kate got a check from AT&T for $2.82. She was not aware that AT&T owed her $2.82. Kate writes:
The woman at AT&T told me I received it because AT&T no longer provided telecom service to the Penn State campus - where I haven't lived for 8 years (because I am 100). I'm not sure what went down so that they're sending me almost three whole dollars, but it's three dollars I didn't have this morning, so... Aces.Kate tells us she's very excited to cash her check so she can buy "IN TOUCH and some gum." She also notes that the check says "CON REFUNDS," which we feel is heartwarmingly honest of AT&T —MEGHANN MARCO
Bill writes, "I've got that $2.82 check beat. In September of last year, I got a check from "The New AT&T"
for 26 cents. And from a few years ago, I got a check from SBC for ONE PENNY."
This is a test using rich text formatting and html links. It's the generic "company" ad that should appear on all posts with the Company category if they don't have an ad attached to a specific company.
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Comments:
Maybe it's a refund for all the over-charging they did when they provided the long distance for Penn State's dorms. I know when I was using their ACUS service (because I was forced to and this was before everyone had a cell phone) there were consistent adding mistakes. I called every month to have my bill credited 2 or 3 cents. That's not a lot for me, but what about 2 or 3 cents for each student (not each room - each student) in a dorm at Penn State (where freshman are required to live on campus).
Can you buy a magazine and gum for less than $2.82 nowadays?
By the way, her attitude towards receiving the check is awesome... very funny!
"...where I haven't lived for 8 years (because I am 100)."
100 years old and tech savvy enough to be posting to Consumerist? WoW!
perhaps there was an overpaid bill and a balance somewhere that they were now just getting around to cleaning out old accounts.
I used to work for AT&T that check cost the company $50 to produce...it is their policy to not bill a customer for less than $1.00...if a LD customers bill was less than $1.00 the charge was written off and never billed to the company...i encourage this person to check their credit report....
Yeesh... the number I called was AT&T's ACUS number (College and University Solutions), as confirmed by a few other sources, so it seems legit. I emailed some contacts in student life at PSU to see if they know the story. I've also emailed college friends to see if they received something similar. If it turns out to be a huge scam, I'll let you all know.
I bought 40 gig of pirated music with my $2.82 and downloaded all 40 gig over ATT's DSL line.
(ok not really but if I was in bed still with ATT I would have!)
This kind of stuff happens. I once received a check for about $0.32 from a small local bank I had an account with when I was 14 (babysitting money). 10 years later, the bank was closing and clearing out their accounts. I didn't even realize I had never closed that account.
This post motivated me to check for unclaimed property in my name (most states have websites where you just plug in your name and they show you "lost" money that you can claim). Sure enough, a temp service I worked for years ago just posted a paycheck I guess I never received. All I have to do is mail the state a copy of my ID to prove I'm me and they send me the money! Free cash money!
kudos Kate!
And, I have a feeling you were being sarcastic about your age.
@markymags: In Touch is like $1.99...add a 5-stick pack of Wrigley's and there you go...though I think Kate would be better served by chewing on the magazine and reading the gum package, as it probably contains more information and intelligently written material than a truckload of In Touch issues.
The "con refunds" thing made me go all LOL up in here...
@razz4901:
Actually, when I was a student at Penn State, I was routinely billed for amounts less than a dollars (because I only used their service for local calls). One girl on my floor received a bill for a penny, which she hung up on her door to display the utter ridiculousness.
*crossing fingers that I too receive a check for a couple bucks*
Maybe they figured out that having one fewer phone company to choose from is worth just under $3? It is refreshing, since they charge me $3 a month for the privilege of not making long distance calls on my fax line.
I seen phone companies send checks with small print that says endorsing the check means you agree to switch your phone service.
I'd be checking my credit report. Maybe an indication of ID theft?