Consumerist
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phantom billing
Verizon Keeps On Billing Guy Who Canceled Service
Gregory canceled Verizon, but Verizon didn't cancel him. The company kept on billing him every month, and every month he'd call to get the charges wiped away, which the CSR promptly did. More » -
fee traps
Chase Sets Early Payment Trap, Customer Falls Into It
Daniel's Providian/WaMu credit card was recently absorbed into Chase's swollen belly, and they welcomed him to their family by catching him in a technicality that cost him $39. Here's a good example of why you need to pay attention to statement cycles, even if your bank won't tell you to. More » -
print is dead
Last Remaining Human Who Actually Wants To Subscribe To A Newspaper Can't
Meet Michael. He likes to read the newspaper. Sadly, his attempts to resubscribe to the Washington Post have resulted in abject failure. Hmm, we thought that newspapers were sort of hurting for subscribers... More » -
gouging
Comcast Raising Cable Modem Rental Fees This Fall
Comcast is going to start rolling out a $2 fee hike across the country this fall, which means your cable modem rental fee will go from $3 to $5 by the end of the year. Comcast says they absolutely have to do this or they'll never be able to pay for service and equipment upgrades, which makes us wonder how the poor underfunded company manages to stay afloat at all. More » -
t-mobile
T-Mobile Ends Paper Billing Fee ...For Now
Consumers, feel your power. Back in August, T-Mobile announced that they would charge customers $1.50 per month to receive a paper bill, and $3.50 to receive a detailed paper bill. It didn't go over well. Because of the negative reaction from many customers, and the beginnings of a class action lawsuit, T-Mobile is changing the policy for now. More » -
whoops
Bank Of America Forces Man To Pay $11,000 In Fraudulent Credit Card Charges
It's important to note that the Fair Credit Billing Act caps your liability at $50 for unauthorized credit card charges — but you have to notify the bank in a timely fashion that someone is using your card. (You should notify your bank in writing within 60 days of the first incorrect bill.) One Colorado man is finding out the hard way that not noticing an $11,000 charge to your account for months is really, really bad. More » -
cancellation fee
DirecTV Double Bills 75-Year-Old Widow, Won't Fix It, Then Debits Huge Cancellation Fee
Here's a lovely story from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. A unnamed 75-year-old widow says AT&T called her to offer their new U-Verse service with bundled TV, Internet and phone. She signed up, only to receive a phone call letting her know that the TV service wasn't available in her area yet, but would she like to sign up with DirecTV instead? She agreed, but DirecTV started doublebilling her as soon as her service started. After a few months of the runaround from DirecTV she called to cancel. More » -
government oversight
FCC Launches Large Scale Investigation Of Cellular Industry
Uh-oh, the FCC is getting serious about doing its job, which probably means more memos like the one Apple posted last week from companies like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Yesterday the FCC announced three "Notices of Inquiry"—all unanimously voted for by a full, bi-partisan commission—that will look at different aspects of the cellular industry. More » -
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refunds
Is Verizon Randomly Charging You $1.99 Per Line For "Data Usage"?
On August 14, the Cleveland Plain Dealer printed a column by a business writer who described her 6-month-long ordeal with Verizon concerning a mysterious $1.99 charge for "data usage." The paper says that over 400 Plain Dealer readers responded with complaints similar to the one in the column. Now the paper says they have a promise from Verizon to refund these mysterious and erroneous charges. More » -
wasteful
Collection Agency Sends Four Letters To Collect A $.04 Debt
Pete received a bill in the mail that has him slightly offended and amused. A health care provider has sent his balance to collections after a payment arrived late a few years ago. They will clearly be hurting if he doesn't pay his overdue balance of ....four cents. More » -
t-mobile
T-Mobile To Charge $1.50 For Paper Phone Bills
If you're a T-Mobile USA customer who likes to kick it old-school with a paper bill, checks, stamps and whatnot, bad news. Starting September 12, you'll be charged $1.50 per account for the privilege of receiving your bill by mail. More » -
double billing
AT&T Charges Customer Twice, Refuses To Investigate It
We think AT&T just stole about $157 from commenter Spoco. They applied the payment as always via his Amex card, but then said that it was declined and auto-debited it a second time a month later (+ late fees, of course). The only problem is, it wasn't declined, and Spoco has proof. He just can't get anyone at AT&T to care. More » -
kafkaesque
AT&T Charges You A Fee For Getting A Discount
Reader "ValentineHumphrey" has a part-time job with a company that gets a 25% discount from AT&T. It sounded like a good deal until she found out there was actually a fee for signing up for the discount. What? More » -
stupid
Craftsman Doesn't Have The Ability To Cancel A Duplicate Order
Reader C.W. is wondering why Craftsman (which is part of Sears) doesn't have the ability to cancel a duplicate order. Especially since there appears to be a "cancel" button on the website. More » -
one bill to rule them all
Verizon Helpfully Consolidates All Your Bills Into One — And Won't Let You Pay It
It seems like Verizon is still working the bugs out of its One Bill service. Reader Vikram wrote in to warn consumers not to sign up for the service if they'd like to be able to actually pay their bills... More » -
overcharged
What To Do When You Discover You've Been Overcharged At A Restaurant
James discovered that the waiter at a steakhouse he and his wife ate at padded his bill by 4 extra dollars, but also ran through the charge a second time with no tip at all. Now he's wondering what to do next. More » -
comcatastrophe
Even Waiting Outside Your Local Comcast Office Will Not Get Your Bill Corrected
Reader Kevin would like to be billed the correct amount for his internet service from Comcast. This is a dream we all share, so let us give our support to Kevin in this dark hour. In his letter to the CEO of Comcast, Kevin says that he has tried many tactics in order to get Comcast to charge him the correct amount — including — but not limited to —- going to the Comcast office and sitting outside in the hope that the account executive would show up. He didn't. This mysterious account executive has also failed to answer messages left on his work voicemail and his cellphone. Perhaps he has become hopelessly trapped under a vending machine somewhere. Someone should try to find him before the scorpions show up. More » -
silly
Capital One: Your Account Is 0 Months Past Due, But Don't Worry — It Can Happen To Anyone
A Capital One robot has been calling reader Catherine but she's been ignoring their calls. Then, today, she checked her account and found out that she was "0 payments past due." More »
billing
New York, 7:59 AM
Mon Nov 9
6 posts in the last 24 hours
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