"There is no indication of any change in the near future regarding the current state of competition. Market forces have not yet met the challenge of controlling price increases."

Here are just a few of the ways competition has benefited consumers:

• AT&T no longer lets you make five free 411 calls per month. Now it costs $1.50 for local numbers and $1.99 for all others.
• Verizon won't let you make four free 411 inquiries anymore. Now they charge $0.95 for local listings and $1.50 for all others.
• AT&T boosted the price of daytime calls by 34%, evening calls by 93%, and nights and weekend calls by 233%
• Call waiting is now 86% more expensive.
• Keeping your name out of the phonebook now costs 346% more.

In a recent briefing for investors, AT&T boasted that its average monthly revenue per primary household line "ramped steadily over the past several quarters," to $60.16 in the first quarter of 2008 from $57.08 a year earlier.

So much for all that competition between Verizon, AT&T, Frontier, SureWest, Vonage, Skype, and others.

The telecoms have repeatedly proven that their version of the "free market" is a scam that harms consumers and enriches shareholders. California's Public Utilities Commission has recommended the only reasonable measure: reinstating price controls.

Getting the 411 on phone charges [The Los Angeles Times]
(Photo: Getty)

Hello!

Today, I got a nice little email reminder from my bank that I had a new bill from Citicard! This was very surprising to me, as I had just paid off my balance last month. So, I log in to my online bill pay and sure enough, there is a new bill from Citicard for $12.39! Hmmm.... I wondered what that could be for, as I had cut up my card months ago, and I knew I had just paid off the balance. So, naturally, I logged into my online account with Citicard and took a closer look. And to my sheer amazement, I found I was indeed charged a $12.39 finance charge on my account. "Did they not get my payment!?!?", I wondered. So I look a little closer, and pull up my latest statement, and this is what I found!

Now, even though it didn't exactly show what my "previous" balance was at the time this statement was generated, it does show that I made two payments in that billing period. One, which was a balance transfer that I decided to make, (thanks to a lovely post about saving money with lesser- or no-interest balance transfer cards that I saw a couple weeks back on Consumerist.com), and a smaller payment that was the difference in the balance on the card and the amount of the balance transfer payment. I also check the statement from the previous billing period, just to make sure that I had paid the correct amount.

The two amounts matched up, so I quickly snatched up the phone. I called up Citicard, and just held on the line without entering my account number or anything, ( I learned several calls ago, not to enter in my account number and I will eventually get a real person on the line,) and told the customer service lady what my problem was. She was very courteous and even though I had to be put on hold for about 3 minutes, she was able to see the error on Citicard's part and take off the finance charge with no hassle whatsoever.

Being an avid reader of Consumerist.com, I just felt it was worth the time to share this story with the rest of your readers, and to remind them to be vigilant in paying attention to all those little things. Had I not paid close attention to my accounts, I might just have sent another payment in. Thank you Consumerist.com!

Sincerely,
Thalen's Mom

(Photo: TheTruthAboutMortgage.com)

Zack writes:

OK, I'll try and make this a quick summary. I called GE with a problem with my 11 week out of warranty washer machine on August 4th. Long story short, I get forwarded to customer relations, who tells me that as a courtesy a technician will be sent out the following week, on the 11th. I get immediately suspicious and ask that he will in fact fix the washer, as I thought this might just be a courtesy diagnostic to tell me the true cost of repair. No, she said that it would be a full repair.

A week later, on the 11th, a technician comes and immediately determines that the motor and lid switch need replacing. He says that there is no courtesy credit to my account, and calls in to confirm that yes, they will not repair the washer for less than $175. I decline, it is a $400 washer give or take and I don't want to throw good money after bad. I talk to customer service with the technician there to confirm that the previous weeks technician did not in fact fill out the correct form to give me the free repair. I am informed those forms can no longer be filled out. So be it, I am where I was last week, no big deal.

The problem comes as the technician leaves. He tells me that I will be charged $99 for the visit. To make it clear, the first time out of several phone calls and speaking to several people I am informed of the charge is as the guy is leaving. I tell him to leave the property immediately, and he does.

I call GE, and they say that they will not remove the charge. I never would have consented to it, it was said that this would be a courtesy call for which I expected there would be no charge at all. They have already threatened to send this to collections. One representative said it doesn't matter if I was not informed of the charge as, and I quote this, "I should have been aware of the service charge already." I will be filing complaints to the BBB and NY Consumer Protection Board, but is there anything else I can do to not have to pay $99 to get my credit out in the clear?

We'd suggest getting in touch with someone higher up at GE to see if they can resolve this.

(Photo: silent (e))

Adrienne writes:

In April, my boyfriend and I moved to an area where Cox is the cable provider. When we moved, we signed up online for HD digital cable and internet. There was a problem with our apartment and on June 1 we had to move to another apartment building in the same complex. When we called Cox to have our service moved to the new address we were told that we would have to pay a $60 transfer of service fee. We were then informed that they had a package including HD cable, internet, and digital phone for $100 a month (versus the $105 we were paying), and that if we signed up for a one year contract they would also waive the transfer fee. We told the rep that we really didn’t need the phone service since we only use our cells and asked if that price included all the fees and taxes (which our $105 did). He assured us that it did so we added digital phone to our service to get the lower monthly rate. It seemed like a good deal at the time.

We got our first bill reflecting the new service in July and were understandably upset to see the total was $130, much higher than what we were quoted. Cox added services we didn’t authorize and weren’t even receiving including caller ID, a service assurance plan, and sports and movie tiers. We called Cox to get our bill corrected and were told they would have to research what packages were being offered when we signed up and that we should receive a call within 72 hours. No call came.

Two weeks passed (for some reason they didn’t have my name on the account and my boyfriend had to work overtime) and in that time we got our August bill. Not only were the incorrect charges still there, but they had added Starz to our bill too! We called again last night and after explaining our situation to three different people were informed that the price quoted in June was indeed incorrect and had the telephone service as well as the unauthorized fees and services removed from our bill. Cox told us that they would be correcting our bill and we would receive a call when it was viewable online.

Hopefully everything is now taken care of, but I just wanted to share this with you and your readers as a reminder to always check your bills!

Thanks,
Adrienne

Eric says:

I recently stayed in a suite at the "Crowne Plaza Hotel In Kansas City" for a wedding. I made my reservations long in advance and everything seemed fine. I arrived and checked in, gave my card for any liabilities I incurred while staying there. Got to my room and was very happy with the cleanliness and space the suite offered. I almost immediately left after dropping my bags, running around town with the groom to be.

I have my checking account setup to send SMS messages to my phone for any purchases over 50 dollars. My wife likes to spend a lot of "little money", but I digress. I get an SMS message saying I had a pending charge of 547 dollars. Well through the package the new couple had setup with the hotel the suites were 89 dollars a night with taxes and such my bill was supposed to be 311.87 (per the reservation line l called to confirm the price). When I finally got back to the hotel I asked for the manager and inquired about the additional 235.13 pulled from my checking account. She stated it was for incidentals and that it would be placed back in my account after my stay. I've stayed at some pretty high-end hotels and never have heard of such a thing. Usually the hotel keeps your account on file and then charges you at the end of your stay your room and any room service, additions etc.

I didn't make a huge deal out of it because it wasn't really about the money, I had plenty of money in the account to account for, well honestly a 235 dollar purchase I didnt plan on. Because when it comes down to it, that was money that was not available in my account. If for some reason I came with only 311.87 in my account, the hotel would have overdrawn me.

I've heard of gas stations doing this to the tune of a few bucks, but 235 dollars? I was never told this would occur, even though the front desk is supposed to tell you about this before check in.

Really what it comes down to, is how much power do these companies have over our own money. Money we don't even designate them to take or "hold" in the first place. Ironically 30 mins after I left the desk, I get another SMS saying 160 dollars had been deposited into my account. Still not the whole amount just really odd. Something to think over.

Eric, you're not alone in being upset about this. We found a thread over at FlyerTalk where people are debating whether or not these types of holds should be standardized or disclosed to the customer. The problem, as the Marriott Concierge explains, lies in the fact that each hotel (even within a chain of hotels) calculates the incidental hold amount differently:

The hold is determined by sum of three factors, the length of stay, room rate and tax, and something called the incidental factor. The first two are simple math, you take your room rate and tax and multiple it by the number of nights you will be staying. However the incidental factor is less constant. This amount is based on the typical spending habits of the property’s guests. This means you can expect to have a much larger hold at a resort location than you would typically have at an Airport location because guest tended to spend a lot more on incidentals. Likewise guests typically spend more at certain international locations than at many domestic locations.

Once the incidental factor is created, like Socrates said, there is no human determination of what the hold amount will be. The hold is determined and processed by the hotels system based on the factors mentioned above.

As far as we can tell, the best thing to do is to ask how much the hold will be when you check in. Then, if you can, give the hotel a credit card, rather than a debit card, to use for incidentals. That way you're less likely to run into overdraft fees and other debit card related nuisances.

Of course, if the hotel doesn't end up returning the correct amount to your checking account within a reasonable period of time, you should contact your bank and dispute the charge.

Is there a consistent incidental hold policy? [FlyerTalk]
(Photo: Chrispitality )

There's a lot of information below, so here is an executive summary:

• Regardless of who the merchant uses to process credit card transactions, merchants that add a surcharge or require a minimum purchase to accept a Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card are violating their merchant agreement, and you should report them to the bank that issued your card.
• American Express does not forbid minimum purchase requirements, but they require parity with the other credit cards, so a minimum purchase requirement just for American Express, but not for Visa, is not allowed. American Express does not allow surcharges, unless they are assessed as a convenience fee...
• Convenience fees are allowable surcharges for specific types of payments, generally to schools and government entities (like taxes or fines).
• Asking for ID is not prohibited, but refusal to show ID cannot, by itself, be a reason for the merchant to halt the transaction.

Does this only apply to credit cards? What about when I use my [Visa, MasterCard, American Express]-branded debit card?

We've mentioned this before, but it's worth repeating: the merchant agreement applies to a consumer who uses a debit card with a major credit card company's logo on it, regardless of whether he signs it or uses a PIN. Note that this is for things like minimum purchases, surcharges, and requests for ID; a credit card often offers additional consumer protections for chargebacks, warranty extensions, and buyers assurance plans.

What's the deal with third-party processors?

After we posted about a McDonald's adding 25¢ to credit/debit card purchases, commenter Corporate Shill wrote in to tell us that many small businesses, like bars, use a third-party credit card processor to offset the expenses of purchasing credit card terminals and accepting different cards:

3rd Party CC Processing Companies offer Merchant Bank services to small businesses that cannot afford to offer CC services to their customers, or to businesses that have been denied CC processing by Merchant Bank.

(In simple legal terms the 3rd Party Companies will act as a straw man between the Merchant Bank and the business that actually accepts the CC from the customer.)

In addition to offering Merchant Bank services the 3rd Party CC Processing Company will often provide the data terminals and supporting equipment at a very low cost or even free to their clients. The data terminals, because they are accessing the 3rd Party network rather than an actual Merchant Bank network, can be programmed to accept an even wider variety of CC's and perform other functions, such as check clearing.

We asked the credit card companies whether a merchant that contracts with a third-party processor still has to adhere to the merchant agreement: MasterCard simply said "Yes," and American Express said that these merchants still sign a contract with the credit card company regardless of how they sign up for card acceptance. Corporate Shill disputes this, saying that using a third-party processor does not require the merchant to sign an agreement with the credit card companies, but the companies, at least American Express, disagree.

Are government and educational entities exempt from these rules? What is the exception for convenience fees?

MasterCard says:

We allow a "convenience" to be charged by certain educational institutions and public sector merchants, including:

• Elementary and secondary schools for tuition and related fees, and school-maintained room and board
• Colleges, universities, professional schools, and junior colleges for tuition and related fees, and school-maintained room and board
• Local, state, and federal courts of law that administer and process court fees, alimony, and child support payments
• Government entities that administer and process local, state, and federal fines
• Local, state, and federal entities that engage in financial administration and taxation
• Government Services; merchants that provide general support services for the government

In addition, a merchant is permitted to charge a fee (such as a bona fide commission, postage, expedited service or convenience fees, and the like) if the fee is imposed on all like transactions regardless of the form of payment used. For example, a merchant that has a website that accepts MasterCard, Visa and direct debit to a checking account as its three forms of payment, may ask for a surcharge IF the fee is applied to all three methods of payment. The same applies to a merchant that has a physical store that accepts cash, checks, MasterCard and Visa. The store can charge a fee as long as the fee is applied to all four methods of payment.

American Express says such fees are only allowed "in very limited industries, for example, taxes."

Can a merchant ask for ID with I pay with a credit card? Can I refuse to show it?

We've addressed this before, too, and it also bears repeating, along with a little elaboration from MasterCard: "However, to be clear, the MasterCard rule does allow merchants to ask for ID. Our rule prohibits the merchant from refusing to perform the transaction solely on the basis of the cardholder refusing to provide the ID. (If the merchant asks for ID and the cardholder refuses, then the merchant can either perform the transaction or call their acquirer for direction.)"

That being said, this isn't going to help you when you're out of cash and the guy at the convenience store won't let you charge that can of Drank. But reporting these violations, to the credit card company, to your issuing bank, and to us (preferably with pictures), will draw enough attention to the merchant that it will, hopefully, change its way.

It appears that classiccloseouts.com has decided that they could get a nice revenue boost by going back through their files and giving all their past customers a nice new charge on their credit cards. Of course, they don't answer their phones, their voicemail is full, and there's no notice of the charge.

I got one ($49.99), and it looks like a few thousand other folks did, too, with the amounts ranging from $39 to $69. Lovely.

Rip-off Report has a similar story from another customer, this time for $69.99. In that instance, Traci writes that she only ordered from the company once back in 2004.

Another Rip-off Report reader found a $29.99 charge late last month, and despite over ten calls to the company's customer service number, never received an explanation or any sort of response from the company—although the charge was reversed four days later. Mrthurms gives the following contact information for the company:

A member of SlickDeals reports the same fraudulent charge, and says he shopped there once "a year or two ago" for a $5 blanket that was featured as a slickdeal.

He reminds everyone to immediately dispute the charge and consider requesting a new card. He also suggests filing complaints with Trust-e and the Better Business Bureau.

(Photo: Getty)

She writes:

I don't know if this is something you can help me with over the holiday weekend, but my husband and I are currently experiencing an issue with Jet Blue. In March, my mother in law paid for and I booked two tickets through the JetBlue website (at the total price of 798.00) to fly our two older children ( we have 4, two of whom are old enough to fly alone) to Boston direct from Austin for a two week vacation. The day we booked the tickets, my husband called to verify that A) the unaccompanied minor fee was included in the fare just paid (798.00) and B) the information needed for the drop off and pick up people.

He spoke with a woman named Jackie, who told him the fee WAS included, took the names of the adults and we thought all was well.

I called 20 minutes ago to verify that Jet Blue had all the adults information correct and make sure all was a go for the flight, and Jet Blue proceeded to tell us that the fee WAS not included and still needed to be paid. I handed the phone to my husband, who had verified it was included in the fare months ago, and at this point he escalated the call to the agents supervisor Laura, who completely stonewalled my husband, even after admitting that Jackie had made a mistake in informing us that the fee was included. Since we had been told that the fee was paid, we were not prepared to tell our kids grandmother that she is going to have to shell out another 200.00 for the kids to even get on the plane. (50 per kid, per way) Laura would only give us a first name for her supervisor ( Janet) and would not give us a number to reach her directly, at which point my husband asked how he was supposed to call a company as large as jetblue, as for Janet and get the RIGHT person. Laura simply said, she wasn't authorized to give out any info, so we got nowhere. We weren't even asking for the fee to be waived at that point, just what could be done to rectify the mistake, but Laura told him that only SHE could waive the fee and she wouldn't and she was not going to do anything else to help us. I REALLY hope JetBlue recorded that call. It's not like we can cancel the kids vacation, but he did manage to ask them if this is how they treat all their customers. and that he was sorely disappointed in thier customer service, and he would be sending all his business to another airline. Not that they care.

I just feel entirely swindled and almost like Jet blue pulled some kind of new bait and switch routine on us.

Is there anything we can do at this point, we really don't want to have to pay for Jetblues customer service mistake, especially since we were told the fee was paid in full when the tickets were booked (the site even asked if they would be flying alone when it was booked). I know in the short term we will have to pay it since they leave on saturday, but I will never hear the end of it from my Mother in Law ( :) ) if we don't fight what they did to us.

Catie

Considering that the website asked if the children were traveling alone, and your husband verified that the charge was included, it's not unreasonable for JetBlue to waive the fee.

Don't waste time fighting with frontline customer service representatives. Instead, call JetBlue's headquarters at (718) 709-3026 and ask someone in the CEO's office to help solve your problem.

(Photo: mil8)

Chelsea writes:

I've had Sprint service for seven years because I receive a state employee discount, and it's been pretty smooth sailing. Luckily when I renewed my plan in May, I was paired with a sales manager who seemed both friendly and efficient. Going through my first bill I noticed four incorrect charges, including mysterious internet usage and a late fee, despite the fact I've been on automatic payments for years. I emailed Sprint about these charges and promptly received a long and apologetic response from someone named Steffi. She credited all of the charges and informed me of a way to block internet access altogether. This all was great, so I wanted to express some gratitude:

Thank you for responding so quickly. I really appreciate your help with this invoice. If there's no charge in preventing internet access, I would like that to be applied.

You know, there's a lot of Sprint hatred out there, but I've never had a huge problem with anyone. Seeing weird charges on my bill had me worried, but I'm happy to see Sprint sticking to their word to provide good customer service.

Thanks again.

Soon after that email, I received this reply:

Thank you for contacting Sprint.

I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to write



regarding the excellent service you received. Our goal is to serve you



with world-class customer service, and feedback from customers like you



is a great source of motivation in our endeavor to achieve that goal.

I have added Sprint Vision Pack for $15.00 on the account effective June



20, 2008.

Now you can enjoy:

• Unlimited Web/Data Access on Handset
• Unlimited Picture Mail and Video Mail
• Multimedia - Sprint TV Channel 1

Have a nice day!

Sincerely,



Peter P.



Sprint

......Wha-? I re-read my email to make sure I didn't somehow authorize this, but no, I mentioned preventing internet access. What a fool I was, doting on Sprint before the job was done. Instead of calming down and being rational, I replied with a crazy email rife with superfluous exclamation marks and all caps. I pointed out that's the exact opposite of what I asked for and asked if anyone even read my email.

The response email from Gloria D. wasn't nice and certainly lacking any apology. But Vision has been removed, so oh well. A toast to Sprint and another glorious two years.

(AP Photo/Douglas C. Pizac)

My sister-in-law Judy has had an account with Sears since 1964 when she got married. She has been flawless about paying her Sears bill (along with all her other bills. That's just how she is.) Her husband passed away about ten years ago. Judy dutifully called Sears and every other company she had an account with to inform them of his death and tell them that she might be a few days late with her payment that month because of the funeral, etc. They were all understanding and told her to send in her payment when she could.

OK, fast forward to this past weekend. Judy wanted to buy a saw to take care of some tree branches which fell down during the hurricane force winds we had here on the Oregon coast. She found one for $142. on Sears' website. Her Sears card, which she hadn't used in about a year, didn't have an expiration date on it, so she wasn't sure it was still good.

She called Sears' customer service number. Everything was going well until the CSR asked Judy what name the account was in. Judy explained that it was her late husband, to which the CSR said, "Well, I'm sorry, Ma'am, but in that case I'm going to have to close your account." Judy was speechless but that was that; the account was closed on the spot and Judy was informed that she could call a department which /perhaps/ could help her... but not until Monday, as that department isn't open on the weekend.

Now keep in mind that Judy has never not paid her Sears bill AND that she has over the past few years, long after her husband passed away, bought a washer, a drier and a refrigerator from Sears, using the same account with no problem whatsoever.

I'm sure that Sears thinks it has some logical reason for treating a customer of more than four decades like this, but it makes no sense to me, especially since Judy made large purchases after her husband's death. Sears not only lost the $142. purchase, but has also lost a customer permanently, as she tells me she's livid at them for treating her as if she was trying to cheat them somehow. She found a similar chainsaw on walmart.com and won't be going back to Sears...ever.

This is what happens when you have ridiculous rules which treat your loyal customers like shit.

Judy's brother-in-law adds: "No wonder Sears is Where America Used To Shop."

(Photo: Nelson Minar)

Delta's dispatch:

Escalating fuel prices continue to impact our world economy, everyday life and the airline industry. Due to continued, unprecedented fuel costs, we will add the following fuel surcharge to Award Tickets originating from the U.S. and Canada, effective August 15, 2008:

• $25 for Award Travel between the 50 states and Canada
• $50 for Award Travel between the 50 states/Canada and all international destinations

This was a difficult but essential decision to ensure we are doing everything possible to offset the cost of fuel which has nearly doubled in the last year. This fuel surcharge will not impact any existing ticketed Award itineraries or any future Award Tickets issued prior to August 15, 2008, regardless of the date of travel. We hope this is temporary, and should fuel prices subside from current levels, we will reevaluate this surcharge.

We are committed to making SkyMiles® the best frequent flyer program in the industry and providing you with the most benefits and rewards. We will continue to expand the destinations and opportunities for Award Travel and strengthen the program as we prepare for our proposed merger with Northwest Airlines®. Additionally, we will keep you updated on the launch of our new multi-tiered Award program and other key initiatives over the next 60 days.

Thank you for your continued loyalty and support of Delta and the SkyMiles Program—now and always.

JEFF



J. W. Robertson



Managing Director, SkyMiles

The announcement coincides nicely with the release of the 20th fare hike this year.

We are intrigued by the "new multi-tiered Award program" J.W. mentioned. Details are scarce, but we imagine it will work out something like this: there will be two impermeable tiers. In one tier, there will be awards. In the other tier, frequent fliers.

(AP Photo/Al Behrman)

(Thank to everyone who forwarded the announcement!)

For the unfamiliar, multispace meters, also called "Pay and Display" machines, are a central machine where drivers can purchase time on a particular space or print out a ticket to display on their dashboards; most machines accept bills and credit/debit cards, allowing drivers without quarters to purchase parking. Obviously, a $10 service charge negates this convenience.
Gary writes:

I recently used my bank of America credit card to pay for a multi-space parking meter in Washington DC. The type electronic meter common in urban areas for parking on the street and which accepts credit card payments. The charge for parking was $2. Bank of America treats this charge as a cash advance. They charged me a $10 cash advance fee on top. So now I will be thinking twice before using any bank of America cards. A transaction that should cost $2 can come out costing $12. Also, my card currently has a 0% promotional APR on purchases, but they put the $2 parking purchase in a separate category subject to a much higher interest rate.

Gary sent us a follow-up the next day:

I spoke to their CSR twice and I never really got an adequate explanation. I am attaching a copy of the email explanation they sent me. From what I understood, they now treat payments to government entities as quasi-cash transactions. During my last conversation the CSR explained that parking meters and payments of fines would now be treated as quasi-cash transactions subject to a minimum fee of $10. I think this is something new that they recently introduced and I have requested an updated version of my terms of service to get a better understanding of these fees.

(Photo: dM.nyc™)

Nancy writes:

Time Warner is charging me for movie purchases which I have not ordered. My current bill is 1400.30. The overwhelming majority of these movies are pornographic. My bill informs me that among many others, 17 were ordered on May 8 and 14 were ordered on May 10. Time Warner says it is impossible (their word) that these movies were NOT ordered from inside my house using my remote control and my cable box. I am a 60-year old English teacher. I have never seen a porn movie in my life. I LIVE ALONE. No one else has access to my house when I am a work. My husband who works out of another state is helping me in an effort to rectify this mess.

So far, we have been through the telephone drill (on hold, rude customer service clerks), a 90-minute visit to my local cable company where I was told that "maybe your dog ordered them," a phone call to the Time Warner CEO's office in Connecticut (national, not district) where I talked with a Customer Relations rep, a call from a Customer Care rep at district level, etc. None of this has helped. I was told at every level that the only way known to man that these movies could have been ordered is from inside my house using my equipment. I am 100% certain that they haven't been ordered from my house.

It looks like I'm going to have to swear to that under oath in court because my husband and I have agreed that we will not pay for these movies (52 movies since 4/21, most of them costing $11.99 —- I didn't even know there were on demand movies that cost $11.99). Though I have been researching this problem for hours and hours and have seen comments from others being charged for movies they say they didn't order, I have not seen anyone with a problem with Time Warner of this magnitude. Can you think of any possible way this could have happened?

17 porn flicks in one day? We're young. We're ambitious. But that's too much—by far—even for us.

Nancy's situation calls for a dose of common sense, which means executive customer support. Call Jeff Simmermon, Time Warner's Digital Communications Director, at (203) 351-2221, and see if he can't help wipe off those misfired charges.

(Photo: Getty)

The iPhone itself may be cheaper, but the required flat-rate data plan now costs $30 per month, a $10 increase. Over the mandatory two-year contract, that works out to an extra $240. AT&T also now charges $5 per month for 200 text messages, which used to be free. That adds up to another $120.

Before you apply your generous $200 discount, you've already agreed to fork over $360. Two years from now, your new iPhone 3G will have cost $160 more than a current-model iPhone.

We're usually not ones for math, but our tech-drunk brethren over at Gizmodo confirmed the numbers:

Gizmodo believes that the iPhone's nifty new features justify the price bump. They may be right, but in unveiling the new iPhone, Apple zen master Steve Jobs argued in his keynote address that the reduced price was aimed at buyers who couldn't previously afford iPhones:

Everybody wants an iPhone, but we need to make it more affordable. And we know this because we go out and talk to people who didn't buy iPhones, and the number one reason, by far—they all want one—is they just can't afford it. Some of them can't afford it. So we need to make the iPhone more affordable.

The new iPhone is not more affordable. Anyone deceived by Apple's lower price point is going to get a nasty wake-up call when they read their first bill.

(Photo: respres)

Josh writes:

Just a few days ago, I took my bill to the Verizon wireless store in my hometown of Millington, TN. I had just cashed my paycheck and my bill was due, so I decided to pay it.
My bill looks somewhat like this:

Monthly Access Charges:	$55.31
Usage Charges
Voice
Data:	$3.39
Verizon Wireless' Surcharges's and Other Charges & Credits	$1.80
Taxes, Government Surcharges & Fees	$5.44
Total Current Charges	$66.54

So, I assumed that I would need to pay $66.54, as stated on my bill. I entered the store and waited nicely for about 15 minutes while the salesman discussed the merits of a newer bluetooth headset with a gentleman.

When I made it to the counter, I explained that I was just here to pay my bill. He brought up my information, told me how much my bill was, and I began to count out four twenties from my wallet. Before I handed the money over, he explained that there is a $3.99 charge for using cash. I held onto the money and pointed out that my bill was for $66.54. I also pointed out that I was paying in CASH and it is legal tender that Verizon is obligated to honor. The young man explained to me that the store had new money software. The fee to use cash was to pay for that software.

If I had exact change, I would have given only the amount to cover the bill, but I only had twenties at the time. So I left with an unpaid bill. I absolutely refuse to be nickeled and dimed like that.

So how do I pay Verizon in legal tender without paying for the privilege?

New money software? For what, the cash register?

Our guess is that a misguided Tennessee youth was trying to pocket $4. Verizon always places high in our personal bracket for Worst Company in America, but charging for the privilege of accepting cash is cartoonishly evil, and slightly beyond Verizon's capable and experienced reach.

(Photo: cut paste)

He writes:

I'm at a loss of words right now, the anger and hatred for Bank of America has tuned me into a raging lunatic. I have been on the phone with them twice now, asked to speak with a manager/supervisor and I'm still sitting here spinning my wheels.

This past week, I went out of town to visit with my family. At the start of that weekend my account had $68.39 in it. I went to a coffee house and spent $8.89 there across two purchases (one for me and one for my wife when she joined me afterwords $5.71 and $3.18 respectively). I also went and spent $12.00 on a car wash. That day I had a fit of allergies hit me so I went to the drug store and bought some drugs to help me which came to $19.89. This now brings my total weekend spending to $40.78 and all done on Saturday. This would mean that my account would now be at $27.61. After I got back (Tuesday), I had money from my savings transferred in (see the $420.00 transfer into my account). I then used my check card two more times on Wednesday (yesterday) which are still pending (see the $44.00 and $5.55 purchase both of which say "pending"). However I went into my account today (Thursday) only to find BofA has slapped me with 3 overdraft fees!

Knowing this had to have been done in error (and knowing that in the past BofA has had really great customer service) I gave them a call to point out the error of their ways and to correct my account. This is where I started to loose my sanity as BofA tries to explain how in fact the charges which are still pending brought my account to $18.84 and that the purchases I made over the last weekend caused my account to go over and in fact is why I have three overdraft fees. (Are you as confused as I am? Did BofA invent a time machine that they never told us about??)

Now they explained to me that when I make a purchase that purchase causes a "hold" on my account for that much (hence the Pending) and my account reflects that amount being taken out. Which makes since, I can understand that, but what I cannot understand is how a purchase I made in the "future" made it so that the purchases I made in the "past" cause my account to go over and thus I get three overdraft fees as apposed to one or in what I thought was my case, none.

Am I missing something here? I mean I never did take a class in quantum physics but I did get a B+ in Calculus and both me and my wife (who is a finance major and works as an auditor for a financial institute) cannot understand the math BofA is using here.

I have attached a snapshot of my bank statement so hopefully you can understand and maybe show me where the BofA math is coming from, because to me, I can't see it.

He later added:

Today I went into my local branch (where I opened my account) and talked with an Account Executive (the people above tellers that have offices, I think that's their title but I could be wrong). After I spoke with them and explained my situation, showed them a printout of my bank statement and also explained what BofA told me on the phone, they preceded to call their customer relations line and get the 411.

After the woman explained my situation to the lady on the other line, they told her something that she couldn't understand and thus handed me the phone so so they could explain it to me. The woman on the line proceeded to explain how the hold on the pending amount $44.00 and the charge for $5.55 made my account $10.00 so all remaining charges caused my account to go under and given an overdraft fee. She said this was because when you make a purchase the bank puts a hold on those funds until the receipt from the transaction gets mailed to them for verification.

I tried to explain to the woman on the line that using HER rules that would mean (minus the 420 I deposited into my account to counter act any of this happening) that only the 44.00 charge would have caused my account to go over and thus I should only be charged one overdraft fee and not three. She did not agree and kept reiterating the same thing she told me over and over again.

At this point I said I was done talking with her and handed the phone back to the Account Executive and she hung up on her. The Account Executive was very kind to me, she understood that there is no reason my account should be charged overdraft fees because it was never bellow zero in the first place. She went to her Bank manager and they agreed to pay me half of the fees back to me.

I can't knock the Account Executive or the Bank manager because they understood my situation and understood where I was coming from and did everything in their power to correct the situation. Granted if Corporate BofA had better policies or a calculator that can add and subtract properly I would have never needed to go to them in the first place.

All in all, I still would like the remainder of my money back but I feel somewhat vindicated that at least my local bank understood where I was coming from and did what they could to mend my wounds.

Jason is still out over $50 for Bank of America's error, and not an inch closer to understanding the bank's justification for its ludicrous charges. We're not ones for math, wormholes, or mathematical wormholes, but maybe one of you scientists can untangle Bank of America's convoluted logic. Publish your hypotheses in the comments for peer review.

My name is Ryan. I am originally from New Jersey, but do to my military assignment made San Diego my home in July of 2006. I have had several problems with Sprint over the past few years, but their customer service was always generally helpful and courteous. While I was attending my job training in Mississippi, they even informed me that my bill was adding up greatly because the plan I was under was not nation-wide. That representative even compensated the ridiculous amount that had built up. Obviously, this is NOT the reason for my email.

I was stationed on board the USS COMSTOCK, which was deployed from September 2006 - May 2007. Before we got underway, I sent a letter, signed by my Commanding Officer, that stated I would be unavailable from September 2006 - March 2007 (the original dates before our deployment was extended) and to cut off my service for this time period. Sprint complied and shut off the service to my phone, although they continued to bill me $30 a month for not even using the phone! When I returned in May, vice March, I turned on my cell phone and the service was restored. I have used my cell phone since May 2007 with a radical phone bill, from $60-150 a month, but the statements reflected time I went over my minutes, so I complied and have been paying my bill.

This month my phone bill came for over $500 and I was stunned, because I have not used the phone any more than I normally do. This caught me completely off guard and I called Customer Service immediately. This was the WORST Customer Service I have ever received (and I've been to the local DMV). The first representative put me on hold several times and informed me that because of the Military hold on my contract, they were charging me 75 cents a minute. I explained to her, and then two more supervisors, that I had been using the phone for over 9 months and never once received notification or any kind of indication of these sudden changes in my billing. They stated that their Military deployment freezes are responsible for MY problem (which they reminded me several times that this was MY problem). I was taken aback by not only their uncooperativeness and lack of empathy for someone in my situation, but also because of the fact that I had sent the letter stating that I would only be on deployment for the afore mentioned six month period Sept 06-Mar 07.

In the TWO (2) hours I spent on the phone, which I will probably be charged 75 cents/minute even though I spent over half the time on hold, I spoke with three Sprint representatives. The first one told me the best that Sprint could offer me was for me to pay my exuberant bill and would give me a whopping 10% off the rest of the bills for the remainder of my contract (which I intend to be done with them when that time comes.) The second representative gave me 1/2 off the disputed amount and suggested I talk to their collections department to set up payment (I am a very low ranking member of the Navy, E-3, and therefore, don't make much money).

The final representative was the WORST stranger I have ever spoken with and treated me like I was a criminal. While speaking with him (He would only tell me that his name was Ryan and his user log-in was 1717, and that he worked out of Salt Lake City, UT) I became very frustrated and informed him that I would inform the media and take legal actions, if necessary, to bring light to this situation and that I could not believe that he had such little humanity to tell someone that spent 9 months away from his family and friends to protect his freedom that this was MY problem and that I was irresponsible for not informing Sprint that I was back from deployment. When I asked how he could be so uncaring he answered that it was my own fault and, "I don't care," is what he said to me. This is when I knew things would be ugly. It is not the matter of the money so much as a supervisor, the supervisor's supervisor, said the words, "I don't care," to a customer who has not only been with their company for nearly 4 years, but a Patriot, who signed a contract for 4 years to defend America and his right to say, "I don't care." I want to send a message, "I DO CARE," and even if my case is not brought to justice, I want to warn others, especially Hero's who have served much longer than myself, that Sprint does not care and to stay clear.

Very Respectfully,
YNSN(SW) Ryan, United States Navy

Before ditching Sprint, try one last time to vacate the charges by calling Consumerist's Sprint Executive Customer Support hotline at: (703) 433-4401.

(Photo: smcgee)

Bill ultimately entered his payment information 7 times. Each attempt cost him $233.15. Now his account is out $1,632, and Microsoft is refusing to help.

He writes:

My name is Bill. I work at a large University and deal with Microsoft quite frequently as an IT Manager. Recently I went to purchase the new Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate operating system from their online store, Windows Live Marketplace for my personal use on my home computer. I filled out all the appropriate documentation and submitted my order to them with my debit card information and the nightmare began....

Upon selecting "submit" from their site I was immediately taken to a page stating "Microsoft cannot be contacted at this time" or similar, "Please try again later." So needing a license for Vista right away I resubmitted it and, again, got the same thing "Microsoft cannot be contacted at this time, please try again." After 6 attempts, finally, the 7th attempt was successful and I was able to purchase a copy of Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate Upgrade (which turns out was not what I wanted in the first place). I thought all was well until the following morning... I received a call from the fraud prevention department at my bank stating I had been charged by Microsoft 7 times at $233.15!!!!!!

This was completely unacceptable and I immediately phoned Microsoft when I got to work. Microsoft stated to me that the problem was with the bank and that the charges hadn't actually posted to my account and I just need to wait for the bank to update their info so this is what I did. After a couple days nothing had changed in my bank account. I was still in the hole roughly -$500.00 thanks to Microsoft.

I called Microsoft again and was told my issue would be "escalated". Ok I thought. No problem they recognize the problem and are working to address it and get this taken care of. WRONG. They did in fact remove a couple of the charges (4 of them) but what about the other 3???? I contacted Microsoft Windows Live Marketplace and stated it has been about 2 weeks and I have still seen no change in my bank account. I then told them I would now like to get a refund as well for the one copy I did actually receive. That return was processed in the same phone call the way I would expect the others to be credited back to my bank account. WRONG again. So by this time I have spent almost all month without any money and being late on all of my bills and now, almost a month later, am STILL waiting on Microsoft to refund the other 2 charges that were posted to my account at $233.15. This is almost $500.00 and for someone who gets paid monthly is completely unacceptable. I have been calling Microsoft now for 2 weeks straight and all the Microsoft Windows Live Marketplace keeps telling me is "I am sorry sir your issue has been escalated to our product delevopment team and you should get a call back today or tomorrow." WRONG yet again.... Everytime I call its the same story "... it has been escalated sir sorry" "we will call you tomorrow" ..... No call.

I am really irritated and have asked numerous times for a number or email address to "Product Development" and they keep telling me they don't even have that information and that the system they use doesn't even tell the support person I am speaking with that contact information. WHAT KIND OF SYSTEM IS THIS?

I now have overdue bills and am going hungry for what would appear to be the rest of the month.... I suppose this is what I get for trying to do things legitimately with Microsoft... A big smack in the face.

I give Microsoft a lot of business being and IT manager at a large University but am extremely dissatisfied with this whole experience. I will be seeking Unix/Linux alternatives.

Please Help!!!!

The charges posting:
The charges clearing:
Bill could have protected himself by charging Vista to his credit card. Since Microsoft is unwilling to reverse the clearly erroneous charges, it's time to ask the bank to stand up and fight for its customer. If conversations don't help, leap over the hurdles of incompetence and fire an Executive Email Carpet Bomb at both Microsoft and the bank.

(Photo: johnsu01)
RELATED: Contact Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer

I was told that after Commerce merged with TD Banknorth, they inherited TD's policy of a $100 minimum balance on checking accounts. If you go under that, you get a $15 cycle service charge. About 3 months ago they started assessing it on my account. I went in. Commerce swears they sent me a notice about the change and I swear just as hard that I never got one. I get $30 back. Four days later I deposit enough to bring the account over $100. Safe, right? This month I got hit with another cycle service charge. Ready photon torpedoes.

I go in to the branch and ask the customer service rep to reverse the charge. She says she can't because I already got the other fees waived and their policy is to only waive one. The customer service rep informs me that if your account goes under $100, even for a second, you will get charged a $15 fee. This is a many-layered fee onion, it seems.

I insist on the fee reversal. She says she'll ask her manager. I see her stick her head in the back door from which up to now intermittent laughter has been emanating. She comes back and says he says no. I ask to speak to the manager. He comes over and I ask for the fee to be waived again. Naturally, he resists and go through the same thing about how they sent me the letter and it was my fault for not monitoring things and keeping the balance over $100.

I tell him, "I don't have a problem keeping up with the account or with putting enough money in it. I have $135 in my wallet from depositing my piggy bank in your Penny Arcade. What I have a problem with is getting hit with fees I never heard about." I then push the point that the last time we went through the fee reversal song and dance would have been a great time to tell me that unless I deposited more money right that second I was going to get hit with yet another cycle service charge. "Why didn't anyone tell me this," I ask. "Where is the consideration for customer service? All I'm getting is indifference on the part of Commerce and your employees. Is this a bank, or just a fee processing center?"

"We're not a fee processing center," the manager says, slightly taken aback. He tiptaps at the account, ruminating, "...I don't understand why they didn't tell you about this the last time you were here..."

Seeing my opening, an admission of fallibility, I lunge for it and say, "Me neither! Now we are one the same page! Now you see my problem with your customer service failure."

He says, "Ok, we can refund the fee, but I have to warn you, because your account went under this month, you're going to get another fee next billing cycle," he says. "Why don't you move it into the blah blah blah account? This way you only pay $3 a month instead of getting the cycle service charges."

That does it. I've had it with Commerce. "A book doesn't charge me $3 a month," I reply, "for the favor it is doing me of letting me give it my money which increases its capital reserves and it can use to make loans off of. No, I tell you what we're going to do. We're going to refund this fee, and then we're going to close the account and I'm taking all my money out."

"I don't understand don't you just get the blah blah blah account..."

"And who knows what other fee you'll come up with tomorrow. No. It's over. We had a good run, and now it's over and I want my money back and I will put it in one of my many other accounts which don't charge me fees just to put money in a box."

"Ok, we can do that," he says.

After I get my envelope from the customer service rep and get up to leave she shrugs her shoulders and says, "Sorry." "That's ok," I say, "it's just a business transaction." Total time, 15 minutes. Definitely worth the $15 and avoiding getting charged yet another $15 and who knows what other fees down the line. On the way out, I have one of their lollipops, glad to be eating the sucker instead of being one. My only regret is that the hidden camera I was using this as a test run for didn't work.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

• Examine each statement and bill you get each month for new fees and policy changes.
• If the level one person says no, ask for a manager.
• Even if they say the manager says no, ask to speak to the manager personally.
• When negotiating your position, insist, restate, and hold firm. Victory goes to the persistent.

(Photo: the prodigal untitled13)

Hi, I just read your article about Hollywood Video's policies and most of it is flat out not true.  It sounds like whoever wrote in initially has a particularly evil district manager who is instituting his own policies.

1. Store level employees covering at other stores: This is pretty much retail chain standard, especially in chains with a small number of employees per store.  Hollywood video will reimburse mileage, you just need to fill out a form.  As far as write ups for refusing, must just be that district, it's not policy.  

2. As far as the quotas go, yes and no.  At hire all employees are told that offering these things are "must see behaviors".  They can, and will, fire you for not offering.  There are quotas for Playguard percentage (somewhere in the range of 1.5% for employees, and 5% total for the store, off the top of my head), though employees can't be fired simply for failing to meet the number.  (You can't /make/ people buy stuff)  Store Managers /can/ be fired if their store fails to meet the target two periods in a row.  

3. There is no policy that prevents employees from telling people the money from Playguard does not go to charity.  I will admit it is pretty shady to just stop donating the money however.  

4. Employees can't remove late fees?  Weird, I did it this morning. This may be a policy local to a district if it was getting out of hand.  My best guess anyway.  

5. After 12 days the late fee does go to a separate screen, this has been true for a long time.  It's not to frustrate and confuse people however, and employees see both screens when an account gets pulled up, so if a customer is confused it's solely the fault of an incompetent employee.  The reason for the two screens is that after twelve days, only the store manager (or assistant) can remove or alter the late fee (IE you better have a good reason for being so late).  

6. Receipts don't print for cash transactions that only have rentals or concessions on them.  This is just to save paper.  An employee can print one if it's asked for.  

7. The EW thing never went away, they just stopped requiring employees to push it.  They're actively promoting it again. There's no "silence is acceptance" however, and we need to scan your credit card (an additional time) to activate the offer.

The conditions described by the previous tipster must be local, because I don't deal with anything like it.  I'd advise he go over his DM and talk to someone at corporate.

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"Is Hollywood Video Bringing Back "Silence Is Acceptance" Magazine Subscriptions?"
(Photo: Sister72)

Jenn's checking account with Bank of America recently had a policy change designed to increase overdraft fees, and it worked: sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning she was hit with 6 NSF charges going back the previous 48 hours, because she was about 15 minutes late transferring funds into her account the day before. Technically she had broken the new policy, but Jenn hadn't realized or remembered that there was a policy change and she was taken by surprise. She decided to try to reason with BoA's corporate office about the fees, and explain why she thought they were unfair.

Today, she let us know that her letter worked: "Just got off the phone with BoA Corporate in Boston. They're refunding everything! It pays to write."

We think it's worth looking at her letter as an example of how to present your side of an issue to a large company. Jenn is polite, and her letter is professional and well-written. She makes a point of explaining why she chose to become a BoA customer in the first place, and how she's been an advocate for them in the past—and then points out that this policy change has the effect of ruining her goodwill toward the company by making them "just like every other bank. It's the reason I left Chase."

Of course, Bank of America isn't rescinding the new policy, so it's not like Jenn's letter changed the world or anything. But it does show that it occasionally pays to write a solid letter to the corporate office if you can't resolve your issue at a branch.

May 7, 2008 
Dear Mr. Lewis, 

I am writing you to lodge a formal complaint about 6 overdraft fees that were recently charged to my account. 

I am a dedicated online banker.  I love Bank of America’s to-the-minute online status updates.  It is just one of the many reasons I switched to BoA from Chase two years ago.  I am also an artist, who though salaried, lives to the penny every month to make ends meet.  I check my bank account online every single day.  Sometimes three or four times a day. 

Since joining BoA I have operated under the “as long as there is a positive amount in the account at the end of the day, you won’t get charged an overdraft fee” rule.  Up until last week, that was true.  I frequently buy a sandwich for lunch at noon if I know I’ll be able to deposit $20 by 5pm.  So I was completely shocked to see two overdraft charges show up on a Saturday morning when on Friday night my account was in the black.  What’s worse is that the two fees were charged for transactions made on Thursday and so were backdated, thus also overdrafting every transaction I made on Friday accumulating another four $35 fees! 

Yesterday I went into the Lincoln & Ashland branch in Chicago, IL to dispute the fact that I was charged overdraft fees on a positive account.  My account details were printed and scoured by 3 different CSRs.  No one could understand the charges.  But no one could do anything about them.  They then made a call to Account Services and discovered that apparently the fees were legitimate because of a new rule just instated last month that removes available funds from the account the minute the card is swiped.  So because I had bought some lunch just before I transferred money into my account to cover it I was penalized $210 for what amounted to a 15 minute technicality.  The CSRs sent me away and told me to plead my case to the customer service number.  At the 800-number I was eventually able to talk to “a manager” Jessica, who read me the verbiage that had appeared on customer statements about this change.  So, indeed, the charges are apparently my fault.  Thankfully, Jessica gave me a courtesy refund for 3 of them, which helps a little. 

My complaint is about this new policy.  It makes you just like every other bank.  It is the reason I left Chase.  I thought BoA was different!  And I have recommended BoA to MANY of my artist friends because of that flexibility and that, until now, I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with your employees and with my account management. 

Unfortunately, the remaining $105 that is now tied up in fees will ensure that my rent check this month bounces which means I will be charged more fees in addition to NSF fees from my rental company, and it is all I had budgeted for food for the first two weeks of this month.  The good news is I just got a promotion at work which will, in another month, enable me to pick up and repay this set-back, sign up for automatic deposits, get money into my Savings account that might actually stay there and start to invest in some sort of stability for my future. 

I’m just going to have to think long and hard about whether I want to continue doing all of those things with your bank. 

Thank you for your time. 

Jennifer

(Photo: The Consumerist)

Sending a text message is at least 4 times more expensive than retrieving the same amount of data from the Hubble telescope, according to an astronomer at the University of Leicester. Now we just need a phone that sends messages via deep space. [physorg.com] (Thanks to Linus!)

Expedia thinks it's okay to place a total of $964 on hold on Nicholas' and his girlfriend's credit cards, even though they've already paid for their $3,000 trip in full. When he contacted Expedia to ask them what gives, they told him it would be released within 72 hours. Maybe this is Expedia's way of combatting travel inflation by creating a make-believe rebate-y feeling when you buy an expensive vacation package.

My name is Nicholas. Two days ago my girlfriend and I tried booking a vacation package to Paris through expedia.com.
 
The total cost of the package was approximately $3,000.
 
Expedia gives you the option to split the payment between two cards, so we decided to do that. I entered the card information for my Debit card, she entered the information for her credit card. Both Visa.
 
I wanted to put 80% of the cost on my debit card, the remaining 20% was to be charged to my girlfriends credit card.
 
After we entered all of our payment information, we clicked on the checkout/payment button. The website loaded for a little bit and threw us an error.
 
The error indicated that the payment could not be processed at this time and that we should try again later. 
 
We tried entering our information again, we got the same error.
 
(The error most likely occurred because since I was charging over $2,000 on my debit card, my bank declined the payment since the limit for an online purchase is usually $1,500. You need to call the bank prior to the purchase in order to buy something over $1,500.)
 
Anyways, the next day I check my bank statement online and see that Expedia.com put $464 of my money on hold. My Girlfriend checks her online credit car statement and $500 of her money was put on hold as well.
 
I thought this to be absolutely ridiculous.
 
1. Expedia.com told us that the payment was not processed and to try again later.
2. Neither my girlfriend nor I received emails informing us of these transactions or any other sort of confirmation.
3. When we checked our itinerary on expedia.com, no where did it say that our money was being put on hold.
 
I called expedia costumer service to see what the hell was going on.
 
I was told by a customer service representative that the money was being put on hold and would return to our accounts within 72 hours.
 
I have absolutely no idea what the point of holding about $1000 of our money is since the package itself cost almost $3000.
 
The customer service rep didn't really have a clear explanation as to why our money was on hold, but she did assure us that within 72 hours the money would be back in our accounts.
 
We really wanted to book the trip so we decided to simply charge the entire thing on her credit card.
 
Our trip is now booked, but the $1000 is still on hold.
 
Anyone else have a similar experience?

(Photo: Getty Images)

She writes:

I handle the credit card accounts for my company. We had an inactive American Express Delta Sky Miles card that hadn't been used in several years. (3 to be exact) I called AMEX and closed the account informing the CSR that our company had another AMEX account and that was our primary. I was assured the account was closed and moved on.

Come March, our production manager made a small purchase from a company whom we use infrequently and may have had this old account number in their database (a disturbing thought). Now our production manager does not have the old card in his possession, nor does he have the old account number anywhere. One individual, our CEO, had exclusively used this particular AMEX.

I immediately called the vendor and American Express wanting to know how a transaction could clear on a closed account. The American Express CSR informed me that the account was indeed closed, but it was not uncommon for transactions to go through. I was told that recurring transactions will go through. I told the CSR the story that this was a company we infrequently purchase from, and that this card had not been used in years.

The just from AMEX – Since this was a phone order and the physical card was not used to make this purchase the transaction would have been approved. Apparently the vendor also used a dummy expiration date as the old card expired in 2007. Since the vendor keyed in the account number the transaction was permitted to go through. I told American Express that this was an appalling practice – a closed account – especially one closed 6 months ago – was a closed account and any transaction put to that number should have been declined. The CSR kept insisting that it was my responsibility to make sure all vendors eliminated the old information. This is absurd. Oh, and the CSR told me that this happens all of the time. Many of the credit card transactions machine do not require the security code to process a keyed transaction – just a number and date.

I have sent emails to whatever executives I could find at American Express, and I wanted to alert your site to this wonderful practice. I mean I had heard about ISP's and television services not actually canceling your account, but a credit card company? Seems like bad business practice if you ask me.

American Express isn't alone in keeping zombie accounts on life support. Bank of America's never-die accounts are also known for their miraculous rejuvenations, complete with unexpected service fees. The tactic lets creditors cling to customers, while appearing to oblige their reasonable requests to close their accounts. It's a disgusting practice that should be outlawed.

(Photo: danesparza)

Kelly writes:

I purchased a new home last November, and signed up for COMCAST's telephone, internet and cable service shortly thereafter. I wish I knew beforehand that the choice would cost me hundreds of dollars in overcharges and countless hours of stress.

I used COMCAST's online chat to schedule an appointment for installation during the first week of November. The representative told me the charge would be around $60, and said to have cash ready when the technician showed up.

The installation went fine, and I was pleasantly surprised when the technician didn't request any money. He said the bill would come in the mail. When the bill arrived, I noticed that instead of being around $60, COMCAST charged me $107.45.

When I called later to inquire about the fee, I was told that the online representative's original quote was incorrect, and that the $107.45 was actually their normal installation fee. It struck me as a classic example of "bait and switch," but I decided to let it slide.

In March, I purchased a new computer that required installation of a cable card. A COMCAST service technician came to my house on the morning of March 26. I mentioned the situation to him, saying it was important for me to get everything on paper because I didn't want to experience any more surprises. He told me installations were normally free, and that I had most likely been overcharged. He recommended I call COMCAST's 800-number to request a refund.

I did so that afternoon. I talked to Lauren, rep 7K5, who somehow determined that I was overcharged $59.90. (I never understood where she got that figure, but I wasn't about to complain.) She said she would refund the money and it would come off my next bill.

I received my monthly bill a week or two later. I noticed that not only was I NOT refunded the $60, there were also $5.16 in additional, unnecessary charges. (For two digital starters and additional outlets, neither of which I had.)

I called customer support again around 2 p.m. on April 3 and spoke with Helen, ID FFD. She agreed that I was owed $59.90 plus $5.16 in additional charges, and said she would put a new bill in the mail with a refund of $65.06.

Several days later, I received a copy of the same bill in the mail. I called customer service again, this time at 6:30 p.m. on April 8. I spoke with Dan, ID I2C, who told me that the refund would actually be added to the next statement.

I have not received that statement to see if Dan was correct, but I did receive another surprise when I logged onto my online bank account this morning (April 26). There I noticed that only one day after cashing my payment (by check) of $123.29, COMCAST deducted $74.86 out of my bank account for no discernable reason.

I called customer service this morning and reached Monica, ID N1-J. I expressed confusion about the mysterious charge - not only had I just paid my bill, but I paid by check, like I had every single month since I purchased the service back in October.

I realized that COMCAST had gotten my bank account information back in December, when I signed up for automatic payment withdraw. But I cancelled that service shortly afterward, and never processed a payment using that method. Somehow COMCAST had taken the bank account information I gave them in December and used it to siphon money from my account in April.

Monica could not find a reason why my bank account was charged, nor could she identify what the charge was for. She told me she would refund the money back into my account within four to five business days, but by then I had had enough.

It's bad enough to be stuck with over $100 in overcharges. But now I know that COMCAST has access to my bank account, and could pull money from that account without warning or reason. (Is this even legal?) In any case, my trust in COMCAST has been completely shattered. I can only thank God that the unexpected charge didn't cause me any overdraft fees.

Right now COMCAST owes me $139.92. But how many hours have I spent calling customer service, waiting on hold and checking and rechecking bills? Surely that is worth something - as is the unnecessary stress this continues to cause me. Right now I have little faith that COMCAST will even reimburse my $139.92 - but it will take far more than that to convince me not to take my business somewhere else. I'm not talking about getting additional money, but I would look kindly on a goodwill gesture of free or discounted service. If COMCAST is truly interested in keeping me as a customer, then I believe it's only fair.

(Photo: melinda josie)

Here's MGD's email to us:

I wanted to advise your that the fraud charge from prophotosland.com is part of a massive fraud operation perpetrated by an organized crime syndicate operated from Eastern Europe. This long running multi-year fraud operation has been hijacking millions of dollars a year from consumers debit and credit cards, virtually undetected by the financial institutions. They utilize an elaborate scheme that takes advantage of several weaknesses in the merchant account vetting system. The criminal enterprise is driven by the ability to obtain vast amounts of consumer card data.
 
I have been tracking and documenting this crime syndicate for almost three years, and have several hundred hours of research into the project. prophotosland is a subdivision documented here:
 
"fraud: www.prophotosland.com & www.photogey" [dslreports]
 
However, the master story of the criminal enterprise is here:
 
"Ebook websites, fraud charges, Devbill/DigitalAge/Pluto" [dslreports]
 
A few months ago Shaun Waterman, the UPI Homeland and National Security Editor ran a story on one aspect of the case which was published here:
 
"Analysis: Detroit trial shows cyber-scam" [UPI.com]
 
Recent victims of this fraud have included US military personnel including many stationed in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Germany. There has been many reported cases of hardship as a result of having to cancel their cards due to their location. There are numerous military victim reports on the net. The first reports began shortly after rangerjoes.com database was hacked by these criminals. Many of the overseas victims had purchased supplies from there before heading offshore. Military victim reports began to show up around here:
 
Military reports on main thread [dslreports]
 
and in numerous other places on the net. Mostly under searches of the phone numbers from the fraudulent sites as they were listed on the line item charges on the statements.
 
Regards,
MGD

I just noticed a charge for $9.87 on my WAMU VISA card from someone called prophotosland.com. I had no idea who or what that was, so did a quick google search hoping to jog my memory. What I found was quite a few websites complaining about the same mystery $9.87 charge from the same company and talking about how they couldn't manage to speak with any live person at said company.
 
So I skipped right to calling WAMU to report this fraudulent charge. The person I spoke to expressed no concern at my story and promised to send me a charge dispute form in the mail.