Supporters of removing price caps on utility services claim that deregulation will ultimately result in lower prices and more competition. But a new report claims that when California ditched pricing regulations on landline phone service, it only led to huge bill increases for AT&T customers. [More]
Californians Paying 115% More For AT&T Landline Service Than They Did Before Deregulation
By January 18, 2013
Majority Of U.S. Households Either Don’t Have Or Don’t Use Landline Phones
By December 27, 2012
There are kids and teens out there that have never used anything other than a wireless phone (though these youngsters only seem to text). And many of us who can still remember their first cellphone call — “I’m calling… from the street!” — can’t remember the last time we used a landline at home. [More]
AT&T Upgrades DSL Customer To U-Verse, Slower Internet, Static
By May 16, 2012
Cameron moved recently, but not all that far away. Just to another apartment within the same building. Not so bad. He’s been an AT&T DSL customer for six years, but the Death Star wants to wean customers off DSL and get them onto U-Verse. Cameron was told that he couldn’t be reconnected to DSL down the hall, so he upgraded to U-Verse. Only the upgrade is more of a downgrade. To lower Internet speeds and static on the phone line. [More]
Tales From The AT&T Landline Twilight Zone
By May 15, 2012
Imagine an alternate dimension. One where you have phone service, but it isn’t working. You call AT&T your service provider, and their automated response system tells you that you aren’t an AT&T customer, and to call your actual provider. When you call up AT&T to wait for an actual human to sort this out, they call you back… to immediately put you on hold. [More]
FCC Approves Anti-Cramming Rules For Landlines, But Nothing Yet On Wireless
By April 27, 2012
It’s been almost a year since the FCC finally got around to considering rule changes to keep landline phone service providers from padding customers’ bills with charges for third-party services that range from long-distance service to yoga classes. Today, the commission announced some new regulations — but they only goes so far in protecting consumers. [More]
4 Ways To Slash Phone Expenses
By April 5, 2012
Your phone is not only a lifeline, entertainment device and communication portal to everyone you know, but it’s also a siphon that sucks money out of you monthly. Phone companies are counting on you falling into complacency with paying for unneeded services. [More]
Verizon: You Totally Need This Unnecessary FiOS Upgrade
By March 21, 2012
Verizon really wants Sean to sign up for FiOS. Really, really wants him to sign up. He’s happy kicking it old-school with a regular old copper landline, and dumping the barrage of FiOS ads in the trash. So it was interesting when he got a letter apologizing for nonexistent “service issues” in his area and urging him to upgrade to the newer, shinier fiber optic network. The letter assures him that he can totally keep his current phone plan at its current price – even though the equivalent plan under FiOS is cheaper. [More]
How Our AT&T U-Verse Outage Lasted 5 Days Longer Than It Should Have
By September 16, 2011
Ron has his AT&T U-Verse cable TV, Internet access, and phone lines working now, but only after spending most of the past week fighting with AT&T. He could have had access back on Saturday, the very first day of the outage, but an AT&T rep told him that sending a tech out to him on a Saturday was impossible. It’s not. They shipped a replacement for his malfunctioning gateway out via UPS. It got lost. Ron is frustrated, because he likes U-Verse. When it works. [More]
AT&T CSR: We'll Probably Refund Your Minimum-Use Fees If You Ask
By August 26, 2011
Yesterday, we wrote about a new “minimum use” fee AT&T was charging to landline customers without long-distance service plans. Per the official company line, the only way to get around the fee is to make the equivalent amount in long-distance calls or pay another fee to remove access to long-distance from your account. But a CSR from AT&T tells Consumerist that you can probably get the fees credited back to your account if you just ask. [More]
Verizon Strike May Be Over, But Work Stoppage Will Hit Jobs Report
By August 23, 2011
The 45,000 striking Verizon workers agreed to return to their jobs earlier this week while a contract is ironed out, but the time away from their posts could have far-reaching effects on the economy. Because the workers were off the job the week the Labor Department surveyed employers, they won’t count among the ranks of the employed for the August jobs report. [More]
AT&T Will Only Fix Your Vanishing DSL If You Buy Their Modem
By July 18, 2011
Tonly lives in a deluxe condo building in the sky. Unfortunately for him, high-density urban living and AT&T DSL don’t mix. He waited three months for sweet, sweet Internet access because, as AT&T explained, all of the ports for the building were full. Just a few months later, his access cut out for no clear reason. The most logical explanation is that the line to his condo was switched off by mistake during another customer’s install. Easy enough to fix, isn’t it? But Tony owns his modem, and AT&T is using that as an excuse not to fix the problem. [More]
FCC Proposes Anti-Cramming Regulations For Landline Bills
By July 12, 2011
Last month, FCC chair Julius Genachowski said the commission was preparing to take on the problem of landline bill cramming, the practice of placing mysterious third-party charges for everything from long-distance to yoga classes on your landline bill. Earlier today, the FCC announced more details of its proposed plan. [More]
AT&T Charges Your 82-Year-Old Grandma A $150 ETF
By April 26, 2011
One might think that a recently-widowed 82-year-old woman moving in with her grandson in another state would be have a valid reason for AT&T to waive the early termination fee on her phone and Internet package. Not so! Reader Chris is the grandson in this situation, and he helped his grandmother get the $150 ETF waived. AT&T has finally cooperated: they think. [More]
Verizon To Charge You $3.50 To Pay Your Bill
By October 13, 2010
Starting October 16, all Verizon Communications landline, FiOS, and DSL customers will have to pay a $3.50 fee if they pay their bills by credit or debit card. (Currently there are no plans to apply to same to wireless customers). The only way to get around it is to sign up for auto-billing. Verizon says the new fee is because they have a new vendor for processing credit and debit transactions, and they’re passing on the lack of savings to you. [More]
Verizon Won't Verify Calls On My Bill
By December 9, 2009
Brad can’t bring himself to drop his landline because he sees it as a security blanket, but Verizon is making it a tough choice for him, because it’s charging him more than he thinks he owes on his pay-per-call plan. He’s asked Verizon for an itemized bill, but the company refuses and says it would only give up the information if subpoenaed. [More]
By May 13, 2009
Are Disconnected Landlines Just As Useful In Emergencies As Connected Ones? Responding to comments on our post and on CRO, Consumer Reports posts a follow-up on the debate over the value of landlines in emergencies. [Consumer Reports Electronics]
By May 11, 2009
Using a cell phone as your home phone comes with a risk Although consumers can save money by canceling their land lines, they risk dropped calls and difficulty being located if they ever need to call 911. What do you think: are the savings worth the risk? [Consumer Reports Electronics]
