Mike’s mom is one of the fifteen people in the U.S. who doesn’t have a cell phone, so she called him collect from a pay phone in California. Mike and his mom didn’t know it at the time, but they fell into the sarlacc pit that is Custom TeleConnect, a creature that hides in payphones and charges $20 fees for less than half a minute of talking. [More]
billing
Woman Sues Cellphone Company For $600,000 For "Exposing" Her Adultery
By 5.17.10
A woman has sued her wireless provider for $600,000 for outing her as a cheater to her husband. After the they added internet and TV services to the woman’s previously single-user cellphone bill, the wireless company began sending the husband a unified bill, which included several hours long conversations to an unknown number. The husband walked out, and the lawsuits began. [More]
Watch Out For Balance Billing With Your Medical Expenses
By 5.4.10
If you receive a medical bill dunning you for whatever your insurer didn’t pay, take a closer look before writing your check. The New York Times writes that although balance billing is a common practice, it’s not always legal, and you may be able to ignore it. [More]
4 Years Later, Family Still Fighting Verizon On $18k Bill
By 4.30.10
Four years ago Bob and Mary’s and their son used their Verizon Family Share plan to send 33 text messages, talk for 184 free minutes, and to download 1.13 gigabytes of data. The bill? $17,984.02. [More]
Art Institute Of Pittsburgh Sees Our Post, Fixes Student's Billing Issue
By 4.19.10
Last month, Daniel wrote in to complain that the Art Institute Online, which is part of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, had completely jacked up his final semester with them. When he wrote to us, he had no diploma, and he was being charged nearly $3,000 for undisclosed course requirements that the school had promised to comp. Fortunately, he’s written back with some good news. [More]
Amex Gives You Money It Can't Explain, Won't Take It Back
By 3.8.10
Reader Chad was deployed to Iraq from 5/05 to 6/06. American Express gives a special rate to service members when they are deployed, but apparently Chad wasn’t getting it. They figured this out and let him know that they would be crediting his account with a mysterious number they couldn’t explain. Then they credited all his accounts with this exact amount of money– even new ones he didn’t have while in Iraq. Free money is nice, but he’d rather they just give him the right amount. [More]
Verizon Charges You $2 Extra For Detailed Bill
By 1.12.10
Bob stumbled onto Verizon’s dirty little non-secret — if you want a detailed billing statement with your calls listed, you’ll have to pay $1.99 more a month. [More]
Sprint Imposes $5 Monthly Fee Because You Might Pay Late
By 1.10.10
If you have a spending limit on your Sprint account because of your credit history, or in order to prevent runaway data bills, as of today you’ll have to pay for that privilege. Sprint has imposed a $4.99 per month surcharge on all mobile phone accounts that have spending limits in place. [More]
T-Mobile Changes Mind, Lets Family Off The Hook For Stolen Phone Charges
By 1.8.10
Yesterday I posted about Zeb, a special needs guy whose phone was stolen shortly before Christmas. Between then and when his family found out about the theft and reported it to T-Mobile, the thief had made $6,000 in international calls and texts–and T-Mobile wanted Zeb’s family to pay $1,500 of that.
Today I received word from Zeb’s dad that T-Mobile has changed its mind and won’t hold Zeb or his family responsible for the bogus charges. His email is below.
Despite All Evidence To The Contrary, Comcast Believes You Do Not Exist
By 1.6.10
Reader Gregg is pretty sure he exists. Comcast, however, is skeptical. [More]
Guy Asks About His Comcast Bill, Comcast Kills His Cable Modem
By 12.30.09
Matt owns his own cable modem, and it’s worked fine so far with his $165-a-month Comcast Triple Play package. He wanted to check into how he could reduce that ridiculous $165/mo burden, so he chatted online with someone from Comcast to see what his options were. Then he ended the chat and went back to whatever it was he was doing, and Comcast killed his cable modem. Update: Comcast says the end of life (EOL) event was not related to Matt’s chat with the CSR. [More]
FCC Commissioner Says She's Not Happy With Verizon's ETF And Billing Explanations
By 12.24.09
At least one official with the FCC is not impressed by Verizon’s latest explanations of its Early Termination Fees (ETFs) and Mobile Web billing practices. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn released a statement (pdf) last night where she called Verizon’s explanation “unsatisfying” and “troubling,” and she closed with the fighting words, “I look forward to exploring this issue in greater depth with my colleagues in the New Year.” [More]
Verizon Denies It Charges You $2 Each Time You Mistakenly Press A Certain Button On Your Phone
By 12.22.09
Last month, David Pogue at the New York Times published a tip from a self-described Verizon employee. The employee accused Verizon of deliberately rigging its system to trap customers whenever they accidentally press the “Get It Now” or “Mobile Web” buttons on their phones–even if they cancel the operation immediately, they’re charged a fee of $1.99 each time. Both Pogue and the FCC asked Verizon to explain why this happens. Verizon’s response: it doesn’t, and Pogue and the hundreds of people who wrote in to confirm this practice are all crazy. [More]
Shoes.com Website Doesn't Want To Ship To Lora
By 12.21.09
Shoes.com doesn’t seem to like Lora. Not the people at Shoes.com, who were helpful enough, but the website itself. Each time Lora places an order, the system cancels it–and naturally, owing to its hatred of this woman, it won’t tell anyone why. Whatever Lora did to hurt Shoes.com’s feelings, it worked.
(Okay, it may have something to do with billing addresses, but nobody is sure.)
Babies R Us Won't Issue Refund Without Harassing Gift Recipient
By 12.18.09
Reader Merry says that If Babies R Us double-bills you, and it was a gift purchase, you’ll need to let them harass the giftee if you want your money back. [More]
Comcast Sicced Collections On Me Before My Bill Was Due
By 12.8.09
Dan says he’s feeling a bit untrusted by Comcast, which has released the collection agency hounds on him, despite his bill’s due date still being a ways off. [More]
My Roommate Stole My Cable Box And Comcast Wants $300
By 11.23.09
Dave is the responsible roommate — the guy who volunteers to handle all the bills and finances for his pals.
Droid User Says Says Verizon Double-Charged Him For Service Plans
By 11.9.09
Victor, who picked up Verizon’s new iPhone competitor, the Droid, says Verizon billed him for $40 a month in redundant charges.
