AT&T is charging users of its prepaid calling cards up to eight minutes per minute spent making an in-state call. The practice began in February and affects in-state calls made from every state except Illinois, Indiana, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
telephony
FCC Chairman Orders Telecoms To Restore Access To Free Iowa-Based Conference Call Providers
By 5.5.07
The Chairman of the FCC, Kevin Martin, has issued a stern rebuke to the telecoms that blocked their subscribers from accessing free Iowa-based conference call providers. Quoth the Chairman:
We actually contacted the companies that were listed in the press [reports] and said our rules prohibit you from blocking consumers’ access to any of the service providers… One had stopped blocking, but we heard complaints the next week that they were restricting access, sort of narrowing the pipe. We called them back and said, no, no, you can’t artificially degrade [service] either.
We think you should celebrate this reversal with your friends on a free Iowa-based conference call. If the service is blocked, or in any way degraded, don’t hesitate to fill out the FTC’s consumer complaint form. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Stop Tktktkkt Sound By Wrapping Cellphone In Aluminum Foil
By 5.5.07
If you have a problem with your cellphone making an annoying tkkttktktk sound come out your speakers, this Instructable says wrap it aluminum foil. Doing so should prevent the EMF gremlins from escaping and wrecking havoc on your audio equipment.
Verizon Specifies How You're Allowed To Link To Its Site
By 5.4.07
Harry Maugans discovered that Verizon thinks it can stipulate how you link to their website.
Verizon: That'll Be $2 For Not Making Long Distance Calls, Please
By 5.3.07
“Even though I don’t have a plan with them, they say I still have the ability to make a long-distance call if I ever need to, so I have to pay them $2 a month?” Bius said. “What am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to pay them $2 for no reason?”
Sprint Makes A Minister's Wife Cry
By 5.2.07
The life of a Consumerist editor can be a roller coaster ride of emotion. One minute you’re laughing at Delta airlines uglyass new planes, the next you’re reading a letter from a minister who says Sprint made his wife cry.
Save With Tmobile Employee Friends And Family Discount Program
By 5.1.07
Like Sprint, Tmobile also has an employee referral discount program. You can get savings on new plans and service cellphones by going to t-mobile.com/friendsandfamily or calling 1-866-646-4688 and mentioning promo code 4450TMOFAN.
Helio Call Centers Staffed By Retards
By 5.1.07
Helio is an exciting new cellphone company! We heard about them some months ago when they just got started and were launching 2-page spreads in major magazines and taking out ads on prominent websites, except then they decided to only pay for the magazine ads and told the websites to go screw themselves. This general air of assclowns spinning asshats on sticks at the asscircus trickles down all the way to their call centers, which, based on reader Dave’s complaint, has their head totally up their ass. Which must hurt because it’s also got a spinning asshat on it (on a stick, no less) but we digress.
Illinois Cellphone Lemon Law Approved, Moves On To State Senate
By 4.30.07
We like the basic idea behind this law, which is: If your cellphone breaks 3 times, you can cancel with no ETF. We’re sure it’s more complicated than that, but that’s the basic idea.
Feeling Cingular
By 4.30.07
Justin Callaway’s Cingular cellphone sent radio interference that destroyed one of his prized speakers, so he made an awesome music video about it.
10 Confessions Of A Telephone Company Customer Service Rep
By 4.27.07
A current customer service rep at a telephone company tells you what’s really going on on the other side of the line when you call in: abject loathing.
Customizing the Motorola Vxxx
By 4.27.07
Here’s a cool guide for hacking your Motorola Vxxx (x being a wildcard) so you can make it show the color styles, shutdown and startup animations, outer text displays, etc, that you want.
6 Documents Sprint Reps Have That You Don't That Could Help You Buy Your Next Cellphone
By 4.27.07
If you’re shopping for a Sprint phone and or plan, you might find this six documents useful handed to us by one of their recently fired customer service reps.
80 Sprint Department Phone Numbers
By 4.27.07
Inside, a list of 80 different Sprint company phone numbers by department.
How To Negotiate What You Want From Sprint Retentions
By 4.27.07
A former call center worker told us how to get to, and deal with, Sprint retentions department so they will fix billing errors, or waive fees.
UPDATE: Kitten-Filled YouTube Mocks T-Mobile's $629 Foot-Dragging
By 4.26.07
From what we can gather, T-mobile said he was responsible for all charges made before he reported the incident. Then they said they would wipe all the charges, after he faxed a police report. Then they kept saying they never got the fax.
A Document Alltel Looks At When You Want To Cancel Cellphone Service
By 4.26.07
Inside is an official Alltel internal company document on what they’re supposed to do when customers call up asking to cancel their cellphone service.
Cingular: Can't Pay Your Fraudulent $26,000 Bill? File For Bankruptcy.
By 4.25.07
If you dig through all the fine print in your cell phone contract, you’ll most likely discover a statement that reads something like this: “Should your cell phone be lost or stolen you are responsible for any costs incurred for unauthorized calls made prior to reporting the cell phone missing.”
