Sunday, September 27, 2009

AT&T is jerking me around

So, I just looked at my AT&T cell phone bill from August, and I notice it's over $400.

As I looked at the bill, I was nervous that I might actually OWE that much money, because I took a trip to Alaska in July and I thought I might have to pay roaming from Anchorage.

Weirdly, though, there was no roaming from Anchorage. The reason I was charged $250 too much was that I apparently placed a bunch of calls from Bethel, Alaska.

I was in Alaska, yes, but I've never heard of Bethel, so I looked it up. I thought maybe I had driven through it, or that I had inadvertently picked up the cell tower while in a nearby town.

I tried to find driving directions from Anchorage, but there are none. That's right, you can't drive to Bethel. It's accessible only by boat or plane. It's 350 miles west of Anchorage, so I highly doubt I was picking up the cell tower in Bethel from Anchorage, as the oh-so-helpful AT&T customer service professional suggested.

So, after trying to explain the physics of cell phones to the professional, I just gave up and asked to take my case to the next level. I will hear in 7 to 10 business days what "their decision" is. If they charge me for those calls, I'm going to come unglued. I'm going to send an email to everyone I know. I will keep you updated.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

AT&T can be unbelievable at times!! Unfortunately, I'm stuck with them until some other carrier is allowed to provide service for my particular phone. When I had received my first bill it was double what I was told when setting up my account at the AT&T store! After contacting customer service I had thought things were squared away. My next bill was even more and my plan had been changed! This mess went on for 5 months before things were finally straightened out! I would drop them in a heartbeat if they didn't have me over a barrel for "exclusive" phone service.