AT&T review: third party billing 21

I have been struggling with the same experience. It is totally unacceptable and does border on criminal (or at least unethical). Now that landlines are not a necessity and there are more and more options, I am thinking anyone selecting AT&T would be crazy or at a minimum uninformed. Do yourself a favor before you jump at theie new U-verse... check out the competition ... run from anything that says AT&T.

I have been victimized at least twice by Att through their "Enhanced services" billing and had to play telephone tag with them on both occasions and I expect this sort of thing will continue. My personal opinion of ATT as a result of this problem and others I have experienced with them involving billing is that they are a once reliable American institution that has devolved into nothing more than a cheap scam operation that is so large that they can't be held accountable for their actions. They are above the law morally as well as legally. I am doing some heavy research to find a way to distance myself from these arrogant crooks.

We noticed a November 17 $12.95 charge from Enhanced Services Billing on our ATT phone bill received December 6. Neither my wife nor I ordered any 3rd party land line services. In a call to ATT same day I was told ATT authorizes 3rd party billing but is not responsible for adverse outcomes caused by 3rd parties to consumers. ATT claimed they were filing a Carrier Claim on my behalf and told me to contact Enhanced Services Billing which I did immediately. "Juan" told me my wife ordered the services, called My Info Guard, on line which of course she denied doing. We keep the land line for emergencies when our cell phone service goes down. I told him Enhanced BIlling Services "crammed" us and that is an illegal act. He said he was cancelling the service and refunding the $12.95 charge. I asked for and he gave me a cancellation number. I immediately emailed FTC and the Georgia Public Service Commission with my complaint. In that complaint I pointed out that Enhanced Billing Services, in District of Columbia Civil Action No. 1:01CV01660 (FTC vs Enhanced Services Billing), was permanently restrained and enjoined from Cramming. The very next day I received a call from ATT only because of my filing with the Georgia PSC. ATT in its standard uncustomer-friendly way said it was removing the $12.95 charge and putting a 3rd party billing block on our land line. ATT was most uncooperative in answering my question of why they allow 3rd party charges. ATT has been told before by me in writing not to put any 3rd party services on our phone bill without my prior written consent. ATT continues its predatory practices with impunity putting us a risk. Why is ATT using a company that has been enjoined from cramming as 3rd party Vendors? Above all, I hold ATT accountable for allowing predatory 3rd party charges which are ripping off Americans in this failed economy. Shame on them.

We are charged EVERY MONTH by some company called PaymentOne Corp. a notorious fraud outfit that "crams" (look up cramming on Google) customer accounts without authorization. They get tons of FCC complaints.

We have never done business with them, it is totally, blatant fraud and the phone company (ATT in our case) makes this possible by providing red-carpet service to these criminals.

Go right now to the FCC and file a complaint against any company that crams a charge onto your phone, it's the only way to get rid of them. Also file a complaint against your phone company for letting it happen. They'll soon get the message.

Also, have your phone company put a 3rd Party Billing Block on your phone.

On my February home telephone bill from AT&T, I noticed that my total bill was somewhat greater by about $32.00 from usual. Since, I do not have any service from that company that will produce a variable bill, I went to look at the bill on-line. Here, I am charged $29.90 plus taxes by a company called Enhanced Services Billing Inc.[protected]). I dug deeper into the bill and found the amount has been billed on behalf of EMAIL DISCOUNTS, LLC [protected]). It is some "monthly charges of $14.95" twice, plus taxes. No mention for what service, either. I called At&T at their customer service number and inquired about it. As per them, they do not know what it is, they will take it off for this month, but, will not put a block, as I asked for, for any company that want to charge me for whatsoever! I also have to contact the other company that is billing so that I am not charged again! They will not do anything about that! I told them, you are the one who is billing me and I did not ask you to send me a bill for another company. I also asked if they have any proof of something I ordered, which they were claiming I did. No, they did not and they do not care to either. So, now the hassle is mine.

I called the company, Enhanced Services Billing Inc. [protected]). What I found out is amazing! On the internet, they ask people to fill out a form with their telephone numbers for some prizes (I do not know even if that is true!) and then start charging them through companies like AT&T. The person answering the phone did not even have my name, just the telephone number. Wow! What a business concept! Just get a telephone number from the Internet, find out which company it belongs to and start charging! The customer service person immediately took my name off the list and blocked the number from future billing!

This seems to be 'Win-Win' game for both AT&T and Enhanced Services Billing Inc. They probably have a contract with AT&T for billing plus some Customer Service handling, and 'whoa', they have a business of billing millions of people for $30.00 every month! I understand, 80% of the people billed, will catch it and ask them to take it off the bill, but, there will be another 20%, millions in number, paying Millions of dollars for 'No Service' and AT&T will not promise they will not bill you for these rogues and you are at their mercy! If you do not notice and fight, you pay! Isn't it illegal? May be not, because, they will take it off, as soon as you ask them! This is a great way to rip you off if you are not watching and for you, there is no protection of law from them either!

I am thinking to get a lawyer because it is frustrating the way the AT&T representatives treat you. The plan that the representative at AT&T offered me was for $67.80 I will have local calls, internet Dsl and unlimited national calls if I return to AT&T. When I told her specifically that I did not want international call through at&t, she respond that I did not have to worry about that because international calls were separete from my plan in AT&T and that I can continue with my international calls with my other carrier like I always did. When my bill arrive, it was $247.56 instead or 467.80. I immediately called AT&T and they said that I did international calls through at&t. I explained to them that I was told that I did not have to worry about my long distance calls because National calls were separeted from internationals. I was hung up several times from representatives and treated like if I was the thief. They lied to me, they offered me one thing and they did something different. After a month on the phone talking with representatives one lady agree to charge me only 174 instead of the 247. I stupidily agreed and paid it in two parts. First I sent a 100 dollars check and when I call to verify if they got it, nobody could find the check. Finally it was found in an internet account when I was told that the 67.80 was from all my services through only one account including internet. I call telefonica latina and they were the ones that told me that if you have national calls with one carrier automatically you will have international. They were very polite and offered me the code to call international calls with that number and also advised me to put a block on my international calls that cost me another $20. I did that and this month bill was again a very high $196.88 I called immediately and I was hung up 3 times and they told me that the only way to adjust my international calls is if I pay them 5.00 monthly to be in their international plan. I said that I already put a block that cost me 20.00 and that I do not want any other plan with AT&T, a company that is taking advantage of their customers. They charged me another $111.00 of international calls when I explained to them that I did these calls when a representative told me that international calls were not in my plan and that I did not have to worry. Who can advise me what can I do? This is frustrating. My bill was supposed to be 67.80 since I accepted the offer but my bills have been $247.56 and the other $196.88 because of the international calls and who knows what other charges.

Thanks,

Pilar Aramburu

I agree that this practice hurts a lot of people, but also there are millions of people that opt to have other telecommunications svcs billed to their at&t bill in lieu of pymnt by check or credit card, e.g. person has at&t local phone but sprint long distance, they can attach that to their phone bill for convenience, or intl calls, or web hosting, any comm svc., there are also some svcs at&t does not provide, and people arent always aware, eg 4-11 svc, collect calls, these are all done by other companies, watch out for internet scams, if you do not know and trust the site, do not give any info out, some sites have disclosures that just by reading them and giving info., you are agreeing to certain charges, and if you do not provide a cc # or check, it will automatically get tacked on to your phone bill. And they are correct, there is no way to stop third party charges alltogether, however if you do not agree to a certain charge on your bill from a third party, you can ask the agent to recourse it back to that company, as at&t pays the charges to these companies and then bills the customer, and get reimbursed, and that will effectively remove it from your bill, and that particular company will not be able to add it to the at&t bill again, but that company still has the right to send you a bill directly themselves with their own letterhead for the svcs., and dealing with them is the only way to stop that from happening, At&t can not by law refuse to let someone use other comm products from other companies, or deny them the right to use at&t for the billing purposes, to do so would be a violation of several antitrust laws. The agents you talk to have no way of knowing which chgs. were legit, and which ones were not, as at&t could not possibly monitor all customers at all times, that would be absurd, and invasive, but the last page of the bill gives a synopsis of the charges. One thing I want to warn all comm customers abt. is that when you call At&t, it is so large, and such a high call volume, and trying to pinch money just like everyone else is, that most of the svc. calls are outsourced to third party vendors that are not even part of at&t, they are contracted to handle certain issues, and sell some of the products, but they do not always even have the capability to solve the issue you called abt., there lies the real tragedy, btw, it dosent matter which phone company you use either, they are all contracted with third parties and vendors, and chgs may appear that you do not agree with. Please really look at every bill and analyze the chgs, if something is not right, call that number to the 3rd party immediately, and if you agree still that they are fraudulent, tell them not to charge you anymore, and get a confirmation number to verify that, then call at&t and tell them the story and ask them to recourse the charges, they cannot remove them, but they can recourse them, I want to be perfectly clear. I hope this may help someone, as the economy gets worse, the sharks come out with a vengeance.

Never, and I mean never pay a bill that you do not agree with, you will never be able to get those chgs. removed if you pay them, because by doing that, it is automatically assumed that you agree to them, and it is perfectly legal then as well, and getting a lawyer is expensive, and telecomm giants can tie litigation up with paperwork for years and years, most normal people cant fight that long, and cant afford it, do not ever agree to anything with anyone that is not submitted to you in writing, and make sure that you completely understand every word, and shop around for the best svc to fit your particular needs, and look out for yourself, most people in general are unfortunately not looking out for your best interest, they are looking out for themselves, companies and individuals alike.

Don't be surprised if you read these comments, there are posts, literature, news specials, and business channels warning all consumers about all the scams that can be out there, and if you are unaware in this day and age, it is no longer the companies fault. An old saying, to correct George W. Bush, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. It is your fault if you do not do research or check anything out or just simply believe everything that you see, hear, or read. If you stamp WELCOME on your forehead, do not be surprised or upset when people use you for a doormat!

I could have written any one of these posts. I, too, am an At&t Customer that has been experiencing the Enhanced Billing Services Inc. charges for almost two years. The FCC found out the name and email address of the person who was fraudulently charging my acct. Turns out this person was an At&t customer who lived in my apt previous to my moving in! At&t gave me the same number he was using when I asked them to switch service to the new address. I recently switched to a non-recycled phone number and I'll see if this helps the prob.

I was advised by the third party vendor that I tacitly agree to have my phone number billed. Since ATT more then likely earns money by providing this service to third party vendors I suggest never providing your actual ATT phone number for any reason from now on.

I called your *729 and when connected to an att person I never got a conformation number, question is can someone jump to thrid party off your payment line and steal your information. when calling back to ATT billing they never received my call. Can you contact me please, need to know if calling in payment is not secure with your system and do I need to move my business. Sorry about the complaint, however, if other company jumped on to your service FCC privacy law has been violated. If it did happen and I hope it did not, I can't be the only one. My phone call took place at 7:55 pm central.
Thank you
Gino Lane

The law firm Hoffman & Lazear in Oakland, CA is currently handling a class action lawsuit concerning unauthorized third party billing by AT&T in California. If your bill contained charges from USBI, ESBI or ILD Teleservices, or you have any other information that would assist their investigations, please contact Attorney Chad Saunders at [protected] or email at cas@hoffmanandlazear.com.

AT&T charged me on Sept. 27, 2011 billing $14.95 for a company named TRSCN CLRNG.
I received no product or services from this TRSCN company. Yet, AT&T conspired with them to charge a loyal customer for a false claim.
I called TRSCN, Phone # [protected], call ref.# TC101820, they said that a refund will appear on my AT&T bill.
Four billing statements later, Jan. 15, 2011, AT&T has not refunded my money.
AT&T have acted disrespectful, unethical, and arrogant by joining with TRSCN against their customers.

This post/complaint, sounds like the marketing scam i know about in Pittsburgh(except its with verison). At&t allows these horrible Co's to sell for them, and they give a commission. The problem is, these Co.'s are set up as scams, and aren't checked on by AT&T. Read about MMI marketing in Pittsburgh-formerly Moxy Marketing-and formerly Keen Marketing-even formerly East Coast Innovations... There are many of the same Co.'s it Texas. I bet its the same scam! Good Luck!

I also had a bad experience with AT&T in Arizona. I found $9.99 hidden charges in my phone bill going back 2 months. When I called AT&T, they claimed that the service was providing me with "entertainment news". I checked my phone (as I receive junk texts from third parties as well) and there it was. "Receive entertainment news for $9.99. Text STOP to opt out" or something like that... Are you kidding me? It's bad enough AT&T sells my phone number to junk texting companies and charges me for these texts, but they are allowing these companies to randomly start charging me because I failed to reply to the junk texts? I was fuming. AT&T said that they would remove the charges, but did not have a solution for how I can prevent this in the future. Finally, after foaming at the mouth for 30 min. and continuously asking to escalate, they told me they can put a child lock on my phone that will prohibit any new charges without some special permission (I would have to call them to authorize)... I haven't seen any more hidden charges, but I still get junk texts once in a while. My contract is up and I am want to switch to a different provider... sad, considering I have been with AT&T for a long time.

I HAD BEEN WITH AT&T FOR FORTY YEARS THAT IS WITH THE COMPANY THEY BEGIN TO BILL ME THIRD PARTY BILLING
AROUND 2005 I CALLED THE THIRD PARTY, CHARGES WAS TAKEN TAKEN OFF BUT THE NEXT MONTH THEY WAS BACK
O N GOT TIRED OF CALLING COULD GET ANY RESULT STOP THE SERVICE AROUND 2010 GLAD TO GET RID OF AT&T
USING CONSUMER CELLULAR NO PROBLUM.

I have been struggling with this issue for about 2+ yrs with no help and no results. I am beyond furious! my bill is $2, 000+, it is completely absurd!

Where can I get a copy of all the illegal billing on my account form 2005 to 2013?

I moved in with a friend and I paid the U-Verse bill online as part of our agreement. It was not recurring, I paid on a monthly basis. The bill is in my friends name and she paid it the last month I lived there (May 2012). Now fast fwd to July, I have moved to a different state, and I needed to close my bank acct, and when they brought up my account, I was overdrawn! AT&T took it upon themselves to just help themselves to what was left of my money. When I called customer Service, they absolutely blew me off! Its not alot of money, but that put me over the edge, and I cant do a damn thing about it!

AT&T charged $14.99 for one year to my daughter's (a minor) cell phone number for services her phone could not support. Its a basic phone and they had email and navigation services hooked on to it. It appears that they did this when the phone was set up. Based on the renew date they service actually started prior to when my daughter activated and received the phone. They credited me two months and said it was my fault for not diligently checking the bill sooner. Of course this a family plan with 5 users so the bill is rather long. They also set that my daughter probably activated from her phone, which I'm questioning due to the renewal date of the subscription. This is al via a tele-tech phone based support person. The AT&T person in the shop is the one who pointed out the charge as he knows my daughter's phone didn't support it. He said it is not uncommon for ad-ons to pop up on the bills. AT&T basically picked the pocket of a 7-year customer for $149.90. I estimate that as a family we have spent a minimum of $21, 000 on services through the company. Nice way to treat a loyal customer.