In early January I noticed a significant increase in my AT&T statement and contacted them via their web site customer service to inquire and question my bill, noticing a line item I had not seen before, The Billing Resource. What follows is a chronology of exchanges between myself and AT&T and The Billing Resource. I believe it illustrates some kind of consumer fraud, ripoff or theft and I have yet to get some satisfaction from my complaints to these companies.
Query to AT&T regarding: My bill and cost of my Plan
Emailed January 3:12: 00pm
Why is there a substantial increase in my bill dated December 25? My November 25 bill was $83.78 (Plans and Services $31.25); October 25 was $83.64 (Plans and Services $35.69) and this month it's $99.58 and Plans and Services came to $41.12! I notice an additional category, The Billing Resource of $9.95 shows up on my bill beginning November and I want to know what that charge is for. Bottom line my Total is much higher than past bills. I have not changed Plans and thought my Local & Domestic Long Distance was a Residential Flat Rate, bundled with Internet Service. Please explain. Thank you. Lenore Chinn at 415-863-6761.
These exchanges followed my query to AT&T above:
January 5 - an AT&T Representative called in response to my email (AT&T web site) query on January 3. He explained that the extra charge may have been triggered by something I downloaded on the internet. Somehow I couldn't figure how something like this could have occurred much less by charged without my knowledge, authorization or consent.
I looked up The Billing Resource on the internet and discovered other consumers had complained about this kind of billing added to their phone bills and many had not been reimbursed for these charges even after complaints.
The AT&T representative stated that he would remove the $9.95 charge but that since it does not originate with AT&T if these charges continue I may have to take it up with The Billing Resource by contacting their phone number listed on AT&T's bill. While searching for information on this third party company I discovered a web site with that same phone number listed so on January 11 I lodged my query and complaint there.
January 31 - Today I received the latest AT&T bill, dated January 25, and despite The Billing Resource stating via email January 20 that they would block my phone number from the client who was responsible for initiating the charge, something called The Info Resource USA, LLC, the $9.95 from The Billing Resource appeared again.
So I called AT&T to dispute the charge. This time a woman responded to my call and said there was nothing AT&T could do, the charge was not coming from them and that it was perfectly legal for the third party to add the service charge. When I questioned this whole scenario further and emphasized I was not fixing blame on her she became more responsive and began to look into my records.
She noted in the statement of January 25 she saw no additional charges coming from The Billing Resource and thought it had been curtailed when I switched AT&T plans from Personal Choice to All Distance, an action which changed their long distance carrier arrangements for service to me. Her theory is that the charges were somehow triggered through the previous long distance carrier. She further stated that if The Billing Resource charges continue I should contact the White House regarding this kind of activity. I don't think she was kidding. (* Note: In my confusion caused by her explanations of how AT&T operates I later realized that the charge was not showing up on her end. Read on.)
She then decided that since I had changed phone plans when I spoke to the previous AT&T representative on January 5 it might have resolved the issue. The change in plan from Personal Choice, residential flat rate (which I thought included Unlimited Domestic Long Distance), to the current All Distance plan which now DOES include Unlimited Domestic Long Distance might sever any future connection and therefore, billing, by The Billing Resource in behalf of The Info Resource USA, LLC. NOT!!!
She explained that my previous plan's long distance service did not come from AT&T but rather, another company. Who knew, since I only play my monthly bill for phone and internet service to AT&T? She stated that that company (whatever that was) was conceivably subject to having these outside companies able to tack on service charges.
Seems pretty sleazy to me.
I was going to continue to monitor my bill to be sure The Billing Resource or The Info Resource USA, LLC does not add their service charge to my monthly bill from AT&T. But when I looked at the details on the Plan for January and compared it to the one for December I realized they had already added the $9.95 charge in the January 25 statement with my new All Distance plan!
My concern though is that the unwitting consumer is not aware of these kinds of added fees. They are not part of the monthly plans offered by the phone company and I tried to find any reference to this practice. I could not find anything even in the fine print of AT&T's recent brochure to their customers regarding their policies and terms of agreement. They are not taxes or tariffs or any of these other kinds of add-ons that are already a bit mind boggling.
Summary:
So I wonder what kind of action can be taken to prevent or stop this kind of activity. It smacks of consumer fraud, akin to someone stealing one's credit card or credit card number and making unlawful purchases. There was never any indication that I might be incurring fees for a service I knew nothing about nor an invoice directly from a third party. It just seemed to pop up on my monthly AT&T bill, which I noticed for the first time in December. I went back over my recent bills and it seems to have started with my November 25 bill. I never knowingly signed up for services to be added to my monthly phone and internet service, authorized or consented to an outside source to stcik me with these fees. What's to stop them from arbitrarily continuing with this ripoff or to increase these fees at their whim?
Please help!
Thanks!
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