Telemarketing rep called to offer their program at $27.99/month, which was almost identical to the charge I was currently paying SBC. I accepted their offer in an attempt to consolidate my monthly phone billing and incorporate the local (provided by SBC) and long-distance (proviede by MCI) into one simple bill.
I accepted their offer only on the condition that my consolidated bill was going to be less than what I paid prior to the change and the local service was for $27.99 only. The fact that the "line charge" assessment of $6.50/month was never divulged in his marketing spiel and was always an "optional" charge extended by SBC previously, I found my bill exhorbitant after the switch to MCI.
I called to inquire the nature of the $6.50 added charge and was told by one of the customer service phone flunkies that it was an insurance charge in the event I ever had problems with the wiring in my home phone line. I told her that the exact same offer was always waived by SBC each time I had phone service switched from one address to another, and that I wanted to see the Missouri tariff allowing MCI to shove this cost down my throat. I told her that the added charge amounted to a complete breach of agreement that I had with the telemarketing rep as I agreed to $27.99 ONLY for my local phone service and not $27.99 PLUS whatever cost of sales charge that MCI found itself responsbible for in switching service from SBC to MCI.
Failing to receive any support for the legal document I requested relating to the tariff, I was told by a supervisor at MCI that my contract was included in the "welcome package" they mailed. I told her she was seriously misguided and in need of some serious legal education as I accepted the contract solely on the phone conversation I had with their telemarketing rep, who conveniently excluded all the additional fees MCI was going to include in their billing. I told her that their bill constituted a complete breach of oral agreement I had with their rep and for her to go back to the exact date and listen to my express condition on which I was willing to accept their service. It in no way included accepting any additional charges aside from the $27.99/month local service charge.
I now received a collection threat that if I don't pay the incidental charges they have billed, I am threatened with collection and an added 35% collection fee. I encouraged them to simply refer this to legal, and forget the collection effort as I have 10 years of commercial credit/collection experience, as I will have a field day with addressing the entire issue of breach of agreement and won't stop until MCI is closed down the same way their fraudulent parent, World Com, was.
Fraud is still the hallmark and order of the day with MCI. The only thing missing is Ebbers this time.
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