AT&T

(American Telephone & Theft) ?

I want to tell you about what this company is doing: If you use AT&T as your long-distance carrier, you are being ripped off! They are forcing you to pay for a service, that you may be choosing not to utilize! Read on...

In this region of the United States, Ameritech happens to be the local phone company. When I got my phone installed in this house, I chose AT&T as my long-distance carrier, as I had always used them since I had my own phone, (about 25 years now).

Recently, I was looking at my billing from them, and found that I was being charged $3.00 a month, FOR NOT MAKING LONG-DISTANCE CALLS! Huh? What?

Under the heading 'Other charges and credits' there is listed something called "Monthly Usage Minimum Charge", with the explanation 'This amount is the difference between the $3 monthly usage minimum and your qualifying calls and charges each month'. In other words, they are charging me $3.00 a month if I don't use long distance, or the difference from $3.00, if I don't make enough to be charged that amount!

I went to the AT&T site, http://att.com/ and read their explanation: http://www.att.com/press/item/0,1354,658,00.html

It seems they will go broke, if we don't all use at least $3.00 worth of long-distance from them each month, and since they don't feel that is fair, they decided to automatically charge the customer. (Of course, on their homepage, you can read the release of the last quarter statement; you decide if they are going broke).

Well.

If you drive past a gas station, and don't stop in BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED GAS, should they, and more importantly, DO THEY send you a bill, because you are causing them to lose profits because you didn't get gas? And when you go shopping at the local food store for groceries, and purchase, say $50.00 worth of food, does the store charge you the difference between that, and $100.00, because otherwise they aren't selling enough to stay in business? No. The answer to that is NO.

So should you pay AT&T for something you didn't want/get/use/ask for? The answer is not only 'NO', but

HELL NO!!!

This is AT&T's link to write to them. http://att.com/write/ Go down to 'Other Catagories', and select 'Comments for AT&T's chairmen or officers'. And while you are at it, select as many other catagories as you feel appropriate. USE the links, and tell them what YOU, as a customer think of their "Monthly Usage Minimum Charge"!!

Now, they didn't feel that it was important to reply to ME, a single dis-satisfied customer of 25 years, and more than likely you as an individual won't get a response, either. Face it, as long as they think they can get something for nothing, they'll bill you. But if enough CUSTOMERS TELL THEM TO SHOVE THAT CHARGE UP THEIR BUTT, and switch over to an HONEST long-distance carrier, then they might, MIGHT - pull that off of your bill. As for me, I'm switching. So long, AT&T,

YOU CROOKS!

P.S. - You can also thank your politicians for approving crap like this! By the people, FOR the people, oh bull!