AT&T/Cingular merger causes customer issues

We hate the local news. Anyone else? It’s always the same kinda things: tragic leads, followed by some local snips mixed in with human interest stories. And when the show’s over, you haven’t learned much. The one aspect we do like, however, is when they do “shame on you” segments. They often expose companies and individuals who truly need to be shut down, and boy, are they ruthless in doing it. It’s the one ratings grabber that actually makes sense. We were especially pleased to see an ABC report out of Philadelphia about a woman who’s cell bill grew exponentially after the AT&T/Cingular merger. The woman in question, Constance Griffin, was fine with Cingular. She had a good $50 rate plan, and never went over her minutes. However, once AT&T entered the fray, she found herself consistently over the plan — to the tune of $470. AT&T initially denied any fault, saying it had nothing to do with the merger. What was it, then? Oh, that’s right: AT&T always wants you to “upgrade” your plan. By that, of course, they mean they want you to pay more for services you don’t need. We don’t understand how AT&T could have let this happen. This is supposed to be a “valued” customer. And this is no small issue, either. So instead of taking action immediately, AT&T says “tough luck” and laughs as they stuff their pockets with more 100-dollar bills. It’s sad that the issue was only involved when a major media outlet got involved. Afraid of the PR nightmare that could stem from this, AT&T waived Constance’s $470 bill and changed per plan so that she’s still paying her $50 per month. A nice outcome, yes, but what about all the victims that haven’t gone to TV stations with the problem? [6 Action News]]]>