dslreports logo
 
    All Forums Hot Topics Gallery
spc
uniqs
52
« overage tos
This is a sub-selection from Idiots

hopeflicker
Capitalism breeds greed
Premium Member
join:2003-04-03
Long Beach, CA

1 edit

hopeflicker to dr3yec

Premium Member

to dr3yec

Re: Idiots

They should flag accounts when a bill/usage gets to a certain point. This will force users to call in and inquire about no access, but they wont do this. They just want your money.
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4

Member

"at&t flagged my account while I was away overseas and I had no contact with my family! That was really bad of them, they shouldn't just close off people's accounts like that!"

kontos
xyzzy
join:2001-10-04
West Henrietta, NY

kontos to hopeflicker

Member

to hopeflicker
said by hopeflicker:

They just want your money.
Yeah, I'd buy that, but in the end the user never ends up paying when the charge gets this ridiculous.

'course the fact that the carriers aren't more strict about keeping this from happening probably shows that the charges are outrageous. If international data really costs them what they charge for it, you can be sure that they would stop people that can't pay it from using that much.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode to EPS4

News Guy

to EPS4
Why not, as most credit card companies do, a call or SMS when things start exceeding the account's median monthly costs?
EPS4
join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

EPS4

Member

Hm, when did they start doing that? A few months back, I had an issue with, as I recall, Citibank, where they shut off my credit card after buying a laptop (which was not part of the "typical purchasing pattern"), and then didn't inform us at all, which caused much consternation as the card simply stopped working, Dell was the one who told us there was a problem, without details. (probably because they didn't have any)

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Some are better than others. I had a Discover Card where they'd call me anytime anything looked remotely strange. It still happens occasionally via VISA. I'm not sure it would be a big deal to send an automated SMS should your account start to seriously get to the point where you need to take out a home equity loan to pay it....
cahiatt
Premium Member
join:2001-03-21
Smyrna, GA

cahiatt to hopeflicker

Premium Member

to hopeflicker
said by hopeflicker:

They should flag accounts when a bill/usage gets to a certain point. This will force users to call in and inquire about no access, but they wont do this. They just want your money.
I agree and feel there is a responsibility on both parties. Firstly the users should, as others have mentioned, read and understood their contract.

I would expect a check every day or two on the online account would have revealed an issue to the account owner before it got out of hand.

I also recall that most cell companies have a credit limit when you open an account which determines how many lines you can get and under what plan. Seems logical that same limit would apply to usage.

At the very minimum you should get a courtesy call or SMS message indicating something is up when your usage is double or more the normal amount. Credit card companies do it all the time.

But $20k to send a gig of data? ATT can rot in hell for that one. I would have thought $300 was out of line.

meister_sd
Premium Member
join:2006-01-29
La Mesa, CA

meister_sd

Premium Member

said by cahiatt:

I would expect a check every day or two on the online account would have revealed an issue to the account owner before it got out of hand.
Most roaming done outside the network won't show on your bill until the roaming partner submits the bill, which can take a month or two. That's why when you login to your ATT account to check your data usage, they usually say something like "it can take up to 24 hours for data usage to be viewed".. Something like that.

Anonymous_
Anonymous
Premium Member
join:2004-06-21
127.0.0.1

2 edits

Anonymous_ to EPS4

Premium Member

to EPS4
said by EPS4:

"at&t flagged my account while I was away overseas and I had no contact with my family! That was really bad of them, they shouldn't just close off people's accounts like that!"
as they advertise that it will work in other places outside of the us

you better sue them

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· TNBP2BA0

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Corehhi to EPS4

Member

to EPS4
said by EPS4:

"at&t flagged my account while I was away overseas and I had no contact with my family! That was really bad of them, they shouldn't just close off people's accounts like that!"
I grew up without cell phones or the internet or 911 or answering machines(they didn't come around until high school for most people I knew). I tell you, you guys sound like it's the end of the world if you don't have immediate access to everyone.
Corehhi

Corehhi to EPS4

Member

to EPS4
said by EPS4:

Hm, when did they start doing that? A few months back, I had an issue with, as I recall, Citibank, where they shut off my credit card after buying a laptop (which was not part of the "typical purchasing pattern"), and then didn't inform us at all, which caused much consternation as the card simply stopped working, Dell was the one who told us there was a problem, without details. (probably because they didn't have any)

I live on a resort island and it happens all the time. CC's say the card is out of it's usual area and spending is out of range. Hotels resturants etc. If you only have one CC you are F'ed because they will do nothing over the phone for you and it takes a day or two for your card to work again. LOL.
jc10098
join:2002-04-10

jc10098 to Corehhi

Member

to Corehhi
It is... JK. Anyway, I think most people over 25 grew up without a cell phone or computer. Computers were very expensive toys until around 1998 / 1999. Back then, they were in the MHZ. A 366 MHZ pc back in 1998 costs like 1500 dollars. That was a good chunk of change. A year or so earlier one could drop 2-3 grand for a computer. As per cell phones, those were also a late 90s item. Most people had beepers until the end of the 90s. Now every 10 year old has a cell phone and myspace.

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
Premium Member
join:2001-08-29
way way out

P Ness to Corehhi

Premium Member

to Corehhi
said by Corehhi:
said by EPS4:

"at&t flagged my account while I was away overseas and I had no contact with my family! That was really bad of them, they shouldn't just close off people's accounts like that!"
I grew up without cell phones or the internet or 911 or answering machines(they didn't come around until high school for most people I knew). I tell you, you guys sound like it's the end of the world if you don't have immediate access to everyone.
and to think your parents or grandparents grew up without radio or TV.

I tell you, your generation sounded like the end of the world if you did not have radio or TV. god forbid we tried to take away your so called rock and roll.

i love the retarded....
st7860
join:2004-05-13
San Francisco, CA

1 recommendation

st7860 to meister_sd

Member

to meister_sd
said by meister_sd:

said by cahiatt:

I would expect a check every day or two on the online account would have revealed an issue to the account owner before it got out of hand.
Most roaming done outside the network won't show on your bill until the roaming partner submits the bill, which can take a month or two. That's why when you login to your ATT account to check your data usage, they usually say something like "it can take up to 24 hours for data usage to be viewed".. Something like that.
funny how they can authenticate a simcard/home location register in real time, but it takes 'longer' to count the usage.
YayOtters
join:2004-06-12
Monroe, NC

YayOtters to Corehhi

Member

to Corehhi
That sounds like a big issue....
I like the idea of a company trying to protect me from charges made by people using my card, but without an easy way of working things out (over the phone), it's a bad system.

And the number better be on the card to resolve the issue as well. I had an issue with my debit/credit card saying that it was over its limit or some crap and the only number on the back was an ATM finder and a number for the local office, which would've been closed that day anyways. A number to Visa's center would've been much more efficient. My issue solved itself luckily though, I just went to a different booth for tickets and it worked normally...Weird.

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Corehhi

Member

said by YayOtters:

That sounds like a big issue....
I like the idea of a company trying to protect me from charges made by people using my card, but without an easy way of working things out (over the phone), it's a bad system.

And the number better be on the card to resolve the issue as well. I had an issue with my debit/credit card saying that it was over its limit or some crap and the only number on the back was an ATM finder and a number for the local office, which would've been closed that day anyways. A number to Visa's center would've been much more efficient. My issue solved itself luckily though, I just went to a different booth for tickets and it worked normally...Weird.
That red flag thing is a major issue. They tell you to call a head of time and tell the CC company that you will be out of town and spending more than usual.

Another point is hotels will block out more money then your room bill on your CC so if your close to your limit you can run into trouble that way.

Here's what happened to my debit card. A clerk had a CC machine that didn't read the card well or something was wrong with it. He ran my card 3 times and the next time I tried to use my card it didn't work. I had to call and what they said was my card was flag because it looked like someone was trying to use the debit card but didn't know the pin??? Be aware that if you use your debit card and something isn't working right it very well may be flagged.

heliox
Not at the table Carlos.
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
Corona, CA

heliox to Corehhi

Premium Member

to Corehhi
Some people didn't grow up with antibiotics and a functioning sewer system either. Sure they died by the age of 35, but life was good back then...huh?

Corehhi
join:2002-01-28
Bluffton, SC

Corehhi

Member

said by heliox:

Some people didn't grow up with antibiotics and a functioning sewer system either. Sure they died by the age of 35, but life was good back then...huh?
But they didn't whine about not being connected to everyone every minute. Also I didn't try to drag a TV and a radio everywhere with me. LOL. I did always put a FM radio in whatever car I was driving. AM radio were standard for a long time. LOL>

So it seems that not having a cellphone in your world is the same as antibiotics not being invented yet???

heliox
Not at the table Carlos.
Premium Member
join:2000-11-28
Corona, CA

heliox

Premium Member

My point being, times change.
Grow with them, or go live in Central Africa.

And yes, for some, being connected is very important.
« overage tos
This is a sub-selection from Idiots