[PEN-L:9412] Re: Re: Capitalist waste

["ann li" <annzl@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

'slamming' (not to be confused with 'churning'?) is I think what this is
called and of course, is illegal. so much for the 'public interest'...

Ann



----- Original Message -----
From: Ellen Frank <frank@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <pen-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, July 19, 1999 11:32 AM
>Subject: [PEN-L:9283] Re: Capitalist waste


> Then there's the enhanced efficiency of long-distance
> phone service, since competition came to the marketplace.
> I was travelling with small children and needed
> to call home to leave (on our machine)
> the number where we were staying for my husband.
> I pull out my calling card, enter the access code and
> am told my account is no longer in service.
> I call MCI and am told I am no
> longer an MCI subscriber.  Who is?  They don't know.
> I then make an expensive long-distance call through the
> motel to my local phone company and find  that ATT
> took over my service a few
> weeks before, but neglected to inform me of this.
> My local provider can't place a call home for me,
> because they no longer provide long-distance service.
>  ATT  will not allow me to make a long-distance call, because I
> don't have a calling card!  Of course, they can't just set
> up a calling card account  over the phone,
> while I'm travelling.  Nor will ATT let me make a call on their dime,
> even though they switched me
> without permission.
> I can't call collect, since nobody is home.
> I end up using the motel's credit card service,
> at about $5 per call.
> I then placed a "hold" on my line, to prevent
> long-distance companies from switching
> on me without permission.
>  Unfortunately, the "hold" was removed when I moved,
> because I failed to specify that I still wanted it on ( I didn't even
> change my phone number when I moved!) and the same thing
> happened again and again I discovered it while I was travelling and
> needed to use  a calling card.  That time
>  my new long-distance provider
> was some fly-by-night operation I'd never heard of.
>
> Ellen Frank
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>