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Cingular Wireless Deceitful Practices re: Roaming Charges Ripoff Little Rock Arkansas
I am reporting Cingular's blatantly deceitful practices with respect to how it assesses roaming charges. I recently received my bill and was dismayed to see $83.74 in roaming charges on top of my normal $35.00 bill. While not nearly as much as the $600+ roaming charges I read about elsewhere on Rip-Off, I believe my situation is only the tip of the iceberg and am not a consumer who responds kindly to being taken advantage of - no matter what the monetary amount.
When I called to complain about the charges, I was informed that Cingular changed its policy in November of 2004 so that its phones no longer notify a consumer when his/her phone might be roaming. I never received notice of such a change in policy - and therefore my point to Mr. Kennard White was that Cingular had unilaterally changed its contract with me without my consent or knowledge. His one and only point was that I could not deny making these calls! I repeatedly tried to get him to understand that the relevant point was that I NEVER would have made one minute of those calls had I known I was paying .79 per minute. He unfortunately was unable to grasp that concept.
I also was told I did not have a nation-wide plan, which I was told I did have when I switched my Cingular plan from Puerto Rico to Boston in December of 2003. Mr. White was unable to locate my contract so therefore could not verify what my contract says. If indeed it says I have a regional plan, then I am likely bound to that - although I swear I was misinformed by the Cingular employee in 2003. However, the major issue is with the change Cingular made with respect to no longer notifying its customers when its phones are roaming.
The company representative I spoke with prior to Mr. White informed me that Cingular made this change to "save money." I quickly let him know that it was clear that the change was intended to "make money" as many consumers would surely rack up tons of roaming minutes since they would never know they were doing so. Even if I had received notice of this change in policy, I believe this practice constitutes an unfair practice - but since I did NOT there is no question that in my case it was unfair, deceptive, and illegal.
I plan on doing everything I can to hold Cingular accountable - perhaps it only means small claims court for me. However, if others have had similar issues with Cingular I think a broader attack should be made on this practice. Also, I immediately terminated my service and urge others to switch carriers once their contracts expire.
In a further, and unrelated point, I would encourage cell phone users to select plans with the lowest number of minutes and use their phones sparingly. While science may not be conclusive YET there are studies out there which suggest that the electro-magnetic field radiation emitted at low levels by cell phones can be harmful to human health over time. I try to limit my cell phone usage to 1 to 3 minute calls and use land lines for any longer conversations.
At some point, Americans are going to grow weary of corporate stealing. Too much attention is focused on taxes - meanwhile our hard earned dollars are robbed, not so much by the government, as by the corporations that the government permits to run roughshod over our rights as consumers and citizens. If there is an unfair charge on your bill - don't roll over and pay it.. fight back!