|
LEGAL NOTICE POSTED: To Teleport, AT&T and Verizon. [Click HERE] |
|
Ah, being able to communicate electronically is nice... ("Freedom of Speech," and all that stuff...) Let's all give thanks to the U.S. Pentagon for DARPANET, the "father" of the INTERNET, and "grandfather" of the WORLD WIDE WEB. ..and let's not forget to also thank Ben Franklin, Alexander Bell, Tom Edison, Tim Berners-Lee, Marc Andreessen, Linus Torvalds, and a lot of others too, while we're about it. That would also be nice... It would also BE NICE if AT&T allowed me to use my own phone again, so I could communicate electronically in a bit more traditional way. PLEASE, Oh please,.. may it please the Almighty Omnipotent AT&T gods,... please give me back the use of my phone. (grovel, grovel... snivel, snivel) |
But,.. I seem to be losing my battle with the phone utility bureaucracies.
I recently lost my ability to make or receive telephone calls. I can't even call the operator! (Hopefully I will still be able to call the EMERGENCY 911 NUMBER in case of sickness, fire, or if New York City experiences another new major disaster, or blackout, or etc.)
Our family has had this same phone number for over 30 years. 30 years of monthly payments to the phone company. Month after month. Year after year. All paid up, with even a small CREDIT balance in my favor, (I rounded-up to the closest dollar when I paid the last bill.) when "it" happened... Suddenly, it's just GONE?? ...My dial tone became impotent.
So, what happened? ...
AT&T BUSINESS "kidnapped"or "stole" (slammed) my HOME phone (VERIZON RESIDENTIAL) line and made it into their own (leased) AT&T BUSINESS line by "someone" hitting one wrong digit on a computer keyboard "somewhere" at Teleport, ...an AT&T subsidiary. AT&T unashamedly ADMITTED that this is what happened, and that what they did is all their fault. I even have their confession of negligent incompetence on my answering machine tapes.
Yes, my residential line is now a BUSINESS LINE !!!
Can you or I "slam" a line over for OUR own benefit? No, we do not have that freedom. The freedom of access to wander Verizon's facilities, flicking switches, keying in wrong numbers, etc., is apparently a right that AT&T's Teleport employees DO HAVE however... If you or I were to "slam" someone else's line, it would soon be a FEDERAL CASE... that you can be sure of!! John Ashcroft (a fellow Norskie squarehead, by coincidence) would soon have his Justice Department people knocking down our doors. But, if AT&T does it...?? (Well, read on.)
Verizon, by the way, owns the old installed copper lines & switches, and AT&T now pays Verizon for using "my" line. Verizon could care less, or so it seems, about who pays the copper line charge.
Verizon offered to "return" me to Verizon RESIDENTIAL as a brand NEW customer, ...and apparently at brand NEW, much (3 times) HIGHER RATES. Yes, I've been offered, more than once (by mailed mass-advertisement) to be "returned" at the LOW rate of ONLY TRIPLE what I had been paying before! (Are they completely INSANE at Verizon?)
Verizon said, "We have to treat you as an unknown NEW customer. We can't look at your 30+ years of good payment records." They claim that the FCC rules require this, but wouldn't substantiate this claim to me after I asked for written reference to those FCC rules. As a long time shareholder in Verizon (and of predecessor companies GTE, etc.) it left me wondering... even more so when one of those new "start-up type" third-party competing phone companies told me, "Credit references? Just fax us copies of your old Verizon bills.")
So, what happened after AT&T "mistakenly" (illegally?) slammed me?
They started billing me as a BUSINESS. That's what AT&T's overly automated call-up computer system assumed anyway.
AT&T's computer left "threatening messages " on my answering machine for me to "Pay your bill, to avoid further Collection Activity" But the "business bills" never arrived! Where did they go? Were AT&T BUSINESS bills ever really sent to me? (Tele-phoney?)
AT&T's "BUSINESS" OFFICE HAS NO LEGAL CONTRACT WITH ME.
I'm not a business. My apartment building is zoned by the city as "residential" and there are no businesses legally located in it. My lease is not approved for any business on the premises. Obviously, I've never ever signed a "Letter of Authorization" or made any kind of verbal contract with AT&T BUSINESS. They just claim they "slammed" my phone into a "BUSINESS STATUS" by mistake. (I've since come to believe it was NOT a mistake, but just a new AT&T scam.)
They want me to pay "Business Rates" too, I'm sure... for their mistake.
But, I am NOT a business.
If "Big Brother Bureaucracy" can do it to me,... then
THEY CAN DO IT TO YOU TOO!!
So, AT&T continues leaving "threatening" messages on my answering machine for me to "Pay your bill!" But, I CAN'T pay the bill. Why? ...because I'm not GETTING bills. I can't pay the bill because I don't know HOW MUCH to pay, or WHERE to send the money. It's sort of a "Catch-22" situation, isn't it?
I called the AT&T computer back. But, since I've never gotten a bill, I therefore had no 13-digit ID or PIN number for the computer. It was just another AT&T lesson in futility for me. (Am I just yelling into "The Great Void"..? If a tree falls in the forest and nothing is alive to hear it, does it make a sound?)
You don't understand? Here's a "computer example" for you. Try entering any random 13 digits, and then hit the submit button:
So?.. What did pushing the submit button do for you? ..Nothing! Nothing at all!
Now do you understand the frustration of using AT&T's over-computerized system?
I called "live" AT&T people too. AT&T said the bills were going out from them directly to my post-box address, ...but they never arrived to me. Maybe postal workers are fiendishly stealing all my monthly telephone bills? ....Highly unlikely! I get and (somewhat) dutifully pay all my other bills on a monthly basis. ...I told AT&T that I wasn't getting their bills. I even faxed them. I faxed Verizon. I faxed copies to the NYS Public Service Commission too. (So far, all I get are computer-processed responses back from the NYS-PSC.) Verizon isn't much better. Both NYS-PSC's and Verizon's mail manages to wind up in my Post Office box. But, written correspondence from AT&T BUSINESS has to date never come to my Post Office box. (Very strange, ..ya?)
Yes, even when I finally do get through to so-called "live humans" (they seem to be cloned from "The Stepford Wives" movie) ...the final result is still the same as with AT&T's voice activated computer. (So much for live "customer service.") What irks me the most is that before they hang up these "Stepford People" always end off by parroting: "Thank you for choosing AT&T." (Like I had a choice?)
I no longer fax them. (No dial tone anymore.) Maybe they were getting annoyed with my faxes? Especially since I told them all my faxes and related "slamming" expenses would NOT be borne by me, but by them?...
One day, I spent 15 rainy minutes under a dripping umbrella at a public coin-operated phone outside my local Post Office, doing a balancing act, trying to write down wet notes, juggling pen, soggy paper, umbrella, etc., while waiting for the NYS-PSC Office of Consumer Services' computer voice system to route me over to a live "Case Worker." FINALLY, the PSC Case Worker got on line, but then, within a matter of seconds, just passed me on to AT&T... who then promised to restore my dial tone. (They haven't done so yet. I guess it must take a week or two to flick a switch? ..Or, maybe they've been flicking WRONG switches again? Maybe YOURS this time?..) AT&T people actually haven't kept ANY promise to me so far. The whole affair's taken many months. It's quite ridiculous! ("Thank you for choosing AT&T." ...Ha!!)
I've unfortunately had to deal with bureaucracies before, for a daily living, so I already had the solution to many previous broken promises: ALWAYS TAPE all conversations!!
After the headaches and many sleepless nights that AT&T has caused me, I'm starting to wonder if I really SHOULD pay them, or if maybe THEY should be paying ME instead.
Because of recent shenanigans by Corporate America, the new Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires that executives and independent auditors (think Arthur Andersen) all sign off not only on their company's main financial statements, but also on detailed control processes. They are all supposed to verify & audit EACH STEP, all the way down to THE TRANSACTION LEVEL. How are AT&T executives going to EXPLAIN NOT CORRECTING THIS ILLEGAL CONTRACT?? ...and, many, MANY other "slammings" like it? ...I just wonder?
Technology management magazine " Baseline" reports that in New York State, telecoms are "allowed" one slamming-type complaint per each 2,000 customers. Think about that, if you don't believe IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU TOO... It's much more likely than winning the MEGA BUCKS lottery, and I bet you actually hope THAT could happen to you? (2,000 to 1 odds?) ...Another thing to ponder regarding YOUR CHANCES of also being slammed: How come Verizon needs to MASS-PRINT "Return To Verizon" postcards that they mail out to their MANY slammed former customers?Well, it's not sure that all corporate executives WILL comply with Sarbanes-Oxley. After all, some Big Business people think it's "just another Corporate Tax thing" to be "avoided" legally. The SEC very optimistically estimates compliance will ONLY cost the average company less than $100,000. However, others figure it will actually cost large corporations like AT&T well over $1 for each $500 in revenue... Let's see, I've heard that VERIZON may make $60 to 70 BILLION this year in revenue. (AT&T may make more?) How much is $1 for each $500 of Verizon's revenue? The answer is: About $130 MILLION. That's REAL MONEY to the average slob!! That kind of money may be worth a little bit of jail time or some "big" fines. So what if the corporation gets thrown off the Stock Exchange listing? That's the stockholder's problem. When the CEO (or CFO) gets out of a posh federal "club-house type" jail after a few months, the wife and kiddies will be waiting for them home at the castle. (And, I mean a REAL castle... in England or Switzerland perhaps.)
What about the auditors? The modern firm, of that honest hard-working Norskie squarehead founder Arthur Andersen, got $2 million per WEEK from corporate clients, before the scandals broke. That's a LOT of temptation to look the other way. (He must be spinning in his grave now, old honest Arthur! There went HIS family reputation.)
Hmmm,.. I wonder if the SEC bureaucracy does anything besides drink coffee?
All along I've been stroked... "Don't worry, it'll all get straightened out..."
So now my telephone service is turned off...
And I still get no bills.
I assume maybe the next step is that AT&T's bill collectors will begin to hound me?... Will they bang down my doors? (Or, will they have John Ashcroft's people do that for them?).. I've started developing a "twitch" as I nervously keep looking over my shoulder to see if Big Brother is following me... Will I end up in Debtor's Prison too, like that French guy they made the Broadway hit musical about? Will someone write a play about this? A musical-comedy perhaps? (No, probably not. The French guy actually STOLE some bread. I did nothing at all.) ...stay tuned for the next episode.
The "slamming" happened in May 2003. Since I first discovered it (mostly by accident), in the middle of June, I've asked NYS Public Service Commission bureaucrats just to HAVE AT&T FIX THEIR MISTAKE... They apparently only compile state statistics, drink coffee, gossip to coworkers around the water cooler, and pass the problems back to the phone companies to "solve" in their own way. (I'm guessing it functions sort of like any other "effective" government bureaucracy.) The FCC? ...They pass all New York State complaints over to the NYS-PSC to handle. (Hmmm,.. I wonder,.. What does the FTC handle, if anything? Or, do they pass the buck too? ..."Catch-22" again?)
My question is:
If AT&T can "slam" me from RESIDENTIAL to BUSINESS, why the heck can't they figure out how to "slam" me right back again? ..or at the very least figure out how to GET THEIR BILL TO ME? Needless to say, there are probably many items on their bill that I will probably dispute, or possibly I will even dispute the WHOLE illegal(?) AT&T BUSINESS bill.
I thought AT&T was supposed to be the cutting edge "brains" of our New Technological World Order of the Future? This should be a simple problem to fix? Other businesses make mistakes. All people do. (Heck ya, I've even made a mistake. Ya, ..maybe even two, ya.) But, mistakes should get FIXED as soon as possible. That's taught in "Simple Business 1.01" ..for kindergartners setting up their little lemonade stands! ..and try NOT to poison the customers. ...That's bad for repeat business.
So, WHY can't AT&T FIX THEIR own acknowledged MISTAKES?
(Yes, I've said it before: They've already ADMITTED it's all their fault!!)
Unless,.. maybe it wasn't a mistake?
Maybe, it's one of those so-called "Vast Conspiracy" things?
Well, I've been told there is a GOOD SIDE to every story. The good side to this one is, ..I had been pondering some questions:
1. Should I consolidate ALL my telephone business to Verizon? It would be mostly out of "loyalty" to my youthful Wall Street investing memories. (In my chosen field, ...construction & development, ..most professionals seem to prefer NEXTEL. Oh ya... Vot stories I could tell to the architects, planners, and owners drinking around MY water cooler!)
2. Should Verizon be my Internet provider? I dropped AOL as an internet provider. Their dial-up (and my ancient modem) was way too slow, plus AOL kept disconnecting my computer if I went to make a cup of coffee, or go to the john to take a leak, etc. As for AOL's customer service?... Forget about it!
Fortunately, before the 11th Sept 2001 terrorist attacks, I had been able to scrounge up some old JUNO (text-only) dial-up software to get back on the net via Juno's local server, so was able to keep in daily contact that way with worldwide family & friends. But, Juno later "upgraded" to a WWW-only version... thereby locking out my tiny (free) text-only e-mail version. Lately I've been wondering if Verizon's DSL was the way to go?
3. Should I give away my last few shares of Verizon stock? I had only kept them for "Old Times" sake.
Well, those questions have been answered for me now, ...by all my recent unpleasant experiences with Verizon's so-called "customer service" staff. (There are over 1,000 of them just at Verizon's 140 West St. office space in Manhattan.) ...I guess you can figure out most of my answers. But, I will still keep my shares for the time being. There's an upcoming stockholder's meeting I have a hankering to attend. And, unless an entrenched Verizon bureaucracy blocks me, I'll have a few suggestions for running MY COMPANY (Verizon) in a bit more "customer friendly" way...
Can Enron or another ESCO "slam" my gas supply away from my current residential pipeline
distributor/supplier? (Why has my blue flame become so yellowish lately?)
Can that Ohio "blackout utility" (allegedly) ..or an unregulated "Business-only"
electricity marketeer, kidnap my residential power supply away from my
local electric-line utility/supplier? (Why do I now have 4 television sets
that all went "kaput" for no apparent good reason?)
As I write this first draft, September has just begun... and we head into windy Fall and freezing Winter... Soon comes Year 2004!
I may be sitting around in the dark someday,..
..roasting a weenie over a candle flame!
Oh well, at least my e-mail is still working....
|
Listen to my answering-machine tapes. View my written log, notes, faxes, letters, daily updates, etc.... [Click HERE.] [Click HERE.] [Click HERE.] |
|
POSTED TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: I do not consider myself a customer of AT&T BUSINESS. Never was. Never wanted to be. Never will be. Fourth paragraph etc., etcetera ENFORCEABILITY AND ADMISSIBILITY Electronic Documentation This electronic document and any other electronic documents incorporated herein will be:
Electronic documents introduced as evidence in any judicial, arbitration, mediation or administrative proceeding will, if established and maintained in the ordinary course of business, be admissible to the same extent as business records in written form that are similarly established and maintained. |
Ok, so I'm just kidding!
The truth is, I still can't get that dad-blasted CGI script for a simple-text VISITOR COUNTER working right yet.
But, I think I finally got the "Guest suggestions" and the "Poll voting" script-links sort of straightened out now. (Try them!)
And,... let's see if you can find out where I've hidden a WALTZ somewhere in these web pages.
(Ta og DANSE vel!)
[ Click here: to return BACK again, or use your BACK button. ]
TEST...
Return to top of page [Click HERE]
or use return BACK button.
|
~~ UPDATE ~~ I no longer want ANYTHING to do with either AT&T or Verizon. They are BOTH TERMINATED. In fact, NO telephone, ..NOT ANY telephone is wanted any longer!!
I've sent letters to that effect to both AT&T's CEO and to the New York State PSC's Commissioner. (...and also, sent too many almost "countless" telephone calls, faxes, letters, etc. to their underlings.) This website also constitutes a "Public Posting" to that same effect.
Goodbye AT&T. Goodbye Verizon. Goodbye TELEPHONE. Return to top of page [Click HERE]
|
~~SKL, "Skiffle-Joe" SKL !!~~
~~SKL, "Kjell Arne" SKL !!~~
~~SKL, "Mexico-Joe" SKL !!~~
~~SKL, "Arnie Norse" SKL !!~~
~~SKL, "K.A.J. Printer" SKL !!~~
~~SKL, "Alle sammen" SKL !!~~
Hipp, hipp, hurra!
|
For den som ikkje veit.... .....kor' T===== hen seg gjymer, D er det ganske greit... .....ein stad du aldri glymer... |
Her er eit bilde. Den vart lagret som ein GIF-fil:
[ Til toppen av dokumentet] [ t-dal ]
Jeg har mistet menylinjen, hvordan fr jeg den tilbake?
This is just a test to see how HTML's "blockquote" tag works... My assumption is that it makes the paragraph indented on one or both sides. (I guess it's only the left indent.)Skipping a line, for a new paragraph will still retain the indentation.