AOL Connection Leads to $2, 500 Phone Bill

[Florida_Geek]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Phone-Bill.html?pagewanted=print&position=

March 30, 2004
AOL Connection Leads to $2, 500 Phone Bill
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 9:21 a.m. ET

DENVER (AP) -- When Mark Walters received a $2,500 bill from his long-distance carrier, Denver-based Qwest, he figured it had to be a mistake. It was, and it was his daughter's boo-boo.

Elissa Walters, 18, had gone home to Springfield, N.J., for Christmas break, turned on a new computer and called an America Online number in the 973 area code -- the Walters' home area.

Figuring it was a free local call carried by their local carrier, Verizon Communications, she left the computer on. And on. And on.

But just because the area code was the same, it didn't mean the call was local

<cut>>>

OK they got lucky..

"On Monday, however, Thurman said the situation had been resolved and Walters is being charged just $375"

[RobertSeattle]

1. What a Moran

I wonder if the guy also think if there are checks still in his checkbook that means he has money still in the bank.

[lazarus]

2. Yeah, these phone companies are real winners

I had a run-in with the dear, departed MCI years ago. I was making a lot of overseas calls. To the tune of $600 a month (my girlfriend lived there, and this was before the internet).

Suddenly, after about 8 months of this, I got a bill with previous charges of @$500/month for the past 8 months, that MCI just hadn't gotten around to billing me.

I was flabbergasted. When I went to the base legal office, all they could respond with was, "Did you make the calls?" My response was, how do I know? It was 8 months ago, I paid that bill. I assume, when I pay a monthly phone bill, that the charges for that month are cleared up.

Apparently not, according to these jerks. It was 2 years before I could get caught up on this. Had I known that I was running up $1,000/month, I'd have never been on the phone that much. I used the phone as much as I could afford, and that was it.

[AlCzervik]

3. I had the same problem this past summer

with aol, i was not notified when they changed the connection number and my phone company didnt own the number they switched me too, my bill for one month was $673, my phone company called me to tell me and they knew right away what it was. AOL pretty much told me to screw myself but my phone company actually saved the day somewhat. My phone company had a conference call with me and aol and told them they screwed up and i should not have to pay, of course aol didne see it that way and refused. In the end the phone company split the difference, i told aol to fuck off, i was a member for almost 9 years and promptly switched to broadband thru my cable company.

[LynzM]

4. AOL sucks

I work at a company that markets AOL Broadband connections. ICK. eom.