Phone scam

[MtnMax/Magniac]

Boy, do I feel stupid! I fell prey to the nefarious practices of a company called Preferred Long Distance. My business line was with ATT for a long time, and the cost was creeping up a few dollars every year, so when this company said they could cut my bill significantly, I fell for it. They claim they buy "blocks of service" at a greatly reduced rate, then resell it at a lower price than ATT. I know, I know, but it seemed logical at the time. I received a bill on 10/7, which was dated 10/14, which might be a clue. It was about $20 higher than my normal bill, and only included one actual call; the rest was fees and taxes. I called them to cancel and switch back to ATT, and the customer svc rep, quite rudely, told me I couldn't do that, it would have to be done by ATT. So I immediately called ATT, and was told they would get my service re-instated. That was on Tuesday, 10/7. I was away Wednesday and most of Thursday, and on my return Thursday evening I discovered I had no dial tone. When I called my number from another phone, it didn't ring. Friday I called ATT again to see what was up. Their voicemail said they would get back to me by the end of the day, which didn't happen. (The voicemail also said the best way to contact them was by email, which I did over the weekend.) This morning I rec'd a response saying they were working on it, but they couldn't promise me when it would be accomplished, as they are "at the mercy of the other carrier to release the line". So apparently Preferred L D is holding my line hostage, I would guess for spite. ATT said they put in an "expedite" request for release of the line, we'll see how that works out.
So as of now, I still do not have phone service, so if anyone wishes to contact me, you can do through the email link on my webpage www.cycle-istic.com and I thank you for your patience.
In the meantime, I want to warn all, if you are contacted by Preferred Long Distance, DO NOT AGREE TO ANY DEALINGS WITH THEM. I will post this msg to all the forums I frequent, in the hope of preventing anyone else this headache.
- Dobie

 

[jfeagins]

As a person who still does not carry a cell phone I would say this: ENJOY THE SILENCE! LOL

 

[ga_max]

If you have high speed internet I'd get an ooma. I dropped comcast phone service and now only pay taxes (about $5.00) a month. Call quality has been good so far.

 

[Fire-medic]

I do not think this was for wireless service. I could be wrong, but I bet-not.

Cellphones are a benefit and a bane. I've used one since about 1990. We use them on fire-rescue to call the hospitals' ER's to advise upon incoming pt. status. In that case they are literally lifesavers.

Then you have the people texting & wandering all-over the road, or calling and doing 35 mph on the freeway.

As a person who still does not carry a cell phone I would say this: ENJOY THE SILENCE! LOL

 

[one2dmax]

Yea, you can check into a VOIP service too (Voice over internet protocol). Phone plugs into your computer and uses your internet connection.

Sean

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

As a person who still does not carry a cell phone I would say this: ENJOY THE SILENCE! LOL

That's just what I would do if it wasn't my business line.

 

[MtnMax/Magniac]

Update: After TWO WEEKS my phone service has finally been restored, with the same local AND toll-free numbers. I sincerely apologize to anyone who was unable to reach me during this very frustrating time.

Dobie -- www.cycle-istic.com