U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan Got $16,000 AT&T Bill

[Marcus Yam]

Bill shock.

U.S. Soldier in Afghanistan Got $16,000 AT&T Bill : Read more

 

[warezme]

I'm glad that he was credited but this is how AT&T treats all its customers. That is why I dropped them and will not have any dealings with them.

 

[verbalizer]

AT&T is a joke..

 

[socrates047]

honestly, phone companies cant possibly expect anyone to ever pay up in these situations. once the bill goes over a certain amount there should be red flags popping up that require customer service's attention, not the other way around where they gladly bill you a ridiculous amount with a cold smile on their faces.

something like this happened to a relative of mine. what a nightmare that was.

 

[shoota]

when i was in canada verizon forgot to switch on my plan that we agreed upon. imagine my shock at a $1300 bill. but after a few calls and firm assurance that it was their fault we got it worked out. verizon's customer service is pretty darn good.

 

[maximus20895]

I think that the cell phone companies should give soldiers a break and let them call their families 🙁

 

[IzzyCraft]

"spoke to AT&T where he claimed a representative told him that he could call home for $4.95 a month" that should have been a hint to read the contract.

 

[Travis Beane]

[citation][nom]ct1615[/nom]the cell phone carriers are a joke and milk these plans worse then banks with their hidden fees. the only reason at&t dropped the bill was because of the bad press it would bring. text messages use less bandwidth then a voice telephone call yet these bastards charge outrageous prices on them. they even charge you if you use free wi-fi on your cell....[/citation]
My bank doesn't have hidden fees, and is very friendly. Then again, I had to buy into the bank to get a account (a credit union). Undoubtedly worth it.
Phone carriers on the other hand, yeah, they make you take it in backwards...

 

[gmarsack]

I once was forced to pay a $700+ cell phone bill for my first month due to a misunderstanding of how raped I was going to be by my carrier. They failed to mention that they charge you to preview ringtones, not just buy them. Almost like charging customers to use the air in their stores even if you don't buy their phones. I hate communications companies...

 

[clownbaby]

why the hell does a private in the army have a cell phone overseas? OPSEC? I served in Iraq with the marines, and the very thought of having anything like that on your person seems absurd to me. For very important reasons, communication with the states was only done from a service that was set up in camp. Aside from obvious security issues, it was very important that families be notified through the proper channels when marines were wounded or killed. How can a unit accomplish that with non english speaking, stupid (can't understand a phone bill), shitbird pfcs running around with cell phones. The $16000 bill should be the least worrisome thing in this story. I'm more concerned with the lackluster complacency in his military unit. What the hell is this dipshit kid doing in Afghanistan that he has time to rack up a $16000 phone bill? Maybe there should be more sandbag filling and a few less calls home.

 

[maxiim]

Fuck AT&T....

 

[stingstang]

[citation][nom]clownbaby[/nom]why the hell does a private in the army have a cell phone overseas? OPSEC? I served in Iraq with the marines, and the very thought of having anything like that on your person seems absurd to me. For very important reasons, communication with the states was only done from a service that was set up in camp. Aside from obvious security issues, it was very important that families be notified through the proper channels when marines were wounded or killed. How can a unit accomplish that with non english speaking, stupid (can't understand a phone bill), shitbird pfcs running around with cell phones. The $16000 bill should be the least worrisome thing in this story. I'm more concerned with the lackluster complacency in his military unit. What the hell is this dipshit kid doing in Afghanistan that he has time to rack up a $16000 phone bill? Maybe there should be more sandbag filling and a few less calls home.[/citation]
I agree completely with this. Some of the deployments are a joke now. Everyone I know in my base in Iraq has their iPhone, and are using them as though they were still in the states with all the Wifi connections there are here. I don't know how AT&T could have made a tower and provide service in Afganistan, but it must certainly be paying dividends from these young soldiers wanting to call their families.

 

[Guest]

That sounds about right at&t is the worst company ever and always will be.

 

[JD13]

Just wait till January when Verizon gets the all mighty iPhone 4G, I'm sure allot of people will drop AT&T... I'm not saying that Verizon doesn't overcharge as they all do it. TXT messaging should not cost a penny more! It's pure profit for all of the wireless carriers & they all know it. I just bought a new phone along with new plan from Verizon & I'm afraid to see what the new "smart phone" charges will be.

 

[Blessedman]

I had AT&T when they were cingular and they were not bad at all. Not too many dropped calls, great price and great customer service. When AT&T took over, they changed my price (they killed off my plan) customer service was rigid and cold and took forever to actually reach someone. So my plan was about to run out in like 3 months so I waited them out. When they swapped my plan on me, I informed them that I would be dropping them at the end of my contract, their response "Sorry you feel that way", this was face to face not over the phone. My plan ended on the 15th but their billing cycle starts on the 12th (was never told this or given information of this). When I ended my contract they said oh well you are 3 days into the new cycle and we don't prorate bills, so you will be billed $49.99 for another cycle. I informed them that I would not be paying that and I would like to speak to her manager. She told me that her manager is going to tell me the same thing. I told them to go ahead and send it off to a debt collector and save themselves send me multiple bills. Fought the debt, won, F*@! YOU AT&T!! Loved SBC but so want AT&T to tank!!!!!!

 

[Blessedman]

I had AT&T when they were cingular and they were not bad at all. Not too many dropped calls, great price and great customer service. When AT&T took over, they changed my price (they killed off my plan) customer service was rigid and cold and took forever to actually reach someone. So my plan was about to run out in like 3 months so I waited them out. When they swapped my plan on me, I informed them that I would be dropping them at the end of my contract, their response "Sorry you feel that way", this was face to face not over the phone. My plan ended on the 15th but their billing cycle starts on the 12th (was never told this or given information of this). When I ended my contract they said oh well you are 3 days into the new cycle and we don't prorate bills, so you will be billed $49.99 for another cycle. I informed them that I would not be paying that and I would like to speak to her manager. She told me that her manager is going to tell me the same thing. I told them to go ahead and send it off to a debt collector and save themselves send me multiple bills. Fought the debt, won, F*@! YOU AT&T!! Loved SBC but so want AT&T to tank!!!!!!

 

[roadrunner343]

I am currently a SGT(P) in the US Army. I've been in for 5 year. I've also done to tours to Iraq.

Let me get started first by saying, yes, AT&T is a joke and they should be ashamed of themselves for the bill. Now secondly...

This PFC is a joke and should be ashamed of his stupidity. He should also be ashamed of taking advantage of his status as a soldier to abuse his wireless carrier. I can almost GAURANTEE you that he knew calling home cost a buttload of money on a cell phone.

I just returned this past March, and unless things have changed drastically (Which they haven't) soldiers are not permitted cell phones while deployed anyways, at least not in Iraq. Certain commanding officers are, but that's it.

And finally, he's completely retarded for not simply using the MWR phones that are plentiful just about everywhere in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even if there weren't MWR phones (Doubtful), I am positive his unit has DSN lines somewhere they can use for morale calls.

Don't get me wrong, I want to see a change in AT&T's crappy policies and I hope this story hurts their image a little, but I definitely hope this kid's chain of command absolutely destroys him for his stupidity too.

 

[aaron88_7]

[citation][nom]IzzyCraft[/nom]"spoke to AT&T where he claimed a representative told him that he could call home for $4.95 a month" that should have been a hint to read the contract.[/citation]
Before complaining he should have read the contract you should read the entire article. The article clearly stated English was not his native language, which is most likely why he called them to confirm the price plan in the first place. There's no defending AT&T, they took advantage of someone who doesn't speak English and the only reason they credited his account was because he's a soldier serving in the US military. Anybody else and AT&T would have stuck it to them.

AT&T is all I gotta say!

 

[nebun]

ok...Rivera sought out the help of his commanding officers, as English was not his first language...
this is why people should learn the language...AT&T is not to blame for this. This guy knew what he was doing. I for one knew that my cell phone bill was going to be expensive when i called my wife from IRAQ. Ignorance is not an excuse for stupidity.

 

[nebun]

[citation][nom]maximus20895[/nom]I think that the cell phone companies should give soldiers a break and let them call their families[/citation]
this is crap...do you know how much money a armed forces person makes when he or she is overseas? armed forces or not, you should know how to manage what you have, not make stupid decisions and hope that the companies will help you just because you are fighting in the war