TONY! VS. the scammers and the incompetent (AT&T & American Express)

[TONY!]

I was told that I could not win. "You can't fight city hall," some stupid woman said.

Since this forum helped me out in the following case, it would only be fitting of me to thank the members here for their feedback since I used it as references.
If ever you get into a such a trap, I hope you can look at my case and learn rather than just letting them extort your hard earned money from honest work.
After the business practices that I seen them perform, I would be less than my best to not warn others on how they deal with their customers.

Am Ex--As far as dealing with credit card companies, don't rate them based on the intro rates that they offer you nor the limit they are willing to give you, judge them first based on how their customer service performs.
Having less than competent employees (customer service department) is a fine way to obtain strikes on your credit report.
As if their customer service department was not enough, a rep in their collections department broke the law under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:
§ 807. False or misleading representations [15 USC 1962e]
http://www.cardreport.com/laws/fdcpa/fdcpa.html#807
"The threat to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken."
Since the statute of limitations ran out, it would be illegal for him to tell me that a judgment is coming my way, yet he tried and threatened with this false and misleading representation. There are other lies and deceptive measures on his part, but this writing is long enough.


AT&T--As far as dealing with internet service providers, stay away from companies that are just wishing for half a chance for you to fall in a trap and then rape you--what a huge difference in how AOL treats their customers!
AT&T tried to rip me off for over $850 because I used them for basic dial up internet service over the course of about 60 days.

I was asked to write the following letter to dispute the debt (scam), which was a waste of my time because American Express told me after reading it that I was too late anyways--why ask me for it then?!

Here is my case that is all explained in the mentioned letter:

Dear Sir or Madam:

This letter is a response to a phone conversation I had with Mr. Harris a few weeks ago in regards to the account xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and SS number of xxx-xx-xxxx.

The following are the details that I mentioned/discussed in that conversation, which I was asked to type out and send in this manner.

AT&T was my internet service provider but I paid them in full for what I requested and canceled them on March of 1999.
The only service that I used, wanted, and agreed to, was the service that I have already paid for in full, which would be basic dial up service.
I never requested, never benefited from, nor agreed to pay for the 800 number charges that were incurred.
I had never seen anything on my screen stating that I would have to pay $300 - $400 a month for basic dial-up internet (all that I ever received). I was never informed that I would incur such rates after joining or any confirmation from AT&T on being on such a program.

When I finally did notice that I was hooked up to such a plan it was from seeing my credit car bill, and months already had passed. I called AT&T immediately to discuss the matter with them.

With the information that I know now and after hearing of the other cases that I have heard about their unscrupulous business practices, it is no surprise to me that they would not handle this issue in a fair manner. At that time of being a current customer of their services, they seemingly had no interest in keeping me as a customer, but were set on getting every single penny out of that trap they set up.

Up until dealing with that company, I had always made good on any debt that I had incurred! I have not, nor have I ever had any intentions of ripping anyone or company off. My records show that I pay for what I buy.

After seeing how AT&T would not budge from its lock-jawed bite on me, I tried to contact American Express and explain my situation to them.

In addition to contacting AT&T, I had numerously called the American Express Customer Service Department and assertively asked to speak with someone with the authority to remedy this problem. I would call their customer service number, then get transferred to another department and number, and then again be transferred, and then again until I was back to where I started.
On the last attempt, I finally made my way to someone who knew someone who could hear my case. I was told that I would not be able to speak directly with the person that could help me because it was not within their predetermined method of handling cases.
After some convincing on my part on why it would be so important for me to be able to represent my side of the case, I was told that someone from the disputing department would contact me, but not told when. Later that week, a woman by the name of Anne Marie called when I was not home. (She sounded to be maybe of African American descent - I only mention that because I am trying to be as descriptive as possible if it helps any.)
She attempted to leave a number that I could reach her with, but when she left the number on the answering machine, she blurred the last couple of digits beyond any degree of recognition!
I replayed the message over and over, but there was no hope to understand her message that was blurred due to poor pronunciation.
At that point, after all my attempts to handle this matter--to contact someone who could evaluate this case, after the runarounds in being transferred in circles, then to be “given” a number in a very unclear and possibly careless manner--I felt as if I hit a dead end in resolving this problem the appropriate way.

Then some correspondence from law firms came my way.
One law firm called me, and I discussed this matter with them without any reluctance at all from my end--I was glad someone was willing to hear my case, even if he was not hired to represent my side. He was very understanding and told me that he was no longer interested in pursuing the debt after hearing my side. He even offered me advice on what I should do to get this strike off of my credit.
A new law firm took on the task of trying to collect this “debt.”
For this firm, I had my lawyer write them and tell them my situation with AT&T.

So now, both of the law firms that were hired to collect (or sold the “debt&#8221 did not want this case after hearing or reading my side of the story.

I will not ever pay for any scams or traps. I paid for what I requested and received (basic dial up service)—even when I knew that AT&T would not budge from its position. I figured out what dial up service would have been for the interval of time that I used it for and paid AT&T and then canceled their service at the time that I first received notice of their outrageous rates (that I never agreed to). I have paid a lawyer and will pay more if I need to, but I will not reward/pay anyone ever for any devious and crafty extortion traps.
I did use AT&T for dial up service and I paid that in full long ago
.
If I were a scammer, I would have continued to do such acts and have a history of it.
My credit report will show that I do pay my debts and don’t weasel myself out of them, although I am late sometimes—but I make good on my debts.
I have stopped using credit cards because of this case and I do not have time for all that has come out of this situation. The inconveniences, time, and money this case has cost me are far, far greater than any services AT&T could have possibly ever offered me.

To give you a sense of who I am and my business practices, I will enclose my credit report (which you may already have access to), my eBay ratings (which would reflect my business practices), as well as how I deal with members in all of the communities that I sell/buy to/from.

I have to expect nothing less than having this strike off of my credit history, and I will contact and send as many copies to as many different agencies and departments as I need to in order to fulfill that task.

If by chance this letter has found its way to someone that is new to such cases or placed at the wrong department, please contact me by phone at (xxx) xxx-xxxx so that I can send further copies to whomever it is that I need to send this letter to.



Sincerely,
Tony Mawad

I know that everyone has heard of AT&T, but I am not a household name or as well know. Knowing that, I feel as if I am at a disadvantage from the start.
To give you an idea of whom I am, and to possibly shrink that disadvantage I will mention the following, which I would think is relevant in determining this case:

I have been an educator in many schools and have been trusted to be an advocate in character development for student ranging from kindergarten to twelfth grade.

Just about everyone that has ever bought from/sold to me has raved me for my business practices, and I do not set traps or hustles (unlike what I can say for AT&T).
It is apparent to me that I am considered to have a higher approval rating than them for being a more honest playing in the game of business.

You will not meet me in person, but this is a reflection of who I am and how I deal (see attached pages).

Then I printed the following web pages from the net (that some of you helped me with):

http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback&userid=tonymawad&ssPageName=STRK:ME:UFS
http://supraforums.com/forum/traderratings.php?u=54468
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13471
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10052
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10366
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9243
http://www.supramania.com/forums/showthread.php?&p=79657


And that is my feedback on two companies that I will never buy anything from in my lifetime.
As of now, the debt (scam) is off my credit report and the SOL (statute of limitations) has run out.
Their black cloud has passed and I never buckled.

If anyone has any issues dealing with disputing debts, dealing with creditors, dealing with reporting agencies, etc; here are some great sample letters that you can use for that:
http://consumers.creditnet.com/Discussions/f-sample-letters-25.html/

 

[figgie]

boo

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