Starting Dec 12th, AT&T is going to deduct a monthly charge from my prepay account for E911 service!

[DRoseDARs]

Wha wha WHAT?!?!?!

Text of the text message I received today:

AT&T Free Msg: A monthly fee related to 911 service will be deducted from your balance starting 12/2. Details at www.att.com/gophoneE911 From:1111509411 10:37am 10/30/08



And here's the stuff on that webpage:

GoPhone E911
E911 Related Charges On GoPhone Accounts

The following E911 fees are taken out of the balance of the GoPhone account each month to the extent that the account has a sufficient positive balance to cover the fees.

E911 fees are charges imposed on the customer pursuant to state law to finance Enhanced 911 services in the state. AT&T is required to impose these fees on its customers and to remit the collected fees to the respective states. These fees are generally used by the states to recover costs related to building and operating enhanced 911 services.

AT&T may also be required by state law to impose other charges against its customers to finance other regulatory mandates. To the extent AT&T is required to impose these charges against its customers and remit the collections to the state, it shall do so in accordance with the law.

State Description Flat Fee Per Month Day Of The Month
Alabama Local Wireless Surcharge $0.70 3rd
Arkansas 911 Service Fee $0.50 6th
Connecticut 911 Service Fee $0.46 6th
Georgia 911 Service Fee $1.50 5th
Illinois 911 Service Fee $0.73 3rd
Illinois (Chicago) City 911 Service Fee $2.50 3rd
Indiana 911 Service Fee $0.50 4th
Iowa 911 Service Fee $0.65 3rd
Kentucky 911 Service Fee $0.70 6th
Maine 911 Service Fee $0.30 5th
Michigan 911 Service Fee $0.85 1st
Minnesota 911 Service Fee $0.65 3rd
Relay Service Device Fund Surcharge $0.06 3rd
Nebraska 911 Service Fee $0.50 3rd
Nevada Local 911 Service Fee $0.25 2nd
Ohio State/Local Wireless E911 Costs $0.32 5th
Oklahoma Local 911 Service Fee $0.50 4th
Pennsylvania 911 Service Fee $1.00 4th
Puerto Rico Emergency Svc Charge $0.50 Fee taken on day of month service was activated: (i.e. if service was activated on 1/12; first fee will be deducted on 2/12)
Rhode Island 911 Service Fee $1.00 6th
E911 GIS & Tech Fund $0.26 6th
South Dakota Local Wireless 911 Surcharge $0.75 3rd
Tennessee Local Wireless Surcharge $1.00 3rd
Virginia VA Wireless E911 $0.75 6th
Washington WA State 911 Service Fee $0.20 3rd
County 911 Service Fee / Local Wireless 911 $0.50 3rd



So is AT&T saying states are requiring them by law to charge this fee on a service that most people (thankfully) NEVER have to use, or is AT&T using the law as an excuse to charge a fee for a required life-saving service? I am a prepay customer. I got AT&T Free-2-Go (which turned into Cingular GoPhone when Cingular bought AT&T Wireless, which became AT&T GoPhone when AT&T bought Cingular) back in 2000 specifically because I did not want a monthly bill (unsteady and low income, so monthly bills beyond my driver's and health insurance ill-advised). That's the whole point of pay-as-you-go: Pay only for what you use, when you use it. Are other telecos doing this? If not, I may switch now. I've been sick of AT&T for some time now and I've been physically sick (urinary tract infection) for the past few days and really didn't need this aggravation right now. Fuck I'm pissed. :nuke:

[leftofcool]

1. Switch to Working Assets

Thet changed their name to CREDO but it is still the same good company

[dysfunctional press]

3. never heard of them- what's their coverage area like?

i live kinda rural, and not all the phone companies have good coverage around here.

[leftofcool]

4. Well, we can call anywhere at anytime for 10 cents a minute

but we do live in the city. Do a google search for CREDO. The reason we like them is because they are a liberal company and when we round up our payment each month to the nearest dollar, they donate the extra funds to causes we like.

[dysfunctional press]

7. as much as i use my cellphone- monthly plans are too expensive.

i put $140 on my current pre-paid phone in february, and i still have $65 left on it.

[dysfunctional press]

5. i found their website- but they don't seen to have a pre-paid phone option.

the last thing i want is a monthly plan.

[dysfunctional press]

2. you won't have to worry about a monthly bill-

they'll just automatically deduct it from the account.

[DRoseDARs]

6. Yes, I can read thank you. :-P You're missing my point...

"That's the whole point of pay-as-you-go: Pay only for what you use, when you use it." is the part you missed. I am now going to be charged monthly. That IS NOT pay-as-you-go. I could accept being charged whenever I call 911, but seeing as I've never done that I shouldn't be charged period until I do and only when I do. It's like if they decided to deduct a monthly fee for text messaging instead of just charging me when I send a text message or deducting a monthly fee for straight-up calling people instead of just charging me on a per-call basis. You see that it then ceases being pay-as-you-go. This monthly fee for E911 whether you use it or not is no different.

[dysfunctional press]

8. they aren't charging you- it's a government tax.

as far as their service itself is concerned- it's still pay-as-you-go.

[DRoseDARs]

9. Could you find me a reference for that claim of government tax rather than telco fee?

I want to believe you, but this is AT&T we're talking about. They're more than happy to screw their customers worse than other telcos.

[DRoseDARs]

10. Nevermind, I'm looking over Verizon's stuff and seems they're doing it too. I crave the Krave.

I may switch anyway and take a 2-yr plan if I can't get the phone unlocked elsewhere or on a Verizon prepay plan.

[tech3149]

11. Enhanced 911 is to service all wireless customers

The purpose of E911 is so they can locate you by cell tower use. I don't remember, but I think it's required by the states to cover the cost of serving the wireless customers effective 911 performance. It's expensive equipment and helps emergency response to 911 calls even if you don't know where you are they can find you. I'll check my Mom's bill to see if it's there too.

edit to add: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_911

[DRoseDARs]

13. Thanks but I'm well-aware of what E911 is. Its the fact that ATT is charging a bs fee thats irked me

Someone elsewhere made the good point that this should be shoulder by the telcos as a "cost of business" expense. The telcos can certainly absorb this without hurting customers. I sure as Hell don't want AT&T draining my prepay account with monthly fees. Defeats the purpose of pay-as-you-go.

[dysfunctional press]

15. at+t isn't charging you the fee- the government is.

at+t is just responsible for collecting it.

would you prefer that they just raise the cost of buying minutes by a penny/minute? :shrug:

[nilram]

12. I hear ya...

It used to be that things like "gas" and "taxes" were part of the cost of doing business. But now we get an "energy surcharge" if the price of fuel goes up, and the phone companies pass on regulatory costs rather raising prices. This way, they can advertise a low rate, but the reality is that whichever company can most effectively nickle-and-dime their customers is the winner.

I would bet that rather than "AT&T may also be required by state law to impose other charges against its customers to finance other regulatory mandates" that they may be ALLOWED by state law to pass on b*llsh*t fees, rather than absorbing them as the cost of doing business.

A friend, when this type of stuff comes up, invariably says "funny... I'm getting screwed more, but enjoying it less."

[CreekDog]

14. go change the law

until then, life isn't fair. sorry.

maybe it will seem fairer when you need to call 911 and the entire infrastructure of 911 (that this tax helps pay for) is there for you.