AT&T to subscribers: less detail, we promise
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Aug 22nd 2007 6:59PM
posted Aug 22nd 2007 6:59PM
So it seems that AT&T has recognized the error of its ways in sending out entire trees' worth of paper for its monthly bills, firing off text messages today to subscribers that read as follows: "We are simplifying your paper bill, removing itemized detail. To view all detail go to att.com/mywireless. Still need full paper bill? Call 611." So yeah, if you actually need 400 pages of gibberish to recall everyone you sent a text to last month, go ahead and dial 'em up. Otherwise, take solace in the fact that your postal carrier won't have to lug that bad boy around anymore.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
It's not only texting that does it, but when you set email to check every fifteen minutes, every check, 96 a day, shows up as an entry on the bill.
Umm, what AT&T annouced is not an improvement.
The problem is that they are sending details of every single data transaction -- on an all-you-can eat plan if you have detailed billing.
What they are doing is switching users OFF detailed billing, and in fact CHARGING you for detailed billing.
Why is that an issue? I've had cingular since they bough AT&T Wireless. I've had to call in about 20 times about billing errors -- without detailed billing I would never have spotted those problems. Sometimes they are minor -- $9 -- and sometimes they are major -- over $450.
All AT&T needs to do is STOP sending details of data transaction, since outside of overseas calls those are NOT the ones causing problems. This is NOT what they annouced.
(To their credit, they remedied all the billing erros except one, and they gave me a service credit on that one. Still painful for all the hours of waiting on the phone....)
People still get paper bills?
Seriously, it's almost 2008. The jack-asses complaining about this should have switched to paperless billing when they offered it 2yrs ago.
These are probably the same people who would complain about free food...