Since when...
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Carl @ 23rd Jun 03:56PM:
Since when...
...does AT&T harass like a collection agency when the bill is ONE day or TWO days past due?
My bill was $115. My bill is always due on the 21st of the month. I always pay it online on the 21st. I was out of town on the 21st (unexpected medical emergency) and was unable to go online to make a payment.
Keep in mind that the bill is always paid in full every month.
I return today to 14 missed calls on my caller ID from "BELLSOUTH" on 6/22. There were 2 calls today from "BELLSOUTH," also.
I immediately went online and made a payment.
I then called the number on my caller ID to find out why the calls were so frequent.
The rep told me that they are "calling everybody like that" and that they "spoke with someone in the home about the bill and payment arrangements were made."
The second part is a lie. I don't need "payment arrangements." I pay all my bills in full every month. Nobody was in my home or near any telephone associated with my AT&T landline, so nobody could have been spoken with.
Anyone else ever been a day or two late on their bill and received so many calls?
I can understand calling after a week or so...but...two days?
It's not like I have bad credit...(And AT&T should know this...for some reason they are pulling my credit report from Equifax once a month...their inquiries alone lowered my score from 783 to 764...)
Edit: Looks like they've only been pulling Equifax...edited post to reflect that
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w4ncr @ 23rd Jun 04:40PM:
Re: Since when...
I have to buy money orders to pay my telephone bill as in the past I always paid with a check then one month they paid my check electronically and deducted the same amount twice from my checking account took a act of congress to get the second amount deducted, credited back to my checking account, so now do not give them access to my bank account anymore since this occurred.
NOW I PAY MY PHONE BILL BY MONEY ORDER ONLY AND ALWAYS VERY EARLY BEFORE DATE BILL IS DUE
YOU DEFINITELY CANNOT TRUST YOUR BANK ACCOUNT WITH THIS COMPANY SINCE AT&T NOW OWNS THIS COMPANY..
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NetFixer @ 23rd Jun 07:24PM:
Re: Since when...
If your bill is always due on the 21st and you always pay on-line on the 21st, then depending on the time of day you make your on-line payment, and the speed with which your bank/card supplier makes payment, it may not actually be credited to AT&T until the next business day (or longer). AT&T may consider that you are a chronic late payer if that happens frequently. That might explain the frequent credit report checks as well.
The CSR's reference to "payment arrangements" may have been because you paid on-line that same day, and the payment has not yet actually been made to AT&T because of the next business day delay I previously mentioned. The "spoke with someone" statement by the CSR was possibly just an assumption based on seeing a pending payment on your account. I know that when I make an on-line payment it is sometimes several days before I actually see the payment deducted from my bank account.
I have also on occasion been a day or two late paying on-line (sometimes because their payment site had problems), but I have never had them call me. In fact, I thought that they did not put a bill into collection status unless it was 30 days overdue. Perhaps in these troubled economic times, AT&T is starting to take a proactive get tough policy.
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Mizzat @ 23rd Jun 08:17PM:
Re: Since when...
eBill, never get called, never worry about it.
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-M
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Carl @ 23rd Jun 08:30PM:
Re: Since when...
said by Mizzat :
eBill, never get called, never worry about it.
Is that auto-pay?
No thanks.
I've had too many billing screwups with AT&T to trust them.
I like to review my bill before I pay it.
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Carl @ 23rd Jun 08:32PM:
Re: Since when...
said by NetFixer :
If your bill is always due on the 21st and you always pay on-line on the 21st, then depending on the time of day you make your on-line payment, and the speed with which your bank/card supplier makes payment, it may not actually be credited to AT&T until the next business day (or longer). AT&T may consider that you are a chronic late payer if that happens frequently. That might explain the frequent credit report checks as well.
The CSR's reference to "payment arrangements" may have been because you paid on-line that same day, and the payment has not yet actually been made to AT&T because of the next business day delay I previously mentioned. The "spoke with someone" statement by the CSR was possibly just an assumption based on seeing a pending payment on your account. I know that when I make an on-line payment it is sometimes several days before I actually see the payment deducted from my bank account.
I have also on occasion been a day or two late paying on-line (sometimes because their payment site had problems), but I have never had them call me. In fact, I thought that they did not put a bill into collection status unless it was 30 days overdue. Perhaps in these troubled economic times, AT&T is starting to take a proactive get tough policy.
I use Chase. They're pretty damn speedy for EVERYTHING. I notice that AT&T withdrawals are deducted from my "available balance" about an hour after I hit the pay button. After I paid online my AT&T balance was zero.
It's crazy.
I'm not too worried about it. The bill is paid, that's all that matters. When AT&T stops billing me 2-3x per month for DSL (it happens some months and I have to call to fix it) I -may- trust them enough to use autopay.
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janrey4 @ 23rd Jun 10:34PM:
Re: Since when...
I believe you can specify the date for them to take the money out using the online payment (not autopay). I think there is a "schedule payment" option so that you could go in on say the 15th or whenever you got your bill and set it up to pay on the 21st. This way, they will take it out first thing in the morning so you can be sure that there won't be any issue with on time payment or if you are away from home on the 21st.
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Mizzat @ 23rd Jun 11:04PM:
Re: Since when...
said by Carl :said by Mizzat :
eBill, never get called, never worry about it.
Is that auto-pay?
No thanks.
I've had too many billing screwups with AT&T to trust them.
I like to review my bill before I pay it.
So do I, it pays on the last possible due date and emailed you when your bill is online. So I review, and then it pays the bill on the due date....
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-M
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Carl @ 24th Jun 12:04AM:
Re: Since when...
Hmm...I didn't realize you could set payment dates.
I'll have to look into this autopay business, thanks...
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mikes60 @ 24th Jun 11:32AM:
Re: Since when...
I would never give anyone, including my bank, mortage company, etc, any autopay privelages.
When a bill comes in, I schedule it to be paid when I choose. I also have certain repetitive bills like mortgage payment, car payment, etc, set up as recurring payments. Works like a charm.
I use Bank of America online bill pay and have never had any problems or errors.
It also downloads to Microsoft Money. It takes me less than 1 minute to balance my bank statements every month.
It takes me hours to try and straighten out my wife's personal account.
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No good deed goes unpunished.
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mdv921 @ 24th Jun 06:29PM:
Re: Since when...
I also use Ebill. I pay the bill the day I get the ebill (sometimes even before I get the ebill if I check and the bill is posted). AT&T takes up to 3 days (I've seen it take longer) to post a payment to your account since they won't consider it paid until they actually have the money from your bank.
But really, 14 calls in one day is out and out harassment. I'm pretty sure no company has the right to call you that many times in one day. I would report them to the department of consumer affairs. AT&T certainly wants their customers to report harassing callers to them for action so what's fair for the goose is fair for the gander.
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kdeuser @ 25th Jun 09:52PM:
Re: Since when...
What possible purpose is served by pulling your credit? I'm not at all sure that is proper, even if you are past due one payment. The only reason they would have to pull your credit is to collect on a debt, and anything less than 30 days would not fall into that category. I would be screaming bloody hell if someone was pulling my credit without authorization. You might want to file a complaint over that one.
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