ALLTEL Complaint

Detailed billing of text messages - Text messaging and detailed billing

8
Helpful Votes
Posted By: omo on 9/25/2007

Location: Shreveport, LA

I have been an Alltel customer for almost a year. Service is great(no dropped calls,etc.). Customer service is HORRIBLE. I have a teenager who uses text messaging. My child has gone over on texting several times so I raised her texting from 300 to 750 per month. The month that I changed it I get a bill that shows an overage of over 1000 messages.

My child has never gone over by more than 50 in a month and we only had 300. Now we have 750 and they go over by 1000!!! So I called Alltel to get a detailed bill. I wanted to make sure we weren't double billed or that there may have been some other error. I was told it was "ILLEGAL" for them to give me that information. I have an AT&T cell phone also and they do give detailed text message billing. So I knew it wasn't illegal. When I confronted them with that they said they did not have access to that info. So I questioned that too. A text message is just like a call except it is written not verbal. Now they say its not their policy to give detailed billing on text messages. Three different stories. They can charge whatever they want. They can say we used 4000 messages when we only used 100 and we have no way to dispute it. I want out of my contract.

I didn't like Cingular (now AT&T) but I will go back to them.

This is not about whether my child went over on text messaging or not. This about a company being able to bill you and not have to prove what they bill and lying by saying it is "illegal" to give me that information.


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    User Discussion - Add your 3 cents!


    KenPopcorn (09/25/2007)      
    Have you asked yourself why a child needs texting at all? Do you realize that she (or he) is doing it at school? I have no doubt that Alltel's count is probably correct.
    In my humble opinion, if you have a burning need to supply a child with a phone, it should be one of those limited to calling home, in case of emergencies. I can't see any other valid reason for a child to have a phone at all, much less one that is sending 100+ text messages a month.

    AlleyS (09/25/2007)      
    I agree with ken. How old is your child? IMO, if they don't have a job, unless its a plain old cell phone for emergencies only, a child does not need a cell phone. Kids are spoiled today though.... sad.....

    Leela (09/25/2007)      
    I agree with Ken and AlleyS, limitedly. My 17 yo daughter travels several times a year, alone, from California to Virginia, and back.

    Last year, her connecting flight from Chicago to Virginia was cancelled. I'm extremely glad she had a cell phone. She called us, then we called the airline and made arrangements to fly her into Richmond, where she could stay with relatives, until we could drive and pick her up the next day.

    The text messaging can be crazy, though. What I'd like to know from the OP is, how do you know exactly how many text messages your child sent? Are you taking their word for it?


    CrystalSword (09/25/2007)      
    I agree, cell phones so a child can contact home is one thing, just recently a teen driver was killed because she was texting while driving and wasn't watching the road. I can remember my kids using my pager when they were away from the house so I could buzz them for supper...pagers now aren't very practical. My mom used my sister's cell phone when she went on vacation but she won't get one for herself. We have a TracFone and love it, no contracts, no dropped calls and I pick up a card once a month...odd months for me and even months for hubby. Our minutes are building because we don't use the cell phone like an every day phone...mostly we ... more >>

    MRM (09/25/2007)      
    Get pre-paid cellphones so that you can limit the amount used on the phone and no contract involved.
    O|||||||O

    dianec (09/25/2007)      
    I guess because of my age, I don't get the big deal about text messaging. I receive them once-in-a-while when a call can't be made by someone, but to do it all day long just doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather hear someone's voice. And, there's still voice mail if they or you are not available to talk. You can send e-mails and messages for free, so why pay more for something? I think people need to talk more anyway, but that's just me. And, like CrystalSword said, in some cases texting is becoming downright dangerous/fatal. The cell phone itself has been a godsend for people like us who are never home. Everyone knows they can always ... more >>

    jktshff1 (09/25/2007)      
    crystal and diane said it all.


    omo (09/25/2007)      
    This is not about a teenager having a cell phone!!! I have no doubt my teen went over on texting. I want to check to make sure there was no billing error before I ground my teen for life. I have been lied to by this company. First they tell me it is illegal for them to give me the info then they don't have access to info and finally it is not there policy to give detailed billing on texting. They can bill whatever they want and give no proof and the burden is on me to prove they made an error if an error was made. I can't wait to see what they bill me next month.

    dianec (09/25/2007)      
    Yes, sorry, sometimes we do ramble. Hope you can get your bill resolved to your satisfaction.

    justcuz (09/25/2007)      
    I think some comments are too harsh on the poster. This isn't about judging whether or not kids should have cell phones. My older kids have cell phones, and I like that they have them - I feel more secure knowing that they have the means to call for help or for a parent if they need to.

    As for Alltel telling you that they cannot provide the details of text messaging, that is not true I went to their website and under FAQ's, there are 3 ways listed that you can check text message usage: signing up online and viewing your bill and bill details online, dial #MOU from the handset and press the send key, or call 800-alltel1, choose option 1 ... more >>

    AlleyS (09/26/2007)      
    Does Alltel even have stores?I've never seen one for them.

    smooched (12/27/2007)      
    Alltel has done the same thing to me a few months. And this month is now no different. They just pick a number out of the air and charge me for it and then tell me they don't keep detailed billing for text messages and I'm then forced to pay whatever number they chose for me that month. I started with only 20 or so messages a month and they said I had close to 200 @ .15/use. Real nice way for them to milk some extra money out of me. Now I have increased my plan to allow 300 texts/month to "protect" myself from my cell phone company but they are now at it again. I have over $20 in additional text messages on December's bill. Freakin crazy that ... more >>

    smooched (12/27/2007)      
    Alltel has done the same thing to me a few months. And this month is now no different. They just pick a number out of the air and charge me for it and then tell me they don't keep detailed billing for text messages and I'm then forced to pay whatever number they chose for me that month. I started with only 20 or so messages a month and they said I had close to 200 @ .15/use. Real nice way for them to milk some extra money out of me. Now I have increased my plan to allow 300 texts/month to "protect" myself from my cell phone company but they are now at it again. I have over $20 in additional text messages on December's bill. Freakin crazy that ... more >>

    hipychick6 (12/29/2007)      
    Recently I have read a couple of reviews regarding the amount of detail that is avaliable for text messaging. My Alltel bill is detailed. It shows how many minutes I've used during the day, at night, and with the my cirlce/ mobile to mobile calls. It also shows my many text messages. It even breaks down how many I've sent, how many I've recieved, the pictures I've sent and the pictures I've recieved. I think it is outrageous that some consumers think they actually are just pulling these numbers out of thin air to penalize people. Companies don't work that way, if they did they would be under ridicule all the time. Really, you think Alltel pic ... more >>

    omo (12/30/2007)      
    hipychick6 you are either naive or you work for Alltel.


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