Scams-O-Plenty

My life is so tedious. I have this tendency to make sure I am not getting ripped off. Mind you, I can handle it when I go to a mom and pop grocery store to pick up some eggs and they look at me in my fine pajama wear that says, "I don't work that hard so you just have to assume I have some cash," and they ratchet up the price.
Shit, I mean, when you get in a cab in Spain, a civilized nation, it's the only way they conduct business.

But corporations? Especially lately when it seems like they can do anything they want while they exploit the masses, I just have to say, "I'm onto you, you dirty pigs. And I will fight you like the street peasant that I am."

First of all, there was the Verizon Cell Phone service that did not work in our house. We switched to Cingular, which does work. Verizon insisted on charging us an early termination fee of $175 per phone. I insisted upon not paying this since we've already paid for months of service for phones that only work when you stand
on the toilet in the back bathroom while wearing an aluminum foil hat. The customer service took off one phone fee because, "You weren't in contract with the one phone, so we will only charge you one early termination fee."

And when I asked, "How did I get charged for two early termination fees, then?"

The answer, "It was a mistake."

And I said, “So if I didn’t call you, I would have had to pay for this mistake?”

I then asked to talk to someone higher up because I was in no way going to pay the early termination fee for the other phone since we didn't get service. After being on hold forever, a rep came on, his name was Brad, and one of the first things he said was, "Mr. Cummings, you should know that we've already given you credit for the one early termination fee."

And I said, "I was out of contract."

And he said, "No you weren't."

And I said, "The lady just told me I was."

And Brad said, "She made a mistake. But I'm not going to fix her mistake, I'm going to let you have the credit."

"How kind of you," I flatlined.

Next, I said, "Well you should all get your stories straight. You sure she wasn’t just lying to get me off her back...figuring you could get at least $175 bucks out of me instead of $350? What’s the game here?”

“It’s no game. She just made a mistake.”

I said, “Okay. I'm still not going to pay for the early termination fee on the other phone. I'm just not."

And after a while, Brad told me the only way I could get out of paying the fine was if he turned on my phone again, with a different cell number so as not to disturb my Cingular Service which now has taken over my original cell number, and to then go through a series of tests with the phone and if it is determined that the series of tests show there is a problem, then they will issue a trouble ticket and a technician would come out and check the area to see if the cell service is spotty.

I told Brad, "But Brad, if Verizon is the decider of what is satisfactory cell phone service, won't they choose in their own favor?

And Brad chuckled, "Of course not."

So, he reinstated my old phone with another number and said he'd call back the next morning to do the testing. He called back the next morning to tell me it wasn't up and running yet and that he would call me the next day. He was churning me like butter. I dug my heels in.

When the phone was finally up and running, he did get a technician on the line to do reprogramming crap. It didn't help. (I also made sure I was standing in the worst location in my house.) So, a trouble ticket was put in place and some Verizon guy is going to come to my house, in the front yard, and test the signal. And from that, they will determine if the signal in the area is okay and if it is okay, then I am still responsible for the $175 early termination fee.

The guy has not come yet. And apparently, I won't even know when it is that he'll have visited. Brad will call me with the results. And I will tell Brad, "No matter what, I won't pay. Send it to collection."

You have to pay hardball. And I’ve had a tiny bill go to collection before. I never paid it. It doesn’t do anything to your credit rating.

But man, why should Verizon get $175 of my money (Originally $350) when they have all this money, already? And why do they get to decide these charges based on their own testing? These pigs need to be put down.

But here's a worse one. I looked at my landline phone bill and I got charged two months of a service charge from OAN...some sort of phone service agency. Turns out, OAN is a scam and they are able to charge your phone bill and collect from your phone company and you have to pay it. Unless you catch it...which I did...and then the phone company calls OAN and reverses the charge. Simply enough, my landline phone company (ATT) immediately did agree to reverse it but said, "By law, we have to accept a phone charge that comes to us."

And I said, "You know this OAN thing is a scam. It's all over the internet. How could you let it be charged on my bill?"

And the rep said, "We have to follow the law or we'll be closed down."

“So the law lets OAN charge anyone? It's ludicrous.”

And ATT said, “This is how it is. We are your local phone company and we have to accept charges that come on your bill.”

And I said, “Well, reverse them.”

And she said, “I already did.”

I called OAN over the weekend. All I got was a message machine. I left a detailed message that ended with, "And get your fucking paws off my phone bill."

Then, I called them again today and I got a person. And I said to the guy, "This is such a scam. Why are you charging my phone bill?"

And the guy said, "We are just a billing company for a music club."

I said, "I didn't join any music club. What are you talking about?"

And he said, "Sometimes people don't know it when they join. But if you got a Wal-Mart gift card, you are automatically enrolled in this music program."

And I said, "I never go to Wal-Mart. This is bullshit. Reverse it."

And he said, "Do you want to opt out of the program?"

And I said, "You mean you would keep charging me $16.40 per month forever on my phone bill if I hadn't called?"

And he said, "Yes."

And I said to him, "Cancel right now. And get your fucking hands off my phone bill."

People who run oil companies, utilities, telephones...they get so much money and all they want is more. And companies are so powerful these days, we are all getting bullied. And you have to fight to hold onto your cash. It’s disgusting.

Keep your eyes peeled. Watch those bills. Because even though it's a nightmare to get on the phone to have to talk with a customer service person, unless you stay on top of these greasy pigs, you are training them to continue their swinish behavior.