A few months ago, Christopher Morse joined the Army saying, "It's time for me to do something for my country." He became a member of the 101st Airborne, and is now in Iraq. But before he left, Christopher and his mother Dee decided he needed a way to keep in touch with his friends and family.
They went to their local metroplex ATT store and purchased a data card for his laptop. The ATT clerk promised him he was getting a special deal for soldiers going overseas -- an unlimited data plan for only $79.99 a month. When he got overseas, he began to use the data card, and even let some of his Army buddies use it because of the great deal ATT had given him.
Things seemed great -- that is, until his mother received the first bill in November. The bill was for $4953.15. She was shocked and tried to call ATT. The first person she called said he would check into it and call her back. He didn't.
She called again a week later, and was told the bill was correct and she must pay it. It seems that ATT doesn't have a special unlimited plan for soldiers going overseas -- at least not to Iraq or Kuwait. She asked to talk with a supervisor. The supervisor also said she would call her back, and didn't.
That's when the mother's attorney called Dave Lieber of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Lieber called ATT and suddenly things began to magically happen. It's amazing how fast a corporation can act when they're looking at some bad publicity.
Someone from the president's office at ATT called the mother. They cancelled the debt, waived the disconnect fee and sent her two pre-paid phone cards so her son could call home for the holidays. They also told Lieber they had talked with the store clerk.
That sounded good, but when Lieber called some other ATT locations he found other clerks trying to sell the same "soldier's special" for unlimited data. It makes me wonder how many other soldiers have been taken in with this scam, and had their families saddled with huge bills.
I'd think with all the money these communications companies are making off the rest of us, that they should really give our soldiers a break. Personally, I think they ought to offer free service to the soldiers serving in a war zone. If not, then at least a real cut-rate plan.
But it seems that instead, they look on the war as just another opportunity to charge exorbitant rates. Sad.
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