Avoid Extra Telephone Charges
Calling Plans | Establishing New Service | Changing Or Moving Service
Repair | Billing | Prepaid Calling Cards | Consumer Rights
With so many choices available to consumers, you may find it difficult to understand all of the various charges on your monthly telephone bill.
The National Consumers League maintains a web page and helps you recognize fraud. (Click here for the Web site.)
CALLING PLANS AND OTHER SERVICES
Before selecting, answer the following questions:- Where do you call the most often?
- What time of day or day of the week do you call the most often?
- Do you need voice messaging or will an answering machine do?
- Do you need caller ID and call waiting?
- Do you need a wireless phone and paging service?
Once you decide, you can compare prices. You may want a package deal from one company or a variety service from different companies.
Find out how a company's services work, including:1. Minimum use, time-of-day or distance requirements, flat monthly fees, or special plans. You may find that wireless service is cheaper than regular local service if you don't make many calls.
2. Get the information in writing, and don't be pressured into any immediate decisions.
3. Make sure you are comparing similar plans. The Telecommunications Research and Action Center, offers information about rates. You can find them on the web at www.trac.org
Colorado has several options for local telephone service. QWEST, formerly USWEST, is the largest and handles more than 215,000 calls everyday. Calls range from requests for new service, changes to existing service, billing questions, repair requests, and general inquires.
In most cases, consumer requests are handled with a single phone call. When problems do arise, a consumer should call one of the numbers provided below.
If you continue to have a problem contact Call 7 for Help and we will try to help you reach a resolution.
ESTABLISHING NEW SERVICE, OR CHANGING EXISTING SERVICE 1. If QWEST failed to meet a commitment date or deliver the expected solution, contact a QWEST service representative at:800-244-1111 Residential service
800-603-6000 Business service
800-898-9675 Home office
800-564-1121 Spanish speaking customers
800-223-3131 Customers with disabilities
2. Make sure you take down the following information:
Commitment date
Promised solution
3. If the problem isn't resolved as promised, call the 800-number again and verify that you and QWEST have the same information about the commitment date and the promised solution. Be sure you refer to your service ticket number during the call.
REPAIR
1. If QWEST failed to meet a commitment date or deliver the problem you expected, consumers should report the problem to a QWEST repair representative by calling:
800-573-1311 Residential service
800-954-1211 Business service
800-234-4041 Public Pay Phones
800-564-1121 Spanish speaking consumers
800-223-3131 Consumers with disabilities
During the call, be sure to provide the following information to the QWEST repair representative:
Repair ticket number
Expected resolution
Commitment date
BILLING
1. If consumers have a charge on their bill that they think is wrong, they should first verify whether the billing issue is either local, long distance, wireless service, Internet service or DSL.2. If the issue is long distance, customers should call their long distance carrier for resolution. The number listed below does not include every long distance carrier, but are the most common that QWEST includes in their billing process:
AT&T800-222-0300 Residential
800-222-0400 Business
800-222-3000 Repair
MCI
800-444-3333
Sprint
800-877-4646
877-222-5006 PCS
Touch America 800-615-1025
3. If the billing issue concerns a service provided by QWEST, report the problem to QWEST. If you still do not have resolution within the agreed promised date, contact Call 7 for Help. PRE-PAID CALLING CARDS Call 7 receives numerous complaints on various pre-paid calling card plans.
Before you purchase one ask:
- What is the per minute rate?
- What is the connection fee?
- Is there a maintenance fee?
- Is there an expiration date, and if yes, when is that?
- Act Promptly . You have 60 days to dispute charges if they appear on your bill and they are not your charges. Contact your carrier immediately.
- Note who you spoke to and what was said.
- Follow up with a letter, and keep a copy that details the problem and confirms your conversation.
- Deduct the charges that you are disputing and pay the rest of your bill by the due date.
- If charges appear on your credit card bill, follow the instructions for disputes.
