AT&T sued by Washington DC for unused balances on calling cards
By Vlad Savov 
posted January 3rd 2010 3:10PM
posted January 3rd 2010 3:10PM
posted January 3rd 2010 3:10PM
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Luke: Well then that's.......that's somethin'........
@N900 that's DC's new year gift to AT&T!
maybe AT&T and others remove the time limit on calling cards and let the customers use as and when they please (atleast longer than the ridiculously time allowed now) pleeeeeeeaaaaassssseeeeeeeeeeeee !
@N900
All this is going to do is drive calling card prices UP, as a significant percent of their profit comes from these unused minutes. So in the end, AT&T drives prices up, while the government gets more money, and who gets screwed? The customer, of course.
@Greg F
I agree...nothing good usually comes out of government trying to get involved in much these days. I can't stand those people/entities who provide/produce nothing to help our economy but do a damn good and greedy job of pulling money out. Most financial institutions and the majority of the U.S. government fall into that pathetic category.
Now having said all that I also believe that a shift in the telecommunications industry will continue that lowers prices for services across the board.
@Greg F You're absolutely correct. That's why I don't like this move. As much as I normally like it when government sticks it to big crappy companies like AT&T, this is just a petty money grab. I have a couple of calling cards I haven't used in a couple of years because I haven't been out of the country in awhile, but whose to say that the minutes on those are abandoned? If DC wins, then there will be formal expiration dates on all of these things, and money that I paid on MY cards will then be taken and given to the government. No thank you, I already pay enough in the way of taxes. Back of DC, you suck.
@Greg F You're missing one critical point. The customer is already being screwed! Look at it this way... say I sell you 100 minutes for $10 but you routinely only use half and the rest expire. Aren't you already being over-charged by double? You're actually paying $10 for 50 minutes. If AT&T were to raise the prices, say... double them to 100 minutes for $20, that still comes to $10 for 50 minutes. If your usage pattern hasn't changed, you'd end up paying the exact same amount without wasting minutes since your usage wouldn't change... just the cost!
So again, you're saying by the government doing this, they're going to force AT&T to raise prices, thus screwing you instead of realizing you already are being screwed because every time you don't use all that you have paid for, that's what you're doing! After all, if you used everything you've paid for, then this is a non-issue.
Sure there are people who always use all their minutes and if the price were to go up, they would now be screwed as well, but they could just switch to a different carrier. We're talking calling cards here, not contracts.
Plus, AT&T could simply change the terms to say 'The customer is buying *the right to use up to* 100 minutes for $xxx and they technically aren't pre-paying so the case goes away.
@MarqueIV
Yeah, but being screwed because you don't use what you buy isn't being screwed; if you buy a car and don't drive it, you don't blame the car dealership.
And yeah, the whole issue could be dealt with a multitude of ways, the end result all being the same -> that you don't own the minutes in the end, you're just renting them, etc.
If people do use it that doesn't actually cost AT&T much more than if they do, the network has to be maintained anyway, the power is always on, so the difference between people using and not using isn't actually there in operating cost.
Now doubling the price of cards will reduce sales (people won't pay beyond a point while they know only half is used), so the solution would be to half the time allotted to cards, thereby making less 'spare' minutes be left over thereby not having to convert their 'virtual' money in real cash for the government.
If this ridiculous shakedown law would pass that is, it's like mafioso stealing from mafioso.
@MarqueIV
You don't get it .. the consumer is gonna get screwed more if the government puts its paws in because it's like free refills at a fast food place. Not everyone chooses to get them. Are the customers who don't go back for a refill getting screwed? In a way, yes they are because they are not getting that refill which they paid for. However the free refull offer enables people who do go back and get the refill the opportunity to save money.
So, if the govt. decides to get the money from ATT for the unused minutes AT&T will end up having to charge extra money for people who choose to talk for the full amount of time. .. In other words, the per minute charge WILL go up from the perspective of the individuals who use up their cards (they are paying, for example, 1 cent for 100 minutes) and it will (in theory, though yeah right) reduce from the perspective of those who only use part of their card (those who pay $1 to talk for 100 minutes but actually talk for 50 minutes are really paying 2 cents a minute .. not 1 cent).
Now presumably the people who arent using up all their minutes are rich (or dumb or both?) so they arent going to care. However those who try to get the most value for their money (maybe because they are poor) will see the costs rise.
So basically .. the rich won't be hurt but the poor will.
@N900 best 1st comment.... ever?
I expect nothing less froma company like this.
Good job DC, finally doing SOMETHING
@mikea D.C. is just saying that the government should get the money instead of AT&T. how is this a good job by D.C.? There doing anything to help the consumer here. There just as greedy as AT&T, if not worse in this case. Leftover credit is unclaimed property? Really?? Come on D.C.
@Edobe Couldn't the unclaimed property be used as funding? You shouldn't assume it's gonna go into their pockets. If it went to AT&T, they weren't gonna up and go charity, and they already have lots of money to continue expanding their service. I don't see this as a bad idea.
@Edobe
If AT&T isn't allowed to keep the money, they have no incentive to create these breakages.
@Edobe the article was editted from when I read it last.
My mistake. You are correct.
@mikea No it wasn't. I would know.
@Vlad Savov you seem to know a lot.
@mikea Well, he wrote the article...
@mikea Psst... he wrote it.
@FallenArms3 sorry, forgot the
@mikea /sarcasm
@mikea the only thing that's good here, is we will be able to see the face and the flubby tummy of luke wilson one more time to defend AT&T but this time instead of the headless ads he "oh so likes" to use: http://bit.ly/luke-wilson-headless-ads-worst
He will be utilizing a props of DC comics -- being burned down together with a caricature of a fat 'undisclosed name' of a DC official sniffing his tobacco. Now thats morel like it.
@Edobe There - look over there. They're - they're (they are) mine
:)
@Edobe DC could greatly benefit from extra money. They might even be able to curb their murder rate.
So instead of AT&T ripping off the consumer the government will.
How about leaving the f***ing money that is on the cards where it's at? Not a hard concept.
@fatslug Or you could give it to me and settle this once and for all. Why should a telecom giant or a wannabe-state get the money, when they're both loaded.
@MJGAMER 1991 XBL
Hate to tell you this but DC is far from loaded. Different conversation though.
@TwiceDown
who's fault is that?
Couldn't the same argument then be applied to gift cards?
@EpsilonNot I'd assume so.
@EpsilonNot
I don't think gift cards "expire" but they have fees to entice you to spend after a few years of being issued.
@EpsilonNot
This exists in some places (BC)--by law, no expiry dates or service charges on gift cards. Doesn't apply to prepaid airtime, unfortunately...
@EpsilonNot
What about rebates? That's the biggest rip-off I know about.
@EpsilonNot
From TFA: "States and municipalities have often similarly used unclaimed property laws, known as escheat laws, to claim ownership of unused retail gift card balances."
It was the 4th sentence!
all your minutes are belong to us!
@One Love
-Signed, D.C.
@One Love
Am I the only person who thought those "minute tokens" were actually orange milk jug tops? I am kinda disappointed to find out they are not...
Depending on how this goes, I may have to take my horse & buggy to AT&T headquarters and demand that they return my unclaimed minutes.
i'm all for this!
Either way the consumer will be ripped off because ATT will get those 'bonuses' by raising the charges. 5¢ a min with a 10$ start tarrif
@Taless
You are absolutely right.
Right now:
AT&T gets the money,
consumer gets nothing,
government gets nothing.
If this passes:
AT&T hikes rates to get the money
Consumer gets nothing
Government gets money
I do the same thing! i bought a prepaid SIM and a contract. still have at least 40 minutes in there. Take em, seriously, I don't need them.
I hope the government has a use of a million minutes that are only usable in 2 minute portions.
@Deyanimay USA: Can we have a loan please?
China: No
USA: Please?
China: No
USA: Ok, you're busy, we'll call back later.
repeat another 499,999 times.
From the ending of 2009, looks like 2010 is the year of telecom reform and I couldn't be happier.
Will this influence gift cards also? The balance on A LOT of them starts to expire after two years .This is so stupid. This is how they do business. This is how they make money on gift cards and prepaid cards.
Leave the free market be,
@ipxnsv
Show me a free market, and I'll leave it the hell alone.
@jon its not a free market because of shit like this. All i am saying is.. if they go after this might as well go after gift cards too. You don't know how many expired gift cards i have.
@ipxnsv
I'd agree, except for one thing. Look how quickly companies like this run to the government when things don't go their way. e.g.
ATT: "Judge, Verizon's being mean in it's commercials."
AMD: "EU, Intel's telling all the other kids not to play with us."
And on, and on, and on.
Not to mention the billions, yes billions, that corporate america spends every year lobbying to get laws passed in their favor.
@ipxnsv
Hell, I even forgot my favorite one. ISPs suing cities who try to install Municipal networks.
When companies stop behaving like children, or criminals, the gov't can stop treating them like it.