AT&T provides calling cards to soldiers' families

AT&T is providing free calling cards, with up to 30 minutes of call time to Iraq, to the families of Missouri Guard members.

According to a commission news release, the calling cards are a goodwill gesture following an agreement stemming from an investigation by Missouri Public Service Commission into improper monthly recurring or base charges of $3.95 a month for thousands of its customers in Missouri.

Under the terms of the agreement, which will be filed in Cole County Circuit Court, AT&T will pay the state of Missouri $50,000 for improperly billing more than 29,000 Missouri customers, according to a Jan. 4 news release from Missouri Attorney Gen. Jay Nixon.

Beginning in January 2004, AT&T instituted a base charge of $3.95 per month for low-usage customers. AT&T mistakenly sent bills to former customers and some high-usage customers who would have been exempt from the charge. The company attributed the mistakes – sent to approximately 1 million people nationwide and 29,165 in Missouri – to computer system errors.

The improper billings in Missouri amounted to $285,147, Nixon said, although not everyone improperly billed paid the charges. Under an agreement obtained by Nixon, Missourians who paid the improper charge will receive or already have received refunds or credits.

“No matter how these billings occurred, they amounted to several millions of dollars to consumers across the country,” Nixon said. “AT&T needs to held accountable to ensure that nothing like this happens again and that any consumers who paid charges they shouldn’t have are made whole.”

The agreement requires AT&T to establish a process for Missouri customers who paid improper charges to: receive refunds or credits, if the customers have not already received those refunds or credits; immediately cease any collection efforts to collect the monthly recurring charge from customers who were improperly billed but did not pay those charges; and pay $50,000 to the Missouri Merchandising Revolving Fund, which is used to fund consumer protection and education efforts.

“The Commission appreciates the sacrifices made by Missouri military personnel who are stationed in Iraq and their families,” said PSC Chair Steve Gaw in the release. “We are pleased this agreement will provide an opportunity for Missouri National Guard families of soldiers in Iraq to communicate with their loved ones.”