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Apparently, this story has been going on for about three years now, but it looks to be at some kind of resolution. We’re presenting it to you because if you don’t live in California, your state’s consumer protection laws many not cover you in cases like this. And if your state’s laws don’t help you out, you might be at the mercy of your cell phone provider.

About three years ago, Steve Arnold’s 12-year-old son had his cell phone stolen. Now, we know that kids are always afraid of breaking bad news to their parents, so we can excuse little Steve (that’s not his name) didn’t tell his parents right away. But he did end up telling them, which prompted Big Steve to call Cingular, then his provider, to report the phone stolen.

Cingular informd Mr. Arnold that his account showed $4,816.85 worth of calls — the phone was being used in Mexico. This is a headache that no one wants to deal with. However, since these were fraudulent charges, one would figure that Cingular would eliminate the charges from Mr. Arnold’s bill and investigate the case.

No, of course they didn’t. Instead, they demanded payment of Mr. Arnold, citing a clause in his contract that says that the subscriber is responsible for all fraudulent charges prior to the phone being reported stolen. And you wonder why we abhor having cell phone contracts.

That clause in his contract, however, should be negated by California consumer protection laws. But that didn’t stop Cingular from pursuing the charges, sending a collection agency after Mr. Arnold and eventually suing him for $6,000 — the owed amount plus attorneys’ fees. Not only is this a monumental hassle, but also a blemish on Mr. Arnold’s credit rating.

And now, three years later, Cingular has dropped the charges. Out of the blue. Well, Mr. Arnold thanks CBS 5 in San Francisco for having their ConsumerWatch team inquire with Cingular (now AT&T) regarding the case. “Had [CBS 5] not got involved, there’s no way Cingular would have dismissed this on their own,” said Arnold.

That’s a warning to everyone out there with a cell contract: make sure you report anything and everything to the company as it happens. If you don’t, you can expect to be responsible for all fraudulent charges. And they may even hold up if local protection laws don’t cover you.

[CBS 5 San Francisco]

Posted By : Joe
Posted at : July 2nd, 2007 - 1:00 pm
Filed under : Consumer Issues