BUCKS WATCH
Payphone Use to Get More Expensive for Sprint Customers - The cost of using payphones is about to get more expensive for Sprint long distance subscribers. Effective November 11, 2004, Sprint will raise the payphone surcharge by 8¢ from 47¢ to 55¢. The payphone surcharge is applied to calls made from public or semi-public payphones for which the customer is billed by Sprint, including calls made with Sprint prepaid cards and calling cards billed to a Sprint subscriber's monthly bill such as the FONCARD product. Sprint subscribers wishing to avoid paying a payphone surcharge may wish to consider using a non-Sprint prepaid calling card such as those sold through major wholesale retailers such as Costco, Sam's Club, and BJ's. For more information on Sprint's payphone surcharge, click here(i) .
WIRELESS WATCH
AT&T Wireless/Cingular Merger to Bring Some Changes for Subscribers - On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the merger of AT&T Wireless and Cingular, paving the way for the creation of the largest wireless provider in America. An announcement regarding specific service changes is expected on November 10, 2004. While the companies have posted some general information about how the merger will affect subscribers, there are many things that will not change. AT&T Wireless and Cingular customers will continue to have the same rate plans and service contracts. Additionally, subscribers' phone numbers will not change and their existing phones will continue to function. It is expected that free mobile-to-mobile calling between the two carriers' subscribers who have this feature on their service plans will be introduced in time for the holiday season, although no exact date has yet been determined. It is planned that AT&T Wireless subscribers will also have access to Cingular's Rollover plans before the holidays. However, AT&T Wireless subscribers will need to buy a new GSM phone to take advantage of Rollover since their current phones do not have the correct software to take advantage of this service. Additional effects of the merger on current AT&T Wireless and Cingular subscribers will be covered in a future edition of TRACNotes, as they are announced. For more information on how the merger will affect consumers, click here(ii).
Sanyo Tops Wireless Handset Satisfaction Study - Among major wireless phone manufacturers, Sanyo rated tops in customer satisfaction, according to a new study released Thursday by J.D. Power and Associates. Overall satisfaction among wireless phone owners has increased by 5 percent over 2003, the first significant overall satisfaction increase in the past three years. While satisfaction has increased, the study finds that the average handset purchase price increased by $11 to $99 from $88 in 2003, the first such increase since 1999. Additionally, the study finds that the typical handset is replaced every 18 months. Other manufacturers finishing above the industry average in customer satisfaction included Samsung and LG. Handset manufacturers finishing below the industry average included, in descending order, Motorola, Audiovox, Kyocera, Sony Ericsson, and Nokia. According to the study, the two most important factors that consumers look for in their wireless phones were features and durability, followed by physical design, battery function, and operation. Among major U.S. wireless carriers, Sprint PCS is the only one to sell Sanyo handsets. For more information in this study, click here(iii) .
SCAM WATCH
Have You Been Scammed? Let Us Know! - According to statistics recently released by the National Consumer League's National Fraud Information Center, consumers who were the victims of Internet fraud lost an average of $803 in the first half of 2004. This is a 58 percent increase over the average loss of $468 in 2003. The most prevalent Internet frauds involved online auctions and general merchandise (items purchased online but not delivered or not delivered as advertised). Telemarketing fraud in the first half of 2004 was even more costly for consumers with an average loss of $2,085, up from $1,504 in 2003. The two most common telemarketing frauds involved bogus prizes or sweepstakes and fake credit card offers. Have you been scammed online or on the phone? If so, we'd like to hear about it. E-mail your experiences to trac@trac.org. If we publish your story, we'll send you a complimentary copy of TRAC's TeleTips Residential Long Distance Comparison Chart. Please include your town and state of residence in your e-mail. We will not print the names of readers whose stories we choose to publish. For more information on telemarketing and Internet fraud and how to avoid it, visit the National Fraud Information Center at www.fraud.org.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page - http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions - http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
What do you think? Got a tip you want to share? Nominate your "Scam of the Week" and your "Tip of the Week" - If we select your submission, we'll give you a one-year free membership in TRAC and acknowledge your contribution by name in TRACNotes. Send an e-mail to trac@trac.org to submit your ideas!
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©2004 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source:Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
Endnotes
