By LEE BERGQUIST
of the Journal Sentinel staff

Last Updated: Jan. 19, 2001

Ameritech said Friday it is providing $42,000 in credits to 9,000 customers living in Milwaukee's southwest suburbs after a legislator and a state agency raised questions about the billing practices for the company's three-way calling feature.

But the lawmaker said the credits do not go far enough.

And the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection said it is investigating whether Ameritech's billing snafu might be affecting more consumers than those living in southwest side communities.

The complaints are the latest to surface with Ameritech's three-way calling feature, which allows a caller to talk to two other parties at the same time. In 1998, an agreement with state consumer protection officials required Ameritech to provide credits totaling $477,000 to 143,000 business and residential customers who were erroneously billed for the service.

Ameritech officials thought they had the problem fixed, but this time around, Ameritech said it discovered a glitch in one electronic switch. The result: Consumers living in southwest suburbs would be billed 85 cents a call after they redialed immediately after completing a call.

The problem most recently came to light after Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin) said his office received 92 calls after he wrote a letter in a community newspaper explaining how he was charged for three-way calls that he never made.

While he said he was pleased Ameritech helped consumers living in or near his legislative district, Gundrum said about two dozen people who complained lived in other parts of the state.

"It's impossible for me to believe that this is the only area that is having a problem," Gundrum said.

After being contacted by Gundrum, Ameritech first checked electronic switches where most of the problems were detected - among people who lived near Gundrum.

Ameritech spokesman David Saltz said the company detected the problem at a single switch on Forest Home Ave. All other switches were checked across the state, but Ameritech found no problems.

On a separate front, Wisconsin's consumer protection administrator sent investigators to some of the people affected to learn whether Ameritech was violating terms of the 1998 agreement when the billing of three-way calls was first detected.

Bill Oemichen said his agency is concerned that Ameritech is violating terms of the agreement by not routinely offering to credit customers, or offering to block the service when they call to complain.

"From our perspective, this is a very serious investigation and we want to hear from consumers," he said. Consumers can call (800) 422-7128.

As for Ameritech, the credits will go automatically to customers who made three-way calls last year that have phone numbers with the following prefixes: 425, 525, 427 and 529.

In addition, Ameritech said it will provide credits on a case-by-case basis to those same customers who were inadvertently billed between November 1998 and 1999 if they call Ameritech by April 24. That number is (800) 244-4444.

The state Public Service Commission said Friday it also is trying to determine whether it is too easy for Ameritech customers to order services inadvertently.

JS Online

GICC Archives - January 27, 2000

New Ameritech Software Glitches

-- Anonymous, January 20, 2001