[Tall-Corn] FW: Directory Assistance Charging

Mon Feb 28 19:00:11 UTC 2022

Jonathan, You hit right on the problem. Half of their current employees don’t know about this exemption and it does take some of the digging you did to win this one. I am encouraging everyone to check to make sure they are receiving an exemption and if not check with your phone company to make it happen. 

We certainly would like to know if others are having a problem.

Bob

From: Jonathan Ice <jkice89 at q.com <mailto:jkice89 at q.com> > 
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2022 6:59 PM
To: 'NFB of Iowa Internet Mailing List' <tall-corn at nfbnet.org <mailto:tall-corn at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: bray at nfbi.org <mailto:bray at nfbi.org> 
Subject: RE: [Tall-Corn] Directory Assistance Charging

I’ll weigh in on this one.  When I got the note from Jim Rechkemmer, I called Century Link and tried getting connected into “billing.”  Their automated phone tree seemed to be trying to send me everywhere but billing, but finally I got through to a real human.

I told her that I had been approved for free directory assistance a few years ago, and she said that indeed I no longer was set up for that.  I asked if she could fix that, but she said she couldn’t, but would connect me to the right section.  Next thing I knew I got a phone tree at DirecTV, where I finally got a human at AT&T.  I wouldn’t touch AT&T with a ten foot pole under ordinary circumstances, but understandably they couldn’t do anything for me.

I called CenturyLink again and finally got connected to “Mary,” who said that my account still was identified by my phone number, so no problem yet.  She did something that she said would prevent me from losing my DA exemption, and I hope she knew what she was doing.  These days you never know.

Jonathan Ice

From: Tall-Corn [mailto:tall-corn-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bob Ray via Tall-Corn
Sent: Sunday, February 27, 2022 2:17 PM
To: 'NFB of Iowa Internet Mailing List'
Cc: bray at nfbi.org <mailto:bray at nfbi.org> 
Subject: Re: [Tall-Corn] Directory Assistance Charging
Importance: High

                                The subject of charging for directory assistance hasn’t been around much lately. All of the major telephone providers have some sort of policy on it. You have seen earlier in this thread that Jim encountered a problem with Century link and even their people weren’t aware that the policy was still intact. If you are being charged by your provider you should check on it.

A bit of a side note on this subject is that when Century link started charging for directory assistance we worked with them to allow officers of the NFBI to verify applications as well as the Department. 

It would be helpful to all of us to know if anyone has further problems along these lines.

Thanks, Jim for letting us know about the problem.

Bob

From: Tall-Corn <tall-corn-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:tall-corn-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Jim Rechkemmer via Tall-Corn
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2022 8:21 AM
To: 'NFB of Iowa Internet Mailing List' <tall-corn at nfbnet.org <mailto:tall-corn at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Jim Rechkemmer <j.rechkemmer at mchsi.com <mailto:j.rechkemmer at mchsi.com> >
Subject: Re: [Tall-Corn] FYI

I am not aware of any problem with Verizon.  This problem only affected my land line through CenturyLink.

Jim

From: Tall-Corn <tall-corn-bounces at nfbnet.org <mailto:tall-corn-bounces at nfbnet.org> > On Behalf Of Craig Deichmann via Tall-Corn
Sent: Friday, February 25, 2022 1:10 PM
To: NFB of Iowa Internet Mailing List <tall-corn at nfbnet.org <mailto:tall-corn at nfbnet.org> >
Cc: Craig Deichmann <craig.deichmann at gmail.com <mailto:craig.deichmann at gmail.com> >
Subject: Re: [Tall-Corn] FYI

Is that true for Verizon customers?

Craig

On Feb 25, 2022, at 11:28 AM, Jim Rechkemmer via Tall-Corn <tall-corn at nfbnet.org <mailto:tall-corn at nfbnet.org> > wrote:

When I received my February CenturyLink bill, I noticed that the amount billed was $30.76  more than the normal bill.  Since I hadn’t upgraded or changed any service, I called customer service to inquire about the additional charges. I was told the additional charges were because I used Directory Assistance.  This was a surprise to me because I have never been charged for Directory Assistance before and I had not been notified that   Directory Assistance was no longer free.

    I called IDB to see if anyone else had complained about their CenturyLink bills.  I did receive a call back from Kim Barber and Mark Edge from the IL Department.  Mark had recently helped a client restore free Directory Assistance to  the client’s account.

The problem was created when CenturyLink changed our account numbers from our telephone numbers to a nine-digit account number that had nothing to do with our telephone number.  Apparently, the old account number was marked for free Directory Assistance and the new account number was not so marked.

To fix my problem, I called 1-855-204-2304.     

 I was asked by the automated system why I was calling and I pushed the button for Billing.  I was asked to enter my zip code so they could connect me with a customer service representative in my area. The customer service representative was able to check my old account and saw that it was marked for Free Directory Assistance and when she checked the new account, it was not marked for Free Directory Assistance.  She made the correction to my new account and reversed the directory assistance charges.  Later that day, I paid the bill for the normal amount.

Mark’s client had already paid the bill and they were able to arrange for a credit for the Directory Assistance charges on the client’s next bill.

If you use CenturyLink Directory Assistance, you might want to use the telephone number above and check to see if your new account number is marked for Free Directory Assistance and if not, get the account corrected.

Be sure to pass this information on to anyone who is not on this list.

Jim Rechkemmer

_______________________________________________
Tall-Corn mailing list
Tall-Corn at nfbnet.org <mailto:Tall-Corn at nfbnet.org> 
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/tall-corn_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for Tall-Corn:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/tall-corn_nfbnet.org/craig.deichmann%40gmail.com

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://nfbnet.org/pipermail/tall-corn_nfbnet.org/attachments/20220228/a0eded55/attachment.html>