I have been using Free Choice for the last two years. Can't imagine anyone who has previously posted that can even compare to the savings they offer vs At&T. For a business, savings is everything. My bill went from $300+ to an monthly average of $197.00 per month. Guess I am the only person who seems satisfied with the service and they have lived up to their end of the agreement.

Let's talk about At&t. I've had my share of problems with them and they certainly make their fair share of erros.

I got a call from a FreeChoice salesman trying to push his service on me - he didn't make a lick of sense - kept rambling on about laws & regulations & policies that were changing.

When I asked him to clarify, he started to get impatient. Finally (when I got a word in edge-wise) I said, "I'm happy with AT&T." He actually got mad! "What?! You're happy with paying an extra $30 a month? And... blah blah blah...."

I said, "You know... I'm at work right now..." and before I could finish, he HUNG UP on ME!! Didn't even give me the satisfaction of doing the same to him. LOL.

My instinct "warning bells" went off with this guy immediately after he opened his mouth. Based on this website, it looks like I was right on the money.

I saw an add and it sounded real good, so I called them to start services today. They are sending a contract? although they assure me the services are month to month. I just saw all the comments on this site/// Thank God. Please let me know if there is anyone that as a favorable comment about them. I'm serching for a phone company with lower rates for phone and internet that AT @T Thank you much in advance

ALRIGHT NOW I JUST GOT MY DOSE OF FREE CHOICE COMMUNICATIONS...I WISH I WOULD HAVE READ ALL THESE FIRST BEFORE I AGREED TO ANYTHING THE HAD TO OFFER...THEY CALLED ME UP 3 WEEKS AGOAND SOLD ME ON SWITCHING MY SERVICE FRM AT&T WITH THEM..THE BILL WOULD HAVE BEEN 37.00...BUT SINCE I HAD LIFE LINE ON MY PREVIOUS PHONE IT WOULD BE 19.99...WHICH WAS EVEN BETTER...IN THOSE 3 WEEKS I MOVED TO A DIFFERENT ADDRESS...I TOLD THEM ABOUT THE MOVE AND THEY SAID THEY NEED TO VALIDATE THE ADREESS FOR THE TRANSFER...OK NOW I CALLED THEM LAST WEEKS AND THEY LOOKED IN THE COMPUTER TO SEE WHATTHE HOLD UP WAS AND THEY SEEN WHERE I CALLED IT IN BUT THEY HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING YET SO THE LADY TOLD ME SHE WAS GONNA PUT A RUSH ON IT BECAUSE I DNT HAVE A PHONE AND TOLD ME THEY WOULD CALL ME...HELLO! I DNT HAVE A PHONE STUPID...I GAVE THEM MY SISTER'S NUMBER BUT THEY NEVER CALLED HER PHONE NOT ONCE. THEN I JUST CALLED AGIAN TODAY AND TALKED TO ANUTHER LADY AND OF COURSE IM PISSED AND AGGRAVATED BECAUSE I ALREADY PAID MY BILL FOR THE MONTH AHEAD OF TIME...THE LADY SAYS SHE STILL CAN'T VALIDATE MY ADDRESS. AND SAID EITHER THE ADDRESS IS NOT RIGHT OR THEY DON'T SERVICE THAT AREA...WTF! I KNW MY DARN ADDRESS...AND IF I WAS WITH AT&T AND THEN CALLED ME THEN THEY WOULD HAVE SERVICED THE AREA THEN..THEY ARE SO FULL OF DOO DOO...I THEN ASKED FOR MY REFUND FOR THE SERVICE I DIDN'T USE.. THE LADY TOLD ME THAT IS THE CHARGE FOR THE DIAL TONE. OK NOW I REALLY MAD AS HECK..SHE TALKIN LIKE SHE DNT WANNA REFUND MY MONEY...OH NO..DATS NOT WHATS GONNA HAPPEN...AFTER ALL THESE POSTS FREE CHOICE IS GONNA BE HISTORY....I SAT AND WAITED TWO DARN WEEKS FOR A PHONE THEY KEEP PROMISING ME THEY WERE GONNA GET ACTIVE FOR ME...I CANT LIVE WITH OUT A PHONE AND I HAVE BEEN FOR TWO WEEKS...

I was contacted by Free Choice today3/21/08. I was led to believe they were the whole sale carrier for AT&T and wanted to reduce my rate to $37.00 a month and next month would be free. this was being done because of some new government regulation. I was all set to go for it until the switch when they wanted the last four digets of my SS #
and by that time it was just something to gopod about it so I hung up Machele called back and I told her I did not want it. They are very slick. Does AT&T know about them?

I was contacted by Free Choice in July of this year, offering dramatic savings on phone service. They said there was no long-term contract, and they would cover any cancellation fees charged by my current phone service provider. I made the switch, and that's when my troubles began.

Not long after that, one of my 2 business lines, as well as my home phone line went dead. I called Free Choice right away. The repair office was closed, and I left a message about the problem. I didn't hear from anyone the next day, so I called again, and was told there was no record of a call. In the end, it took them almost a week to get them up and running again!

When I got a bill from my old phone company for cancellation fees, I contacted Free Choice, and was told by 'Elizabeth T.' to fax the bill to her, and she'd take care of it. It didn't happen, and eventually I got a call from a collection agency.

On top of the service issues, the promised savings were a myth, The phone bills were virtually the same as they were under the old company for my home line, and marginal less for my business lines.

I decided then to switch back to my old company, and that was the beginning of another nightmare. They held my phone numbers hostage by forcing me to pay for service in advance when they received the cancellation order, and they delayed the execution of the transfer twice. When they finally did allow the transfer, they didn't completely release the numbers, which caused another 2 days of service outage.

On the closing bill for my home phone service they tried to charge me almost $51 for 8 days of service! I was told by Michelle, a billing department supervisor, that it’s their company policy to bill for a full month’s service on a closed account, regardless of the number of actual days service provided. She said they will prorate the charges, but only if asked to do so.

Remember that old saying 'If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is'?

BUYER BEWARE!

I called to see why my phone would not call out on 11/12/07 at 11.00 am… I talked to a woman by the name of Nancy. She informed me that I was suspended due to non-payment. I told her that I did make a payment. She told me that the last payment received was on 10/01/07. I told her that I made a payment also on 10/29/07 for $70.00 at 4:44 pm. by swift pay costing and extra $6.00. She responded back with we do not show that. I asked her if she could track it with my MTCN number to show proof that I did pay the bill. She said no, that I would have to fax it to her. She knows that I can't fax due to my service being suspended but, if I would of called in and made arrangements to extend my service from being disrupted I wouldn't be running into this problem. I need to go find a place that can have it faxed off. I told her that was a stupid response. I had no idea that my phone was going to be suspended. I figured it was paid so why would I do something like that. I then asked to speak to a supervisor or manager. She told me no, just hurry up and fax it so we can restore your service today.
I stood in line at Western Union for 45 minutes while we were trying to get a hold of this phone company Free Choice so we could let them know that the money has been sitting there for 14 days and no one has bothered to retrieve it and that they need to turn on their fax machine. Apparently, the fax number she gave me 888 727 0111 is no good. I gave up and went back home while the woman at Western Union worked on it for me.
When I got back home I called again and talked to a nice man named Arthur and asked me what the MTCN number is. I then got very upset because Nancy said they do not do that. When he pulled up the number, I gave him he found that the bill was paid on 10/29/07 and that he was sorry that this has happened and they were going to put in a rush on getting my service turned back on. I told him thank you. At 4:45 pm no phone, called again said it should be turned on anytime now. I asked for a supervisor again. I was told that she is on the phone with another customer and cannot speak to me. Therefore, I told this woman well, I guess you people have screwed someone else over too and hung up.
The next day around 11:30, I called to see what is taking so long and to let them know I need my phone for work. The woman told me it should be on by 2:30 today if not call back. I asked to speak to a supervisor again and was told well they will just tell me the same thing.
Here comes 2:45 pm. still nothing and I had called again and got Arthur. He said I remember talking to you yesterday. He told me it would take 24 to 48 hrs to have it restored. I told him this is not right. Just to let you know I am so unhappy with losing work over no phone and standing in a line for a long period. Not to mention wasting gas and my time. The damn thing should have never been turned off in the first place. I have been with this phone company for a least 5 years or longer and cannot understand the runaround that I have been getting. This is so unprofessional. Here it is now 3 days without phone when this month was paid in full. NOT RIGHT! He said They’ll make it right with discounting me for all my trouble when they get my line back up, but nothing against him I am sure once again I will get yet another lie.
My bill started out being $53.00 with tax making a total of $60.00 a month and now this year it has gone up to $70.00. When I asked why has my bill gone up? They respond with it is still $53.00 plus tax. This company is not only full of lies but, they are also rip-offs.

I have none experience whit Free Choice but i get angry every because my e-mail is hunted by some freaks that announce me to be the winner of a big prize. I am sick of it and they are getting pathetic. So you see the world is full of scams...Leasing

i am a lifeline customer and vartec is trying once again to charge me $9.50 for the federal primary line charge and other taxes and surcharges, when i am supposed to be either not charged or credited. my last two bills showed these extra charges after i cancelled my voice mail and call waiting service, so i dont know if this is why they want to tack on extra charges to my bills. my taxes and surcharges went from a total of $3 to $12, when my lifeline charge is only $5.35

they also charged me these extra taxes and surcharges from the months of may 2004-feb. 2005 and then suddenly stopped the charges until these last two months.
i decided to not do anything about it until the problem came back these past few months.
i would like to be credited at least for the last two bills, but also for the months of may 2004- feb. 2005 if possible.

ive tried calling the company, but they outsource to india and the representatives always say the same thing, that all customers are charged these fees, which is not true. they then give you a fax # or address to the customer relations in texas to address your problem, but no phone # to talk to anyone directly. i had originally tried to write them when i first had this problem in the year 04/05, but i never received any response.

Just read your complaint against MCI for unauthorized charges for federal taxes applied to local-only lines.

I am in exact same situation with AT&T, which imposes Federal takes and surcharges (FUSF, Subscriber line charge, etc.) even though the line is local only and has no long-distance access.

I have spoken to two AT&T customer service reps. They both insisted that the Federal charges apply to all lines, refused to issue credit and advised me to take this issue to CPUC.

I have, in a sense, resolved the matter with MCI but I did want to bring this to UCAN's attention considering the complaint brought against MCI I discovered on this site. I had a similar, concurrent problem with MCI as did Jack Duclo, but I think I have Duclo beat.

I signed up for MCI Lifeline service with toll blocking in September, 2006. When I was put through to the third-party verifying agent, I was asked if I was signing up for MCI as my local and long-distance carrier. There had been no discussion with MCI regarding long-distance, since I had requested toll blocking. I said I was signing up for local service only. The verifying agent told me it was a "yes or no" question. I had no phone at the time and was using a payphone. This was my second attempt to acquire Lifeline service (AT&T had demanded a deposit equivalent to eight months of service charges before activation, contrary to CPUC policy). I had the choice of accepting MCI as my long-distance carrier or shouting my personal information into a payphone yet again. I do not use direct-dialed wireline long-distance and had requested toll blocking, so I expected no long-distance billing in any event.

The first bill (October 24, 2006) was quite a surprise. In addition to the CPUC-capped Lifeline ($10) installation charge, there was a $50 "New Telephone Number Charge". The bill did not include the Lifeline flat rate for service, but did include $6.01 in government fees and taxes and $3.25 in surcharges. Page 3, "Local Service Summary", under the heading "Government Fees and Taxes", subheading "MCI Local Service" were the following improper charges (in addition to the $50 noted above): CA 911 (Lifleline-exempt, per Board of Equalization) $0.40, CA Teleconnect Fund (Reimbursible from Lifeline) $0.08, CA High Cost Fund - B Surcharge (Reimbursible from Lifeline) $1.20, CA Universal Lifeline Tel Serv Surcharge (Reimbursible from Lifeline) $0.77. CA Relay Service and Commun Devices Fund (Reimbursible from Lifeline) $0.03, CA High Cost Fund - A Surcharge (Reimbursible from Lifeline) $0.13, CA State & Local Utility Taxes (No state or county tax, city tax is Lifeline-exempt, per City of Eureka Finance Department) $1.80, Federal Excise Tax (Exempt for Installation charges, per U.S. Internal Revenue Service) $1.56, Federal, State, & Local Surcharges (???) $0.04. Also on the "Local Service Summary" (page 3) under the heading "Surcharges", subheading "MCI Local Service" were the following charges: Federal, State, & Local Surcharges (???) $0.07, Federal Universal Service Fee $0.27, and Carrier Access Charge - B $2.91.

Page 4 of the bill says, "The charges for your basic local service are $60.40. This is the total of your monthly recurring charges for local service, your local usage, and the government mandated fees and taxes calculated on these services. Failure to pay these charges may result in disconnection of your basic local service and loss of dial tone. . . ." I was expecting a bill for about $16 with recurring charges around $6, based on published Lifeline installation and monthly service rates. I spoke to Raciel Dlouhy of MCI's Agency Relations, who asserted every right to demand payment since the computer said that all of the above was correct. When I pointed out that the installation charge for Lifeline is capped at $10, she asked me to cite the law.

I was credited the entire amount, without explanation on the November 24, 2006 bill, including the appropriate $10 installation charge, leaving me with a partial and a full month charged at the correct Lifeline rate. I had notified the City of Eureka Finance Department regarding the UUT charges, and this is the last bill on which the charge appeared. Now everything, but the surcharges looked about right. The CAC-B, now raised to $3.49, was of more concern than the FUSF at only $0.32. The CAC-B alone was a full 65% of the Lifeline monthly rate. Unfortunately, no one at MCI would explain the CAC-B as anything other than something they were unquestionably allowed to charge my account. I filed a complaint with the CPUC-Consumer Affairs Branch through a state legislator's office and switched carriers in January, 2007.

I received a letter from Dlouhy dated March 12, 2007, but sent to my old address with an incorrect name (could not be forwarded). Dlouhy simply re-states what can be found on MCI's web site, "The Carrier Access Charge - B is the method the industry uses to offset increased costs associated with leasing certain network components. This fee is not a tax or surcharge required by the government." Since the CAC-B appears on my MCI "Local Service Summary" as a surcharge for "MCI Local Service" and I have no access to network components that are not elements of Lifeline, I thought it was the End User Common Line charge (Federal Subscriber Line Charge in AT&T-speak). The EUCL is also reimbursible from Lifeline, as it would make no sense to have telephone service without access to the local exchange.
I sent Dlouhy a money order on March 30, 2007 with a notice over the endorsement line acknowledging that the debt is paid in full and the account is closed. The money order was for the amount I owed according to the charges explicitly allowed by the CPUC for the period I had not yet paid (including the $10 installation charge MCI had inadvertently credited). I advised Dlouhy to accept this as payment in full and not attempt efforts to collect any difference in our respective accountings. I also suggested that MCI (still thinking the CAC-B was the EUCL) aggregate the CAC-B with the Lifeline rate and submit future costs associated with providing Lifeline service to the CPUC for reimbursment rather than sticking it to low-income, senior, and disabled Californians.

On April 4, 2007, I received an e-mail from the state legislator's office telling me that, according to the CPUC, the CAC-B is a "federally mandated charge", "imposed by the Federal Communications Commission", "applies to all customers", and "not under the jurisdiction of the PUC", and I was told to take my complaint to the FCC. The reference to the FCC and a little research into the FUSF cleared it up finally.

The CAC-B is not the EUCL, which MCI calls the Network Access Surcharge, but some sort of surcharge for interstate network access. As I said, I don't use direct-dialed wireline long-distance, so I don't know what kind of surcharges apply. More importantly, I did not use use direct-dialed long-distance while I had local service with MCI. I requested toll blocking and I have toll blocking according to the terms of my service agreement. I never placed, attempted, nor allowed to be placed or attempted any direct-dialed interexchange/interstate calls from that line. There are no charges for calls placed under this "MCI Local Service"--only the CAC-B and the FUSF, which is applied to nothing but the CAC-B itself.

I am not out anything, nor particularly worried that MCI will pursue the small amount ($4-$14 depending on whether they count the installation charge) they claim I owe. I have filed a cramming complaint with the CPUC and requested clarification of their description of the CAC-B and their position on jurisdiction for intrastate billing disputes. I will be filing a cramming complaint with the FCC as well as notifying the Attorneys General of California and New York (the laws of which govern the service agreement).

Feel free to e-mail if this is of any interest. I will be following the case you have going against MCI and keeping an eye on my credit reports. Thanks for having this form available so I could lay all of this out chronologically for the first time.

Tom

I got a call from Free Choice today, making their service try to sound like a regular update that the phone company was sanctioning. Before I knew it I was being sold on a whole new plan. Say no to FreeChoice!

On 1/10/07 I received a solicitation from FreeChoice. The tactic was misleading, leading me to believe at first that they were with AT&T. The sales person, Tracie Carter #2009, told me that the exact same service for both my phone numbers 858 676-0888 and 858 673-4433 that I currently had with AT&T would cost me a total (including tax) of $49.90/month and the first month would be free. I agreed to switch at that time.

On 1/25/07 I received my first bill dated 1/19/07 in the amount of $70.49 for service covering the period 2/10/07-3/9/07. The amount billed was much higher that what I was quoted on 1/10/07. I called the customer service line and spoke with someone regarding the over billing. The person said that I must have misunderstood and what I was billed was correct. I disagreed and told her I planned on going back to AT&T. She said that I did not have to pay the current bill if my phone service was switched prior to 2/10. I called AT&T and requested that I be switched back.

Towards the end of February I received another bill from FreeChoice with new current charges (3/10-4/9/07) and a late fee. I was surprised that I had not already been switched back to AT&T. I just assumed that it took awhile to process the change.
On 3/5 my phone service was disconnected. Not knowing what happened, I called AT&T to ask why there was a mix up. They said that FreeChoice failed to release the phone numbers to them when first contacted because there was a balance on the account. I then went online and paid the full amount owned on the account and contacted customer service. I expressed my disappointment that no one attempted to call me inquiring about the past due balance or to tell me the plans to disconnect my service. My service through FreeChoice was reconnected that day and within 10 days I was back with AT&T.

Since then I have received yet another from FreeChoice for a “reconnect charge” in the amount of $60.00. I believe I should not have to pay it. Had FreeChoice released the lines when AT&T initially requested, I would not have owed then for the service from 2/10-3/9/07. On top of that, I was completely deceived about the how much the monthly bill was going to be. I called FreeChoice’s customer service on 3/26 to request that the $60.00 be reversed. The woman I spoke with denied my request. When I asked to speak with a supervisor, she said that she was the supervisor that there was no one else for me to speak with regarding this matter. I said I would not pay the fee, and she replied that they would send me to collection.