UCAN

Power Net Global (PNG) customers have reported to UCAN that their local AT&T bills show they've been switched to a new long distance carrier called Williams Communications.  Although PNG insisted customers received notice of this change, not one customer reported ever seeing any notice.  PNG told UCAN it had an agreement with AT&T not to charge UCAN customers.  AT&T said it had no information about any agreement.  So, what should customers do if they see these charges by Williams Communications?  Immediately call PNG at 1-877-441-6096 and let the company know that UCAN was promised all charges would be credited.

UCAN is distressed at calls from relatives of AT&T customers trying to cancel service for deceased parents.  And when we say "trying", that's exactly what is meant both literally and figuratively.  Without the account passwords, cancellation of service for deceased persons is almost impossible.  A FierceTelecom article written by Doug Mohney summed up the problem and provided two examples showing consumers in two states are not happy with these AT&T billing and cancellation practices.  Read More.

AT&T has sued Cox Communications for anti-competitive behavior at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). AT&T wants access to Channel 4, a Cox property that shows upwards of 150 Padres baseball games. The move is ironic.

Fierce Wireless, one of the industry's leading electronic news monitoring sources, stated today in an article by Sue Marek, that Apple's IPhone didn't measure up to what it advertised and represented to consumers.  The main issues in the lawsuit included the fact that the connectivity speed for data, Internet & like functions were allegedly much slower than advertised and that there was erratic connection in general.  Read More.

The IRS won't be sending you your economic stimulus check unless you have a filed a tax return by October 15th -- that goes for persons who don't normally file.

Recently I had to "choose" a broadband Internet provider. After having my "choices" narrowed down for me by a serious lack of competition ( I hear U-Verse is on its way some day), I went with my first, last, and only choice, Time Warner. Despite feeling trapped, the Time Warner customer service rep wooed me with promises of a new broadband paradigm, Roadrunner "turbo." For some reason this "15 Mbps down, 2 Mbps" up Internet was cheaper than the default 8 Mbps/ 1 Mbps option of yesteryear, so I pounced on the deal like a caged tiger given extra scraps of meat at dinner.

The moral of this story is to check the bandwidth you're getting from your broadband Internet provider.

Power Net Global (PNG) has changed. UCAN is no longer including the option of using Power Net Global (PNG).  In 2002, UCAN did a consumer guide and a newsletter showing PNG as a great option for long distance phone service because not only did UCAN members get installation fees waived, but there were NO monthly fees for customers using this service.  The company now charges minimum monthly usage fees and a .99 cent monthly fee.  To top things off, PNG recently started rounding up each call to the nearest minute instead of the six-second increcements it use to use.  The bottom line is that there are better deals out there for consumers!

UCAN community member ktmitchell writes the following: "In our modern global economy, the old cliché “time is money” has become an understatement. For the small business owners, when goods are lost, money is lost. Wages that could have been earned using those goods disappear as well. Consumers rely on shipping companies to complete business transactions by moving goods as quickly as the deals were made. Just as customers are confident that their shipments will arrive on time, they believe their packages will arrive undamaged. When it comes to FedEx Ground Shipping, that confidence could be misplaced faith."

Homeowner associations and city codes all over California enforce the watering of lawns. More.

Hypothesis: Some gas stations' pumps are not reflecting the amounts of gas you put into your tank. So, a call to action is requested. Read more.