Hi Everyone. If you have nothing to do with Ameritech or SBC and aren't an ISP, well, then you can hit delete right now. I've been on this list for years, and yes, I'm aware that this is a USR/Commworks list, and this is not an equipment issue. This is an ISP issue, and, the time has come for those of us that have been abused by SBC/Ameritech to band together on this one issue. Hang together, hang separately. SBC is counting on the latter I would believe. So - you're still reading -is this applicable to you: - chronic billing problems - over a year? - inability to be billed correctly for some/all accounts - accounts that were billing just fine suddenly are not for no good reason. Contract rates changed from say 60 mo to 12mo in the middle of the term. - inability to have even new service billed correctly - multiple indecipherable corrections that make it impossible to know for sure whether you have or are now being billed correctly - intimidation, threats, intimations that service might be shut off, even by "accident" if not paid for regardless to it being incorrect - unresponsive sales/billing reps/management, or promises made but not kept (all verbal of course) - inordinate time spent with different people each time, explaining entire situation, to find no action and a new rep to start all over again - blame chronically put on 3rd parties (resellers), "error corrections" (that no one ever seems to check interestly), someone that isn't there anymore, etc. - felt you needed to pay just so no "accidents" occured to your service and hence your livlihood. - to a larger degree do not have a choice for service providers, and/or contractual restrictions prohibit ability to find an alternate service that can bill correctly - FUNCTIONING of the service ITSELF is NOT the issue here. Do NOT BITCH TO ME ABOUT YOUR dial, T1, cat in the hat idiot support issues. This is about BILLING, about "the money" & SBC/Ameritech SPECIFICALLY. You want to start your own parade, hey, I'll be happy to fall in behind, but this one has one purpose. LISTEN CLOSE. This is SERIOUS, I have retained legal representation and am going into battle. Many ISP's I have talked to have experienced the exact same thing. In fact every one of them here in Wisconsin below "bullying" size. Fancy that.. Whether it has been "corrected finally" or not, surely you spent a huge amount of unproductive time attempting to straighten your account out. And time IS MONEY. This is NOT A BITCH SESSION. I have ZERO INTEREST in hearing about anything unless it has a factual, documentable basis, and you have an interest in pursuing this as a part of a group. I am sick to death of bitching, now is the time for action. This is a one trick pony, I have no interest in anyone's business secrets, or whatever paranoid delusions one might have, I want SBC nailed, period. You want that too, let's talk. And-I don't want to find out you dicked around because you didn't have the money to pay. I always have had the money to pay, that cannot be used against me. No, I don't have time for this either. Yes, my livlihood is being stolen minute by minute having to deal with this rather than revenue generating activities in this extremely fast paced reactive business. What do I want out of this? Frankly, money; it's cost me an incredible amount in opportunity costs & seriously affected my personal life in the powerlessness I feel in a critical portion of my life. Ultimately all SBC understands IS money. There are some suggestions that RICO (Racketeer Influenced Corrupt Organizations) laws may well apply here. Defective products: billing is an integral part of the product, and is unable to be billed correctly, far beyond any lemon law standards, therefore the product is defective & should not be paid for. There may well even be some SEC issues as to how their revenue is recognized, and when. Obviously "just my billing issue", no. But collectively? Hmmmm. Interesting way of overstating income possibly; moving it around within certain periods to meet goals, incentives, news releases, stock advice: All possible reasons for manipulation. Collectively, questions can be posed that would prove a concerted effort on SBC's part to harrass ISP's, especially the small ones that can't afford to dedicate massive efforts into wearing out SBC on these problems, or previously to this, legal, legislative, political & public types of actions. There are night-and-day differences between how non-competitive customers are treated and ISP's, particularlly small ones that they can bully. I'm sorry to use this list for this purpose, but time is of the essence. I spent two hours thinking this through I didn't have to give. I AM betting my business and "the farm" (I DO live on a 40 acre farm in Wisconsin!) on this it's that important. SBC pushed me one too many times, now it's time for me to push back. Please contact me off-list with serious inquiries only. All will be held confidential by me until such point as you'd say okay, I'm in. Thanks for your time. Scott Trautman President/Owner www.gdinet.com Global Dialog Internet 608-240-4638,7fax 2049 Skaalen Road scott@gdinet.com Stoughton WI 53589 Internet Service across Southern Wisconsin