Client Stories
For Maria Gonzalez of southern California it wasn't the amount of money she was cheated when she bought a pre-paid phone card, it was the fact she was cheated that led her to seek justice through Communities for Telecom Rights.
Gonzalez purchased a phone card for $5.00 and 100 minutes to call Mexico. Instead, she was disconnected after 20 minutes.
Angry, she turned to CTR agency Concerned Citizens of South Central Los Angeles
for help. After more than three hours on
the phone disputing the charges and filing a formal complaint, Concerned Citizens got Gonzalez a letter of apology and two $5 phone cards.
"They take advantage of us and I wanted to make a point and stand up," said Gonzalez. "Five dollars really adds up when you think of the thousands of people being ripped off."
Living in a single room Chinatown hotel on a fixed income, Eddy was stunned when he opened his home phone bill just before the holidays and saw $1,700 worth of long distance charges he never made.
Earning $800 a month in benefits and unable to speak English, Eddy couldn't pay the charges and didn't know how to fight them. Being a senior, Eddy faced losing his credit and more importantly his phone - his strongest connection to the outside world.
Then Eddy turned to Self-Help for the Elderly
in San Francisco's Chinatown. There, the staff called the phone company and fought on
Eddy's behalf. Dozens of calls and weeks later, the charges were waived and Eddy kept his phone.
"It took two months, but staff stayed with it," said Traci Dobronravova, director of social services for Self-Help. "It's such a foreign system and it's never explained to seniors."
Peter Wu purchased a one-year cellular phone contract but the phone company extended the contract to two years without his permission. When he tried to cancel after one year, the phone company charged him a cancellation fee of $150.
Desperate, Peter got in touch with Paul Lam of CTR agency, Chinese Newcomers Service Center
in San Francisco and together
they called the phone company several times and got no where. Lam called different consumer bureaus including the San Francisco
District Attorney for help, but no one did. Eventually Paul's persistence paid off. The phone company dropped the charges and
issued a letter to protect his credit rating.
Peter Wu is grateful to the CTR and Paul, especially when everyone in his family, especially his wife, had urged him to just pay the fee.
"It was not about the money, it was about the principle," said Lam. "Even if the charge was 10 cents or a quarter, no one should pay it. Especially when it's not their fault."
After trying a new phone company late last year, Carlo Garcia and his wife switched back to their old company and asked for international long distance. Believing they had a plan in place, Garcia and his wife spoke freely to family and friends nearly every day.
And then a bill for $800 arrived.
The phone company never actually gave the Garcia's a long distance plan. After seven fruitless calls and a ding to his credit
report, Garcia eventually found help with Central California Legal Services Inc.,
in Fresno. After several weeks - and several
calls - the CCLS got the charges down to $90.
"I was desperate because neither me or my wife worked at the time," said Garcia, who has been in a wheelchair for nine years after he was struck by a stray bullet. "I'm very grateful to Legal Services."