Corporate Giant AT&T Sues Homeless Man!

May 24, 2011 - PRLog -- The poor soul had already lost his job 3 years ago, had exhausted all his unemployment benefits10 months ago, and drained his life's savings 4 months ago. Then he had his half-paid off car repossessed, was evicted from his home, and lost almost every other possession that he once owned, including his self-respect. Because he has been unable to find employment, and because at 55 years old, he's not old enough to qualify for Social Security, he now lives on food stamps. 

Three years ago Bud Meyers was at the top of his career before the banking and financial frauds toppled the economy in 2008. Four months ago around his last birthday he was tittering on the verge of suicide, and is still currently just one step away from homelessness. He has lost all hope for his future.

Now, to add injury to insult after injury, AT&T is threatening him with a collection agency and a bad credit rating if he doesn't pay up a past-due balance of 63¢ on his old cell phone bill (not a TYPO, that's sixty-three cents). AT&T's entire legal department has been working hard around the clock, aggressively preparing their complicated and costly litigation against Mister Bud Meyers, who was once a happy and fun-loving casino bartender in Sin City before falling onto hard times three years ago...and is just like millions of other Americans, who is just another uncounted and numberless victim of The Great Recession.

Mister Meyers isn't happy: "After 40 years of busting my ass, no one will hire me anymore. Then the Republicans want to cut off food stamps, Social Security, and Medicare. Now I have a corporate mobster after me. Are they all trying to kill me? This isn't the America my father fought in two wars for."

Bud Meyers thought he got his very last bill from AT&T earlier this year. He had called them 4 months ago just after being evicted to permanently close his A&T account, as he was almost broke and living at the mercy of someone else - and could no longer afford his own cell phone service.

He had tried to do the right thing and had called them to speak to a real live living person (after juggling through their automated menu for several minutes, pushing #1 for English, and then being put on hold a few minutes more).

He had told the AT&T service rep that he wanted to close his account and wanted to pay it off in full. They said all he had to do was go online and log in to his account and use his debit card. Mister Meyers did this as he was on the phone with the rep, because he wanted to make sure that the payment went through without any problems.

The AT&T rep had confirmed his payment and said his account was current and could be considered closed...but the rep was VERY persistent in knowing what other phone service he might be using. He told the rep several times that that was personal information, and that he didn't wish to share any other personal information.

AT&T's service rep finally let him off the phone (well actually, because his service was then immediately terminated, the line went dead and he was cut off in mid-sentence) and then Mister Meyers logged out of his AT&T account. 

The very next day, just as a test, Mister Meyers tried to log back in again, but could not. And his cell phone still had no service. The account was closed...or so he thought.

Then Bud Meyers began receiving monthly notices in the mail of an unpaid balance, which he ignored. After receiving three monthly bills in the regular mail for an unpaid past balance due, he also received an electronic e-mail:

"Regretfully, we have canceled your wireless service because your account remains unpaid. Our records reflect an unpaid balance of $0.63. If your account remains unpaid, AT&T may be left with no alternative but to refer your account to a collection agency. This may result in a negative reference on your credit report if the past-due amount remains unpaid."

And this wasn't the first time Mister Meyers had a problem with AT&T. A few years ago they slammed him as a long distance carrier when he was with MCI, and then later AT&T tried to charge him several hundred dollars in a pornography scam from his dial-up modem on his computer.

What's next? Lawsuits, harassing phone calls, and liens on his bank account...maybe even debtor's prison, Welcome to the Corporate States of America.

Full story here:
www.asap-newswire.blogspot.com/2011/05/corporate-giant-at-sues-homeless-man.html

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Bud Meyers writes about the economy, corporate out-sourcing, labor statistics (the REAL unemployment rate), government and corporate corruption, and the plight of the long-term unemployed.