Fees and Surcharges

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@BeeBeeSA wrote:

AT&T makes no money on the taxes and surcharges.  They collect it and then pay the same amount collected to the respective taxing agencys.  I will tell you that someone in a call center in Somewhere, USA is not going to know your city, county, or state tax rates, therefore they would not be able to quote them. 

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Hi @Anonymous First bolded part, I don't scrutinize my bills like I used to, so I am not 100% sure if AT&T does this but does the phrase "fees that we collect and retain" sound familiar?  Basically those types of fees are collected to handle the utilities "overhead" for dealing with regulatory issues.

Second bolded part: Why not? 🙂  AT&T's billing system sure knows how much to charge each month, so why can't AT&T create a "what if" program to give a more accurate potential total bill amount?

Years ago, a law changed that made airlines and travel websites give total prices for airline tickets, not just base fares.  All inclusive.  I bet AT&T, Comcast, Dish would fight that.

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@THREEYOUNG3 wrote:

Stating that there are no fees added in an "all-inclusive" package is wholly different. I asked they mislead/lied. I did not agree to any, I asked and was told that there were none! If you ask a question and get a response, you expect that to be the truth. I understand that different places may have different fees, but I expect companies that do business in each area can give correct responses when asked. It would be a minor software program by zip code.

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You are right about the last sentence.  AT&T should use a "what if" calculator, when selling over the phone or online to let everyone have a better idea of total pricing.  An AT&T in-store salesman or D2D selling via a clipboard, would not possibly know exact details.

I will vehemently  disagree about all-in pricing.  I have never seen a TV offer from AT&T, Dish, Comcast and so on that does not say "Taxes and fees are extra."  NEVER.  It may come to that, as air travel pricing is required to be all inclusive but no other service or utility does that.

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@JefferMC wrote:

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@THREEYOUNG3 wrote:

Essentially is a tax exactly means that it is NOT a tax.

 

 

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tax: a compulsory contribution to state revenue, levied by the government on workers' income and business profits or added to the cost of some goods, services, and transactions.

 

A franchise fee meets this definition to a "T."  It is no different from a sales tax.

 

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You got my curiosity up about the difference in a fee and a tax then I found this:

“A tax has the primary purpose of raising revenue,” said Joseph Henchman, Tax Foundation Vice President of Legal Projects, and author of the exhaustive study. “By contrast, a fee recoups the cost of providing a service from a beneficiary.”

Understanding the difference betwee a fee and a tax

Not that it matters...we still have to pay both!

Fight it or not charges should be stated up front ar at least a good faith estimate. It would be difficult to be 100% accurate all the time but they know what the fees are going to be 95-99 percent of the time. I had Directv previously. If you sign up for new service there are fees(regional sports, dvr, receiver) but they are stated up front at time of signup. They did a better job with communicating costs. It is just frustrating when you do not get correct answers to questions that you ask. I don't really believe that they were flat out lying, but I asked the question and was given an incorrect answer.

You don’t understand that although you believe you can explain why the added fees are there, it does not change the fact that this unfair and exorbitant to us all. The status quo is flawed. Further, you do not understand that many of the government fees AT&T collects, go right back into their and the other utility company’s pockets. Call it great lobbyists working the regulatory bodies.  AT&T (and the others) are far more complicit than simply law abiding tax collectors….. AT&T pioneered lobbing and regulator influence over 100 years ago, and for decades used this to force a monopoly environment.

Bottom line:  add $15 to $20 for fees and taxes.

There.

If you have a problem with taxes, talk to your elected officials (county rep/state rep/Congressman)

If you have a problem with a fee, contact your state utility commission.

There are other internet and phone companies that have figured out how to charge a flat rate with no hidden fees or taxes.  I don't think these people are being unreasonable in wanting AT&T to do the same.  It is obviously, not impossible.  Anymore most things that cannot be explained make me suspicious of being ripped off.

I agree with threeyoung3 on one part of the fees.

While I disagree about having to pay the taxes and fees which are charged to AT&T not the customer but law allows AT&T to pass them on to the customer, a surcharge on the other hand really is a price increase on the service you paid for such as TV U200.  A surcharge is not a tax.  AT&T admits it is a fee to recover the fees local Broadcasters charge them for broadcasting their TV Stations.  Therefore this price should have been in the for instance TV U200 service fee.  This in effect is not honoring AT&T's agreement to charge you a specified amount for your TV Service.

I have a promotional 24 month agreement with ATT U-verse, package U300, which states, high speed internet Max Turbo, Voice unlimited North America, 3 HD TV's. My bill was supposed to be $124.99/mo. plus taxes and broadcast TV surcharges of $4.99.

I have been bill regulary by ATT approx. $207 per month. I am sooo tired of calling ATT every month to get this corrected. I am waisting not only my time plus the time of a ATT employee. I have a photo of the chat, I do have proof.

What can I doto resolve this for good? PLEASE help ... thank you.

I have a one year contract with AT&T U-Verse which ends in May. You'd better believe I am going to discontinue using AT&T once that contract ends. It is probably one of the worst companies for bamboozling customers and misrepresenting services and fees with which I've ever dealt. Getting a straight answer is relatively impossible. Just waiting to speak to someone in customer service means you have a long wait. Then, you have to figure out what the REAL costs are going to be. I have had AT&T U-Verse since November 2008. I hate to think how many total hours I have spent on the telephone or on live chat with their representatives. I have far better things to do with my time than be jerked around by AT&T.

I'm planning to relocate to another city. If I find that AT&T is the only telecommunications company available where I live I will buy any antenna, converter, modem or whatever is required to get TV service without AT&T making my life miserable ever again. Then, I will do some price comparison shopping to see what kind of deal for internet would be best for me. That will, of course, result in yet another telecommunication company getting their pound of flesh.

At this point, the U.S. Congress has seen fit to sell our privacy to these companies so they can bombard us with specialized advertising. Rather than eliminating regulations, wouldn't it be novel if our elected representatives would do what is best for citizens rather than for corporations with deep pockets to pay for high-priced lobbyists?

Threeyoung3 is right !  The rest of you clowns must work for the cable company.  These are NOT taxes. They are 'hidden' fees

collected on the name of ...  Broadcast TV Surcharge may be what the cable company agreed to pay. Not the consumer. They

are inflating the bill by same. Regulatory video cost recovery is $.09 on my current bill. I seriously doubt any monies leave AT&T

from the collection of this amount.  My current Gov't tax and fees are $5.32. My total surcharge and "other fees" $5.69.  What a great

rip off by AT&T.  So I think I'll dig deeper.  It may be class actionable ...........

@sueemall  I'm not a clown. I do not work for AT&T but I do know how to use Google:

https://www.corp.att.com/ebcc/tours/understand_bill_surcharges_taxes_glossary.pdf

You mean to tell me people don't read the 19 page terms of service agreement? Solution =" * + tax and required fees"