Have you actually LOOKED at your cellphone bill lately?

Even though I get an email notice that my cellphone bill is ready to view online, I rarely do more than look at the total.  Somehow, it just doesn't make sense to try and read all 27 pages online.  I can't pick up the totals for one phone and look at the same area on the other phone's total.  So, for the online version, I look at the total and, if it seems correct, I pay it.

Today I got the most recent paper copy - I know think of all the trees, but I'd kill more trees if I printed it out myself because my paper isn't as small as theirs.  As I looked at the total, I realized that it was $20 more than usual.  Did the New AT&T (formerly Cingular) add something to my bill due to the name change?  Did I, for some reason, not pay my bill in full last time?  Or, maybe I paid it late and got hit with a late charge.

For those of you who actually try and read your cell phone bills and make sense of what is charged for and what isn't, you know how long it took me to find the 'extra' charges.  After a 15 minute search of all those lines of text, I finally found the "Credits/Adjustmens/Other Charges" section of the bill.  Oh no!  Under that section, it just give me an amount.  It does however tell me which phones (I have three on this plan) the charge was added to.  (Watch all the English teachers shudder - I just created a split infinitive by ending the last sentence with the word 'to' - sometimes I just let my wild side go and forget the correct way to write in English).

AHA! Here's the first one buried on page 12 of 27.  It's something called DirectBill Download.  The merchant's name is m-Qube Inc.  I have never heard of them or their product (something called Buongiorno).  So, I go looking for the other charge.  Seems I missed this one the first time through.  It's on page 5 of 27.  Same company.  The product this time is called Nevis Mobile.  

Now, I'll admit that it could have been possible for my technology-challenged better half to accidentally download something on her phone and not know it.  The second charge would've taken someone better than Houdini to actually download to that phone - It's been sitting on the filing cabinet with a dead battery for about four months.  I use it exclusively as my voicemail for Spanish.  It's directly forwarded to Callwave (which sends the recording to me via email attachment).

I called AT&T and after a couple of minute wait (they're still fielding inquiries regarding the iPhone), got to talk with a very nice gentleman who not only removed the charges (well, they're credited to next month's bill), but placed a block on any DirectBill downloads.  All that means is that if I want a new ringtone, then I have to pay for it, then download it and not the other way around.

So, next time you think about not reading your bill, you might want to think again.