Hello, pervie-ga!
Wow! I would never have thought that obtaining past phone records
would require more than a simple phone call. Companies sure are quick
to provide past bills when payments are delinquent!
OBTAINING RECORDS OF LOCAL PHONE CALLS
======================================
I had to wait until this morning to call the SBC office. Thankfully,
they have Saturday hours!
I made several phone calls to SBC in an attempt to fully understand
why it is so hard to obtain copies of local phone bills when "you", in
fact, have been making the calls and paying the bill!!!
My first call was to Grace in the Billing Department. The number for
the Billing Department is 1-800-585-7928. (Unfortunately, you will
have to go through a series of annoying menu options to reach a live
person.) The Billing Department serves all states that SBC services,
so you can call them with further questions no matter what your state
of residence.
Grace told me that the ONLY way to obtain records of your local phone
calls after a few billing cylces have passed is to go through legal
channels. She quoted the SBC legal policy for obtaining records of
local phone calls:
***
"In accordance with federal law, the external release of a customer's
record information must be pursuant to a form of valid legal process.
Common forms of valid legal process are subpeona, court order,
administrative summons and search warrants."
***
Hmmmm....so.... an individual has to hire an attorney to obtain
copies of their own personal phone records???
This answer just did not sit right with me! After grinding on this
for awhile, applying your situation to "myself" and realizing that
this policy affects all of us, I made a second call to speak to Grace
again. I wanted to know WHY a customer could not obtain copies of
their past phone records. Certainly, a bank customer can retrieve
copies of their transactions from several years ago. So why not copies
of phone bills?
After sitting on hold for 10 minutes, I was cut off, but it was for
the best. I got my most helpful information in the third phone call
with a customer service representative. (I wish I had gotten her name
so I could provide her with a public "thank you".)
As per my conversation, the following is what I found out:
SBC has so many customers that they can only keep copies of telephone
bills through a few billing cycles. After that time, the records are
maintained on Optical Storage. Obtaining records from Optical Storage
is a laborious and costly process. Therefore, a request for phone
records from several years ago is not routinely accommodated without
jumping through some hoops.
The most common reason for requesting phone records from years gone
by is for litigation purposes. Therefore, Grace (in Billing) was
correct in quoting the legal policy concerning phone bill retrieval.
However, it does appear that you may be able to convince the phone
company to retrieve copies of your past bills without actually
retaining a lawyer.
There is a great possibility (although no promises were made) that
you can have your phone records retrieved by providing a "legitimate
reason". In your case, the reason would be for litigation purposes. If
you have not retained a lawyer and would like to represent yourself or
obtain background information for a potential lawsuit, this reason
should suffice.
You will need to provide the phone company with the following
information:
1) The reason you are requesting copies of your past phone bills.
2) Your Social Security Number
3) Your phone number, residence and billing address.
If the reason for your request passes muster, (which is likely since
legal matters are considered legitimate reasons for obtaining past
bills), they will make an attempt to retrieve your records off Optical
Storage. Be prepared to wait a while since the retrieval process can
take some time!
I asked if there was a direct number you could call, and she told me
the most efficient method was to call the "Support Crew" at
1-800-300-3788 and press "Option 3" for residential service requests.
However, when I called that number, it was for the states of Missouri,
Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas and Arkansas. Since I don't know in which
state you reside, you can either call the above number, press Option 3
for residential requests, and ask for the correct number for your
state - or - go to the number "Look-up by state" page at
http://www.sbc.com/localization/1,5932,,00.html?prod_snip=contact_us_res_call
(If you choose this route, you will have to go through customer
service to find the number for "Support" since I don't see it listed)
Although I was told that your request has a high probability of being
honored because it involves litigation, I cannot promise that you will
have results. One possibility is to make the request appear as
official as possible by having it notarized. Further, you might be
able to get an attorney to co-sign your letter at minimal cost.
At worst, if SBC will not honor your individual request, you might
have to pay an attorney a small fee to draft a legal request for your
phone records. Paying a small price for a lawyer's letterhead may be
well worth it if having the records means being able to go through
with future litigation.
==
SBC Contact Numbers:
SBC Home Page
http://www.sbc.com/
SBC Contacts by State
http://www.sbc.com/localization/1,5932,,00.html?prod_snip=contact_us_res_call
SBC Telephone Contacts
http://www01.sbc.com/content/0,,1605,00.html
(Unfortunately, most all numbers will refer you to an automated menu,
asking for your state or area code and phone number, type of question
you need answered, etc.)
==============
I trust this information is useful and allows you to obtain your past
phone records without too much trouble. If you are polite, reasonable
and persistent, I believe they will be very accommodating.
If I can help you further, please don't hesitate to ask in a
clarification. SBC made it very clear, however, that the phone call
and letter must come from you (as the owner of the residence phone
line) or an attorney. I would not be able to make these contacts for
you. Also, our Terms of Service do not allow for the exchange of
personal information necessary to pursue your request for phone
records.
I wish you the best of luck! And thank you for teaching me a valuable
lesson. From now on, instead of shredding my phone bills, I am going
to keep copies.....just in case!
umiat-ga
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Clarification of Answer by
umiat-ga
on
14 Jul 2003 09:53 PDT
pervie,
I called SBC again this morning and spoke with an entirely different
customer representative.
*By law,* SBC only has to hold a customer's records for eighteen
months. The representative was not sure if you could retrieve your
bills after this date.
However, it now stands at three against one! Three representatives
have told me you can get your records back to April 2000 for
litigation purposes, but you must follow the procedures I highlighted
in my initial answer. One representative is not sure.
Therefore, I highly recommend that you retain a lawyer to, at the
very least, request your records. Drafting a letter to the SBC should
not cost much, and it certainly does not obligate you to retain the
services of the lawyer past the initial letter-writing.
You might even be able to find an independent paralegal firm in your
area who will write the letter for you.
I point you in this direction because customer service
representatives rarely know the ins and outs of obtaining information
as evidenced by my phone calls!
Actually, I just made another call while writing this clarification
to get a specific address from SBC to request phone bills from several
years ago. The representative told me that letters must be addressed
to the legal department that handles SBC matters, especially since the
records are from 2000. She did not seem to think that obtaining the
records from 2000 would be a problem. However, she did not know the
address, and stated that "a lawyer will know that information."
I searched for the SBC legal department in Michigan but had no luck.
I did come with the following contacts, however:
SBC Communications Inc. Legal Department at (214) 464-3618.
LEGAL DEPARTMENT
SBC OHIO
150 E. GAY STREET, ROOM 4-C
COLUMBUS, OH 43215
Phone: (614) 223-7928
Though neither of these is located in Michigan, you might be able to
talk to someone at length about your specific needs. I want to stress
that I am unable to advocate on your behalf since I am not the owner
of the phone number and I am not an attorney.
I wish I could help you further, but I believe you have enough
background information to proceed either on your own or with an
attorney's services.
I wish you good luck!
umiat
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