Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: 16 May 91 21:34:16 GMT From: Skip Collins Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Bell Atlantic's Guardian Plan Message-ID: Organization: JHU/APL, Laurel, MD Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 373, Message 4 of 5 Lines: 40 Some months ago we were having static problems on some of our home phones. It appeared to be a wiring problem, so we called C&P to send a repair-person. The problem ended up being a corroded piece of standard phone wire which ran upstairs on the outside wall of our house. The repair lady was very competent and fixed the problem in no time. Because we had not signed up for any of the wire maintenance plans offered by C&P the charge for the repair should have been about $50. The nice woman who did the repair however offered to delay submitting the service report for a few days until we signed up for an internal wire maintenance plan. We promptly enrolled in the Guardian plan for about $2 per month. I forget the details now, but the plan covers the cost of any repair to the house phone wiring inside the demarc. It does not cover the cost of repairs to customer-owned phones. In general, I believe such insurance is a waste of money. But at that particular time it made a lot of sense. I believe that after we called to subscribe to the plan, our coverage began within 24 hours. (Perhaps it was immediately.) This raises interesting possibilities. Suppose, being a savvy consumer, I enroll at the first sign of trouble in my wiring, and then call for a repair. After the problem is taken care of, I cancel my coverage. Would this work? Is it ripping off the phone company? Just yesterday I called to cancel our coverage. Total cost of repair: $4. Skip Collins [Moderator's Note: Some telcos, Illinois Bell included, get around this by requiring a certain time period to elapse after signing up before it is effective unless you enroll when first invited to do so or during periodic 'open-enrollment' promotional periods. I think IBT requires 120 or 150 days to elapse before you can collect on this form of insurance, which is really what it is. You are 'first invited' to sign up when you install new service. PAT]