Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Wed, 29 May 1991 12:13:44 GMT From: Neil Rickert Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: New PIN for my AT&T Card? Message-ID: Organization: Northern Illinois University 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 409, Message 1 of 10 Lines: 42 In article DREUBEN@eagle.wesleyan.edu (Douglas Scott Reuben) writes: > I just got this in the mail from AT&T: > In a few weeks, you will be receiving a new AT&T Calling Card to > replace the AT&T Calling Card you now carry. > When it arrives, you'll notice that your new card looks different. It > even has a DIFFERENT ACCOUNT NUMBER FROM YOUR CURRENT AT&T CARD. > (Emphasis added). In order to comply with government requirements, > AT&T is no longer sharing card numbers with your local telephone > company. Now, AT&T is issuing new card numbers that are exclusive to > AT&T. This sounds like a good move to me. Time to describe a personal experience. This happened perhaps seven years ago. A calling card (along with other cards, etc) were stolen. We notified AT&T who promptly issued a new card. A few weeks later when we had need to use the AT&T card, it didn't work. After much complaining, the explanation turned out to be that our original card had been issued by means of a request to Illinois Bell. The replacement was issued by AT&T. But because the original was ordered through Illinois Bell, it could only be cancelled by Illinois Bell. AT&T didn't think to do this when they issued the replacement. We didn't think to do so either, since the card said AT&T. I consider the separation a distinct improvement which can only serve to reduce this kind of confusion in the future. Note, that since the AT&T notice promises the same service, one presumes that local calls anywhere in the country should still be chargeable to the AT&T card. Neil W. Rickert, Computer Science Northern Illinois Univ. DeKalb, IL 60115 +1-815-753-6940