You are AT&T’s personal pocketbook.  They don’t care about you.  They just don’t want you to bash them on social media if you’ve built a solid following.  If you’re a no one, they don’t care at all.  They lied to me, they lied to at least one other AT&T customer at sign up, and they will lie to you.  Run away, chose any other provider, you will be better off.  I’m probably shooting myself in the foot by saying this because AT&T will realize I’m a lost cause, but as soon as the contract they roped me into and didn’t honor is over, I’m not coming back.  If you’re looking at purchasing any service from AT&T, I think you deserve to know you are going to be scammed and mistreated.  Please read on.

As you know from my first review on The Thank You Economy, and my Listen & Write post comparing my relationship with AT&T to an angry break up song, you know AT&T and I have not been on good terms.  I gave them time to make amends, they put out their own fire and didn’t even do a good job at that.  If you’ve ever played SIMS and one of your characters did something to another SIM like poke them and get in their face, you know it takes several more nice actions to counter the one negative thing your SIM did before the relationship is back at status-quo.  ATT, go play SIMS, you might gain a little common sense.

Some things you need to know before I start.  Eliabeth is a pen name; Rebecca is my real name.  I’m going to refer to myself in third person from now on because when dealing with AT&T, it mattered which profile was talking to them.

Rebecca wanted internet.  I’ve had their cell phone service since my very first phone in 9th grade and I’ve never had a problem with them.  My boyfriend and I have actually gotten in several arguments about when we hypothetically get married, which cell phone provider we would use.  I defended ATT tooth and nail.  NO MORE.  Sprint, here I come.  I had to tell Boy Friend he was right and ATT is the worst company I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with.  All I wanted was internet for $24.95 a month, less than anyone else was offing in my area.  Advertised on TV and online.

Advertised: $24.95 a month for new customers, no bundling required.

My grandpa and I called in because I don’t have internet to buy internet online, and he’s had ATT internet service for 8 years.  He praised them.  NO MORE.  It started out so wonderful, but like a horror movie, it was too good to be true.  I told the person on the phone, and I quote, “I would like the Elite DSL service listed on your website at $24.95″

She told me I could get it for $19.95 a month.  My first statement came and said $48 a month.  I wasted 2 extended lunch periods trying to work my way up the AT&T phone tree trying to get someone to fix it.  When I went to billing they told me “you pay double you’re first month and then get the next two months free, that’s how the promotion is set up.”

1. That was not indicated anywhere in the advertisement or verbally at sign-up.

2. That does not average out to $19.95 a month

“Sorry there’s nothing I can do.”  *click*  Yes, that ***** hung up on me.  I called back and used the phone tree to go to cancellations.  When I threatened to mail back their router and cancel, the guy put me on hold to talk to his supervisor aka go smoke a cigarette.  If you’ve ever tried to talk to a supervisor at AT&T, I don’t think they exist.  I think they kick their feet up, laugh at you, and shoot each other with nerf guns while you sit on hold.  Not once has a supervisor ever taken my call. I don’t care if he’s busy.  I will wait, if you can’t help me I want someone who can.

So now to count lies, the $19.95 a month was #1.  #2 was the person I talked to in cancellations who said there is no $24.95 service.  ”That’s only if you have phone with us too.  I don’t know why they told you $19.95 a month, they must have thought you had phone with us too.”  He had me convinced that I told the person wrong at sign up because I do have AT&T for my cell phone, but it’s not in my name since it’s cheaper to stay on my parent’s line and just pay them.  He said the best he can do is $29.95 a month if I sign a year contract.  I’d been on my grandpa’s computer, Googling internet providers in my area and didn’t see anyone cheaper.  I was mildly annoyed, but actually thought maybe I had messed up.

An hour later, grandpa calls and tells me he saw the $24.95 price advertised on TV again.  New customers, no bundling, no previous service.  We are up to 2 lies so far, and yes ATT, I am still counting.

I spend the next day, now up to 3 lunch periods calling AT&T.  The little snot on the line this time informs me that oh yes, they do offer $24.95 a month, but that’s only if you sign up online.  I was not told that at sign up, it was not in the TV add because my grandpa recorded it for me to be sure.  At this point, I’m livid.  I had just finished reading The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuck, so I decided to go to social media and tell AT&T I was not happy being lied to.  Rebecca posted to their Facebook wall and got no response.

Fine.  I got on as Eliabeth and in no time I had a response on both Facebook and Twitter even though Rebecca posted first.  Lesson here: ATT only cares about your feelings if you’re influential on social media.  If you’re the average customer they’re out high-fiving each other at your expense.

Notice that the posts on Facebook are almost identical, reinforcing that ATT only cares about you if you have influence AND at this point, all I wanted was the $24.95 price because they had me convinced that the person at sign up was confused.  At this point, I was still giving them the benefit of the doubt.  Also notice the day, February 6th.  That’s important.

I did get a call for Miss Hawthorne.  I explained that’s my pen name and the person calling (some high-up in AT&T) promised to get back to me in 48 hours.  It is now February 22nd.  On Friday the 17th, I got a call from his secretary to tell me they hadn’t forgotten about me.  Somewhere in the middle, I got a call where I think we resolved it to where I will be paying $24.95 a month, but it will take 2-3 billing cycles because they can’t manually change my bill.  Bull shit.  Forgive me, but we’re up to lie 3.

My statement said $48 a month.  My bill said $43, something changed.  I don’t know what, but someone changed it.  Make that lie 4, because after 48 hours, I posted to Twitter again, the squeaky wheel gets the grease idea, and they told me they were still working on it.  Basically the feeling I’m at now is “maybe if we call her every now and then and give vague reassurances, she’ll go away and forget about us.  No.  I was happy at $24.95 until I saw this:

“Same thing happened to me… several hours of phone calls.”  This tells me a number of things.

1. The 19.95 was not a mistake.  It was a blatant lie that AT&T had no intention of ever honoring because research shows that if overpriced of denied once, many people won’t bother to fight back.

2. SEVERAL HOURS?  What’s several hours?  I’ve spent days on the phone and I didn’t get the $19.95 service.  Was being polite not the right way to deal with AT&T administration?  Clearly I wasn’t pushy enough about the $19.95.

AT&T, you’ve not only lost an advocate, you’ve lost a loyal customer and I hope I get to see the day you file for bankruptcy or  your top executives go to prison for the way you do business.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

One more thing.  WordPress lets us know what search terms were used on Google, Bing, etc. for people to land on our blog.  Someone found us by searching “Unethical AT&T.”  You have to be doing something wrong if that’s getting us hits on our blog.

I hope you enjoy the second installment of Listen & Write.  I will eventually get to where it posts on a set schedule but until then, today’s song is “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri.  (I promise to include ones without lyrics, but I had to get this off my chest.)

Eliabeth paced back and forth, threatening to wear a hole in her carpet.  Steam shot from her ears.

“What are you going to do?” Ermisenda asked, giddy that Eliabeth was livid enough to take action, but upset that AT&T was treating her coauthor this way.

The sharp tap of the keyboard was Eliabeth’s only answer as she posted furiously to Facebook and Twitter.  ”They can’t treat me this way!”  She exploded, her typing become more vigorous and less accurate.  ”I liked them, I DEFENDED them.  When Boy Friend wanted me to switch to Sprint, I loyally stuck by AT&T and this is how they treat me?  I am not paying $48 a month when they told me $19.95 at sign up.

“You go girl!” Ermisenda cheered.

The Thank You Economy, the book that inspired Eliabeth’s social media war against AT&T sat on the floor next to her, egging her on.

You broke all your promises. Eliabeth seethed.  Now you want me back?  You don’t get to get me back!  

“Don’t come back for me next year with your deceitful and unethical business practices AT&T,” Eliabeth posted on AT&T’s Facebook wall.  ”I’m done with you.  Don’t come back at all!”

AT&T, who do you think you are?

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

Yes, I’ve had a bit of a one track mind lately as you can tell by what this song inspired.  I will go into more detail later.  I meant to have the post up detailing my experience with AT&T first, but then there was a fire at my apartment complex and dealing with that kinda took precedence.

genre: paranormal thriller, sci-fi

Sam is a seventeen year old living at Rent-A-Kid, an establishment that rents out children with paranormal powers to clients willing to pay the big bucks.  In return for reading minds, at eighteen Sam is promised a new identity and admission into the college of her choice, but right before she’s let lose into the real world, something goes wrong.  Sam talks back to one of her clients and back at the Rent-A-Kid infirmary, she sees something she should not.  Now the girl who reads minds and the boy who controls them have to figure out how to escape Rent-A-Kid alive.

review
First, thank you Kimberly Kinrade for producing a quality manuscript.  The last two books I read (and did not review) had so many typos that it drove me nuts.  It’s sad that it’s rare enough to find a quality manuscript that I feel the need to point this out, but it is.  No typos!

Now… I’ve spoken to the author and here’s the thing… for me to recommend this book, I feel the need to attach a content warning, but this content warning requires explanation and in that explanation there is a spoiler.  There are two red button topics that I cannot get past when reading a book or watching a movie.  While Forbidden Mind did not have either, it did have content that I know can be one of those topics for other people.  I will include a reminder warning before I launch into the explanation and spoiler, but if you chose to skip over the last paragraph(s) and warning, do not hold it against me if you don’t like the book.

For those of you skipping the content warning, I’ll just say there is mature content that I feel is inappropriate for YA and did not label Forbidden Mind a YA novel even though the author has.  There aren’t any explicit scenes, no foul language (that I recall), and less violence than The Hunger Games which I did list as YA.  You now see why I feel the need to explain, but once again, there’s a spoiler, so for those of you skipping that, don’t hold it against me.

If you don’t want to know the spoiler, STOP reading now.  I gave the book 4 stars. I am not going to ask people to limit their comments and not discuss the spoiler, so please be careful when reading other comments.

Everyone else, keep reading.

If Forbidden Mind weren’t YA, it wouldn’t be a big deal, and you might blow it off and wonder what the fuss is, but here’s the thing.  I know women and girls who have been the victims of rape.  Some of them would have no issue with this book, others would have to go talk to their therapists less than half of the way through.  The narrator of the story is artificially inseminated against her knowledge or will, you may not consider it rape, you may not consider it too mature for young audiences, but I couldn’t recommend the book without mentioning that.

That being said, it’s a good book and I would even recommend it to teens who are at a maturity level to be able to handle this content, MG and YA readers who aren’t at that level should stay away from this book.

4 out of 5 stars.

Thanks to Scriptor Obscura‘s proposal and Tanitha‘s photograph suggestion we present this week’s Picture it & write. Thank you to everyone who also proposed photographs for this week. Every fortnight we hope to host a photograph suggested by contributors. So, keep those photograph recommendations coming!

By brookeshaden

From the sour scowl my mother wore, I knew she detested them. I wasn’t certain what the children were doing in the woods so late at night. The softest buzz of chanting could be heard. The faint scent of smoke and ash lingered. Was my mother right? Were they playing with the devil himself? “Witches! Whores!”My mother spat. I continued to peer outside my window, staring out into the black forest. “Stop staring! Is that what you want to become, Madeline? The devil’s whore?” I shook my head sternly. My mother stormed off, muttering prayers. A black smear was moving in the distance. I could see someone running. A blur of red, a dab of yellow. It was a girl. My fingertips touched the cool glass. What was she running from? Or, who was she running to?

- Ermisenda Alvarez

Everyone is welcome to use the button, just link them back to the Picture it & write category or Ermiliablog! Share your love for Picture it & write on your blog with the image below. Be proud, and stylish !

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A quote to keep us going. Isn’t the drawing amazing? It’s by ERIKA KUHN.

One for the Money was funny, quirky, and captured the essence of the book nicely. Could not have cast someone better for the role than Katherine Heigl.  She did an amazing job mixing clumsy, stupidly brave, and sexy all into one Stephanie Plum package.  The men who played Ranger and Joe Morelli were attractive, but did not live up to the descriptions in the book.  I can’t blame them for it though, there’s only so much nature can do where as the imagination is limitless.  Lula was beautifully cast.  She was probably the best of the bunch after Stephanie.  It’s killing me wondering who is going to play Sally Sweet if the movies go that far.

The tension and chemistry was spilling off the screen in all the right places.  It’s one of the best movies I’ve seen recently.  I’m curious to see how many other Janet Evanovich books will be turned into movies.  With a series as long as the Stephanie Plum books, I’m worried the interest will fizzle out, so we’ll see.

Fantastic!  5 out of 5 stars.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

Have you seen it?  Agree or Disagree with my review, I would love to hear your thoughts.

Stephanie Plum is a young and less intelligent Mrs. Pollifax. After her losing her job, her car, and having to pawn most of her furniture, she knows she’s hit rock bottom. She blackmales her cousin Vinny into giving her a job as a bounty hunter and by pure luck, she manages to do a fair job.  Much like Mrs. Pollifax, if it’s possible for her to get into trouble, she does, but she does it in such hilarious manners, that you can’t help but cheer her on.

One for the Money is the first in the series.  This is the third (or maybe more) time that I’ve read it and I still love it. I’m really excited to see how the movie plays out. By the time this posts, I will be in the movie theater, somewhere in the second half, so the movie review will come out tomorrow.

Sometimes I want to scream and shake Stephanie and ask her why she’s dumb.  She has some very careless moments that, since it’s fiction, all work out in the end. (I hope you don’t count that as a spoiler.)  Stephanie may not be brilliant, but she is courageous, stubborn, and not willing to be deterred by something minor like her keys being tossed into the dumpster.

One for the Money is filled with interesting characters. From Grandma Mazure who thinks she can wear spandex and accidentally shoots dinner with Stephanie’s not so legally acquired gun, to Lula, the overweight hooker with an attitude, there isn’t a single character I don’t love or love to hate.  For anyone who has seen the movie, the actors don’t do Ranger or Morelli justice, but there’s only so much nature can do.  The imagination on the other hand…

Then you have the Berg.  One for the Money is set in New Jersey where Catholics and Italians rule.  I have no idea how accurate it is, but the little community seems to have a life of it’s own and colors the story beautifully. There are several side stories woven through the main plot.  I happen to like it, but other people might complain it slows down the plot too much.

There are some mature scenes including sex and nudity, so if that bothers you, stay away from Janet Evanovich novels.  I don’t think I’ve read any of hers that don’t have sex in them, but I don’t feel it detracts from the story.  If anything, the sexual tension between certain characters adds to the story and the sex isn’t completely random.  It’s also alot more violent than I remembered it being.  It doesn’t rival Shadow on the Wall but there’s enough there and some of it’s sexual that it needs a warning label for anyone who is uncomfortable reading that.  I don’t recall there being that much violence in any of the following novels in the series.

So, so much more violent than I remember.  If you’re a Janet Evanovich fan, but you want something a little less bloody and violent, try one of the later Stephanie Plum novels or Motor Mouth.  I remember Motor Mouth having sex, but I don’t remember how detailed it is.  One for the Money still made me giggle and still got me excited over my favorite parts, but it’s a 4 star book this time around from the sheer amount of sexual violence in it.  I REALLY hope the movie takes some liberties and cuts some of that out.

4 out of 5 stars.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

Related reviews: Ten Big Ones

To see other book reviews by Ermilia or request a review, check our Book Reviews page.

I’ve heard laughter is the cure for cancer.  Whether it is or not, it’s great stress relief and working three jobs, I certainly need that from time to time.  Most of my LOLs come from online so I thought I would share a few of my favorite sites that bring laughter to my life, not including all of the many blogs that touch my heart as there are far too many of those to list.

LOL cats: http://icanhascheezburger.com/

ADORABLE images of cats and their poor grammar.  There’s also videos, but I tend to scroll past those.

Texts from last night: http://www.textsfromlastnight.com/

Funny so long as it’s not happening to you type text messages and sometimes conversations.  My all time favorite one went something like:

P1: Why did I wake up duct taped to the roof?

P2: It was easier than explaining you couldn’t fly.

Damn you auto correct: http://damnyouautocorrect.com/

Self explanatory.  My favorite:

I intend to use that the next time I need to expand on an LOL.

Do you visit these sites as well?  Where do you get your giggles and stress relief?

-Eliabeth

Listen and Write is going to operate almost identically to Picture it and Write, but instead of a picture, you’re going to get a song and an accompanying paragraph.  We then welcome everyone to either continue the paragraph or write their own.  You might see your own interpretation of a music video or imagine someone listening to the song.  Poetry is welcome, but please add a translation if it’s in another language.  It is entirely open to your imagination and your interpretation.  I hope this turns into another fun writing exercise, so without further ado, the first Listen and Write song is “Someone Like You” by Adele.

The stench of beer and pizza from several days ago lingered in the man cave.  Nathaniel had lost his job and he felt his entire life slipping away.  The girl he was in love with was dating someone else, not that he had ever bothered to share his feelings with her.  He knew he wasn’t good enough for her.  She was looking for marriage, a family, a life he could never provide, but she had always been there for him, a glowing possibility that he worried would soon no longer exist.  No one would have pegged him for an Adele fan, but something in her voice, something in this song spoke to him.  He would never find someone else like Aniela, but bravado and pride had him mouthing the words in the darkness of his man cave.

-Eliabeth Hawthorne

Thanks to Scriptor Obscura’s suggestion, I am urging contributors to post the URL to an image they would like to feature for next week’s Picture it & write. After posting your story or poem below paste the image web address. Depending on the amount of images we get I will make a poll in the following two-three days, or I will choose the most appropriate one from the group. Please post the appropriate credit beside the image.

It should be fun. Write away and share your desired photograph! (Remember no pornographic or explicitly violent photographs. Don’t feel like you can only post photographs from other sites, you may post your own photographs as well.) A maximum of two photographs from each contributor please.

The coins glowed. They twinkled and sparkled upon the wooden table. Fifteen gold pieces. The coins amounted to more wealth than I could earn in fifteen years. Twelve hour-long work days. Seven days a week. Could I really be blamed for wanting my share of wealth? I was starving. There was no future. The Great Depression was like a concrete blanket upon us all, smothering sparks of life. I had to feed myself. I had to survive. My fingers finally scooped up the abundant golden blossoms. They fell into my pocket. Clink. Clink. They weighed like a kilo of filthy, worm-infested manure. I walked away from the rotting brothel, and her.

- Ermisenda Alvarez

Everyone is welcome to use the button, just link them back to the Picture it & write category or Ermiliablog! Share your love for Picture it & write on your blog with the image below. Be proud, and stylish !