A 26-year-old marine from Phoenix thought he had arranged his phone plan with AT&T to allow him to stay in touch with his family and girlfriend as he deployed with the U.S.S. America in July for 2 1/2 months. But it turned into a $2,000 mess while he was overseas.
“Just decided to add the international plan to my current cell phone bill and thought that was going to be it,” said Lance Cpl. Jordan Johnstone, currently stationed at Camp Pendleton with the 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion.
He says an AT&T representative told him he would be charged 33 cents a minute in the worst-case scenario. But it quickly added up to much more than that, despite his worldwide calling plan and 1,000-minute phone card.
“I pull up my phone bill and it’s $2,009,” said Johnstone. “I had managed to rack up $2 a minute, which was $1,600, and then all these fees and whatnot because of using the different towers to make those phone calls.”
When he got that news, he wasn’t even halfway through his deployment, sailing around South America. He knew he was going to need some help from the folks back home. So, he called his dad, Jeff Johnstone, in Phoenix.
“He pretty much had a heart attack when I told him I had a $2,000 phone bill,” said Johnstone.
His dad says it as definitely a shock, because the family thought this had already been taken care of.
“When he told me he had a $2,000-plus bill, I just couldn’t believe it,” said Jeff. “First of all, we signed him up with an AT&T worldwide calling and texting plan that boosted his cell phone bill to $300 a month. Then Jordan bought a 1,000-minute calling card that was supposed to cover these calls.”
The two worked together to try to tackle the bill, contacting AT&T by phone and social media, trying to figure out how this happened and how it could be fixed. But, by October, they had no luck.
“I kept calling the customer-service number every day to see what the new status was and I guess it kept getting pushed up and up the ladder until finally somewhere along the line they said no and just nixed it,” says Lance Cpl. Johnstone.
That’s when Jeff decided to Call 12 for Action. Our team contacted AT&T, explained the situation and got results for the Johnstone family within a matter of days.
Every charge from his deployment was wiped out.
“I contacted Call 12, because I am a loyal Channel 12/AZ Republic viewer and subscriber,” said Jeff Johnstone. “I was ecstatic that you were able to get AT&T to reverse all of these charges.”
An AT&T spokesperson would not comment on the cause of the confusion with the phone bill, but issued this statement, after crediting the account:
“AT&T is dedicated to supporting active military personnel, veterans and their families. We decided to waive the international charges for Lance Cpl. Johnstone’s deployment. Our nation’s military men and women make sacrifices to protect our country and our freedoms, and we thank Mr. Johnstone for his service.”
It’s a huge relief for Johnstone, as he continues to train at Camp Pendleton, readying for his next deployment.
“Two thousand dollars would have been a huge financial blow,” he said. “I had no idea that you guys could do anything about it, let alone solve the entire problem.”
Call 12 for Action recently joined the Veterans Financial Coalition and is proud to support the empowerment of our military members. If you know of a veteran or active-duty service member who needs help with a financial issue, call trained volunteers from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday at 602.260.1212 or 800.260.1212.
