European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 06, 1995, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday january 6, 1995 the stars and stripes Page 3 feel bilked on Bills Call Legal Center help is available in disputes with phone company by Jon Conno staff writer no programs exist to assist . Service members i Germany who feel cheated on their monthly phone Bills though army and air Force officials say advice i available. Both service branches said thursday that German advisers assigned to base and Post Legal centers can help resolve service members disputes with telekoma.g., the German Telephone company. The advisers will explain to them How to take Lega action on the German Economy said capt. Mike Paoli a . Air forces in Europe spokesman a Ramstein a. However Paoli said that Host nation Legal adviser cannot represent service members in court. Tele Kom has come under attack recently for allegedly overcharging its customers. A few unhappy customers recently have won court challenges to Billing practices the first chinks in the giant Utility s longtime ironclad assertion that its meth ods were infallible. Thirty americans in the Dex him army Community near bad Kreuz Nach have banded together to fight what they say Are unfair and excessive  Waters a . Army Europe spokeswoman said options for those who decide to pay their Bills Butare Short on Cash include requesting an army emergency Relief loan. It is possible for Aero pay Utility Bills on a nonrecurring basis for those who qualify Waters  Are program operated through army Community services pro Vides interest free  similar program called the air Force Ai society specifically excludes Telephone Bills Simmons Paoli said. _ however he said service members can get advice from an air Force finance Counselor at base family support  army personnel air Force members Are not required to close their accounts with Tele Kom As Parton the reassignment procedures from Germany an air Force spokeswoman , members who leave Germany with unpaid Tele Kom Bills May find that Tele Kom will refer overdue Bills to stateside collection agencies Accord ing to the Legal Center at Kapaun air station near Kaiserslautern. In a statement the Legal Center said air Force Mem Bers who disagree with their Bills should Contact Tele  they do they Are asked to fill out a complaint form. The company then May arrange to have the Cus Tomer s Telephone line checked for problems the Legal Center said. 1 is Carlos Bongioanni Mario Karic Righta service agent for Tele Kom a.g., helps spec. Leroy Bess in Darmstadt Germany on thursday. Karic says about 20 to 30 americans fill out applications for itemized phone Bills each week. It s one headache after another said family Mem Ber Laura Simmons of Ansbach. It s such a  Simmons and her husband. Staff sgt. Gerry Sim Mons a military policeman with he act 235tn base support in have been Tele Kom customers for nearly six years during two overseas Tours to Germany. Laura Simmons said the family s average monthly Bill was about $132 until last june when it mysteriously skyrocketed to $1,315. Simmons said she and her husband refused to pay prompting Tele Kom to Cut off their ability to make Calls. V. After a month of being unable to Call the Simmons received an additional Bill for about $650.eventually the debt grew to about $2,300. Gerry Simmons subsequently was directed by his command to pay his Bill or face nonjudicial punishment through an article 15. Unit policy Laura Simmons said the quirks members to sign a form that states they will maintain a working Telephone for Alert purposes. Gerry Simmons a 16-year Soldier close to promotion paid the Bill from savings. We did pay because we had no other Choice his wife said. Gerry Simmons said he understands his unit s insistence to pay the Bill and blames Tele Kom for their troubles. The Simmons said they re planning to get their Tele. Phone re connected later this month but first must pay about $330 to reinstate service. The expense is reimbursable after nine months of full payments. You just fall in one and pay your Bill is How this turned out Laura Simmons said. Advice for overcharged customers a German special interest group headquartered in Essen suggested the following tips to customers who feel they have been overcharged by Tele Kom immediately Call the Billing Section Rechpun Esstelle of your local Tele Kom Branch. The number is on the Bill. If you Are not satisfied with the reaction write a letter preferably in German explaining the details of your grievance. Send it registered mail Ein Schreiben. A .-.-/. Pay the Bill up to the amount you think is your monthly average. Do not forget to mention your deduction in the letter mentioned above request a questionnaire from Tele Kom and Complete and return it within 14 Days registered mail. Several Days after Tele Kom looks into the problem ask them How Many units you have used to see if All seems Normal. If it s not Normal you can have the phone immediately Cut off except for incoming Calls. Source German interest group against Telephone overcharges is if no problem is found Tele Kom will require that the entire Bill be paid the Legal Center said. Some Tele Kom customers affiliated with the military said that negotiating with Tele Kom can seem hopeless. Free itemized phone Bills not imminent Bye Dreaves staff write free itemized Bills for Telephone customers Are not about to happen soon spokesman for the German Telephone company Tele Kom a.g., said wednes  Lissek spokesman for Tele Kom Headquarters in Bonn denied Media re ports that free itemized Bills could be offered this  expect the Board of directors to make that decision in the near future butt won t be possible until we have completed installing digital technology throughout the country Lissek said. Many americans find it frustrating that Tele Kom does not automatically Issue itemized Telephone Bills As Ameri can companies do. Itemized Bills they say would help eliminate the escalating War Between Tele Kom and its customers Over complaints of overcharging. We do have a system for itemizing Bills said Lissek. But you have to ask to have it installed on your line and you must pay for the  but he added Tele Kom does not Havethe technical ability to produce itemized Bills for every customer who might want the  those who want to  an itemized Telephone Bill the magic word is  which Means proof of individual  can apply for it at their local Telephone office a Martina a Mann a Tele Kom spokeswoman in Darmstadt said custom ers May have to wait several weeks for the system to be attached to their line. It costs 19 Marks $12.50 for the first month and 5 Marks s3-29 for each Fol lowing month. The charges include a five Page itemized Bill which lists about 200 Calls. Widmann said. Should the customer need More than five pages we charge one Mark per additional  Tele Kom s itemized Bill records the Date City and country dialled duration of the Call in seconds and the units used. However in accordance with the German privacy act it lists Only the prefix and the last three digits of. A number. Weidmann said Tele Kom has devices ranging from time locks and unit coun ters to help customers Monitor their phone costs. Doris Belz founder of the German in Terest group against Telephone Over charges., has suggested a More drastic measure. At a meeting with Tele Kom we suggested they consider cutting off customers phones automatically at 500 units which Cost 115 Marks $75.66 Belz said. Tele Kom promised to consider the idea she said the average German Telephone Bill is currently 62,50 Marks $41.12. Of course the customer would have to apply for the automatic limitation she Saia. Tele Kom has been beset by complaints and critical articles in the Media since last month when the International her Ald Tribune reported that a gang was Dis covered operating a Telephone sex scam that Cost Tele Kom millions of dollars. Customers feared their phone lines were tapped in the process