I did something today that I've been wanting to do for years.  I fired my phone company.  Oh yeah.  Sent them to the unemployment line.  I know what you're probably thinking . . . 'you can't do that.'  Well, I did. 

I have to admit that I never look at my monthly telephone bill.  I just pay an amount each month and never really question any of the many charges.  But, over the last few months I noticed that AT&T kept increasing my bill.  So, I dug through the pile of old mail and dove into the phone bill. 

To my surprise, I have been charged approximately $27 per month for two companies to provide me with "additional voice mail services" that I never used or even ordered.  When I called AT&T, they told me that I would have to call the two companies to request a refund.  I did, and they have promised that a full refund will be forthcoming.  Well, we'll see.

I also discovered that AT&T has been overcharging me $19 per month for my DSL service since November, 2007.  Thanks, guys.  I really appreciate that.  I was also assured that a full refund is forthcoming.

I'm fed up with it.  So today, I fired AT&T and installed a Magic Jack on my computer for only $39 bucks.  Hopefully, this will allow me to have telephone service over my internet connection.  So far, so good.  But, I'll definitely keep you posted.  The $39 charge includes the Magic Jack plus one year unlimited phone service.  After the first year, the service is only $20 per year.  That's much better than the $80 per month that I currently pay.

The Magic Jack simply plugs into your USB port on your computer.  You then plug the telephone line that you usually plug into the wall into the Magic Jack.  That's it.  Unlimited long distance and local calls over the computer.  You talk into your regular telephone.

The call quality thus far has been pretty good.  If I notice a big difference I'll let you know. 

I know you really want to fire your phone company too.  I'll tell you in a couple of weeks whether I have to go crawling back to AT&T and beg them to come back and work for me.