AT&T adds additional fee in Missouri

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Many of AT&T's Missouri customers will soon see an additional fee on their long-distance bills -- whether or not they use the service targeted by the increase.

The long-distance carrier has informed its Missouri customers that they will be billed an extra $1.95 a month beginning Sept. 15. The charge, the company says, will offset access fees that AT&T must pay local carriers to place in-state long-distance calls.

Missouri carriers' access charges are among the highest in the country, AT&T spokesman Kerry Hibbs said in defense of the fee.

Though the new $1.95 charge will be waived for low-income customers and customers who spend less than $1 a month on total long distance, the charge will apply to other customers even if they make no in-state long-distance calls.

"I just find it a charge that I will get no benefit from," said Marian McKnight, of Kansas City. "You add up these things -- not only on your phone bill but on other things -- and it just adds up to real money."

Southwestern Bell charges 5 to 6 cents a minute to place in-state long-distance calls. But out-of-state long-distance access charges are 1.5 cents a minute, Hibbs said. Many small rural phone companies charge even more than Southwestern Bell, Hibbs added.

Disguised rate hike

But Jean Shepherd, a Bell spokeswoman, said the access fees have not changed. Shepherd accused AT&T of disguising a rate increase by adding the new flat fee, and said the company should own up to what it's doing.

"There's nothing new in this," she said.

Hibbs said the extra charge would be eliminated if Missouri phone companies lowered access charges.

"We've got to recover our cost," he said. "But we would prefer that local phone companies lower access charges (so) these fees would be unnecessary."

Missouri isn't the only state where AT&T is levying an extra fee. The company also is charging to cover in-state access fees in Colorado, Kentucky, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Arkansas and Oregon. The fees vary by state.

Sprint Corp., one of AT&T's biggest long-distance competitors, has a similar fee to recover in-state access fees in six states. Sprint does not charge the fee in Missouri.