Cingular merged or was taken over by AT&T and subsquently during the transformation their customers were left in mass confusion as to their bills.

Customer's Bills that were being disputed four or 5 years ago and were legitimately being negotiated at the time ago were lost in translation during the merger.

Many individuals since then have been caught up in a horrendous, emotional and credit worthiness nightmare caused by Cingular Wireless, AT&T and the Collection Company they have used called AFNI.

I returned a cell phone to Cingular/AT&T 4 or 5 years ago and apparently my bill was not credited correctly as I had assumed it was.

In all of those years I never once received a notice of an outstanding bill due from either company and I continued to pay my bill on time thinking everything was fine.

Then, all of a sudden in April 2008 I received a Collection Notice demanding $188.26 from AFNI Collection Company for a debt they said I never paid 4 or 5 years earlier. They told me they did not have any details to the account or about the debt, but that I had to pay it that day or they were going to report it to the Credit Bureau's.

I, being one to care about my credit reports and worthiness finally agreed to pay the money this AFNI collection agency said I owed, because I was intimated and I had no other choice.

I paid it by giving the person a credit card number and I followed up on it the next couple of days to see that it was on my credit card statement and it was.

I thought I had nothing to worry about, but I was wrong.

I went in to AT&T this past weekend to get another line on my cell phone account and they told me I could not because my Credit Report at Equifax shows I have a deposit to pay for Cingular/AT&T of $800.00 and it will be on there until the year 2010!

I have called AT&T and talked to a Manager and he say's there is nothing he can do. He said, the Credit Bureau put it on my report and AT&T had nothing to do with it.

I am so frustrated and I know they are wrong to do this type of thing. Something went wrong with Cingular and AT&T when they merged and I am not the only one it has affected.

I am a real estate agent and a buyer I have had trouble getting a home loan recently because of Cingular putting a collection on his Credit Report. My buyer said it was wrong that he could not have a bill like they said he did because he was overseas at the time in the Army! He ended up paying the collection, just so he would be able to purchase his home.

AT&T & Cingular Wireless has made a mistake and they are making their customers pay!