Cingular Wireless I have a contract with Cingular Wirless for a cell phone for $39.95 a month. I received a bill from them over $467.00. I refuse to pay them and they turn me over to the credit bureau. Ripoff Atlanta Georgia

It's apparent enough that your calling plan was $39.95, but you did not state the nature of the additional charges that appeared on your bill. All cell phone providers are required by law to itemize any and all specific charges posted to your account.

Additionally, what was your method of contact with Cingular in your attempts to resolve this matter? Further, what attempts if any did Cingular make to investigate the nature of your claimed billing error? Why do you feel that the bill is wrong?

Any discrepancies in billing would be apparent to a customer service rep and/or their supervisor with a bit of investigation into your wireless usage and billing history. Did you try speaking directly with their billing department?
There is little surprise that Cingular would report you to a credit bureau, or even turn you over to a collection agency. That's what the credit bureaus are for. This is standard practice, and is completely within their rights as a business. If, from their point of view, you owe them money which you refuse to pay, why should they not take steps to attempt to settle this debt, and why should they additionally not report your delinquency to the appropriate credit reporting agencies? This process is almost if not entirely done automatically.

Simply refusing to pay your bills just because you don't agree with them is never a good idea. Most cellular providors especially will go a long way to work with you towards keeping your service active and to get you to pay your bill, and they all have processes in place to help customers in the event of a billing disupute. Even their late payment fees are almost astoundingly low.

You do have rights as a consumer, including the right to have all negative information removed from your credit report if you are able to prove that the creditor was wrong.