Beware PAC Bell DSL hidden charges

I recently agreed to a one-year contract for DSL service with PacificBell/SBC. I ordered from them over the phone, where I was given the details of the offer, one-year contract with free equipment by agreeing to perform the installation myself. I was informed of the $150 penalty for early termination, and what day my service would be turned on.

My next phone bill came, and there was a $50 charge for activation which had I had NOT been notified about while ordering. I called to contest this charge, and they said that not only did I have to pay this the activation charge, regardless of whether I was told about it or not, but that failure to do so would put me in breach of the contract, kicking in the $150 early termination charge.

I attempted to explain to them that I had entered into an oral contract when agreeing to the service, and asked how a fee not revealed to me at that time could be considered a valid term of that contract. I reasoned with them to no avail, and while they admitted it was possible that I hadn't been informed of the charge, it was a fee that applied to all new accounts, and that I was liable for it.

Jason
Coronado, CA