AirTEL closure cuts off cell-phone customers

When AirTEL Wireless suddenly quit operating in Montana on Saturday, it left many Flathead Valley residents without primary phone service - and scrambling to secure their checking accounts.

Geraldine Chaffee is one of them.

The Kalispell woman had signed a one-year contract with AirTEL at the end of January, opting for automatic withdrawals from her checking account to fix her payments for the next 12 months.

First, she said, the promised mid-month reminder that the next payment would be deducted on March 3 never came.

Then she made a call on Saturday. She connected, had a bit of trouble with the call and eventually got a hang-up. They reconnected briefly, then the phone went dead. She called again and finished the conversation. She tried calling once more and got a "no service available" message.

Her call to the local AirTEL office in Kalispell Center Mall drew a recording that it was closed for the weekend; it had been open Saturdays in the past. On Monday a recorded message said the store attendant was gone for the weekend, adding that the mailbox was full.

Chaffee tried using her phone on Sunday and again Monday, both times getting the "no service available" message.

Tuesday morning, she headed for Glacier Bank.

"I wasn't the first person that came in and asked them to stop the automatic withdrawal," she said. "There were four yesterday and they had more today."

She lost about two weeks of prepaid service, worth about $25. She doesn't know if she will be reimbursed.

"I'd think that we would be entitled to our money just as much as they're entitled to theirs," Chaffee said, calling on a neighbor's phone after being left with no phone service at her home.

Rick Morris, a Bigfork hotel manager, is in a similar situation.

"I had a two-year contract and all of a sudden my cell service didn't work," Morris said. "So I called the main company and found out they ceased to have business in Montana. So we're holding cell phones that don't work."

Morris' daughter was on his family plan but had to get a land line to avoid problems running her day-care business.

"I'll have to get another family plan with some company," Morris said. "But, again, you've got to get all new phones." AirTEL's phones are not compatible with other systems because its service included both cellular and radio calling.

Morris also was told that his old numbers cannot be transferred to the new phones.

He is contacting AirTEL's parent company, CT Corporation System, in Billings. CT Corporation System's corporate office is in Minneapolis.

According to The Associated Press stories, Michelle Truax at Montana's Office of Consumer Protection talked with AirTEL's primary shareholder Alan Gingold in Minnesota. He told her the company lost the leases on its cell towers and its assets are frozen.

The company had eight retail stores across Montana (including one in Kalispell) and employed about 50 people, according to The Associated Press. Those employees were told abruptly late Friday that they were to close their stores within an hour, resulting in almost no notice to the employees nor their customers.

The company sold prepaid wireless service, advertising "No contracts, no credit checks, no worries."

The store in the Kalispell Center Mall was gated shut on Tuesday, with a notice: "AirTEL will be back at: Closed."

Beside that posting, both Verizon Wireless and Alltel Wireless had posted their own notices offering service to AirTEL customers. In addition, Alltel is running a limited-time offer to waive activiation fees for those who transfer their business.

AirTEL's Web site for Montana, www.airtelmontana.com, now features a single statement: "AirTEL Wireless has ceased operations due to a lack of financial resources. If you need to contact us, please call 800-234-8889 and leave a message. Please keep in mind that without employees, it will take us a while to sort through the messages and get back to you. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you."

AirTEL's toll-free number carries a recorded message: "We regret to inform you that AirTEL has gone out of business and closed its doors. There are many other cellular providers in the state that may fit your needs. We regret any inconvenience. You may leave a message after the tone."

Spokane's Better Business Bureau noted on its Web site that AirTEL's business in Arizona has been given an "F" grade. It gives no rating to AirTEL Montana because it is out of business.

Montana's Office of Consumer Protection, under the state Department of Justice in Helena, said it has received hundreds of complaints from AirTEL customers.

"Department of Justice attorneys are continuing to look into the situation to see if there are any legal avenues we can take to get relief for the customers that have been left without service," spokesman Kevin O'Brien told the Inter Lake Tuesday.

In the meantime, he encourages two actions.

For those who wish to file a complaint, he said the department's Web site, www.doj.mt.gov, offers a means to do so.

"But very importantly," O'Brien added, "any customer who arranged to have automatic withdrawals, contact the bank immediately and put a stop on that relationship.

"We're still looking into seeing what we might be able to do. We have a couple options out there, but when a company seemingly disappears it can be hard to get relief."

The Office of Consumer Protection can be reached at 1-800-481-6896 or (406) 444-4500.

Reporter Nancy Kimball can be reached at 758-4483 or by e-mail at nkimball@dailyinterlake.com