‘900’ Charges Stun Phone Customers : Communications: Dozens in Woodland Hills were billed up to $200 for mystery calls. AT&T; is investigating.

Telephone customers from a large area of Woodland Hills and Canoga Park got an unnerving surprise on their September bills: charges for as much as $200 for calls none remember making to a “900” number that purports to provide stock tips and financial advice.

“It was very unpleasant,” said Woodland Hills resident Dan Liebrecht, who was billed $150 for three one-minute calls supposed to have been made in early August to the service operated by Ventura-based Financial Tech.

Liebrecht initially questioned his 16-year-old daughter about the calls, but then noticed they were made at odd hours in quick succession. He contacted AT&T; to contest the charges.

After fielding complaints from more than 100 angry customers who live in an eight-square-mile area of the western San Fernando Valley, AT&T; said late Thursday that it was disconnecting Financial Tech’s 900 number and forgiving the charges while officials investigate how they ended up on so many bills.

“We’re pulling down the service because right now we have just received too many complaints,” AT&T; spokeswoman Holly Echols said, adding that the move did not indicate any wrongdoing by Financial Tech. “I am not going to point the finger at anyone at this point because the investigation is not through.”

Echols declined to speculate on how the charges, which began appearing just days after Financial Tech was granted a 900 number, were applied to so many bills. It was uncertain whether the billing mistake was caused by an AT&T; computer error or by someone outside the long-distance company.

“Right now, it appears that all of the calls to this 900 number were direct-dial calls, which means, for instance, you picked up your phone and dialed that number from your house directly,” Echols said. “But because we have received a significant amount of complaints, we tend to accept what our consumers are saying: They did not make those phone calls.”

AT&T; bills customers on behalf of the independent companies that operate 900 numbers. Rates are set by the companies, which pay a per-call fee to AT&T; for processing and billing. Echols said this was the largest number of complaints ever received at one time by AT&T; about a single 900 number.

Without accepting responsibility for the mysterious charges, Financial Tech executives apologized to residents this week in an ungrammatical one-page letter and promised the company “will do its best to make sure this will never happen again.” The letter suggested that refunds be sought from AT&T.;

“We at Financial Tech would like to extend our sincere apologizes in this misunderstanding,” the letter reads. “We at Financial Tech are investigation this matter to its complete resolution to all concerned.”

Financial Tech customer service representative Steve Glass said the company was trying to establish an office in Woodland Hills and had hoped the 900 number would drum up clients. Discontinuation of the service, he predicted, would hurt business.

A call Thursday to the firm’s 900 number provided little useful investment information. One segment of the service’s recorded message told callers to prevent thefts by remembering to retain their receipts when they use automatic teller machines. The recording also included enticing information about a company whose stock was about to take off. But to learn the name of the company, callers were told to dial Financial Tech’s number in the 818 area code to talk to a consultant.

The address on the company’s letterhead is a post office box at Mailboxes Etc. in Canoga Park. Owner Rick Young said that 80 to 90 angry people have come in during the last two weeks to demand information about Financial Tech.

On Thursday, Young said, he received a note from Financial Tech that said the enclosed $50 money order was “to cover temporarily some of the complaints.” The note also promised to “update” the money order, which was purchased at a 7-Eleven convenience store, if Young passed the complaints from angry customers along to Financial Tech.