AT&T overpaid some pensioners. Now the company wants the money back

The telecom giant has enlisted a collection agency, a step other companies in similar situations have declined to take

When James Mizelle retired in 2001, he started drawing a pension from his 27-year career with AT&T and other phone companies.
 

Fifteen years later, he got a letter saying his benefits were miscalculated and demanding he repay $32,116.05. Mr. Mizelle, living in Round Hill, Va., replied that he couldn’t repay. Within weeks, he heard from a collection agency.

“That money had been spent,” says Mr. Mizelle, 70, who had incurred medica bills in a battle with prostate cancer. “I could not pay it back.”
 

The former programmer and human-resources worker is among potentially hundreds of ex-employees whom AT&T Inc. has dunned