Complaint Review: SBC/Ameritech/Sprint

When my husband and I recently went to Mexico for vacation, we used our "SBC/Ameritech/Sprint" calling card to call home and check on our son. This card was sent to us by SBC to supposedly "Get connected with one number" and allow us to make calls (local and long distance) while away from home with the "convenience" of having the charges billed to our home phone bill. The card says on it that calls will be provided by Sprint or SBC Long Distance. It also gives an access number to dial "From Mexico" to use the card.

Well, we just received our phone bill and to our shock, we have been charged $5 per minute for these calls. Our long distance bill for a one week vacation is over $400! In addition, the bill claims that these charges are not for services provided by Ameritech, but for services provided by some company called "International Satellite Communications."

We believe this is a huge scam. If you use your SBC/Sprint calling card, is it not safe to assume that your service will be provided by SBC/Sprint and that you will be charged a reasonable rate? Why was service provided by this other company who is obviously charging whatever they please? And why were we not made aware of this prior to receiving the bill?

We are in the process of investigating this and I will update this if any resolution occurs. In the meantime I would like to warn everybody about using your local services calling card, especially if it is SBC/Ameritecg/Sprint!

Krista
Lake Villa, Illinois
U.S.A.