Sharenet Communications - National Brands ripoff AT&T local call charge for exorbitant and unusual long distance Phoenix Arizona
My wife had to call home from a local Kaiser Hospital less than a mile away and in the same Central Office number block. The hospital walls are adorned with "No cell phone calls" but there are SBC/AT&T public phones everywhere.
We frequently use the convenience of the phone company calling card and she had no reason to believe anything underhand would happen. The phones were not different or labelled differently from any other public phones that she has used.
After dialing the house number and the security code, she heard the normal "Thank you for using AT&T". The call lasted less than 3 minutes.
The subsequent AT&T phone bill included a Long Distance fee "Billed on Behalf of SHARENET COMM. - Calling card call, 5 minutes $16.59."
I don't know what kind of deal Sharenet has with Kaiser Permanente but there is a serious difference between normal $1.25 calling card charge and $16.59 I was billed for an under three minute call "across the street". What a rip-off.
Marc
San Jose, California
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Alma
Menlo Park,California,
U.S.A.
To avoid those charges....
#5Consumer Suggestion
Mon, May 08, 2006
Unfortunatelly many hospitals, nursing homes (!), hotels have similar deal with shady sucmbag third party billing companies. Usually there are no or only tiny prints somewhere hidden on the phone advising you about this third party.
Usually you can see these outrageous charges when you call collect or use your phone company's calling card. In both cases sumbags have a "billing address", the number you call collect or the number your calling card is billed - where they can put those charges.
To prevent this, buy pre-paid phone cards (with some search you can find ones with 4-6c/min). When you use these anonym pre-paid cards, you first call a 800 number, then punch your code, then the number you want to call.
Your expenses: the 4-6c/min + a mandatory, but MAX 50c pay phone usage, regardless of the lenght of your call. The cards are anonym, so no company is able to put any charges on your phone bill. Yes, there is inconvenince: you have to dial three numbers instead of two - but does not it worth?
Alma
Menlo Park,California,
U.S.A.
To avoid those charges....
#5Consumer Suggestion
Mon, May 08, 2006
Unfortunatelly many hospitals, nursing homes (!), hotels have similar deal with shady sucmbag third party billing companies. Usually there are no or only tiny prints somewhere hidden on the phone advising you about this third party.
Usually you can see these outrageous charges when you call collect or use your phone company's calling card. In both cases sumbags have a "billing address", the number you call collect or the number your calling card is billed - where they can put those charges.
To prevent this, buy pre-paid phone cards (with some search you can find ones with 4-6c/min). When you use these anonym pre-paid cards, you first call a 800 number, then punch your code, then the number you want to call.
Your expenses: the 4-6c/min + a mandatory, but MAX 50c pay phone usage, regardless of the lenght of your call. The cards are anonym, so no company is able to put any charges on your phone bill. Yes, there is inconvenince: you have to dial three numbers instead of two - but does not it worth?
Alma
Menlo Park,California,
U.S.A.
To avoid those charges....
#5Consumer Suggestion
Mon, May 08, 2006
Unfortunatelly many hospitals, nursing homes (!), hotels have similar deal with shady sucmbag third party billing companies. Usually there are no or only tiny prints somewhere hidden on the phone advising you about this third party.
Usually you can see these outrageous charges when you call collect or use your phone company's calling card. In both cases sumbags have a "billing address", the number you call collect or the number your calling card is billed - where they can put those charges.
To prevent this, buy pre-paid phone cards (with some search you can find ones with 4-6c/min). When you use these anonym pre-paid cards, you first call a 800 number, then punch your code, then the number you want to call.
Your expenses: the 4-6c/min + a mandatory, but MAX 50c pay phone usage, regardless of the lenght of your call. The cards are anonym, so no company is able to put any charges on your phone bill. Yes, there is inconvenince: you have to dial three numbers instead of two - but does not it worth?
Alma
Menlo Park,California,
U.S.A.
To avoid those charges....
#5Consumer Suggestion
Mon, May 08, 2006
Unfortunatelly many hospitals, nursing homes (!), hotels have similar deal with shady sucmbag third party billing companies. Usually there are no or only tiny prints somewhere hidden on the phone advising you about this third party.
Usually you can see these outrageous charges when you call collect or use your phone company's calling card. In both cases sumbags have a "billing address", the number you call collect or the number your calling card is billed - where they can put those charges.
To prevent this, buy pre-paid phone cards (with some search you can find ones with 4-6c/min). When you use these anonym pre-paid cards, you first call a 800 number, then punch your code, then the number you want to call.
Your expenses: the 4-6c/min + a mandatory, but MAX 50c pay phone usage, regardless of the lenght of your call. The cards are anonym, so no company is able to put any charges on your phone bill. Yes, there is inconvenince: you have to dial three numbers instead of two - but does not it worth?