Complaint Review: ZPDI

I opened my local phone bill to find a collect call from my husband who was an hour away from me for 30.05 for 8-minutes. Which is total robbery. I emailed ZPDI and this is the response that I received: Thank you for your inquiry. You have reached ZPDI which
is a billing clearinghouse that processes records on behalf of operator service
providers and long distance carriers that provide service for hotels, motels, payphones, hospitals, universities, and correctional
institutions.

The operator service provider who processed the collect call is Opticom. The collect call was placed from a payphone in Chester, South
Carolina.

I realize you may not have been aware of the rates when the call was accepted, however, I would like to share some information that could help you in the future.

Operator service calls are not billed on a per
minute basis only,
>
there are also surcharges and property fees that are
billed for each call
>
that is placed. Prior to accepting an operator service
call, you can ask
>
the operator for a rate breakdown or ask the operator to
inform the caller
>
to dial back using your preferred carrier for collect
calls. I understand
>
the rates may surprise you, however, they are correct. I
am able to offer
>
you a one-time complimentary credit for $12.02 plus tax,
which will appear
>
on your bill in the next one to two billing cycles.
Please let us know if
>
you would like this credit applied to your bill.
>
> Veronica 1148

I was offered a credit, but it still has me paying 2.25 per minute, which is still way too high. What can people do about this? It is a catch 22 situation. And this is not the first time that this has happened to me.

Kim
Charlotte, North Carolina