Robin
Waldron,#2Consumer Comment
Tue, July 01, 2003
After worrying that this might be another "Alyon" type scam with the diallers, I have run across another possible explanation. Have you accepted any collect calls made from a payphone during the last billing cycle? From an airport or hotel or any public place? The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has opened the door to this scam by deregulating payphones. Many collect calls made from payphones are billed through these third-party billing companies at extortionate rates. Then, the owner of the place with the payphone gets a KICKBACK! (Even PRISONS are getting kickbacks from this, when everyone knows that the inmates are usually only allowed to call collect. What a racket!) This is unfortunately, entirely legal under the law as it is now written. Think twice before accepting any collect calls that you think may be coming from payphones! Do people stay awake at night trying to figure out how to bend the laws to stick it to the general population? They are doing very well at it and I pray that they die from lack of sleep SOON!