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Irvine,#2Consumer Suggestion
Sun, August 18, 2002
Quote from ZPDI: "ZPDI is a billing clearinghouse that processes charges on behalf of operator service providers and long distance carriers that provide service for hotels, motels, hospitals, payphones, universities, and correctional facilities." Unfortunately you will NEVER see warning signs in those institutes: "if you use calling card, we have the right to charge you as much as we want LATER" In plain English it means, that many hotels highly overcharge you for the calls you make with calling card. Yes, for using calling cards that you have with your OWN phone company. Your hotel, instead of giving you the bill at the time of checkout, sent you a bill later through ZPDI. You called your home, so they knwo what is the phone number they can charge. This way the hotels responsiblity for this outrageous charge is hidden. The only way is to prevent this is using the PAYPHONE in the hotel, and a PREPAID calling card. How to fight them? First try to fill a complaint with ZPDI. Here is the website: http://www.billview.com/zpdi/ Click on "Costumer Service" and you will see the on-line form to complain. SOMETIMES they are ready to give some discount. THEN you might consider to fill a complaint with FCC. FCC is required to investigate every phone bill complaint that was not resolved with the involved phone company. Something else. I would recommend you to send a strongly worded letter to the HOTEL regarding their hidden phone billing policy.... (Do not accept the bs answer that "every hotel" is doing this. NO. Most of the hotel very simply charge $1-3 for every 800 number, that is all. I mean no more overcharge only because you used a calling card.)