An emergency health situation at home required me to make some unexpected phone calls from out of state (From the midwest to CA).
The pay phone indicated I could use a credit card and I did so fully expecting to be charged a few dollars. The entry info was automated so I couldn't ask how much I was being charged. It turns out it was nearly $40 for a 6 minute call and $50 for a 12 minutes call. (I found out because my credit card company suspected fraudulent activity) Both calls were to California and were placed after 8 P.M. I contacted the customer service division of IOS Tel and they said the billing was correct and gave me a long list of prices and taxes.
A summary of one call:
$10.98 automated connection fee
$ 5.00 property impose (?)
$3.00 pay phone surcharge
$6.00 non suscriber fee
$1.75 billing fee
$6.93 tax
Rate $1.29 a minute
I do feel that this company is ripping people off. Had I had any idea of how exorbitant these fees would be I would not have used these services. Their representative told me I could have dialed 00 first to ask about charges but this was not obvious to a first time user and no one in their right mind would use this after they knew.
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