Highway Robbery

2004-07-29
2:50 p.m.

I just got our monthly phone bill and wondered why it was so high.

Last time I was home and had car trouble in a neighboring town, I made a collect phone call to my husband when I ran out of juice on my cell phone.

It took forever to locate a pay phone, but when I did I tried using a calling card I had used at the hospital. It had plenty of minutes on it, but it wouldn't go through. When that wouldn't work, I tried dialing the number directly, was told to deposit $4.00 for five minutes. I scrounged up $4.00 worth of change out of my purse, but the money just dropped into the change slot.

Finally I gave up and called him collect. There were no rates posted on the phone, and I knew it would probably be expensive, but I needed to talk to him. $45.87 for 15 minutes. Ouch!!!!!!!!!

This afternoon I've called the long distance company that billed us for that call, and they've reduced it by $12.85 as a "courtesy," but there's nothing more they can do.

When I called Hubby and told him of the charges, his only comment was damn, and I didn't even talk dirty to him. He could have called a 900 number cheaper than that, and there wouldn't have been a temper-tantrum-throwing three-year-old in the background, either.

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