Columnist Sandy Thompson: Disconnect costly telephone charges

Sandy Thompson

Friday, Jan. 25, 2002 | 4:33 a.m.

AFTER THE DUST SETTLES from the consumer rate war with Nevada Power, we should turn our attention to phone companies.

Despite Sprint's attempts to "simplify" charges listed on its monthly phone bill, I have difficulty wading through my eight-page bill.

I have no quarrel with Sprint's charge for local services -- $12.93 for one line. The taxes and surcharge, however, are nearly as expensive as that one line -- $12.18.

I have no quarrel with my AT&T plan of 10 cents and 5 cents a minute for long-distance calls made from my home.

It's the collect calls and hidden charges that raise my ire.

Relatives traveling from Arizona to Las Vegas over the Thanksgiving holidays made two collect calls to me from Kingman. They apparently dialed one of those 1-800-call-something that was billed through ZPDI and OPTICOM, which I've never heard of. For a 4-minute call (made from a hotel room, not a payphone), the charge to me was a whopping $15.65. A later 3-minute call was $12.77. That is $4 a minute! (Where is former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw with his 99-cent calls?)

Why were the calls so expensive? A customer service representative with OPTICOM says the cost includes the rate per minute plus a surcharge for operator service and "use of the phone." Shouldn't a basic rate cover the use of the phone?

The rates, she said, are comparable to other 1-800 number services. If so, then these ads touting 99-cent calls are misleading. It may cost 99 cents to pick up a receiver, but when you start talking into that receiver, the charges mount.

A call made by dialing 1-800-COLLECT and billed through MCI cost $8.21 for 5 minutes. A 1-minute call was $5.35. A nice lady from MCI explained that it may be 99 cents per call, but there is a $3.90 "connection charge" for some calls or a $4.64 surcharge. The 1-minute call was more expensive than a longer call because of these added charges. As if these charges aren't enough, my bill included an additional $4.20, which "recovers a payphone usage fee imposed upon AT&T." Then there's an interstate access charge of $8.06, which I suppose allows calls from out of state. Isn't that what the original long-distance charge is supposed to be for? The rest of the phone bill includes a federal universal service fund, a number portability surcharge, federal tax and a franchise fee. And don't forget the $1.50 bill statement fee so AT&T charges can be included in the Sp rint bill.

If all that is not enough to make you dizzy, there also is a universal connectivity charge. For January it was $6.01. Know what that's for? It's to help pay for service to low-income people in rural areas, as well as for discounts for connections to schools. According to AT&T, all carriers are required to make payments into this universal service fund, and the charge is passed on to consumers. Beginning this month, the rate was increased from 9.9 percent to 11.5 percent of a consumer's state-to-state long-distance charges. None of these costs include features such as call-waiting, caller ID, etc., which are extra.

Although we have cut down on collect calls by buying an economical calling-card plan for our student caller, there is little relief from these other charges.

I believe businesses should make a profit, but are all these charges really necessary? Sounds like we're paying two or three times for the use of a line.

The only good news coming from utilities these days is from Southwest Gas, which is lowering rates. The company also hopes to simplify its monthly billing statements beginning in March, so consumers know exactly what they're paying for and how much gas they use.

Too bad phone companies can't reduce their charges -- or, at the least, be up front about those so-called "cheap" collect calls.

I suggest a new consumer ad slogan: 1-800-WE-SAY-NO.com