robert@uunet.uu.net (Robert L. Oliver) (03/01/91)
Here in Bell of PA land, something VERY bad has started happening. I'm trying to find out if this happens elsewhere, and more details on the tariffs which apparently allow it to happen: Using a COCOT (the only thing available at the time) in Phila. I placed calls to a phone in Phila. These calls were LOCAL calls. Would have cost a quarter if I had the change and only stayed on a minute. However, I used my Bell of PA/AT&T Calling Card number associated with my home phone number. Later, in my home phone bill, I found a page from some "carrier" which has the standard disclaimer that "This portion of your bill is provided as a service to Integretel, Inc. Toll charges are computed based on the rate schedule of Integretel, Inc." As would be expected, these rates were approximately 500% of the Bell rates. Instead of roughly .45, I was charged $2.95. When speaking with Bell, Integretel was consistantly referred to as a "carrier" meaning a long distance carrier. When I protested that my calls were WITHIN Phila., I was informed that any calling card calls were classified as "long distance." So, while COCOTS are required to tell you who the long distance calls are handled by, I wasn't aware that a local credit card call was considered long distance. Furthermore, I don't know how I'd have avoided the rip-off long distance company. Could I have used 10ATT to force AT&T long distance service on my Intra-LATA call? How could I have forced Bell of PA to handle the call? Would 10BPA have worked? There *IS* such a 10xxx code; it's normally only used to force BPA on Phila./Southern Jersey calls in the specially tarriffed corridor. Is this a common problem, or unique to PA? How do we get it changed? I *WAS* going to write to the PA PUC, but was told by Bell that the PUC doesn't have jurisdiction on long distance calls (again, even though this was really intra-LATA), and that I'd have to write to the FCC. Bleh. Robert Oliver Rabbit Software Corp. 215 993-1152 7 Great Valley Parkway East robert@hutch.Rabbit.COM Malvern, PA 19355 ...!uunet!cbmvax!hutch!robert
john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) (03/03/91)
"Robert L. Oliver" <cbmvax!.UUCP!robert@uunet.uu.net> writes: > As would be expected, these rates were approximately 500% of the Bell > rates. Instead of roughly .45, I was charged $2.95. I have heard reports of this sort of thing from all over the country, and have personally experienced it on a call from San Francisco to San Jose (intraLATA--normally $0.65 on Pac*Bell calling card). After getting a bill for nearly $4.00, I, too, complained bitterly to no avail. The only advice I can offer is: AVOID COCOTs. Consider the presence of a COCOT to be the absence of a phone. If you are reading this, the following conditions are probably true: 1. You know the difference between a COCOT and a utility phone; 2. You can afford alternative means, such as a handheld cellular phone; 3. You are literate enough to write to your state's PUC equivalent and the FCC; and 4. You are smart enough to remember where utility phones are when you really need them. I am pleased to report that utility phones are making a comeback in California, in both public and semi-public settings. At a 7-Eleven not far from my home, the two COCOTs were recently replaced by Pac*Bell phones. This is a trend that has emerged hopefully because COCOTs have been unprofitable. I am looking at COCOTs now to simply be a temporary shortage of real pay telephones. Except for calls that I know will be absolutely free, I NEVER use them. > Could I have used 10ATT to force AT&T long distance service on my > Intra-LATA call? How could I have forced Bell of PA to handle the > call? In PA, I don't know. In CA, there is no way. > There *IS* such a 10xxx code; it's normally only used to force BPA on > Phila./Southern Jersey calls in the specially tarriffed corridor. I have yet to see 10XXX work on ANY COCOT ANYWHERE. I would travel within a 100 mile radius to see and try one. To my knowledge, they do not exist -- at least in California. > Is this a common problem, or unique to PA? How do we get it changed? It is a common problem. It will be changed when COCOTs disappear, or start using coin-COS lines. > I *WAS* going to write to the PA PUC, but was told by Bell that the > PUC doesn't have jurisdiction on long distance calls (again, even > though this was really intra-LATA), and that I'd have to write to the > FCC. Bleh. All the AOS has to do is claim that they ship the call out of state and back in and it becomes the FCC's problem. You should write the FCC, if for no other reason than to complain that its regulations are not worth the paperbacks they are printed in. There are two points to remember about your specific problem. The first is that COCOTs exist at all because of the MFJ and Federal mandates (some states have successfully outlawed them). The second is that Federal regulations prohibit the overcharging that you experienced. Good luck. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
ho@hoss.unl.edu (Tiny Bubbles...) (03/04/91)
In reading John Higdon's post, it occurred to me that I've never seen a COCOT. Now, I never use pay phones -- or at least, very rarely -- so when I sauntered up to a pay phone at a local bar last night, I inspected it very carefully to see if it was, indeed, one of the vile things. Under long-distance information, it said something to the effect of "This telephone supplies long-distance service which is provided by LINCOLN TELEPHONE LONG DISTANCE, the absolute best long-distance service in the world, cost-effective, clear, heck, why aren't you using it at home???". There was a big -- and I mean big, like 2" x 4", sticker by the dial that said the phone supplied access to all carriers in compliance with all regulations. The upshot: an LT&T phone. No doubt. But I've still never seen a COCOT, and then came his post saying that some states have outlawed them. Is Nebraska one of them? I would tend to doubt it, since we're one of the most (if not *the* most) deregulated state for telephone services. Are Nebraskans just too nice to use the things? What should I be looking for? Do all COCOTs use AOSes, or do I have to be more picky than that? Is there some kind of "this is a COCOT, run for your life" message I should be looking for? Michael Ho, University of Nebraska Internet: ho@hoss.unl.edu Disclaimer: Views expressed within are purely personal and should not be applied to any university agency. [Moderator's Note: Actually, the more clever COCOT operators use phones which very closely resemble the 'genuine Bell' style. They try to make it very hard *from the phone's appearance* that you are not using what you expected. Once they get your coin deposit in the phone, well then that is another matter. PAT]
john@apple.com (John Higdon) (03/05/91)
On Mar 4 at 1:22, TELECOM Moderator writes: > [Moderator's Note: Actually, the more clever COCOT operators use > phones which very closely resemble the 'genuine Bell' style. This is so true. In an effort to make its phones truly distinctive, Pac*Bell changed the color of the little square by the slot, changed the color of the instruction card, embossed the puckered*asshole logo on the coinbox cover, and plastered PACIFIC*BELL all over the sidewalk phone stands. Not three months later so had a company called "PUBLIC*PHONE". They changed the red square to blue, changed the card, embossed an actionably similar to Pac*Bell logo on the coinbox cover, and put its phones in enclosures that must come from the same company that supplies Pac*Bell. These things are so close to the appearance of a Pac*Bell payphone that I cannot spot one at a distance greater than ten feet (with my glasses on!). > Once they get your coin deposit in the phone, or your calling card number, > well then that is another matter. PAT] John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o ! Moderator's Note: Something else you can always depend on -- and the thing I examine first -- is the instruction card on the phone. Genuine Bell will *always* make some reference to Bell on the card. Read how it says to dial local and long distance calls. Read what it says about repair service and directory, etc. In fact I would say the instruction card is a sure way of telling one from the other. Become familiar with the instruction card on the phone. John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395 john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
dem@iexist.att.com (David E Martin) (03/05/91)
I have had a similar problem in Chicago on COCOT's. I talked with Illinois Bell and there is no access code for them. In other words, if you are at a COCOT and want to make a local call with Illinois Bell, you can't. The woman I spoke to said that she would make my request for an access code known. David Martin, AT&T Bell Laboratories, Naperville, IL, dem@iexist.att.com