dorl@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Michael Dorl) (09/30/90)
I received a letter in the mail today saying I won one of three prizes... $5000 1/300,000 odds $2500 5/300,000 odds $1000 discount shopping spree 1/1 odds A careful reading of the small print shows there's a 1/1 chance of winning the last prize which evidentally allows you to buy something from their catalog. The real sleaze in this deal is the $9.00 (3.98 plus 1.97/minute, 2.5 minute minimum) cost of the 900 number call you must call to claim the prize. One can claim the prize my US Mail to avoid making this a lottery (illegal in Wisconsin unless run by the state). I'm curious about the division of the spoils between the perpetrators of this sleaze and the phone company. How does the $9.00 get divided up between the two LECs and the IXC? Any of the defenders of the use of 900 service can have my winning number for the asking :-). Michael Dorl (608) 262-0466 fax (608) 262-4679 dorl@vms.macc.wisc.edu MACC / University of Wisconsin - Madison dorl@wiscmacc.bitnet 1210 W. Dayton St. / Madison, WI 53706 [Moderator's Note: Gosh, that's mighty gracious of you, to share your discount purchasing power with the rest of us! I so appreciate it I think I will answer your question. Between the two LEC's and the IXC, they get about a dollar of it, at most. And there may be only one LEC involved, since the recipient of your call might have a dish on the roof and accept the incoming call direct from the 900 service provider. A sales rep from Telesphere once told me (if I wanted a 900 line) they would charge me fifteen cents per call, and ten cents per minute of conversation. Anything above that is profit for the owner of the line. Some 900 outfits pay all costs and split with you 50/50 on the revenue from callers. PAT]
bill@toto.info.com (Bill Cerny) (10/02/90)
In article <12801@accuvax.nwu.edu> dorl@vms.macc.wisc.edu (Michael Dorl) writes: >The real sleaze in this deal is the $9.00 (3.98 plus 1.97/minute, 2.5 >minute minimum) cost of the 900 number call you must call to claim the >prize. >How does the $9.00 get divided up between the two LECs and the IXC? A summary of usage charges for three national 900 carriers: IXC Per Minute* Billing Uncollectables AT&T 0.30/0.25 10% of retail (incl. with billing) Sprint 0.35/0.28 (none) 7% (8% for call >$10) Telesphere 0.46 0.12/call 7% - >30% of retail *(less than 25,000 minutes/month) In turn, the LEC gets their normal FG D per minute charge from the IXC. I don't foresee the audiotex industry policing itself, which means federal regulation/legislation is inevitable. The best we could hope for would include the consumer protection features of Pacific*Bell's 900 service (viz., a "grace period" during which program ID and call charges are given _before_ billing begins). Then the "900 = sleaze" hysteria will fade, and we'll flame somebody else. ;-) Humble request: when bashing a 900 program, please include the 900 number (personal theory: Telesphere 900 numbers receive the most complaints, AT&T the fewest). Bill Cerny bill@toto.info.com | attmail: !denwa!bill