Jack Winslade <Jack.Winslade@f666.n285.z1.fidonet.org> (08/31/90)
Yesterday afternoon I had to make a quick call to a friend who had a
US West cellular phone. The only phone around was a COCOT, but what
the heck, I needed a phone.
Drop the quarter in, get a somewhat realistic phony dial tone, dial
the number, long pause. Ring .... ring .... ring .... {with no
answer} ... ring 'The mobile phone you are calling is not answering at
this time, please {loud click, COCOT swallows quarter} try your call
again later.'
Now I know the far end did not supervise. I've done this on 'real'
pay phones and they do not rip off the coins. I figure this COCOT
only guessed at the loss of ringback tone and figured it had an
answer. Maybe they should put the BOOOP-boop-beep tritones on the
cellular 'no response' intercept.
Good Day! JSW
[1:285/666@fidonet] DRBBS Technical BBS, Omaha (1:285/666)
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Jack.Winslade@f666.n285.z1.fidonet.org
[Moderator's Note: Do you ever call up the COCOT owner to complain and
get a refund when a private payphone steals your money like that? I
have done so, and they sent me a *check* for 25 cents! Illinois Bell
at least sends little credit slips you can turn in when you pay your
own phone bill. They used to send loose change to you in the mail,
taped to a card which said 'sorry we were unable to refund your money
on your call the other day ...' but they had to quit that because so
many people were ripping them off. Maybe that is why the COCOT people
send checks also. When AT&T sends out refunds for money lost in coin
phones they send a check also, marked "Pay to the Order of The
Telephone Company" and you can turn it in with your phone bill to them
or the local telco, or whoever. PAT] cowan@marob.masa.com (John Cowan) (09/05/90)
The Esteemed Moderator writes, describing various forms of telephonic refunds (coins by mail, small checks, pseudo-checks marked "Pay to the Order of The Telephone Company", credit chits). None of this has ever happened to me here in NYTel land. When I request a refund here from a genuwine pay phone (I don't use any other kind), I get asked "Do you have a New York Telephone phone?" I say yes and supply the number of my home phone. I then get a credit on my bill. The credit appears as a single line on the bill aggregating all such coin-refund credits I have accumulated over the month. cowan@marob.masa.com (aka ...!hombre!marob!cowan)