Patrick_A_Townson@cup.portal.com (08/02/88)
Mark Stein tells of the $3.50 phone call which turned into a $14.00 phone call when an AOS handled it. Some things to watch/listen for when placing long distance calls with a credit card: AT&T operators will answer by saying "AT&T Operator'. If the person who answers you does not say this, ask if they are AT&T. If not, ask to be connected to an AT&T operator. If they refuse to do it, then place your call elsewhere. It is inadvisable to place the call and assume you will get it charged back when the bill comes. You *can* do it that way, but beware! Some AOS' are taking the same approach now as the Nine Hundred Service Corporation: The phone company writes it off, and the AOS bills direct. If you neglect their bill, it *could* go to collection. One AOS is filing suit when the dollar volume warrants it. They have your name and address from the 'data base' records which they, like any telephone company, are entitled to have. If you dial your call direct, after inserting your card number following the special tone, you should hear a recorded voice saying, 'thank you for using AT&T'. If it is an intra-lata call, then the voice will say. 'thank you for using Illinois Bell' (or appropriate company). If you do *not* hear this message, then immediatly hang up and dial the number again without inserting your card number. When the operator answers, go back to step one and ask who they are. When you check into a hotel, motel, school dorm, penetentiary or whatever, don't hesitate to ask the local switchboard operator what company handles long distance, and how you would go about dialing into AT&T instead. Some of them will give you dirty looks for asking, just as a few AOS operators have told me -- by their silence and/or abrupt answer -- that I did not ask a good question. The AOS companies all get the data base, just as Sprint and MCI get it. The rules of divestiture allow for this. There is no method I know of for telling them to allow calls by one carrier and to not allow them by others. The AOS companies here in Chicago are getting very sneaky about this, as are the COCOTS. (By the way, COCOT means 'customer owned, coin operated telephone, for the person who asked me.) The COCOTS here are now using phones built EXACTLY like Bell's, and are going so far as to put the little decal on the front of the phone which says, 'out of change? use your foncard here'. The only real clue is to examine the panel with the dialing instructions and see who they say to call for business and repair matters. If it is not the repair number for your established local phone company, then it is not 'genuine Bell.' Some here have also gone so far as to have the Bell phone removed from the stand with the shelf and plastic siding, then installing their COCOT in the same shell with the Bell logo still intact on the housing! So take care and make sure you pick the right kind. Another clue is usually the 'thank you' message following dialing a local call. Also, train your ears to recognize the difference between the telephone company recording which exhorts you to pay for overtime, etc, versus the type of voice the COCOT phones have in them. Finally, if you lose money in a COCOT, do not hesitate to call the number given -- usually its free -- and demand a refund. I do it all the time when I use one of those pieces of junk and it is broken. However the COCOT will not send a cash refund; they will send a *check* for all of twenty five cents. At least Illinois Bell makes refunds with coupons which can be deposited at your bank or included with a future phone bill payment as you wish. Patrick Townson