ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| .
Umm hello, cheapo lady. You're probably calling an 800 number first, entering your pin, then the number. Get a prepaid phone card where you dial a local number. Dialing the 800 number first is where the problem is.
But you're probably not a BBr member anyways, so all this info is useless to you  |
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ColorBASIC
8-bit Fun
Premium
join:2006-12-29
Corona, CA | Customers will just flee
Notice to ILECs...in case you didn't notice you have competitors now. |
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DaSneaky1D
one wall to block them all
Premium,MVM
join:2001-03-29
The Lou
 ·Charter Pipeline
| reply to ninjatutle
Re: .
How is a 72 year old lady being cheap? If anything, she's being smart by trying to spend her (likely limited) money wisely. Obviously she doesn't make many phone calls, so why should she spend $30 or more per month when she can spend that much over 2 to 3 months.
Also, if local access prepaid phone cards were easy for a 72 year old to conveniently find, I'm sure she may have....but, considering that "phone service is phone service", why would she even know to look for that.
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:: my trivial ramblings :: |
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MysticGogeta
The Robot Devil
Premium
join:2005-03-14
League City, TX
clubs:
·Comcast
| I like pots but..
The price is what grabs me if they would lower their prices. Lets say 29.99 a month for unlimited long distance and local with caller ID I would defiantly jump right in even if Vonage is cheaper. When our power went out during Hurricane Rita we hooked up an old phone that runs off the power from pots and sure enough it worked.
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Team Discovery-Join the fight |
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CrazyFingers
join:2003-10-01
Columbia, MO
| I've heard about this crap
My grandmother-in-law can attest to this garbage. She has a stack of pre-paid AT&T long distance cards that she uses to call her grandchildren. Recently she noticed her cards minutes were disappearing at an insane rate, and contacted AT&T to ask what the hell was going on, and their response was exactly this.
What a wonderful racket.
My only question is: How can I cash in on this bait-and-switch financial market?
(PS: I'm waiting for our resident conservatives to explain how this is a non-story, just capitalism at work, if she's dissatisfied with AT&T go somewhere else, market forces at work, blah blah vomit...)
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Burrow owl...burrow owl... |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | In-state long distance is criminal
the whole idea of a call in the same state being considered long distance is 100% criminal.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to DaSneaky1D
Re: .
For CA, Measured Rate service for poor people is $2.85/month. $5.34/month flat rate for unlimited locals. LD is .10 cents a min. I would use the flat rate service to use any calling card with a local number. The other calling cards might also tack on fees and surcharges. So you're getting poked in the rear either way by using calling cards. |
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Dydion
join:2001-03-07
Baton Rouge, LA | reply to Kearnstd
Re: In-state long distance is criminal
Well geez...they have to come up with SOME kind of way to pay the salaries/retirement/bonuses/slush funds of those CEOs and VPs trying to live a comfortable life and better than you and me.
They're all f*cking criminals. |
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jp10558
Premium
join:2005-06-24
Willseyville, NY
| reply to ninjatutle
Re: .
I suppose it depends on how savvy you are, but there are "online" calling cards (that is, you use credit/debit card to purchase online + get # + Pin) like Tel3 or Onesuite and charge a flat $0.03/min anywhere in the lower 48 states, it can be instate or out of state. This is with a 800#.
Your local telephone company (with a non monthly fee LD on the line) can't charge for an 800# (or I've never heard of such a thing). So It still comes down to picking a good calling card - but you don't usually pay 8x for a 800 access number.
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Opera 9.2(Build 8771); Windows XP Pro SP2;Athlon 64 X2 4600+; 2.5GB PC3200 DDR; 1M/128k DSL; NOD32(Version 2.5.25); Outpost Pro 3;Proxomitron 4.5j Grypen 4/15/07(Opera mod),GPG ID:0x0A1C6EE3 |
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ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA | I doubt she's that savvy so I'll forward her the info via telegram. |
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Michieru2
zzz zzz zzz
Premium
join:2005-01-28
Miami, FL
| ...
Screw them, higher prices on just basic phone service and those who simply do not use the service get penalized?
It's like being penalized for not using data services on a cellphone, it's ridiculous. I am cancelling AT&T, my DSL from Speakeasy, and moving to cable internet, and possibly just move the home phone number to the cell.
Dadkins, throttle those torrents, your congesting the tubes  . |
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Yauch
join:2005-06-24
| reply to CrazyFingers
Re: I've heard about this crap
said by CrazyFingers :
I'm waiting for our resident conservatives to explain how this is a non-story, ..., if she's dissatisfied with AT&T go somewhere else,
Are you really trying to tell me that she shouldn't start purchasing calling cards from somewhere else? This problem obviously requires government intervention because of AT&Ts monopoly over the calling card market. |
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72276539
Premium
join:2001-01-19
Atlanta, GA
| reply to ninjatutle
Re: .
said by ninjatutle  :Umm hello, cheapo lady. You're probably calling an 800 number first, entering your pin, then the number. Get a prepaid phone card where you dial a local number. Dialing the 800 number first is where the problem is. But you're probably not a BBr member anyways, so all this info is useless to you Completely wrong, the rate is controlled by the rate plan that is attached to the PIN. While some cards will have different rates between TFN access and local access there are others that don't have any difference. It's on a rate plan by rate plan basis,
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RIP Dimebag- August 20, 1966 to December 8th, 2004. |
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72276539
Premium
join:2001-01-19
Atlanta, GA
| reply to Yauch
Re: I've heard about this crap
said by Yauch : said by CrazyFingers :
I'm waiting for our resident conservatives to explain how this is a non-story, ..., if she's dissatisfied with AT&T go somewhere else,
Are you really trying to tell me that she shouldn't start purchasing calling cards from somewhere else? This problem obviously requires government intervention because of AT&Ts monopoly over the calling card market. AT&T does not have a frackin monopoly on the calling card market. 
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RIP Dimebag- August 20, 1966 to December 8th, 2004. |
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CrazyFingers
join:2003-10-01
Columbia, MO | reply to Yauch
No, I'm waiting for someone to come up with a rational argument that what AT&T is doing is fair and right.
Still waiting.
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Burrow owl...burrow owl... |
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72276539
Premium
join:2001-01-19
Atlanta, GA
| said by CrazyFingers :No, I'm waiting for someone to come up with a rational argument that what AT&T is doing is fair and right. Still waiting. So what is your idea? Put AT&T out of business?
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RIP Dimebag- August 20, 1966 to December 8th, 2004. |
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CrazyFingers
join:2003-10-01
Columbia, MO
| said by 72276539 :So what is your idea? Put AT&T out of business? Yes.
That's my idea.
See where I typed that? It's a good thing I typed that, because if I hadn't, and you were just making crap up that I never said, you'd look like a bit of an asshat. But I obviously typed that, somewhere,so it's ok.
*sigh*...
Perhaps...and this is just a WILD idea, I know....
But, perhaps AT&T should only charge one minute for every one minute used?
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Burrow owl...burrow owl... |
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Warmachine99
join:2006-03-20
Pleasant Prairie, WI
·RoadRunner Cable
| reply to Kearnstd
Re: In-state long distance is criminal
When I had an actual phone line, I was part of the Chicago area that got an overlay area code. I had to dial 10 digits to call my neighbor. I noticed at that time that if I wanted to call my parents, who lived 16 miles away in the 630 area code, I was being charged as a long distance call. I called to ask about this and was told that 'calling outside your area code is automatically long distance'.
When asked "Then what happens when someone who lives on a city border and has 847 and calls the person across the street who is in the 312 area code? Wouldn't that also be long distance according to what you said?" I got this reply: Yes, because the call has to go much farther than across the street to get to the person.'
As for the 1 minute costing 3-8 minutes, AT&T has just gone back to the reason I dumped them when I had a pre-paid calling plan. I would make a call from a location solidly in the middle of Chicago and would get charged 17 minutes for a 45 second ATTEMPTED call (no answer) because I was roaming and not in my service area. When I called AT&T customer service they told me that my 3 month old phone was the problem and that I needed to upgrade to the new phone, which was, incidentally the same make and model of phone that I had, but they wanted $180 for it.
Its all money grubbing CEOs that need another new car because the one they have now has over 100 miles on it.
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I've discovered that I often visit the state of confusion, and I know my way around pretty well. |
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morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000
clubs: |  insatiable greed
AT&T is out to make the most money possible, whatever the cost. if that means interpreting the "law" to favor them, they will do so.
this is why people hate AT&T... this and spying on its customers with the NSA for merger approval. |
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BuzzDar
join:2006-01-28
West Frankfort, IL | att is just another big money hungry company. they can do what they want and when they want to. they just have to put more money in the governments hands and they can do what they want. |
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