$158 for a phone call to NY!

[RitaZ.]

We cancelled our long distance service a couple of years ago. We don't make many long distance calls and decided to keep the service until MCI started to charge a "monthly maintenance fee". I'm aware that most, if not all, long distance carriers do this. This fee was charged even if we didn't make any long distance calls, I think it came to about $7 a month. Not a lot of money, but I saw no reason to pay for a service that we weren't using.

So, we decided to start using our cell phone for long distance calls. I have a friend in NY, and we probably talk about 2 to 3 times a year, but when we do it's at least an hour, sometimes close to 2 hours. Last month, I decided to call her back after getting her message. My cell phone battery was low, so I figured that I would call her using the house phone. Two days later, I got a called from MCI asking me if I wanted to sign up for their long distance service. I told them that I wasn't interested, then the rep. told me that if I didn't join, my call to NY (made two days prior) would cost me $140. I asked her why it was so high, she said those are the rates for customers that don't have a long distance carrier. I told her that I wouldn't sign up for anything that MCI has to offer and that I would pay the bill when it came in. Live and learn, my mistake. Yes, the call was 73 minutes, which basically comes to about $2.16 per minute (tax included).

I decided to check out Planetfeedback.com's shared letters and it seems like many customers have had similar problems with MCI. From the letters, I gathered that MCI isn't into negotiating any of the high phone charges. I'm going to pay the $158, but I will never again make long distance phone calls from my house phone and never do business with MCI. Live and learn...

 

[CindysGusGus]

I have had some of the same problems with MCI. I was just on the phone with them last week for over an hour explaining to them that I had cancelled their service and have not made a long distance call in over 3 years. They said I never have cancelled and I owe 75 dollars in monthly fees that have accrued. I told them I never wanted it and they told me I had to call verizon. Verizon in turn told me I had to call MCI....This went on for several minutes until I realized that I was late for work. I most likely will have to star all over again!

 

[Cinders]

You need to run to the closest place that sells calling cards!! WOW!! That's one **** of an expensive call. WalMart has AT&T cards that are easy to use and refil. Sam's and I think I've seen on here Cotsco have cheaper cards if you have one of those nearby.

 

[trola2]

You could call MCI and sign up for their plan and negotiate the rate for that call, then in a month or so when that call is paid for and you have no balance forward on your bill, cancel the service.

~~Beth

 

[RitaZ.]

Originally posted by trola2
You could call MCI and sign up for their plan and negotiate the rate for that call, then in a month or so when that call is paid for and you have no balance forward on your bill, cancel the service.

Yes, that would have been another option. I'd rather pay than get "tangled" with MCI any further. Maybe I'll write a letter to the FCC, there has to be something illegal or at least unethical about the way MCI does business.

 

[lynxstch]

they were charging too much and we weren't making many long distance calls..switched to Verizon..fast forward to the next month when we got a bill for MCI..called them and they claimed I hadn't cancelled..which I had...that I would have to pay..I called Verizon..got someone knowledgable who made a conference call with MCI..she told them that my phone records showed that I hadn't made ONE long distance call in the last 2 months..and that if they didn't cancel the service..and the bill..that Verizon would make a stand for me if it came to it...MCI told Verizon..'no problem..the account is now cleared and closed'..then hung up on us!..will never use MCI again..we pay something like $2.95 a month for long distance with verizon..and $.05 a min..a LOT cheaper than MCI was..good luck!
Lynn

 

[N.Bailey]

I had a terrible time with MCI a few years ago. My husband signed up for some type of account with them. I prefer AT&T, but my husband authorized this change and I didn't like it. Anyway, we canceled and they kept sending us bills. Well, we'd finally pay them and call and tell them we canceled. They said they canceled the account, but we'd get billed again. This went on for several months. Keep in mind, the last payment that was made to them was when we had them on the phone and we had them deduct the payment from out checking and they said it would be canceled after that payment. Next thing you know, we're getting another bill from them, plus they're saying we have no record of the prior bill being paid. I said, you took it out directly, how could you not have a record of it? This guy told me I'd have to get proof that I had paid it. By this time, I was fuming!!!!! I told him, I was not going to pay my bank, 1 cent in fees to have a record sent to them verifying that they took the payment out directly. He said, well, you have no choice. I said, sure I do, I'm not paying anything more, PERIOD! He just said, you'll pay, or we'll see you in court, this is not a lonely hearts club number that you're dealing with. Then he hung up on me. I was SOOOOOOOOOOO mad. By this time, I was more than ready to have a day in court with them. We kept record after the 2nd month of everything. Anyway, I never sent them another dime and they never sent another bill either.

I get a call now and then to subscribe to MCI, but I just tell them, it will be a cold day in ______ (fill in the blank) before I deal with them again. They try to apologize for prior treatment, but I refuse to discuss anything farther with any of them.

 

[GailT]

I have Verizon for my land line and I pay 64 and change and can all all over the contry. I do call Florida alot, my brother goe to the Vinyard to his house, so that takes a chunk of change to call him without the nationwide plan. I feel like this plan is well worth the money

 

[candykisses]

Working for a local phone company, I hear these horror stories every day.

If you received a seperate invoice from MCI, you can call the toll free number for the FCC and register a formal complaint. They will outline your options. For the people that just didn't pay...sometimes that works but most times MCI will turn you in for collections in a heartbeat!

If you were casually billed on your on your local bill, you can in addition to the FCC also contact your state Public Utility Commission and register a complaint. They will give you your rights.

MCI has a new trick they're using. If MCI is the carrier you are pic'd to and don't make payment to them, not only will you not have long distance service, but they will block INCOMMING calls to your number.

Since you don't have a billing account with MCI make sure your local phone company doesn't still have you pic'd to MCI. Change to another company or you can have No PIC which is a choice to have no carrier. If you you have No pic then you will have to place toll calls using a 10-10 number or a pre paid call card.

Good luck!

 

[Mskanga]

Rita, I do not have any long distance service at home , but I use www.onesuite.com .
Believe me it works, I make very few long distance calls as well but when I call is usually my family overseas or friends out of state, I usually pay for $10 worth of long distance and it lasts me quite a while.
Check it out , it really works.
BTW, I have been using this for over 2 years now and the service has never failed or changed in price. I was a bit skeptical in the beginning also but it really works , at least for me.
Give it a try, it's like a pre-paid phone card but you do everything online and very easy to set up and use also.

 

[N.Bailey]

Did anyone here this? I had AT&T and was billed every 3 months separate from them because I rarely make any long distance calls. My local carrier is Verizon. A few months ago, we were looking at our phone bill and Verizon was charging us for long distance calls and AT&T was charging us for those same calls. So, we called Verizon and they said, because you're using our lines, you must pay us too. Anyway, my husband talked with them and we canceled our AT&T and just went with a plan with Verizon. When my husband explained it to me, I was shocked because I had never heard such a thing, but that's what he's saying.

He also said they were going to cancel our AT&T, but about a month later (it was a 3 month bill that fell due about a month later), we seen they hadn't canceled it. AT&T said, no one could cancel it but us. It was no biggie, we paid the final bill and we're done with it, but this whole ordeal just seems strange to me. I'm sad to leave AT&T because I never had a lick of trouble with them in any way, shape, or form.

Now I wonder if I use a calling card, will Verizon charge me by the minute too because it is their line???

I only ask all these ????? cause I see we have someone from the telephone company replying.

 

[Mskanga]

Originally posted by N.Bailey

Now I wonder if I use a calling card, will Verizon charge me by the minute too because it is their line???
I only ask all these ????? cause I see we have someone from the telephone company replying.

I do not work for the telephone company but I do have Verizon for my basic/local service , and no they do not charge me for anything when I use the onesuite.com long distance service, you call a toll free number to access the service and there's no charge for that, and to use the verizon lines,I pay the flat fee every month, so there's no additional fees involved. Hope that helps.

 

[kellib36]

AT&T started the phenomenon of charging for NOT using their service, years ago.

I'm not sure if Qwest does this all over the country or not, but they have a cap of $20 or $25 for long distance. NEVER pay more than that! Its AWEsome!! And if you don't get up to that amount, its $.05 a minute. Period. Great invention!!

 

[ForTheLoveofDisney]

Believe me, we've had our share w/ MCI in the past too. Well, actually MCI Worldcom, which is the cell phone division. First off, back in 1999 they messed up their billing and we starting in May on received notices that this is not a bill, that we would be receiving a bill by September of all the calls that we were making. We were young and dumb and just accepted this and our contract was up in July anyway. Oh and also, trying to get through to them to clear anything up was like trying to make a call to Fort Knox!!!!

Anyway, as promised, here comes the bills in September with ALL these charges from April on to July. They wanted their money pronto so, I sent them 2 payments. One in October and one in Novemeber paying off the bill in FULL!!

Then the real fun began! We started receiving hateful collection calls and letters. When I tried taking care of one of the calls the hateful collection lady tried talking over me and said she couldn't speak with me because I wasn't on the account. WHAT??????? Look at your screen bozo!! I was on the account. So, I called Customer Service and they said that they apologized for the call but that we were indeed paid in full.

I thought that was the end of that until in 2002 I received a collections bill for an outstanding balance that we owed MCI Worldcom. I had to get copies of the checks and luckily I still had copies of the bills showing where the balance equalled the checks!!

I'd rather yell my telephone calls or hire a skywriter than deal with MCI!!!

We use a company called Capsule Communications. They are an internet sight at Capsule.com. We've used them for 3 years and have never had an increase in price at 4.9 a minute. capsule.com

 

[sigafoos]

Try callingcard.com I signed up for this when DD was in Australia for 4 months and it was only 2.5 cents per minute. It is so easy to use . It is a virtual calling card, if you call from your home phone all you do is dial the access #, no pin and then the # you are calling. You can look at the call log online and see every call you have made, how long it was and how much it cost. You reload either by phone or online. It is too easy and very cheap. You can even set up a speed dial for frequently called #s. Instead of dialing the country code and all the numbers needed to call another country I would just dial *20 and it dialed for me.
Kim

 

[RitaZ.]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions on other options for long distance calls, I'll look into them. I will NEVER EVER again have anything to do with MCI.

Candykisses~ Thanks for your suggestion about contacting the FCC. I wrote a letter last night, but I think I'll call them today to expedite things. Our local phone service isn't linked with MCI at all. We received a separate invoice from MCI.

I've been thinking about contacting a news station (consumer reporter) to see if they are interested in reporting this. I think there are many honest consumers out there that have been wronged by MCI. I could just pay the bill and be done with it, but I hate it when big corporations try to bully and intimidate consumers.

I'll let you all know what happens.

 

[Pin Wizard]

Wow! Now I don't feel so bad paying about $200 to get out of my FL cell phone contract early!

In FL I had AT&T. Never had a problem with them, was always happy. Then they started the monthly fee you were talking about. They switched me around on different plans they had to avoid that as much as possible. But for most of my calls I used 10-10-220 any way. It was cheaper and worked just as well.

I could have sworn that when I got my service here with Verizon, they asked which LDC I wanted. I'm sure I said AT&T. Hmmm...found out some how before I ever even received an LDC bill that I didn't have AT&T but had Verizon for long distance. Now reading that Verizon still charges LDC for using their lines even if you have another carrier, I guess I won't be switching. I'm just glad I don't make many long distance calls. Good luck, Rita!! Hope it turns out well for you.

 

[jeleebeene]

I used to have MCI and will never use them again. When we moved out of state, we knew that we would be making lots of long distance phone calls since all of our family was now far away. Well, our long distance carrier at first was MCI, and we about collapsed when we got our first phone bill. Upon checking what the per minute charges were, we were paying close to $2 a minute!

Well, we switched to Sprint, and haven't had one single problem since. I guess you do live and learn in those situations.