Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: Mon, 13 May 1991 9:56:47 EDT From: KATH MULLHOLAND Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Airphone Charges Message-ID: Organization: TELECOM Digest Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 361, Message 5 of 9 Lines: 49 While on a flight to Florida, my spouse thought it would be worth it to call his brother from in-flight. Never having tried an airphone before, we weren't sure what to expect in transmission quality. All we ever heard, and we stayed on the line for three minutes or more, was lots of rushing air. Kind of like holding a big seashell to your ear! Since I've heard (read) on the net of using airphones for data (Am I recalling correctly?) I was fairly sure we were having transmission problems. We hung up and did not retry the call. I wasn't surprised at all to see an $8.50 GTE charge on my VISA bill the following month. I was surprised at how difficult it was to reach GTE. First, I called the bank. Not their problem, they said, I was responsible for reaching the vendor. No, they did not have any vendor information other than what appeared on my bill. Perhaps I should try ? Tried TPC, who said, Gee, if it wasn't on my phone bill, how could they possibly be expected to help? Looked in the phone book -- nothing listed for GTE. Being a *telecom professional* ;-), I called our local rep from work. She looked up GTE and found an 800- number for them. Called that. They knew nothing about air phones. Telephone calls from a plane? What are you on, lady??? was their attitude. Asked for the supervisor. Still got nowhere. He had no idea where air phone charges were billed from or how to reach that billing location. Finally, knowing tat GTE and Sprint were related, I called our Sprint rep and asked him to hunt down the elusive billing agent. He had a number for me in less than five minutes. (I still think this rep is one of the best in the bsuiness.) This month, finally got my credit and a very nice letter of apology. I wonder, however, how often people just pay instead of trying to find out where to go for a credit. I guess if I hadn't had sources, I would have bullied my bank mor. What has been the experience of others? Kath Mullholand UNH, Durham, NH [Moderator's Note: When the bank first gave you that rap about how they could do nothing, you should have gotten a supervisor on the line and bellowed about how you were not going to pay the charge; they could charge it back to GTE if they liked; and if that wasn't enough hassle for them, you'd be glad to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission if necessary detailing the bank's billing practices. Believe me, the bank *would* have found GTE for you also! PAT]