From: DREUBEN@EAGLE.WESLEYAN.EDU (Douglas Scott Reuben)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom
Subject: Odd Calling Card Rates at NYTel
Date: 24 Aug 92 04:02:04 GMT
Organization: TELECOM Digest
X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu
X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 12, Issue 658, Message 2 of 6

I recently got a bill for Calling Card calls from NYTel, reflecting
charges for calls made from Shoreham, NY, to NYC, NY. The calls were
made at 1AM, and lasted for one minute each. Each call cost $1.10. I
thought that was a bit expensive, so I called my business office to
check these charges.

Here's what happened:

1. I was told "We charge a 40 cent surcharge, plus the coin rate, plus
toll".  I asked what that came out to be, and the rep said "We don't
have that information here, but we will get back to you." They never
did.

2. Called back the next day from Mass (collect, of course!). I asked
why my call was not returned. Rep. said she tried to call me back, but
no one was there. I told her I had an answering machine or voice mail
at EVERY number I gave her, but received no message. No answer from
her. She then tells me the same thing she did the day before, and I
repeat my request for an exact breakdown of the charges, with actual
dollar amounts. She says she will get back to me. Again, never did.

3. Repeated calls go on all week, no answer. I call the NYTel
"President's Helpline". Rep. there sounds VERY concered (they always
do! :) ). Next day I get a call on voicemail from the NYTel supervisor
for my office, she says that they have looked into the problem, and
the rate is "a 40 cent surcharge plus the coin rate for the call."
According to her, a call from a PAYPHONE in Shoreham, NY, to NYC, NY,
is 70 cents for the first minute, and $.15 for each additional minute.
Thus, a minute call is $.40 (surcharge) + $.70, which comes out to the
$1.10 which I had been billed.

I didn't think this was correct -- in the past, NY Tel (and presently
all LECs that I deal with) charge a surcharge, plus whatever the
direct dial rate is -- there is no special rate from payphones. Thus,
a payphone call has a certain "coin surcharge" plus the direct dial
rate if one pays by coin, a calling card call has a "calling card
surcharge" plus the direct dial rate, and operator assist calls have a
given number of surcharges (depending on what she does) plus the
direct dial rate.

4. I called the NYTel Pres. Helpline again, noted the above, and told
the rep.  that the NYTel phone book says "Calling card calls cost a 40
cent surcharge plus the direct dialed rate, if handled by NYTel". She
said yes, but there is a DIFFERENT direct dial rate for payphones than
what one pays from non-coin phones. Nice, ambiguous use of the term
"direct dial", eh?

Giving up on NYTel to resolve this, I called the NY Public Service
Commission.  I spoke to someone on the Rates and Tariffs staff, who
after looking up the concerned tariffs, said yes, indeed, NYTel is
correct, but ONLY for calls in the NY Metro LATA, and only for calls
from payphones. Thus, she said, there is a separate "direct dial" rate
from payphones, and if I had made the Calling Card call from a
business or residence phone I would pay a different (cheaper) rate.
(This STILL doesn't sound right to me, but it seems the PSC allows and
agrees with this.)

Thus, a NYTel handled call from downtown Albany to one of the Albany
suburbs is $.40 + toll direct dial (or local direct dial) rate. So, if
it cost me $.10 for a one minute call from Albany to another Albany
number, it would cost $.50 for a one minute calling card, ie $.40 plus
$.10, regardless of if the call was made from a payphone or a
business/residence phone.

However, a call of EXACTLY the same mileage from NYC to another number
in NYC (let's say from one payphone to another right next to it) will
be $.65, that is, $.40 surcharge, plus the cost of a placing the call
with coins, which is $.25 cents. And indeed, upon inspection of my
bill, I note that calls from payphones are billed as such.

As I noted earlier, this is the only case where I have EVER seen this
rate.  Having TWO direct dial rates (e.g., one from coin and another
for non-coin phones) seems to go against the industry "standard" of
having a set toll rate and then attaching surcharges to that rate for
special telco-offered services, like Calling Card calls, etc.

In the case of the 1AM call from Shoreham to NYC, I think it would
have been a bit cheaper to dial 10288 first (this is allowed in NY for
INTRA-LATA calls), as AT&T would charge something like $.80 surcharge
+ $.15 (or less) toll.

 From now on, I'm not using NYTel for calls in the New York Metro
calling area (NYC - 212, 718, 917; Southern Westchester - 914;
Greenwich/Byram, CT - 203; Rockland - 914, and Long Island - 516
except for Fisher's Island). One of the reasons I obtained a Calling
Card was to avoid the high coin-deposit surcharge; apparently NYTel
has managed to convince the PSC to allow them to charge it again via
Calling Card calls in the NY Metro calling area. If I can place a
no-surcharge call with Metro Media for $.20, or a surcharge call with
AT&T which for non-local calls is cheaper than what NYTel will charge
me from a payphone, why bother with them?

This seems self-defeating -- Calling Card calls save the Telco time in
collecting coins and having to tie up a payphone while a customer
deposits them.  By encouraging me to use coins, or to give my money to
someone else (although NYTel gets a cut in any event), they will gain
less revenue. I assume they expect no one to notice and/or care about
this new rate structure , and thus the minimal revenue loss from
customers such as myself who do migrate to other services is of little
interest to them. Oh well ...  :(


Doug		dreuben@eagle.wesleyan.edu // dreuben@wesleyan.bitnet