Qwest Pay Phone Ripoff
I was at the Spokane International Airport last month trying to get a hold of the person picking me up. I don’t own a cell phone, so I decided to use a payphone. I should have known better not to insert my credit card into the machine, but I didn’t have any coins with me to pay for the call. I was pretty sure that the phone said it would charge 50 cents per minute for a long distance call. It is possible I read the sign wrong, I am sure it was meant to be confusing.
I couldn’t reach the person I needed to, and didn’t have any alternate numbers for them. After a while, I began to get worried that maybe they forgot and that no one was coming to pick me up. So I decided to call the only numbers that I knew by heart, my home which was on the other side of the country. I hoped that they would be able to help me find a number that I needed. No one answered, so I was out of luck there also. I tried several other numbers, all with no answer. I think I made 10 calls total.
Eventually I was picked up and made it back to the camp I am working at. However, after looking at my credit card statement I saw I had been charged an arm and leg for all the calls I made. Even from the same payphone, I had charged totaling $180 from two different companies. These companies were NCIC and Qwest. Each charge was no less than $15 even for a call that lasted less than 2 minutes. The highest charge was for $19.72 for a call that lasted less than 4 minutes. This is very different than the rates posted on the machine.
I called up the numbers on my credit card, 877-7937728 and 800-5959694 to ask for a refund. One of the companies, NCIC, actually refunded almost all of their charges. They gave me $50 back from their total of $55 charges. It only took one call and they were very nice about it. Qwest, however, was a different story.
I have called Qwest a total of 3 times and have not gotten any of the charges rescinded. The person I talked to told me that they would submit a ticket to another department and let me know within 30 days what their decision was. Now I guess I have to play a waiting game to see what they end up doing. I certainly hope that Qwest doesn’t rip me off of that much money. They have ridiculously high phone charges for pay phone usage.
Life Lessons:
Never put your credit card into a pay phone.
Get backup numbers for people you need to reach via phone.
Tags: life lessons
General, Life | Garrett Boon June 4, 2009
By Steph Boyd, June 5, 2009 @ 10:30 am
Hello,
My name is Steph I am a manager at Qwest,and I am sorry to hear about this situation! Although the pay phones are a different division within Qwest, I would be happy to attempt to help you resolve this situation. If you would like additional assistance, please email me at talktous@qwest.com attention Steph, and give me whatever information you can about the transaction, I will be happy to look into this issue for you.
thank you
Stephanie Boyd
Manager – Consumer Affairs Team
talktous@qwest.com – attention Steph
http://www.twitter.com/TalkToQwest
“At Qwest your account information is confidential and protected by law, so I need your permission to access the account.”
By Brooke, June 7, 2009 @ 5:08 pm
Wow, what a mess! I’m sorry about all that and hope it all works out for ya. Thanks for the advice!
~~Brooke
By Brooke, June 14, 2009 @ 9:51 pm
Hey Garrett,
Thanks for your comment; it was nice to hear from you as well. That’s funny, because Holly and I were talking about GenJ and our offices the other day too. I guess that’s one reason why I stopped over at your blog when I did. GenJ was a good experience.
Wow, you’ve been away from home for awhile now. I’m glad you’re liking where you are. I am also working at a summer camp this summer. I am going to be a counselor for a christian camp I helped out last year and I’m very excited! Exactly what kind of work are you doing at yours?
I’ve been preparing for college lately which I start in 2 months. It’s another thing I am looking forward to. I plan to study elementary education which I think will profit me in many areas in the future.
How have you been doing and when do you begin work at the summer camp?
Just to let you know, I answered your question on my blog
God bless,
Brooke.
By stacy&tiffany, June 18, 2009 @ 8:04 pm
dumb. why dont you have a cell phone? we’re in the 21st century man!
*language edited by admin
By Garrett Boon, June 29, 2009 @ 6:34 pm
I don’t have a cell phone because I don’t want one, and generally don’t have a use for it.
By Drew, July 2, 2009 @ 7:04 pm
Uh, it’s been a long time since I checked in, but what an annoying experience.
By Ryan, July 4, 2009 @ 11:10 am
Crazy story Garrett. I wish I had read this story before yesterday. I used a pay phone yesterday and looked at my bank account today to see a charge for $19.98 for a call that was less than two minutes. All I did was wait for the voicemail, left a quick message for the person to call me back and that was it….$19.98 for one call that was 1-2 minutes at most! I know how you feel and hope it wasn’t a qwest phone that I used so I can get a refund, that I’ll find out today.
Thanks for the post.
By Garrett Boon, July 4, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Ryan, thanks for the comment. I have been emailing back and forth with a Customer Service rep with Qwest for a couple weeks now, and still they won’t refund my money. I just send them an email telling them how frustrated I was with their company for overcharging. At this point it doesn’t look good for me getting a refund. I hope things work out better for you.
By Ryan, July 4, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
I hope so too.
By Denise, August 6, 2009 @ 3:04 pm
A friend dropped me off in front of a store in Seattle, and when I came out I couldn’t find him. The street I was on wouldn’t allow regular traffic (buses only) and I’d left my cell in the car.
So… after looking and waiting for about an hour, I found a pay phone. It was a “card only” payphone, so no quarters.
I made one call and left a message. Shortly after I made another and got a hold of my friend. Talked long enough to tell him the corner I was on.
I had 30 dollars left on my account. I was pretty sure that would cover me for 3 whole minutes of talk over two phone calls.
It hasn’t come through yet, but my available funds is sitting at -7.33.
I had a little hope that maybe they held a certain amount, and then figured your talk time and then builded you after they dropped their hold.
I’m not hoping that so much now. So… now an overdraft fee will probably be on there too. Stellar. It’s not like I wanted to feed my kids or anything.
By TiAnn, August 19, 2009 @ 11:13 am
Thanks for this post! I just experienced the same issue and your info was just what I needed. I called and received a partial refund (better than nothing I guess). Thanks for the help.
By Garrett Boon, September 11, 2009 @ 10:15 pm
TiAnn, I am glad you were able to get at least a little bit of your money back. I still have not been refunded any of the charges. I have pretty much given up hope on this.