A friend writes:
The story I heard on this had some different details.
The area code is 809 (you should not be billed for 800 number calls, even
if forwarded, forwarded costs are the responsibility of the forwarding
number). In the 809 scam exorbitant long distance charges are applied. Long
distance charges are split between US carriers and the foreign company
(leaving little incentive for the phone co's to do anything, I heard one
phone co rep saying that it was a matter of international treaty!).
About 900 numbers: U.S. Phone companies are required to remove 900 number
charges from the customer's bill on request from the customer the first time
such a 900 number charge occurs. Additional charges are the caller's
liability. Also, US 900 numbers are required by law to advertise any charges
they may make (though it might be hard to recover from some outfit that's gone).
Charlotte Douglas ([log in to unmask])
|