Just saw my SBC phone bill...

[dquan97]

There's a charge for Access for Interstate Calling: Primary Residence - $4.49. Just called the CSR and he stated that this is a mandated fee imposed by the FCC, so there's no getting around it. Anyone know what the FCC uses this $ for? $4.49/month is a pretty steep fee for a simple landline phone. (fyi: this fee is about 50% of the total bill)

 

[Queasy]

That's typical for phone companies. They are loaded with excess fees (actually taxes) on top of the advertised price. I have a $6.00 Universal Access Charge on mine even though I use Bellsouth exclusively for my local, long-distance, and internet services.

As soon as my wife's 1-year contract on her phone is up in february, we are switching cell phone providers and ditching Bellsouth for phone service.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

I'm not speaking about this fee specifically since I don't know, but sometimes the government mandates that phone companies do something particular (ie, 911 coverage on cells), so the phone companies tack an additional charge onto your bill that appears as a tax to cover their costs when there actually was no tax imposed. The phone company is just being a dick and doesn't want to look like they jacked up their rates.

Then, the asshole government is making us pay UAC on DSL even though we already pay it on the line the DSL is on.

Telecom is one big scam.

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: GoodRevrnd


Telecom is one big scam.

woot!

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: Queasy
That's typical for phone companies. They are loaded with excess fees (actually taxes) on top of the advertised price. I have a $6.00 Universal Access Charge on mine even though I use Bellsouth exclusively for my local, long-distance, and internet services.

As soon as my wife's 1-year contract on her phone is up in february, we are switching cell phone providers and ditching Bellsouth for phone service.

Don't go with MCI for local if you do go with local. A friend ofours did it because he was sick of bellsouth's stupid bills and he pays MORE with mci because they have some ridiculous additional fee that bellsouth never had every month.

 

[thatsright]

Dude, your luck your not a Verizon customer.

There are so many charges! I think at last count it was about $10 in various fees. And these are FCC mandated fees. Like one of them is a fee that all of the Phone companies are 'supposed' to pool together to improve rural phone service, a VERY VERY Long time ago. That must of ended back in the 1960's. But they keep on charging it, and pocketing the $$.

Just my $0.03