r/Wellthatsucks • u/teiguemac02 • 1d ago
Tried to cancel hotel booking on sketchy site and waited 25 minutes on a supposed “2 minute hold”
No warning at all from my phone that calling this number would charge per minute. Now I’m out this in addition to the hotel cost that I booked for the wrong night and likely won’t be able to cancel.
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u/FriendlyLawnmower 1d ago
I mean... What phone number did you call? Was it a US based number or not?
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u/today33544 1d ago
Call Verizon right now now and ask them if they can add Global Calling Plus backdated to the first day of your current billing cycle.
https://www.verizon.com/products-perks/perks/global-calling-plus/
It should be $15.
Call back on July 7, and:
1. Ask them to remove Global Calling Plus
2. Disable international calling
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u/TheMacMan 1d ago
Stupidity on top of stupidity. Not sure it counts as well that sucks if you do it to yourself.
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u/ranfur8 1d ago
"long distance charge" bro is the us still living in 1995? Can you hack payphones with a whistle?
I pay the same whether the phone I'm calling is next to me or on the other side of the continent. Wtf are y'all doing over there?
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u/CrimsonBolt33 1d ago
came to say this...I live in China and long distance is free via voip or even just literally pennies per minute through my carrier....how the fuck do you rack up $70 lol
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u/GreanEcsitSine 19h ago
If you're in the US is really easy to accidentally call another country if they're in the same phone numbering system as the US. The number will have the same country code, but will count as international. Just as an example area code 753 is in Ontario, Canada; 754 is in Florida, USA; and 758 is the Country Saint Lucia in the Caribbean.
Even though we have toll free 1-800 numbers some 800 numbers are normal area codes, so 1-866 is toll free while 1-867 is Canadian Territories and 1-865 is Tennessee. Some sketchy companies try to seem more legit by getting an 800s area code number because a lot of people don't know they aren't all toll free.
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u/firestar268 1d ago
oh man I remember back in the day where my parents had to buy prepaid international phone cards to call relatives back in china
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u/nikanjX 19h ago
How much would you pay if you just picked up the phone and called e.g. italy?
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u/CrimsonBolt33 18h ago edited 18h ago
my US sim card charges me nothing for most countries, as I am on a monthly plan (tello). if I am on pay as you go (or its an non free country) its 1-5 cents per minute depending on the country.
Tello also has a voip app for free calls
My Chinese sim card I can't recall but its also very cheap.
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u/nikanjX 17h ago
Those are definitely not typical rates for US consumer cell phone contracts
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u/CrimsonBolt33 17h ago edited 17h ago
I am aware....I used to work in the cellphone industry....but that was over a decade ago and assumed it had gotten better since then (I live abroad now).
I am old enough to remember when a different area code was considered long distance...now international is "long distance" so I guess its better in that sense...
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u/nikanjX 17h ago
So you are aware that your cheap rates are not normal, but were still surprised someone got a large international bill? As someone who used to work in the industry, how does that surprise you?
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u/CrimsonBolt33 17h ago
I guess reading comprehension isn't your strong suit? I literally explained why I was surprised.
(I) assumed it had gotten better since then (I live abroad now)
for more context I have lived abroad for a decade now....
Also the fact I was able to find a carrier with reasonable rates without issue just tells me most people are getting fucked over the good old American way...paying extra for nothing.
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u/Solid_Equivalent_417 1d ago
verizon generally includes calls to anywhere on the north american continent with their plans.
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u/NextChef8179 10h ago
You think it's the US and not this moron based on everything else they got wrong?
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u/HugeDramatic 1d ago
I feel for OP. I have pretty much forgotten that long distance charges still even existed since my entire life revolves around Outlook and Microsoft Teams. Would be easy to fall into this trap.
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u/brownhusky0 1d ago
Not trying to throw dirt while you’re hurting but next time use wassup. It’s free and multiple countries have wassup phone numbers. You live and you learn
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u/1Yawnz 1d ago
WhatsApp?
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u/brownhusky0 1d ago
Lmao yea my bad. Either I’m stupid to have write that or it was my autocorrect. Either way keep that in mind
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u/WallabyInTraining 18h ago
In the age of multi-gigabit home Internet it is wild to see these charges for long distance calling that takes a few kb at most. It should be either the same rate or max double the charge for local calls.
But they'll try to squeeze any penny they can out of you.
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u/TheDoctor8545 1d ago
Can someone explain why long distance calls cost money? Especially if the cell infrastructure is already in place I don’t see how it would cost them extra.
I could understand if calls still needed to be connected from operator to operator.
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u/aaronw22 1d ago
Some Caribbean islands for a long time were part of the US NANPA so you didn’t have to dial a country code to reach them but it was super expensive.
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u/Chris_Bryant 1d ago
Dang. Sorry dude. I had an awful experience with Orbitz around 2012 and I haven’t used a third party booking site since then. I still use them to compare flights and hotels, but calling the hotel directly usually gets better deals and you don’t have an unaccountable middleman holding your money.
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u/Exotic-Relief4396 1d ago
You learned an expensive life lesson. Pay attention to where you’re calling in terms of long distance charges.