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My Sprint® FoncardSM Experience
Once, in June of 2001, I yielded to a piece of junk mail from Sprint® and signed up for the Sprint® FoncardSM. I didn't really need a phone card as I already had one, so I signed up only because Sprint® offered one hour of free long-distance.

A week later I broke up with my girlfriend. I came home totally distraught, grabbed the phone and the first card that happened to be around (it turned to be Sprint® FoncardSM), and called my mom in Ukraine. For the next ten minutes I sobbed, while my mom consolated me on the other end. Finally, I felt better.

Then the bill came. I had anticipated to be charged heftily. Maybe, a couple of dollars per minute, I thought. But I wasn't prepared to see more than 70 bucks that I had to pay for my single call. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the bill.

The 10-minute call to my mom cost me $73.80! Together with another $3.60 for my several state-to-state calls, less $6 worth of rebate, and plus $12.57 in taxes and regulatory charges, my bill totaled $83.97.

My first thought was to refuse to pay for such a rip-off. I wanted to call Sprint® and to fight with them. Eventually, I did pay the charge, but I promised it was the only money that Sprint® would ever get from me.

True, I did not find out beforehands what the rate to Ukraine was. But, I simply didn't expect it to be 7 dollars per minute. Of course, I should have known better before dialing up the number. But in the emotional condition that I was when I placed the call I couldn't think about checking the rates. And no matter how technically correct my bill was, I felt used by Sprint® in the moment of need.

I will never have Sprint® for my phone company, and I will never consider wireless from Sprint PCS®. Even the card on this page is not mine. I scanned someone else's. Mine went into trash immediately after I received that bill.

January 2003.