Beware the well dressed man
A well dressed man recently went into two different Woy Woy retail outlets and asked to borrow their telephone to make a quick call because his car had broken down.
The shopkeepers in both cases obliged, only to learn later, when they received their telephone bills, that the call was to an East Coast Tipping Service on a 1902 number and that the call cost $30 for less than one minute.
In one shop, the man pressed re-dial and made two calls, one was for 47 seconds and the other was for 48 seconds with the total bill coming to $60.
Telstra were not prepared to waive the cost and suggested that shop telephones have 1900 bars placed on them so that no one can make calls to numbers in that range as they are usually charged at premium rates.
The shopkeepers' said threats to refuse to pay the $60 would only have resulted in the phone being cut off and a reconnection fee being added to the bill after the outstanding amount was paid.
Cec Bucello January 7