My first 'Old Lady' mistake

Pepper

Pepper

SF VIP
Location
NYC
I paid my land-line today. It was a double bill. I don't remember receiving a bill for September. My average monthly bill is usually $20. or less. The bill I paid today was for $80.55. I thought I was seeing things until I looked carefully. There was a charge of $31.50 I couldn't place until I realized................

Last year, in the middle of the night I got a prank call from a girl who kept asking me "What's your name?" For some unknown reason, she terrified me. It took her calling about four or more times until I finally thought of taking the phone "off the hook." Of course, we no longer take our phones off hooks, but you get my drift. But wait! this isn't my first 'old lady' mistake, merely a prelude...............

The next morning I called the phone co. and asked them to trace the call. The representative (I don't think they are necessarily called operators), told me it was too late, that I should have immediately dialed (of course, we no longer dial) *57, which traces the call for the phone co. to give to police, if necessary. The phone co. representative admitted she already saw who called, but it took 'dialing' *57 to officially open the number.

Last month, September, I started getting an inordinate amount of scam calls, in which the recording, or human (as sometimes the voice actually was a real human) would immediately ask "Can you hear me okay?" There is a scam going around, I saw it on TV news, where, if you answer 'yes' and they record you saying 'yes' they then try a scam insisting you ordered something and they could prove it with your recorded 'yes.' Still with me?

So, I got the bright idea to 'dial' *57 and trace these folks.

I didn't realize (here comes the 'old lady' mistake) there is a charge for *57............a whopping buck fifty a pop. At 21 times, there is the $31.50! And I thought, "DUHHHH, there's a charge for this?"

It's official. My first 'old lady' mistake. I wasn't thinking it through; allowed my other age related problems to interfere with this, a real life issue. I'm hopefully now on guard.
 

I never remember not thinking there was a charge for anything supplied by the phone co.! but thanks, SB!
 
Aunt Bea said:
Stuff happens and stuff can get expensive! :oops:

Call the telephone company and ask them to take pity on a poor old lady.
Click to expand...
Oh no! My second 'old lady' mistake! Just paid it, thinking I deserve my punishment!
 
You are right, Bea. The payment didn't go through yet, maybe I can get even a small refund. Tomorrow, or Tuesday the latest, I will call and ask for mercy for a poor old lady.
 
I’d call your phone company up and tell them you didn’t know the service you were using was chargeable and ask if you can get the charges deducted or at least reduced.
 
Pepper said:
Last year, in the middle of the night I got a prank call from a girl who kept asking me "What's your name?" For some unknown reason, she terrified me.
Click to expand...

I don't blame you about being scared about that. Some years ago when I moved into a new apartment with a new phone and phone number, I got a call in the night and it sounded like some guy possibly calling from a phone in a bar (no cellphones then and I must have gotten his girlfriend's phone number) and he said he was going to be coming over and he didn't sound happy. It made me really nervous and of course I logically realized that my phone number belonged to another address different from mine, but this guy coming over stayed on my mind for that night. But he never called back. I guess he didn't like my voice. 😁
 
I moved our landline to cellular years ago. I screen most calls I don’t recognize (I have all friends in my contact list). If it’s important they will leave a message. There are other arrows in the quiver if a person is uneasy dealing with scams.
 
The elderly are at higher risk for such scams.
While we were having dinner at our mom's, she answered the phone. We could tell it was a sales call & we kept telling her to hang up, but she was a very stubborn person who considered herself smarter than anyone else.
It was a phone - service company trying to convince her that they would save her money if she used them for her phone service. We knew it would be pointless to argue with her, so we had to let her learn the hard way. She ordered their service.
When she got her next phone bill, it was 6 times higher than before. She figured she'd outsmart them by not paying the bill. Her phone was shut off - not good for an 82 year old.
We got her back with her regular phone service - they charged an extra $250.00 to reconnect it.
 
I'm not as advanced as your mom, but this incident alerted me as to what might happen if I don't get, and keep, a Grip.
 
It was Verizon. Should have expected it, I guess that's the point of my thread. Disappointed I gave no thought to being service charged for it.
 
I did exactly what JB did. I don't miss my land line at all, and my home is now much quieter. People who have any legitimate reason to call me have my cell number.

Pepper, I would absolutely call the phone company and ask them to give me a break on that charge. I've found that companies are usually pretty accommodating when you have a one-time "favor" or adjustment to ask for. Did you actually dial *57 21 times? Even if you did, they should refund the money. It's worth a phone call, anyway.
 
We don’t have a landline phone either, and have not had one for several years. Most people we knew already had the cell phone number, so most of the calls on the home phone were telemarketers.
Anyone we might expect a call from is added to my contact list, and unless I am expecting a call from a number I don’t know, I usually do not even answer those phone calls, because if it is important, they can leave a voicemail and I can call back.
I think that this helps eliminate a lot of the scam calls, because they don’t generally leave voicemail. I hadn’t heard about the one asking if you can hear them, but will definitely be wary of that kind of call, in case I do answer a call that says that.
Our local police have alerted people that scammers are pretending to be the police calling them about some fine that the person owes and needs to pay over the phone.
 
Oh, Ken, why I have a landline: I have lost service on my cell way, way more often than the landline, on which I have almost never lost consistent service. I hear better on it, more comfortable holding it, and am told that I am heard more clearly on it.

The landline was installed here in 1953. Although I changed residence many times, the phone number here has been the same. Am hoping some long lost will contact me. They sometimes do. And the bill is low, except for this last time. Just feel more secure with it.
 
see how stupid brits can be' hahahaha thought u was talking about your other half -ile shut up now phewwww😂
 

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