Q: I find suspicious long- distance phone calls on my bill. A real puzzler was two calls made the same date and exact same time to states far apart. What’s going on?
— Mary Ann Lueckel, Arvada
A: There aren’t many inquiries that make me scratch my head, but you have a beauty here. The folks at Qwest thought the same.
Your bill shows two calls — one to Mount Morris, Ill., the other to Palm Coast, Fla. — on Jan. 16, each beginning at 8:53 a.m. The first for a nickel, the second for 35 cents.
There are actually two ways this can happen, according to Qwest, each pretty simple when it comes down to it, though neither involves the hijacking of your telephone line or even your broadband Internet connection, as I initially suspected.
Many telephone services operate on full-minute billing, which means no matter how long your call, you’re charged the full-minute cost. So, a 10-second call, such as for a wrong number, will cost you the full minute.
Make a new call before that whole minute expires on the clock and suddenly you’ve got a second call at the same time.
Theoretically you’re being billed for the second call during the first full minute you’ve already paid for with the first call. How’s that for double-dipping?
The second way is via three-way calling, where two calls are actually made at the same time.
Turns out both numbers are for the National Review magazine, one for hard-copy subscriptions, the other for access to online content.
Calls to unfamiliar locales can look suspicious. Search the numbers online to see.
David Migoya
wants to get the answers to your consumer questions. E-mail consumertips@denverpost.com or write to Consumer Shopping Bag, The Denver Post, 101 W. Colfax Ave., Suite 600, Denver, CO 80202.
