ChiefsPlanet - Life PSA: Pay Phones and Credit Cards

Last week I experienced a perfect storm of events including me leaving my cell phone at home and Rain Man's car not starting in the midst of a snowy morning. Long story short, I found myself in need of a taxi while out and about, away from a phone.

I'm a "plastic-only" type of guy, and rarely have any cash or change on me at all. That way I don't have to feel bad when saying "no" to the guy who sits outside our office begging for money while pretending that he's missing a leg (but we all know he has two legs, can walk, and gets dropped off by someone in a station wagon every day). But I digress.

Anyway, so I found a pay phone with a credit card gizmo on it and proceeded to call the cab. No big deal right? Wrong. I checked my credit card online today, and that 45-second phone call cost me $11.27. WTF? I dug around online and found complaints from people who had been charged hundreds of dollars by this company for phone calls lasting no more than 10-15 minutes. :eek:

I called the number on my statement (for the company itself - not my credit card company), and in less than two minutes, they credited the entire amount back to me "since I didn't understand their rates." Think they've dealt with this type of complaint before?

I was lucky. Accounts I've read online have people who racked up $300 in calls only getting offered a $20 credit rather than the amount back. What a load of crap.

So the moral of the story is, if you're ever in need of a pay phone but only have a credit card, you're probably better begging for money than using the credit card.