The payphone offered choices of either collect calls or direct connection charging to a credit card. Since I had always been under the impression that collect calls would be extremely expensive, I went ahead and chose option number two - direct call charging to a credit card.

I could not get hold of person that I intended to call, so I left a short message. Only 30 seconds! Days later, I checked my Citi online account transactions and noted a $39.94 charge for the phone call made in (billed through a telecom company based in ). I was furious!! I immediately called the credit card company and requested the phone number of the telecom company that collected the amount from my credit card.

Finally got hold of the Customer Service Rep at the telecom company and demanded an answer for the outrageous charge. I came to find out that this is how they charge people: $14.99 connection fee, plus $4.99/min with a minimum of five minutes! What this means that the min. charge that someone has to pay is $39.94! An absolute rip-off, without a doubt!

With minutes of negotiation, the telecom company finally agrees to credit me 50% of the entire charge. I finally gave in on the amount, but suggested to the Customer Service Rep that the company needs to explicitly let the consumers know what the rates either displayed on the payphone or announced in the payphone greeting before a call is connected!

Of course it was a little upsetting to be over-charged. What really ticked me off was the unacceptable business practice – not to provide consumers enough information about a decision!  

I guess the bottom line for everyone is - find out the true cost of purchase goods or services. We all know that, for sure. However, we take things for granted and just assume that we will get treated fairly. In my story, that was not the case at all.

以下是引用icyscorpio在2006-10-10 23:04:00的发言：

德国上网贵么，

联想到你当时在英国上网了

I didn't even bring my laptop to Germany. I went to China first before I flew to Germany, so I left my laptop at my parents' in China. I wasn't about to haul around a "not-so-mobile" laptop (seriously, it weighs 11 lbs!! Can you believe that?) 

for 30 seconds!! Yes, no kidding!