We recently got a nasty surprise! During a recent trip to the DR my wife made a phone call home to Canada to her mother. She has an elderly mother, whom she speaks to every Sunday. By the second Sunday a phone call was a must. Most conveniently there was a tent card by the phone that said "Use your calling card - no additional fees". Sounded good! When she tried to use our calling card it wouldn't work, the operator said "It is not compatible with our system, but you can use your CREDIT CARD!" Word of warning if you ever hear those words, stop there! Do not pass GO! Our Visa bill came back with a charge of $68 US - $97 Can for a 10 minute call! My wife called the Co. in the US that the charge came from, BMG, but to no avail. Apparently they think that this is a standard international rate. We checked with our local phone Co. and the highest rate we would have paid with them, assuming no phone plans etc. is $18 US. By the way the resort we made the call from was Casa Marina Reef in Sosua.
I guess we can call the charge a "stupidity tax!" We would normally never make a phone call on our credit card, but once they have you on the phone it's just too easy to continue.
And speaking of stupid, I miscalculated the time difference and my wife woke her mother up at 6 AM on Sunday - I told her it was NOON! None the less she was very happy to hear from her.
LAL - Live and Learn!
I guess we can call the charge a "stupidity tax!" We would normally never make a phone call on our credit card, but once they have you on the phone it's just too easy to continue.
And speaking of stupid, I miscalculated the time difference and my wife woke her mother up at 6 AM on Sunday - I told her it was NOON! None the less she was very happy to hear from her.
LAL - Live and Learn!