phoning from hotel room "rip-off"
#1
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phoning from hotel room "rip-off"
I'm staying in Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. My cell phone battery "got ill". I made a 1 minute call to Florida; they were going to charge nearly $16.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
#2
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Ewing, NJ
Programs: OnePass, Delta
Posts: 244
I'm staying in Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. My cell phone battery "got ill". I made a 1 minute call to Florida; they were going to charge nearly $16.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
But, you were reimbursed so it is a mute point at this juncture.
#3
Senior Moderator and Moderator: American AAdvantage & TravelBuzz
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But this isn't new, right? Almost all charges in-room are more expensive than standard - that's the price for convenience. You don't HAVE to buy the $8 Bud Light in the fridge or $6 pack of M&Ms from the snackbar, or pay $5 to have them launder a pair of boxers, or pay $12 for them to bring you a glass of milk and bowl of cereal.
(Now in your case, you received mis-information - that's a little different. But I'm still not surprised by how inflated the rate was.)
(Now in your case, you received mis-information - that's a little different. But I'm still not surprised by how inflated the rate was.)
#4
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Finally back in Boston after escaping from New York
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I'm staying in Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. My cell phone battery "got ill". I made a 1 minute call to Florida; they were going to charge nearly $16.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
Mike
#5
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Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 10,224
phoning from hotel room "rip-off"
Isn't 1 hour of phone calls included in the rip off resort fee? I've always considered calling Sri Lanka or Uganda for an hour a day when the hotel includes this as part of the "convenient" resort fee.
#6
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Phone charges from hotels have almost always been an outright scam.
The difference is that the $8 Bud Light usually says very clearly that it's eight bucks.
I would never expect a hotel employee to actually know the algorithm behind the phone scam. Most people probably have no idea that the "operator assisted" concept even exists anymore. You're lucky that the hotel employee actually said anything, thus giving you somewhat of an "out" to contest the charge.
The difference is that the $8 Bud Light usually says very clearly that it's eight bucks.
I would never expect a hotel employee to actually know the algorithm behind the phone scam. Most people probably have no idea that the "operator assisted" concept even exists anymore. You're lucky that the hotel employee actually said anything, thus giving you somewhat of an "out" to contest the charge.
#7
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,438
Phone charges from hotels have almost always been an outright scam.
The difference is that the $8 Bud Light usually says very clearly that it's eight bucks.
I would never expect a hotel employee to actually know the algorithm behind the phone scam. Most people probably have no idea that the "operator assisted" concept even exists anymore. You're lucky that the hotel employee actually said anything, thus giving you somewhat of an "out" to contest the charge.
The difference is that the $8 Bud Light usually says very clearly that it's eight bucks.
I would never expect a hotel employee to actually know the algorithm behind the phone scam. Most people probably have no idea that the "operator assisted" concept even exists anymore. You're lucky that the hotel employee actually said anything, thus giving you somewhat of an "out" to contest the charge.
#9
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 12,597
My employer dodged these somewhat inadvertently by having a toll free dial in number that answered with a dial tone from which you could dial the 5 digit extension of anyone in the company, or the modem bank back in modem days. Since it picked up with a dial tone, it apparently fooled hotel systems into thinking it wasn't picked up. With universal cell phones and wireless I don't even know if they still have it.
#13
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I'm staying in Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas. My cell phone battery "got ill". I made a 1 minute call to Florida; they were going to charge nearly $16.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
Before I made the call, I inquired what the rate would be, the agent checked and said it would be $1.50 access charge + $0,75/min--the rate card (in the room) notes: $1.50 access + OPERATOR ASSISTED rate/min, even though it was a direct dialed call.
They removed the charge due to the mis-information I received.
It's bad enough they charge $1.50 for a 30 minute toll free call; but $16 is absurd.
#14
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I'm 7* in the Caesars system: (1)I don't pay resort fees, (2)I get free internet and movies, (3)I DO have to pay phone charges.