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Quote of the Day - Even though work stops, expenses run on.
Would $500 Cause You To Hang Up The Phone?After you're done surfing, don't forget to hang up the phone if you're using dial-up to access the internet. You can incur some pretty hefty fees if the phone number you dial is long-distance from your home or business. According to the AP article linked to above, "About 700 consumers in the Rochester area alone were billed more than $200,000 (euro163,760) combined in unexpected Internet access charges in an eight-month period, while others elsewhere were charged $5,000 to $10,000 more than expected because the Internet connection was left open through a long-distance number." Ouch. New York, however, just passed a law that fines internet service providers $500 if they fail to warn you that you're using a long-distance line. That'll teach 'em, and certainly do a lot to save consumers money. Right. This statute is supposedly the first of its kind, and hopefully the last. If legislatures want to protect consumers, it may take more than $500 to dissuade ISPs. |
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