Beware: Swelling

Beware: Swelling
phone bills

From Suara Karya

I live in Pamulang housing complex, Jakarta, and pay my
telephone bill through my office via direct debit. My family
makes minimum use of telephone, as my husband and two daughters
have cellular phones of their own. While normally we spend around
Rp 200,000 on the phone, our April 2003 bill for our March
telephone usage amounted to Rp 1,089,280.

Checking with the telecommunication office in South Jakarta,
we found out that at 1:27 a.m. on March 20, a premium call had
been made on our line for a duration of 12,630 seconds, or about
three hours and 43 minutes at a single stretch. As we were sure
none of us had made this call, I reported the matter to the
telecommunication office on April 15 and was promised a cable
inspection.

On May 28, network officers inspected the telephone line at
our home and declared it in good condition. They asked me to sign
an inspection note, but I refused for fear of it being taken as
our acknowledging the premium call we had not made at all.

Our neighbors had also experienced the same thing, but they
had been reluctant to report the incident.

I hope the telecommunication office will settle this case of
theft. Meanwhile, all residential telephone subscribers should
watch out for swelling telephone bills to avoid making payments
on calls they have not made.

PENNY SUSIANI
Jakarta