Collect calls not permitted

On June 4, 2000 at approximately 10 a.m., I dialed 104 for telephone operator assistance to make a collect call to the Chase Manhattan Bank in the United States (813-884-2997). To my surprise, the operator (Sylvia) said that according to the U.S. telephone operator, the number was blocked from receiving any collect calls. I was puzzled because I previously made successful calls to the bank using the very same number.

Since I needed to speak to the customer service department of the bank immediately, I decided to call, charging it to my number. I confirmed the phone number above with the bank, and I asked if there were other numbers I could make collect calls to. However, they told me the number listed above is the only number that customers can use for making collect calls to the bank.

Chase then verified the problem immediately with the U.S. telephone operator and was assured that there was no such thing as a block on 813-884-2997. Unless requested by Chase, directly or otherwise, a block and/or rejection of collect calls cannot be automatically implemented as Sylvia, the Telkom operator who assisted me in Indonesia, indicated it could.

Therefore, the question is why can I not make collect calls to the firm, which has made this number available 24 hours a day for this purpose? I have made collect calls to this number before and have been successful. So why all of a sudden can I not make these calls? Does Telkom now prefer direct billing to its Indonesian customers rather than to U.S. firms? I can pretty much understand the theory behind this, and, please correct me if I am wrong, it is theoretically much easier, cheaper and less time consuming to issue bills directly to Indonesian customers.

Once an Indonesian customer is delinquent in paying his bill, disconnecting his/her phone is as simple as a flick of a switch. On the other hand, it is difficult and expensive the other way, and of course Telkom does not have the same power over U.S. firms as it does over its Indonesian customers by disconnecting telephone services.

Please explain to me the intricacies and loopholes of making a collect call. I am just a dutiful resident who always pays my bills on time, but I still have to face the complications of a single collect call.

SAMUEL PD ANANTADJAYA

Jakarta