The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Syndi Souter was in for a shock when she opened her latest phone bill. There in startling black print was a cost more often associated with a mortgage _ over $900. 'I was just freaking out. Like, 'What?!'' said Souter, a Flin Flon resident. 'Then I started looking at all these long-distance (charges). I mean, it was page after page after page.' Souter, who pays for three cell phones, a landline and the Internet on one bill, saw she had been charged long-distance for calls to Creighton. Whereas she would normally pay about $400 a month, she now found herself on the hook for well over double that amount _ and needing answers. Souter immediately called MTS Allstream, telling the woman on the other end what had happened. 'I said, 'There's going to be a lot of irate people when they get their bills,'' said Souter. 'And she said, 'Well I'd be upset, too.'' Souter was eventually told she would be reimbursed for the error, but she was not the only one overcharged. MTS Allstream spokesperson Craig Lawrence said the glitch stemmed from upgrades made to the wireless billing system in late summer. 'As a result of the changes we made to the system, some wireless calls made from Flin Flon to the Saskatchewan communities of Creighton and Denare Beach have mistakenly been charged long-distance rates,' Lawrence said. 'We are working to correct this problem in our billing system.' Lawrence said any customers who have been wrongly charged long-distance should contact the MTS Allstream customer service line. 'We will credit them for any calls that were incorrectly charged long-distance rates for calls to Creighton and Denare Beach,' he said. While Souter believed the glitch stemmed from Manitoba's conversion to 10-digit dialing, Lawrence said that was not the case. 'The timing of the introduction of 10-digit dialing is entirely coincidental and unrelated to this occurrence,' he said. Souter, whose mother and stepfather live in Creighton, was satisfied with MTS' response. 'I'm glad that they're going to check it out and that I won't be charged long-distance,' she said.
