Phone Bill A Shocker For Woman

It was like being struck by lightning, Linda Sherwood said.

The charges on her monthly phone bill included $415.81 for 12 long-distance calls to the Dominican Republic.

“I don’t even know anyone in the Dominican Republic!” she wailed.

The calls were listed with calls she’d made through her authorized long-distance carrier, AT&T. The company submitting the international charges is named Integratel.

The phone company couldn’t even give her Integratel’s address. They referred her to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Integratel is a billing agent, not a long-distance carrier, explained Birdelle Brown, a telecommunications analyst with IPUC.

“I don’t think anyone regulates billing agents,” she said.

Most billing agents are completely legitimate, with standards about what clients they’ll accept, Brown said. But in these days of phone deregulation, a company willing to handle somewhat questionable accounts could find the work quite lucrative.

Brown said IPUC has received a significant number of complaints about Integratel - 37 since the first of the year. Most involved improper billing of international calls or billing for 900-number calls that customers hadn’t made.

“I’d like to get after people like this. I wish we had more authority,” she said.

Brown was able to contact GTE and have Integratel’s charges removed from Sherwood’s phone bill. But that won’t necessarily prevent Integratel from billing her directly.

Efforts to reach Integratel for comment were unsuccessful.

Sherwood has taken the offensive, filing complaints with the Pinehurst Police Department and the Idaho Attorney General’s Office. She fired off a scorching letter to Integratel, saying she wouldn’t pay the bill. (IPUC supplied her with the company’s address.) More than likely, Sherwood’s problem is solved.

But the moral, said Pinehurst police officer Steve Berg, is to look twice at that phone bill. If you can’t remember placing the call, maybe you didn’t.

Southern hospitality

You thought seafood was exotic? This year’s menu featured wild hog and ‘gator tail.

The good ol’ boys from Sumter County, Fla., have hunted in the Prichard area every year since 1978. A few years back, they took to throwing an annual camp dinner for the locals. Price of admission: one pie.

“We thought it would be more fun if we knew some people,” said Jamie Adams, Sumter County Sheriff.

Now they know some people. Still licking their lips after last year’s seafood extravaganza, more than a hundred showed up for this year’s feed.

“Tastes like chicken,” said one guest, chomping alligator.

“I thought my pork roast was good. This is great,” said another, savoring the juicy wild boar.

For sheer color, how will the Florida boys top this year’s entrees?

Billy Merritt, a real estate agent, looked thoughtful. But he had a twinkle in his eye.

“We found out they just opened season on monkeys in Texas.”

Price of admission: one pie.