Seniors Looking for Good Deals on Phone Bills


Tahlequah Daily Press - January 28, 2005

By April Stone, Press Staff Writer 

Lloyd and Lois Cory of Tahlequah keep an eye on their phone bill every month. They don't want their long-distance charges to get out of hand.

The Corys have done their homework when it comes to phone service providers and the different fees they charge monthly. By shopping around, they only pay 3-1/2 cents per minute for long distance calls, and they are satisfied with that for now.

Even though the Corys are happy, most Oklahomans over 50 say they are not satisfied with phone companies and the high bills they are charging for basic wireline phone service.

According to a recent Associated Press report, the majority of Oklahoma's AARP members answered that way in a survey, and said they would like more information from wireless phone companies.

More than half of the members said they pay around $30 a month for the basic telephone service at home, and they want to see continued government oversight on the rates and standards.

The phone at the Cory residence at Go Ye Village has just about every option available through SBC, one of the local cell phone service providers. But they found a different way to pay for their long distance.

"We have a deal with Sam's for our long distance calls," said Lloyd, who uses the "land line" at home for his computer. "Long distance is a lot cheaper than it used to be. I remember paying 50 cents a minute."

Lloyd attributes the decrease in cost to the increase in competition. He said their monthly bill through SBC runs around $21, but can't explain some of the extra taxes listed on his billing statement.

"We also have a cell phone that we use for emergencies, and it comes in handy when you are picking someone up at the airport," said Lloyd, who bought his wireless phone and calling plan on a trip to the mall in Muskogee. "I thought their plans were easy to understand, and that bill is about $21 a month, also."

He said the cell phone came in handy when he and his wife ran out of gas on a trip out of state.

"That was the first time I'd ran out of gas in 40 years, and someone was there within 30 minutes."

Donna Rice makes a lot of international calls to friends all over the world. Like the Corys, she also uses SBC for her local provider, but that's all she uses them for.

"I just use Southwestern Bell for my local service; it is very expensive to call long distance using it," said Rice. "I have found a long distance provider online, where you can go to a Website and purchase pre-paid time, dial their 800 number, and use them to call when I need to."

Rice said that by simply punching in her personal identification number (PIN), she can call friends in Germany for 5 cents per minute; and to places in Latin America, where the charges increase to around 35 cents per minute.

"There are no monthly fees, which is the same with my cell phone plan," said Rice. "We were told at a 55 Alive meeting that cell phones are our best security. We use a 'TracFone' from Wal-Mart, which also works on a pre-paid plan. No monthly charges is what we are after."