I spent some time in China and Japan a few months ago and my mother called me while I was there. I instructed her to dial 101-6868 before
011+ but she didn't and the call went out over SBC Long Distance, her default carrier. She has a calling plan with them, but it does not include international calls.She just received her phone calls and I am so angry at SBC at the rates they charged. We're not talking casual dialing here. She's an SBC LD customer and they still have the gall to rip her off.
Can you believe: $5.27 a minute to China and $3.18 (plus Mobile Termination surcharge) per minute to Japan? Calls to China are rarely more than 20 cents per minute, and with many pre-paid cards, the rate is closer to 2 cents. The full list of ripoff rates is available at
I don't usually have much sympathy for consumer stupidity, but using your default carrier to make an international call should not be an invitation to be raked over the coals.