PITTSBURGH -- When it comes to long distance, most people want it easy and cheap. And 10-10 long distance dialing promises to do just that. But hold the phone -- for some 10-10 customers, that promise backfired and were billed 50 times the rate advertised.

Sticker shock is what callers to one 10-10 number said they experienced when they opened their phone bill and saw the charges. A woman got a long distance bill for $97 that she thought should have cost her only $3.50.

The Mulders of Westview were billed $471 for their 10-10 calls when, in reality, they only owed $10. Kathy Mulder couldn't believe the amount of her long distance bill after she used 10-10-987.

"I had heart palpitations because I knew two of the calls didn't even go through," she said.

She'd seen the commercial so many times; she knew the rate she was supposed to be paying when she used it.

"You know, it's just 3 cents a minute and 39 cents to connect, right?" she said.

But that's not what the Mulders and many other customers are being billed. Rich Sayers, editor of the Web site 1010phonerates.com, said he's getting 10-10-987 billing complaints from across the country.

"I got the biggest wave through December 2003, and it's trickled down a little bit. But I'm still getting complaints in 2004," he said.

On top of overcharges, people are complaining about the time it takes to get through to MCI, the company that provides 10-10-987 service.

Kathy said she spent two days on the phone, constantly hitting redial. When she gave up, her husband took over.

"I left a message and said I was calling the attorney general's office," Mulder said.

Finally, they made contact with the company. MCI said the 10-10-987 calls were improperly routed into another long distance network by the local carrier, costing the Mulders a lot more per minute.

Their bill was adjusted, lowering the cost of the calls from $471 to $10.67. But according to Sayers, not everyone is as lucky.

"Some people report that they were completely denied adjustments. Others said they were pressured to switch their long distance carrier to MCI before they would be given an adjustment, even then they were promised less of an adjustment that the full amount," he said.

There are more 10-10 dialing pitfalls to avoid, like beware of low usage fees. One company will now charge you $2.50 a month if you don't use their 10-10 number often enough. And watch out for rate increases. That comes after the commercial has imbedded a cheaper rate in your brain. One 10-10 company raised its rates just before the holidays.

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