I鈥檓 sure there are plenty of people who have experienced the shock of using a payphone in Victoria, but if not, let this be a cautionary tale.
If you choose to pay with your credit card, you will be charged a $5.99 surcharge payable to a third-party, non-human operator company, you will pay for a minimum call length (two minutes, as an example) charged at $1.29 per minute, you will pay an admin fee of $1, you will pay another fee (unknown because at this point in my conversation with WiMacTel 鈥� the primary service-provider for payphones 鈥� I had given up trying to remember all the fees and who gets paid what), and you will pay 50 cents plus applicable taxes and further fees deemed necessary by WiMacTel.
My less than 20-second phone call to my husband to pick me up from Royal Jubilee Hospital (literally: 鈥淗i, honey, I鈥檓 ready. Pick me up at the front door.鈥� 鈥淥K, I鈥檓 on my way.鈥�) cost me $11.27.
Moral of the story: Keep your cellphone fully charged and carry a roll of quarters in your pocket.
Leslie Holth
Victoria
