| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 17/07/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 74 |
| Copyright: Other |
£440 bill shows it’s not so good to talk
ANY AGENTS sending their clients on city breaks to London should warn them about the costs of telephone bills in hotels.A Chinese businessman told me recently of his stay at the Bayswater Inn in London.
The accommodation was reasonably priced at £65 per night but the man got the shock of his life when he came back from a night out.
Even though he had left a credit card as security, he was told his bill was so high he had to pay up immediately.
He had made three calls, which he claimed lasted a total of around 13mins, and was charged £440.10 for the privilege. Okay, China is a long way away, but that’s excessive by anyone’s standards.
On his bill, under “duration” is a total of 12.4, although a flustered hotel spokeswoman assured me this did not mean that he had only spent 12.4mins on the phone. She couldn’t tell me what it did mean, however.
She also pointed out that the hotel only charges 30p per unit – but of course, it’s anyone’s guess how long a unit lasts.
So if you fancy a chat in a London hotel, you have been warned.