There was a nice little surprise in my AT&T bill today: a $4.80 charge for long distance service.

The funny thing is that I don’t make long distance calls from my landline phone. I get free long distance on my cell phone. So I called AT&T to inquire, and after nearly twenty minutes of waiting on hold, I finally got a very nice lady who explained that because I don’t make any long distance calls on that number, they’re charging me a minimum of $2.00 plus tax (which amount to more than the minimum charge).

Get it? I’m being charged for not using their long distance service. How generous of them.

I have a choice: I can drop AT&T as my non-used long distance service, or I can hang on to it and suck up the extra $4.80.

Hmm. To quote Vincent LaGuardia Gambini, I’m going with Plan A. Excuse me while I make a call.

(Yes, I know, landlines are so 20th century, but here in Florida, landlines are usually the only phones that work in case of a hurricane, and I also have my internet service running through it. Don’t even suggest going with Comcast.)