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Widow rented rotary phone for 42 years
Yahoo ^ | 9/14/2006 | AP

Posted on 09/14/2006 7:42:49 PM PDT by annie laurie

CANTON, Ohio - A widow rented a rotary dial telephone for 42 years, paying what her family calculates as more than $14,000 for a now outdated phone.

Ester Strogen, 82, of Canton, first leased two black rotary phones — the kind whose round dial is moved manually with your finger — in the 1960s. Back then, the technology was new and owning telephones was unaffordable for most people.

Until two months ago, Strogen was still paying AT&T to use the phones — $29.10 a month. Strogen's granddaughters, Melissa Howell and Barb Gordon, ended the arrangement when they discovered the bills.

"I'm outraged," Gordon said. "It made me so mad. It's ridiculous. If my own grandmother was doing it, how many other people are?"

New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies, a spinoff of AT&T that manages the residential leasing service, said customers were given the choice option to opt out of renting in 1985. The number of customers leasing phones dropped from 40 million nationwide to about 750,000 today, he said.

"We will continue to lease sets as long as there is a demand for them," Skalko said.

Benefits of leasing include free replacements and the option of switching to newer models, he said.

Gordon said she believes the majority of people leasing are elderly and may not realize they are paying thousands of dollars for a telephone.

Skalko said bills are clearly marked, and customers can quit their lease any time by returning their phones.

Strogen says she's not a big fan of her new push-button phone.

"I'd like to have my rotary back," she said. "I like that better."


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: att; phone; probablystillhasaol; rotary; suckers; widow
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To: Shimmer128

Good grief, about being "savvy." I'm not elderly or senile and I paid the stupid rent for 20+ years. Didn't get it taken off my bill until about 10 years ago.

No one ever called me up and pointed it out to me. I thought you had to rent them to have decent service. But, at some point after 1985, I just didn't pay attention to the service portion of my bills.

I worked very hard and I also made a ton of LD calls every month, which I did pay attention to. I didn't have time to mess around with $10-15 extra every month. Yes, it added up, but my time *then* was much more valuable to me and I was always on deadline - talking to the phone company for hours (and it was *always* hours) would cost me a lot of lost business if I didn't finish an interview or story or business plan or script or something on time.


41 posted on 09/14/2006 9:11:03 PM PDT by Rte66
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To: annie laurie

That has to be a prank "story." "E. Strogen"????? C'mon!


42 posted on 09/14/2006 9:17:20 PM PDT by JRios1968 (9-11, 5 years later...NEVER forget!)
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To: patton

Send me your email. I got one laying around here somewhere.


43 posted on 09/14/2006 9:21:23 PM PDT by CJ Wolf
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To: Rte66

I'm sorry. I should have called you.


44 posted on 09/14/2006 9:21:53 PM PDT by Shimmer128 (If chocolate fudge cake could sing, it would sound like Barry White.)
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To: Shimmer128

Yes, you should have! No worries, tho - my AT&T dividends more than paid for my phones over all those years.

FWIW, I did turn them in from time to time and got modular connections, lol. I started with push button, so rotary wasn't a problem. I do think those first ones had the "pulse" switch, tho!


45 posted on 09/14/2006 9:27:45 PM PDT by Rte66
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To: annie laurie
...first leased two black rotary phones — the kind whose round dial is moved manually with your finger — in the 1960s. Back then, the technology was new and owning telephones was unaffordable for most people.

That's right. Up until the late '50s most folks used tin cans and string.

Doesn't any newsroom proofread articles anymore?

46 posted on 09/14/2006 9:39:51 PM PDT by uglybiker (Don't look at me. I didn't make you stupid.)
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To: patton
While I thought at&t's rental rates were silly, I would gladly pay $200 to purchase one of those old phones. They worked. The new ones are garbage.

My 26 y/o daughter wanted a rotary dial wall phone last year for Christmas for her basement rec room. Found one in virtually perfect shape on ebay for around $30. The sound of the mechanical bell is cool in itself!

47 posted on 09/14/2006 9:40:03 PM PDT by Knute (W- Yep, He's STILL the President!)
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To: ElCid89; annie laurie; mikrofon; Charles Henrickson
Es strogen?

"Until two months ago, Strogen was still paying AT&T to use the phones"

Es Strogen gave those bad men a pause.

48 posted on 09/14/2006 10:16:22 PM PDT by martin_fierro (</lame>)
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To: Incorrigible
I've got an ancient black rotary Canadian Bell phone (go figure) sitting out in my garage somewhere that uses one of these old-style plugs:

IIRC that thing has a ring that can wake the dead.

49 posted on 09/14/2006 10:20:25 PM PDT by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: annie laurie

I want my rotary back too!


50 posted on 09/14/2006 10:48:07 PM PDT by Cedar
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To: ElCid89

That was a great advertising tool. I remember it well.


51 posted on 09/14/2006 10:50:01 PM PDT by battlegearboat
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To: uglybiker
LOL!

Pure stupidity and a sign of the times.

52 posted on 09/14/2006 10:51:52 PM PDT by battlegearboat
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To: stlnative
Now if we would only get DSL here (which I am told will never happen in my lifetime.)

Look into high-speed satellite internet. My rancher friends hereabouts swear by it!

53 posted on 09/14/2006 10:53:59 PM PDT by JennysCool (Roll out the Canarble Wagon!)
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To: annie laurie; StarFan; Dutchy; RaceBannon; evilC; stanz; NautiNurse; firebrand
Gordon said she believes the majority of people leasing are elderly and may not realize they are paying thousands of dollars for a telephone.

My mother was renting at least three phones from what was SNET (Southern New England Telephone) at the time several years ago. It has now morphed into SBC or some company.

I didn't realize she was renting the phones until I had to help her with her bills / checking account a few years ago and saw the charges on her bills. I finally put a stop to it and returned all three phones... and it was somewhat of a hassle, too. Geesh, I wonder to this day how much $$ she paid over the years to "rent" those old phones...

54 posted on 09/14/2006 11:02:00 PM PDT by nutmeg (National security trumps everything else.)
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To: JennysCool

It is just too expensive right now.


55 posted on 09/14/2006 11:04:09 PM PDT by stlnative
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To: JennysCool

This is HughesNet (Directway) Prices

With our Upfront Purchase option, you pay $399.98 for equipment and installation after $100 instant savings and $100 mail-in rebate. Then select a service plan and with a monthly fee of just $59.99 for Home, $69.99 for Pro, or $79.99 for ProPlus service.

With our Promotional Purchase option, we've waived the activation fee (regularly $99.99) so you pay $0 upfront. Then, select a service plan with a monthly fee of just $99.99 for Home, $109.99 for Pro, or $119.99 for ProPlus, for the first 15 months. After the 15th month, your monthly service fee will revert back to the standard monthly rate. The Promotional Purchase option includes equipment and standard installation of your satellite dish and modem by a certified professional installer. You'll save an additional $100 after mail-in rebate!




WildBlue - it is about the same as above. I had problems getting into the website to get exact pricing on it.




It is just too expensive.


56 posted on 09/14/2006 11:17:56 PM PDT by stlnative
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To: stlnative

A Wild Blue site I saw has it at $399 for installation and then $49 a month.

The cost is bound to go down, though. Tech stuff almost always does.

I know how you feel about the $$ outlay; I used to feel the same way about DSL, but one day I just bit the bullet and eventually found out I could afford it after all. What with the growth in online video and the thousands of radio stations available for free (in addition to high-speed FR, of course), it's a bargain. Sure beats TV (which I barely watch anymore but for sports and breaking news).


57 posted on 09/14/2006 11:27:42 PM PDT by JennysCool (Roll out the Canarble Wagon!)
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To: mware

My gosh,I did not realize I was that old.Ours was two shorts!We had seven households on one line!Whew,the stuff we heard!


58 posted on 09/15/2006 1:53:41 AM PDT by xarmydog
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To: annie laurie
Benefits of leasing include free replacements and the optio n of switching to newer models, he said.

This is criminal, shame on at&t/lucent. ....$29.50 per month, sheeesh!
59 posted on 09/15/2006 1:58:41 AM PDT by Pro-Bush (Wait your turn)
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To: annie laurie

I have a friend who is 96 and still using her rotary dial phone. I did convince her to add a portable phone so she wouldn't have to get up so often. But there's no talking her out of that rotary.


60 posted on 09/15/2006 2:59:32 AM PDT by grame (The sheep follow Him because they know His voice John 10:4)
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