Charges for Phone Calls to Govt Offices

lottelita

Active member

Member since 23 July 2015

lottelita

22 March 2017 09:13:57

lottelita

22 March 2017 09:13:57

Hi. I inexplicably went through my cell phone minutes and when I looked into it. I blew like €20 on a phone call to Mater Dei (was on hold for over an hour after several disconnections).

And I called the education department and that too, was about 25 cents a minute.

Is this normal for everybody? I can't imagine it's my cellular plan but just wanted to make sure because I have never had to pay by the minute for calling government offices anywhere.

lambada

Serial expat

Member since 18 September 2012

Naxxar

lambada

22 March 2017 09:59:49

295

lambada

22 March 2017 09:59:49

295

Naxxar

Yes it's normal. You get charged by the minute unless the number is a freephone.

lottelita

Active member

Member since 23 July 2015

lottelita

22 March 2017 10:14:26

lottelita

22 March 2017 10:14:26

Oh, wow. I had no idea.

I imagine none of these govt offices have a freephone, but if they did, how would a person identify it?

This is so crazy to me to pay to be on hold.

Vagrant

Active member

Member since 28 June 2016

Vagrant

24 March 2017 18:32:10

Vagrant

24 March 2017 18:32:10

Slightly off topic, but ARMS advertise a free phone line on their web site, but when you call it, you get a recorded message that you will be charged after all. Most of the time the people in the offices you ring will be friendly and helpfull (even the tax office, which came as some surprise) but staffing levels can leave phones unanswered, so it is best to have a face to face conversation if possible. It is usually much more productive that way too!

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