Dance seems to help

Dear Editor,

Anyone else out there have this problem? I have a [prepaid phone]. I bought a 60-minute air time card. Only now you get a store receipt with the pin number and [the prepaid phone company's] 800 number. Fine.

Any dummy can do this; you get an automated menu. I gave IT the [prepaid phone's] serial number, the phone number and the pin number. You punch these numbers in the phone and if you mess up, you get a real person -- I always mess up.

She was from Pakistan, I think. So I repeated the number game. "You now have your minutes added."

"No, I don't, I have the 52 minutes I started with."

Doesn't 60 minutes and 20 free minutes for my birthday and 52 minutes I had make 132 minutes? How do they know when my birthday is, but can't add?

Anyway, we both keep insisting -- so when I got off the land line phone, I did my little dance, jumping up and down yelling "Crap!" "Crap!" "Crap!" It always helps.

The receipt from the store also listed their number. The nice manager at [the store] said "I have never heard of such a thing. Bring in your receipt and we will refund your $20 or give you a new airtime card."

I can't decide! Next stop, go to the Web and e-mailed my problem, including all the numbers involved. [The company] replied back, sorry, you got your minutes.

So what happened?

The serial number, the phone number, the pin number should correspond to one phone, mine.

Maybe some Laplander is enjoying my 60 minutes and some Hindu has my 20 free birthday minutes. I am just an old hippy trying to adjust.

Guess when all us old geezers are gone, hi-tech will rule. Gee, I hope it hasn't caught on in heaven.

Mariann Earlley,

Wilsonville