A lot of us have completely replaced our landlines with cellphones, or replaced standard landlines with VOIP service that usually doesn’t charge extra for long-distance calls. And some who have retained standard land line service may use their cellphone for long-distance contact in order to avoid pricey bills. This is why AT&T has tacked on a $2/month “minimum use” fee for landline customers without long-distance plans.

But there’s good news: You can avoid the fee by… well, by making $2 in long distance calls each month. Or you can tell AT&T to cut off access to long-distance direct-dial service… for a one-time fee of $9.

“There is a cost to provide customers with basic long-distance service, including account maintenance, even if no calls are made,” a rep for the Death Star tells the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

Through the end of August, AT&T will waive the $9 fee for either switching to a long-distance plan or eliminating long-distance direct-dial access. Just be sure that you tell the AT&T CSR that you’re making this change because of the minimum usage fee.

AT&T adds ‘minimum use’ fee for those who don’t use long distance [Cleveland Plain Dealer]

Thanks to Bob and everyone else who sent in this tip!

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