MIAMI -- In Miami's Cuban exile community, where rumors are often as thick as espresso, this one was unusually sweet: By dialing a special five-digit access code, callers could talk to people in Cuba -- free.
And talk they did.
"I spent at least 20 hours on the phone to my parents in Cuba," said Eduardo Garcia, a Miami plumber. "They were so happy to hear from us. And since they were testing the line, the calls were free."
Aida Fernandez said she was so thrilled to be reconnected with her family on the island that even when her mother went out shopping, she left the phone line open and chatted to the dog. " 'Why not?' I thought," Ms. Fernandez said.
It turns out that Mr. Garcia, Ms. Fernandez and about 10,000 other South Florida customers who believed the rumor do have to pay -- the calls were not free.
Mr. Garcia and his brother, Jorge, owe $1,663. Ms. Fernandez received a bill for $3,000. At least one customer racked up charges of $10,000.
The total tab for the three-week direct-dialing binge to Cuba: $2 million.
"We are flabbergasted," said JoAnne Waldrop, a spokeswoman for Dial & Save, a Virginia company that resells at a discount long-distance time it buys from larger telecommunications firms. This company recognizes that something very odd has happened in Miami."
"The first reaction everybody has is: How could people be so naive to do something like this?" said Gustavo Alfonso, a Miami spokesman for Southern Bell, which does the billing for Dial & Save. "Being Cuban, I can empathize in a way. But we are telling people they are going to have to pay."
Many who used Dial & Save have called the company to say they cannot. Among those callers is the one who owes $10,000, Ms. Waldrop said. "That individual acknowledges the calls but refuses to pay."