The Consumer's Foundation yesterday accused the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) of charging unreasonable rates on its telephone inquiry services for visa applicants.
The foundation said yesterday at a press conference that starting from March, those making general enquiries about visa applications have had to call an 0204 number, the same kind of premium rate number that phone-sex lines use, which costs between NT$8 and NT$15 a minute.
Many US visa applicants have complained that offering information in this way is ridiculous because, on top of the expensive visa fee of NT$3,600, they now have to pay significantly more to get information by telephone, the foundation said.
The applicants also complain that, to book interviews, they have to call another 0204 number, according to foundation secretary-general Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏).
Cheng estimated that AIT can earn NT$6 million a year from the telephone information service, based on an average of 200,000 Taiwanese applying for US visas per year and every applicant calling the information service for at least three minutes at NT$10 per minute.
Other countries, including Japan, New Zealand and Canada, do not use such premium-rate numbers for similar services, according to the foundation.
It also said the US Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau allows applicants to book interviews online for free.
The foundation said that the US visa information service should charge the average fixed-line rate as the visa application fee already includes handling fees.
In response to the complaints, AIT said that the new system can handle 240 phone calls simultaneously, saving the public a lot of time waiting on the phone.
AIT said it was impossible to open 200 phone lines for visa applicants and that the those using the service would find that the time saved outweighed the extra phone charges.
Most other US institutions handling large numbers of visa applications have adopted similar telephone systems, AIT said.
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