A widow in Canton, Ohio, Ester Strogen, first leased two black rotary phones in the 1960s. Although most major carriers informed their customers that they didn’t have to lease anymore back in 1985, Strogen must have missed that memo and the phone company – who was getting $29.10 a month out of this poor, harmless lady – didn’t feel like mentioning it to her.
Strogen’s family finally cancelled her lease this month and calculated that she paid $14,000 for outdated phones over the years. Apparently there are still 750,000 people still leasing. Let’s all go over to grandma’s and make sure she’s not still leasing, everyone. It’s the least we can do.