KIRO 7 Eyewitness News Consumer Investigator Wayne Havrelly says it's important to know all the terms -- before signing up.

"VCI," "Global Crossing," "Looking Glass Networks." Chances are you've never heard of these local telephone companies.

There are some 200 small companies in our state that provide a vital service for the poor, who are often denied regular phone hookups because of bad credit.

But many people are signing up without ever reading the fine print.

After a life of hard manual labor, Sandi Pyette is now physically disabled.

"My whole back down into my hips, my leg, everything. It's just aching so bad," she said.

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Even though it's painful, she enjoys tending a small garden outside her government-subsidized apartment complex in Tacoma.

She receives $681 a month from Social Security, but her rent alone is $475. So when she heard an ad for phone service for just $8 a month, she jumped at it.

"I thought, 'Well, that sounds like a pretty good deal, that could really benefit me.' So I gave them a call."

She called the company, "VCI" and they explained that they offered local service only; they weren't licensed to provide long distance.

"I said, 'That's OK. I have my own long distance carrier.' And that was it, there was nothing more said about the long distance."

But when she tried to contact her relatives and friends in New Orleans during the hurricane, she found her long distance had been blocked.

"For five days I couldn't find out what was going on. All I could do was just be glued to the TV and pray to God that they were OK."

She called VCI and was told she'd have to pay a $75 deposit to get her long distance carrier connected, something she says she wasn't told when she applied for the service.

"I was fuming mad. I thought this was ridiculous. People on Social Security can't afford this."

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission says it is legal for phone companies like VCI to charge a deposit, but the companies must inform their clients of the fee.

VCI officials tell us their $75 deposit can be waived, if the customer is in good standing with a long-distance carrier.

That didn't happen in this case. VCI co-owner Stan Johnson calls it a "miscommunication," and though he declined to go on camera, he admitted VCI should try to do a "better job of explaining company policies."

Too late for Sandi Pyette.

"I'm not taking it anymore. Enough is enough."

After we contacted VCI, the company agreed to waive her bill and apologized to her for what they called a "misunderstanding."

But her case underscores how important it is to understand all the terms of a phone agreement before signing up.

Sandi Pyette is now with Qwest, and they agreed not to charge her a deposit.

And by the way, all her family on the Gulf Coast is safe.