Some OU students and faculty have been paying double for phone calls to loved ones.

As a result of a Computer Network Services computer glitch, one faculty member and one graduate student have reported being charged multiple times for the same phone call, CNS director Tom Reid said.

Rebecca Willis, graduate student and resident director of Biddle Hall, said she found several duplicate charges on her university phone bill this March, which caused her to be overcharged by $18.

Willis' search to fix the problem led her to CNS, where she found a simple refund was not an option, she said.

"CNS would not directly refund me, but they would credit my account," she said.

Duplicate phone charges were an unexpected problem for CNS, Reid said. A glitch such as this can develop when computer systems are restarted incorrectly.

Those who have experienced duplicate charges have experienced both major and minor headaches, depending on the length of the call.

Longer, more expensive calls being duplicated obviously are a big issue, Reid said.

But students concerned about duplicate charges should not worry because this is an unusual occurrence, he said.

But freshman Molly Parrish said she is concerned about the current phone bill situation and has experienced other phone-bill problems.

"I've been sent my phone bill again after I had already paid it," Parrish said.

Students and faculty should contact CNS if they find a discrepancy in their phone bill and the office will credit their bill the following month, he said.

"We also will refund anyone if their phone bill next month does not exceed the amount they were credited," he said.

University account holders also can have earlier phone bills checked if they have questions or concerns about duplicate charges, Reid said.

"We routinely go back and check previous months," he said. But later phone bills are on micro-film, so the process can be timely.

In an effort to alert other students and faculty about duplicate phone charges, Willis posted signs around her residence halls about the problem, she said.

Meanwhile, CNS is in the process of fixing this computer glitch, Reid said.

"We (CNS) are going to go back and try to analyze the data, but we have to rely on students to notice and take action," Reid said.