But I thought it was supposed to be ethical, that companies were supposed to make money because consumers choose to do business with them. This fall, I learned that I was sadly mistaken.

My corporate woes stem from my telephone. Last April, I decided to hunt for cheaper long distance services. I perused the offers on TV and on the Internet. Then I discovered the Walmart phone card. It was a great deal, so I decided I would cancel my long distance service and only use the card.

In addition to a service fee of $6 a month, they were charging us $9 for not making any long distance calls. Apparently, they had a monthly minimum requirement. When we called to remind them that I had cancelled the service six months prior -- offering them exact dates and proof that we no longer carried a long distance option on our phone-- they said we were crazy and had to pay it anyway. They offered us a 2 month credit and a reminder that it was us against them and that was just too bad. They had us. There was nothing we could do, so we had to pay it.

Then, our cell phone was stolen. Cell phones are great, you know, in case you are trapped in a mine shaft and need to let the rescuers know where to drill. Other than that, they're the biggest waste of cash I've ever encountered. We got ours from Sprint. So, when the car was broken into and the phone turned up missing, we called them to terminate our service. Six months later, we received a bill for $350. Sprint was charging us monthly fees for six months after we had called them to cancel our account.

When we called them to remind them that we had cancelled the account, they told us that we hadn't cancelled our account, we had just suspended it. I'm sorry, but I know that when I call to cancel my account I mean cancel it, not suspend it. The person on the phone had led us to believe that we had cancelled it, but that was apparently not the case. We were misled. So once again, we got stuck with the bill. It was us against them , and who can afford to take a corporate giant to court over $300?

I was livid. If I think about it, it still makes me mad. We were lucky because losing that money didn't really hurt us. We could afford it. But what about everyone who can't afford it? What about the people who get screwed by companies like this and have to mortgage their lives away to pay them back?

But I think I've learned my lesson, and I'll share it with all of you. When you choose to do business with a company, choose wisely. Do your research . Call the Better Business Bureau and see how many and what types of complaints have been filed against them. Do business with companies you trust, ones that have been good to you in the past.

Like MBNA. We've used them for our credit cards for years, and they've always been great-- like not charging us when our cards got stolen, or lowering interest rates when we asked them to.

See, money is like voting. Where you spend your dollar determines if the good guys or the bad guys stay in business. It's voting for a company's business and billing practices. So it's extra important to vote for the companies that treat people ethically.

But no matter what, please take one thing from this story with you. If you cancel a service with a company, call back 2 days or a week later to verify that they have cancelled it. It's your only insurance policy against the corporate monster. Don't let him steal your wallet like he stole mine.