Pages tagged with 'calling card fees'
-
Advertised per minute rates and actual per minute rates are generally not equal. Normally, the actual rate you pay will be higher than the per minute rate advertised by your vendor.
Your advertised per minute rate is the stated rate you will be charged per minute of billed time. This is typically the rate most prominently used to promote a particular calling card - like, for example, a card to India advertised at 5.9¢ per minute.
Billed time is not widely discussed, but it is the actual amount of time you are billed for a given call. Billed time in generally higher than your...
-
Calling card per minute rates vary widely based on many factors. Rates vary significantly from card to card and from company to company.
They also vary over time with providers adjusting rates on an upredictable basis - sometimes rates vary from one day to the next.
Rates can also vary between landline and mobile phones -- with calls to mobile phones often being more expensive than calls to landline phones, sometimes a lot more.
Calling card rates can also vary considerably between two different countries, aka 'calling routes'. In the old days, these variations had a lot to do with...
-
Calling card pricing is complicated and, frankly, a bit annoying. The advertised per minute rate is generally not the actual rate you will end up paying. Your actual rate will usually be higher - sometimes much higher.
Your actual rate will be higher because of how billing increments work combined with other fees and surcharges that are added to the per minute rate for most cards.
These fees can easily double or triple your actual per minute rate.
As well, some vendors do not fully disclose all applicable rates and fees - or they bury them in the fine print. Many people get...
-
Hidden fees and overstated minutes are big problems in the calling card industry.
That's because not all card vendors fully or clearly disclose information on all applicable rates and fees. And because some overstate minutes or state minutes under a 'best case scenario' that few can achieve.
The problems are widespread enough that many consumers file complaints each year about deceptive or fraudulent pricing by calling card vendors. Sometimes these practices are so flagrant that lawsuits are filed and government agencies take action.
For instance, a prominent such case was resolved...
-
In addition to per minute rates and billing increments, calling card companies may charge a wide variety of other fees and surcharges.
These added fees can really jack up your true calling costs, even when you have low per minute rates, so you should look carefully to see what fees apply to your card.
These additional calling card fees and surcharges interact in complicated ways. This can make it hard to predict what your actual per minute rates will be - and how many talk time minutes you are actually going to get. In some cases, these extra fees will wipe out your card value before...
-
Dozens of companies sell hundreds of calling cards - all with complicated pricing. How do you know which card to buy?
The short answer is you want a card with a fee structure that is well matched to the kinds of calls you make. And you want that fee structure packaged with a nice set of advanced dialing and billing features.
Unfortunately because of the complex mechanics of calling card pricing, the only way to know which card is the best match for you is with a detailed pricing model. We've got one of those, but it isn't online yet, so in the meantime...
The next best thing is some...
Back to top
|
