Phone Card Buyers Guide. The Book of Tricks

Things to Look Out for When Buying Phone Cards

First of all you must be aware that
phone cards have hidden fees. If you have ever tried to call someone using a phone card you will know that your money seems to go pretty quickly and that you will never know where or how. The degree to which they are actually hidden varies from site to site. The most obvious charge is the rate per minute; this varies depending on whether you are calling a local number to access the service, using toll free access or a payphone.

For one company we work with it is also more expensive if you are calling from a cell phone. Local access numbers have the cheapest rates but you will pay for calls to the access numbers which are not available in all areas where as toll free access is free from landlines and free from cell phones in some countries including the US.

An important thing to mention is that you shouldn’t use phone cards from cell phones in a foreign country. You will pay roaming charges. Phone cards can be used from any phone in your home country and payphones / other people’s landlines whilst abroad. You make the biggest savings when calling from cell phones in your home country.

Offline phone card sellers (high street
or phone card machines) are the worst for hiding fees. They often include terms such as "service charges may apply" or "phone this number for current rates" in the small print. Service charges will apply and they may amount to more than you might think. The best place to buy a phone card is online as online companies hide the fees less.

Another important fee especially if you
make a lot of calls is the connection fee this is a flat rate charged for every call that is made. The maintenance fee is charged the day after you make your first call then is continuously repeated after a given period… often monthly sometimes weekly or daily.

Taxes are another. These are not real
taxes that go to the government as they are for none standard amounts usually ranging from 10% to 30%. They are charged on the rate per minute for the duration of the call; connection fees etc are not included in this calculation.If you don’t buy many calling cards you might be surprised to know that calculating calling card prices is complicated and if you are experienced with them then you will know the phone card companies don’t make it easy for you.

All these charges discussed are
Dependant on each other a good value for one charge often means there is a bad value for another. The best phone card to choose depends on how many calls you make and how long you talk for. This is where our phone card price comparison tool shines as you can simply answer 7 questions including estimated number of calls and estimated calling time for your chosen period and it will list the cheapest phone cards in order of total cost.

Article Source: ArticlesMaker.com

About the Author: Ben Cohen
Time Dial
Phone Cards Phone Cards Australia 

Next and Previous Articles

Next Article - Effective Solutions for Eliminating Inefficiencies in Telecommunications Networks
Previous Article - Services of a GPS Tracking Expert

Article Statistics

ArticlesMaker.com » Communications » Phone Card Buyers Guide. The Book of Tricks

Author: Ben Cohen  |  Total views: 41  |  Word Count: 513