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Explanation of Phone/calling card chargesQ)
What are the different fee structures?
Time based chargeThe real time that you spend on the phone that is either in units bought or time increments in seconds. These increments can be in from 1 second to 5 minutes. Connection FeeAn immediate charge for initiating a call. Every time your card is used, and your party answers your call, a connection fee is charged to you, which is deducted from your available minutes. The chances are that if the calling card has either a high connection fee or a surcharge, it then has a very low per minute rate. It is a logical to then conclude that cards with a connection fee are not worthwhile for short duration phone calls whereas they may be highly effective for long duration calling. Initial Connection/Weekly/Monthly Service/Maintenance FeesAn initial set up fee is something that is seen with some cards. Some charge a weekly or monthly fee of around $1.00. This is charged after the first time that you use the card and the amount is deducted in minutes from the card. So, even if you are not using your calling card you may be losing money or time on it. Cellular/ Pay Phone ChargesAlmost all phone card calls that originate from a Pay Phone are charged a fee per call. The federal law requires this, and the fee is typically anywhere from $.35 to $.50 per call. This amount is then deducted in minutes from your card. If your cell phone company allows you to call using a calling card from your cell phone, there maybe a charge per call. Some cell phone contracts do not allow the use of phone cards services. TaxesThere are FCC/State/Local charges taxes based on where the call came from. (This is the same tax that appears on your phone bill each month and is calculated on each call.) This is normally factored into the rate but it can be deducted separately and will be deducted from the value of the card. Phone cards ExpireMost phone cards have an expiry date, which normally is initiated the first time the card is used. You can then call up to the value available on the phone card until you reach the cutoff date. These cut off dates range from 14 days, 30 day, six months, up until one year. Typically all unused minutes are lost when the card expires. (This is not always the case and on some cards lost minutes can be recouped by upgrading) Billing IncrementsThis is the minimum call length and the increments used to calculate the call cost. Most calling cards have a one minute minimum, but beware of the cards that have minimum times of two to three minutes. You should consider purchasing cards that have a 60 second minimum and have a low billing increment. Low billing increments start at 6 seconds. Rounding Up
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| HOW IT WORKS | GLOSSARY | PHONE CARDS HISTORY | WHAT IS PREPAID PHONE CARDS? | |||||||||||||
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