Things to watch with prepaid cards

• Be smart and plan ahead
• Ask the basic questions

 The most common customer complaints are:

• Hidden fees such as connection charges, taxes and surcharges on cards that claim to have "no fees".
• Large billing increments so that calls get rounded up to the "nearest 3- 5 minutes".
• Monthly service charges being automatically deducted from your balance each month.
• Being charged at a rate higher than advertised.
• PIN codes or Access numbers that do not work.
• Toll-free access numbers that are always busy, preventing use of the card.
• Customer service numbers that are always busy or simply do not work.
• Card issuers that go out of business, leaving card-holders with a card that can no longer be used and no way to recover the money spent.
• Cards that debit minutes even when you are listening to ringing, busy signals, or do not connect to the called party.
• Poor quality connections.

 BE SMART! USE TELESMART

 You can avoid many of these problems by planning ahead

Ask about the company's satisfaction guarantees. Check all rates carefully - besides the advertised rate, pay attention to extra connection surcharges, call completion rules, USF fees, time restrictions, and/or distance restrictions. Check other surcharges. A lot of pre-paid cards charge a first minute penalty, minimum call lengths, large payphone fees, monthly service fee, a recharging fee, or set expiration dates which you have to pay to extend to save unused time. Check the customer service number for the provider and verify that it still works before buying the card. Beware of deals that sound too good to be true - they usually are! Make sure the card has the full time promised by checking that it comes in a sealed package and that the PIN is not visible.Ask who the underlying provider is to know which actual company will be carrying your calls. Be cautious of prepaid card providers that won't answer your basic questions in a professional manner. Ask friends and family if they have a card to recommend.

 Ask these basic question's

Is there a toll free (800/888/777) customer service number on the card? Are you charged for a call even if there is no answer or when the line is busy? Is there a minimum charge for each call made? Is there a monthly charge even if you don't use the card? Is there an expiration date on the card? Do you know the provider of the card? Are they a reliable company that will be around long enough for you to use all the time you have paid for? Is the card really a good deal after taking all the hidden fees into account?

 Collecting Phone cards

Collecting phone cards, calling cards or, as they are often called, telecards is America's fastest growing hobby. Although as a consumer commodity, phone cards are only about 25 years old, they come in a multiplicity of forms and like stamp collecting they are printable. The fact that a phone card can have anything printed on it makes it collectable, plus they are mostly printed in limited runs. This means that there are limited amounts of each card as there are a finite number of those particular runs.

Here are some of the top features that a phone card collector would look for:

 Cards made of different materials

• Plastic
• Layer thickness
• Layer Construction
• Layer material
• Paper
• Condition of the Card: New ; Mint ; Old.

 Cards are used or unused

• Cards types
• Prepaid
• Rechargeable/Reusable

 Cards have magnetic stripes

• Position of the magnetic strip
• Width of the magnetic strip
• Material of the magnetic strip

 Cards have embedded chips

 Cards have different data storage systems

 Cards have different expiry systems

 Cards from a specific product

• Coca-Cola
• Disney

 Card Geometry

• Oblong
• Square
• Cutouts
• Notches

 Cards from a specific event

• Olympic Games
• Soccer World Cup
• Promotional

 Cards from a specific country

• USA
• Canada
• Brazil
• Caribbean
• Italy
• Singapore
• Japan
• U.K.

Rare cards

• Early edition cards
• Commemorative editions
  

Phone card collecting has become an exact science and with it comes all the equipment. Equipment for the collections includes things like albums, phone card catalogues, special lighting, anti-static mats and calling card cleaning equipment. Exactly like coin and stamp collecting, there are collectors all around the globe who trade, swap and sell these telecards. You can buy individual rare phone cards or you can buy in bulk from a particular country.

International Phone Cards

An international calling card is one which allows you to call from a number of countries around the world to any destination in the world. International calling cards come in both pre-paid and monthly billed or credit forms. International calling cards are typically used when the cost is cheaper than the local service provider in that country. When you make a call, the total cost of the call (which is often made up of several components) is accumulated to the card.
When purchasing an international prepaid calling card, it is extremely important to verify that service is available in the country from which you will be calling. (Your destination country if you are a tourist or traveling on business). The reason to verify is that a number of international calling card carriers have agreements to provide service in a limited number of countries. The rational is complex but in the end it boils down to the volume and expense of setting up service using an independent international carrier.

Those are the important terms you will need to know when shopping for your prepaid phone card. As you can see, you need to be very careful when buying a phone card, as there are many hidden charges. Remember to look for the companies that tell you up front exactly what you'll pay, and exactly what you're paying for. Should a company need to hide these charges, then they're trying to cheat you - not good business practice. But don't get discouraged about Pre-Paid phone cards. There are many reputable companies providing excellent service. So do your research, because there are many out there.