Monday, December 24, 2007

Some prepaid calling cards are no bargains

You might not get exactly what you're paying for when it comes to using prepaid calling cards to reach out to family and friends, according to a new study by the Washington-based Hispanic Institute.

It tested 45 international prepaid calling cards for efficacy and value, and found that the average card delivered only 60 percent of the minutes promised. A third of the 45 cards delivered the full call-time promised; seven, or 15.6 percent, didn't work at all; and eight had call completion rates of 50 percent or less. Three cards provided less than 20 percent of the minutes promised
Dropped calls, poor sound quality and post-dial delays of up to 50 seconds were common among most of the cards. Just 15 cards allowed the caller to use the entire time balance. The institute said consumers were misled by excessive fine print, confusing terms and conditions, or simple omission of important information about card usage.

Those who are hit hardest by prepaid calling card fraud are mostly immigrants who use them as a cost-effective option to keep in touch with family and friends abroad, the institute said. Prepaid phone cards have grown into a $4 billion industry, responsible for 11 billion calls in 2004.
Link
Cheap international calling cards

9 comments:

Unknown said...
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GAME2P.COM said...

nice blog, hope can see more on your site soon

CC Expert said...

Good article, look at the report done by Network Analytics at:
http://thehispanicinstitute.net/files/Test%20Plan.pdf

Best Guides said...
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www.yoursdomain.com said...
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Anonymous said...
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Melanie said...
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Katie said...

I used to spend a lot of money on calling cards but I am now using YapOn for all my long distance calling. I use it on my cellular as well as my landline. Not only is it a reliable, high quality phone service, it is really easy to use and saving me a LOT on money! I can even call my friends and relatives who are overseas with my cell phone for pennies. There are no connection fees, hidden OR monthly fees, I get everything I pay for! And without having to change my cell phone provider or rate plan!

icellular said...

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