Student say that some phone cards defraud

Prepaid calling cards proclaim the right place, but you may not get what you paid for, according to a recent study by the Hispanic Institute based in Washington, DC

The study enrolled 45 calling cards. Each card has been tested for each call to Mexico and Guatemala.

One third of the 45 cards tested delivered the full text of the call for time promised.

Seven of the 45 cards (15.6 percent) tested did not work at all.

Eight of the calling cards have tested the completion rate of 50 percent or less. Three maps provided less than 20 percent of the minutes promised.

The Institute has expressed concerns in a press release that the defective cards are targeted to recent immigrants who use them to make international calls at home.

Hispanic local merchants said they had cards with mixed results.

Marisol Guzman, an employee at Tacos Mexico, said that his friend had problems with some calling cards.

Guzman, who immigrated to the United States 10 years ago, said she prefers to use his cell phone to call friends and family at home to about 35 cents a minute.

Ann Rojas, owner of Tacos Mexico, said the cards sometimes promise 150 minutes, but will only give 80.

If a person does not answer the call, which may also appeal to the cost of money.

Other cards will function as promised when they first use, but the consumer may have problems with the card after the first use, Rojas said.

Carla Ramos, co-owner of Garibaldi Latino market, "said she tries to steer customers to cards that are recommended by other customers.

She said that some cards do better by calling particular countries or states of the United States.

"Some of the cards to try to defraud people, but not all businesses," she said.

Ramos said some of their clients had problems with the cards do not work as promised on the future uses.

In general, however, she said she had few complaints about these cards in the store carried.

Cards tested

The cards were tested in the study by the Institute:

Florida ($ 5) - Telmex Compañero, STI Florida, Touch-Tel Hondureña, Touch-Tel Guatemalan Touch-Tel Salvadoreña, Telephone Coffee Time Dollar, Dollar Phone Rey, MPTAFlorida Idol, TSPM nine, the pilots PCI, PCI and Prima TST If Pues

New York (2 $) - Bingo Diamond, Diamond Arenque, SDI I Love NY, Lycatel Success, Lycatel Call Me, STI World, RTG Martini Cocktail RTG and IDT Play Ball.

Washington, DC (2 $) - IDT Boss

Toll Free ($ 5) - GEO Florida

None of the stores Newton process maps which were registered under the name brands of cards which have been tested in the study of the Institute.

Lt. T. Walton of the Newton Police Department said he was not aware of any problems in the community of Newton with defective cards. However, he said that if the victims of these cards were in the country illegally, it was likely crimes could go unreported.

"They are major targets of crime," he said.

If consumers discover card fraud, you can report the crime to their local law enforcement of consumer protection or the division of the Kansas Attorney General's Office.

Walton suggested victims clinging to the map they had the problem of receipt and where they purchased.

However, Walton said, because the cards can come from a variety of faraway places, the continuation of the fraud calling card could be difficult.

Preventive measures could be consumer best bet.

The Kansas Attorney General's Office offered several consumer tips on how not to fall prey to corporate calling card.

The low price per minute advertising is often calculated according to one involving the total minutes of the card placed from another a payphone. The study by the Institute tested the cards by placing a call for the use of the balance of the card.

However, the calls, poor sound quality and post-dial delay of up to 50 seconds hallmarks of the majority of cards tested. Fifteen cards allowed the caller to use the full time of balance.

Tips for avoiding scams

The office of Attorney General also suggested to monitor the following:

• Charges for each call placed.

• Check how billing minutes are calculated. (Minutes used may be rounded to the next full minute.)

• The connection fee for international calls. These rates may vary depending on where you call. If you can not find the rate on the appeal of the package or an ATM, call the customer service number on the card.

• monthly service fees.

• Payphone surcharges.

• Check expiration dates. (Most prepaid cards expire one year after the first use)

• The companies you are not familiar with. Ask if the retailer stand behind the card if the phone service unsatisfactory.

• Customer access. If the number of customer service is not without costs or displayed, it can be difficult to communicate with the company if you have a problem with the card. A busy signal on the customer service line may be a tip off to a rip-off.

• Make sure the card comes in a sealed envelope or has a sticker covering the PIN. Otherwise anybody who copies the PIN can use the phone as long as you have already paid.

Calling card rules among last-minute legislation.

-- Of the more than 100 different bills on the agenda for a long final day of the legislative session were surcharges on tickets and parking to the new Prudential Center, in downtown Newark.

The City officials lobbied for the bills, saying they need additional revenue to pay for police and traffic control in the arena district. The special event-parking tax will be 7 percent, and the ticket tax will be 5 percent.


The additional parking tax can also be applied to Elizabeth and all the cities of Hudson County. The ticket tax be imposed for sites with seating for at least 10000 spectators.

Various other bills would be approved Monday:

-- Require employers to pay interest on delinquent Newark payroll taxes. Newark is the only municipality in the state allowed to collect a tax on local salaries.

-- Delete the USS Battleship New Jersey Commission and its foundation, with some of their funds being transferred to the Home Port Alliance, and others to a new foundation.

-- Place the burden of proof on school districts, not the parents, to due process as special education hearings to resolve disputes.

-- Direct the police of the State of New Jersey to develop a model of missing persons-practices. There were 18620 cases of missing persons reported in the national database in 2005, in New Jersey, 90 percent handled by the local police.

-- Provide $ 250000 from the current budget of the State for Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey, which is facing financial difficulties since the loss of a state grant that it has received in recent years .

-- Require prepaid calling cards for the author's name, 24-hour customer service number, the tax and price per minute information on the card itself, but in advertising .

CODEY applauds Senate for the Suppression of the calling card of unscrupulous practices.

TRENTON - The General Assembly today approved a bill sponsored by Senate President Richard J. Codey (D-Essex) to crack down on calling card companies who cheat consumers out of the advertising minutes by imposing hidden fees and restrictions. S2887 bill would prohibit certain types of charges and fees and require that all charges and restrictions are clearly marked on maps or packaging and advertising.

"There are a lot of small companies phone cards over there who are trying to remain competitive by advertising what appears to be much," said Senator Codey. "Secondly, the consumer is hit with all these hidden fees and they did eventually get 50 or 60 minutes, although they thought they buy 100. This must stop. If I went to a gas station and said his representative, I would not expect to hunt with half a tank of gas. "

The bill would require that all minutes promoted or advertised for any prepaid card available to the customer, without limitation other than permissible deductions for fees and taxes, and no fewer than disclosed expiration of the card or of the packaging and advertising. The bill would also prohibit charging busy signals or unanswered, and strictly limit the charges that can be applied to the map for payphone government taxes and surcharges.

Sen. Codey noted that part of the problem is the lack of accountability on the part of some of these companies and frustration it causes consumers. Therefore, the bill would also require that all providers of prepaid calling services, and prepaid calling card distributors disclosure of a number of details on maps or in any of the packaging and advertising, including : The name of the company, the leading provider of customer 24 hours Phone Service, the amount and frequency of any licence fee that can be applied to the use of the card for calls from the United States, US; notice that additional or different rates per minute, charges or fees may apply to the use of the card for International calls; per minute notice that rates may be higher for calls made via free numbers fees, and any applicable policies relating to the restitution, recharge, reduced minutes and expiry.

Sen. Codey noted that it is feared that many suppliers of phone cards advertise their services to consumers at a specific price and then cheat consumers by not providing such a service. For example, suppliers of advertising and the phone card offers 100 minutes of phone time for a fixed price of 2 cents per minute. Suppliers, however, be inferred from the map of hidden costs such as "connection fee", "costs of disconnection", "operating costs", "cell phone fees, and other charges. Consequently, consumers will not receive the 100 minutes that he or she expected, but will receive 40% to 60% of that.

In order to enforce these provisions, retailers would be forbidden to knowingly sell prepaid calling cards that offer minutes less than the number of minutes advertised or promoted. Violations of the Act would be treated as violations of the Law on Consumer Fraud.

The bill would take effect 7 months after enactment, but it would not apply to printed circuit boards prior to the effective date. The Senate unanimously approved the bill in December and it now heads to the Governor for his signature.

Prepaid Calling Cards That Allow You To Send Text Messages (SMS)

Prepaid calling cards are communication tools that go beyond the card that customers purchase. The processes of getting the minutes to the customer actually start with the customer.

When an individual is enrolled in a monthly plan, there is typically minutes that get unused. However, since the phone company has already sold the minutes, it does not carry over the minutes. Therefore, when phone companies have their extra minutes, instead of losing money and discarding the excess minutes, they choose to turn around and sell the minutes, so that they do not lose the money. Basically, this is where the minutes come for prepaid calling cards.

Most Prepaid Mobile Call Cards Offer Text Messaging Services Text Messaging is a service that lets you receive important messages when you're on the go. With text messaging already a part of a prepaid mobile call card's service, users can send and receive quick, concise text messages on their digital phones. There are also some conventional landline phones that allow for sending SMS messages, which allows a mobile phone user to communicate with thru text. Text Messaging transmits numeric or alphanumeric messages to your digital wireless phone. Now you can receive important information immediately without having to interrupt meetings to take calls or use valuable airtime.

Prepaid Call Cards Offer Different Rates For Calls And SMS Services Most prepaid call card providers keep a lower calling and texting rate, however some of them add-on some fees and service charges that make up for the costs of the lower calling rates. Sometimes these fees will cover their services, and at times it is used to pay other charges, like FCC or state telecommunication taxes. There are some calling card companies that will minimize their service fees, but they often have the higher per minute calling or SMS rates. Mechanism Of Sending Text Messages Generally, prepaid call card users can send an SMS to both domestic or international locations. Sending an SMS to local destinations is an affordable mode of sending messages, and the rates vary with each provider. However, sending and SMS overseas is quite costlier than texting local areas, since call card providers will add international connection charges, that are partly to cover the add-on connection rates made by an overseas carrier. As with texting local destinations, you could also send SMS messages overseas,provided the other party on the receiving end has a digital landline, or has the same mechanism for receiving text messages. In sending text messages, you need not worry about using your airtime minutes, since they won't get deducted. However, if you access voice mail from your wireless phone to send a message, you will be using airtime minutes.

Calling cards can conveniently found in many places They are sold in groceries, convenience stores, airports, and other places that have high traffic. Calling cards are sold with different minute allotments and at different rates. A person can purchase calling cards with a certain amount of time on the card Prepaid calling cards have the minutes already paid for, so as they are getting used, a person can see how much time they have left on the calling card.

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.

Cheapest Way To Call Your Beloved by Sam Padding

Now, calling your beloved ones that stays in different countries is made easier and cheaper. Thanks, to international calling cards for making international long distance call an easier affair. This is so; calling cards are based on VOip technology of packet switching over internet. Before availing card, user must focus on important points like phone rates, renewability, rollover minutes, hidden fees and quality of call.

Usually, international calling cards offered by established providers like calling-cards-international.com are cost effective. Calling cards are considered as a blessing for handling international calls with proper and effective verbal and aural communication over IP network i.e. broadband connection. International calling cards are prepaid cards that come with pre-charged amount. These cards are easily available in every nook and corner of UK streets like grocery shops or user can even avail from online shops. Depending upon the calling requirements, international calling cards comes in affordable varied range from as small as $5 to as big as $100. The calling cards can be easily carried by any user as it is small rectangular shaped plastic cards. Well, compared to traditional mode of communication Public Switch Telephony Network or PSTN call charges are reduced. Well, this is made possible by lowering down per minute charges and amount for surcharge is also extenuated. In order to save money on International calling cards user must compare rates and tariff plans offered by different providers. Moreover, user must look for other attractive features like voice mails, 3-way conferencing and ID caller.

Well, operating an international calling card is an easier task as user just has to generate and manage the PINS numbers. Besides that, established provider also deals on online billing portals to manage different customers account. Lastly, while getting international calling card you can talk for longer time without much worrying about bills.

The 411 on Prepaid, Traditional Phone Cards

Prepaid phone cards are hot and getting hotter. Their prices are falling, according to Frost & Sullivan, a consulting firm in Mountain View, Calif. For many consumers, they're the lowest-cost way of making long-distance telephone calls.

There are two kinds of phone cards: traditional and prepaid. Traditional cards (often called "calling cards") are issued by your long-distance company. You're billed every month for the calls you've made.

Prepaid cards are sold by about 500 national and local firms, reports the Chicago trade paper Debit Card News. They buy time from the major long-distance carriers at wholesale rates, mark up the price and sell to you. The local and long-distance ...