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  • Answer Upon - How To Test A Phone Card For Hidden Fees - Why All Phone Cards Have Surcharges?

    Federal Trade Commission Screws Over Small Business Again!
    Recently the Federal Trade Commission put forth a franchise report for possible rule making. In the report is offers possible law changes, which will screw over small business. Isn’t this so typical of the Washington DC bureaucracy with their fingers up everyone’s you know what? The Federal Trade Commission appears to want to revamp the franchise rule and effectively crush small business franchised outlets.The biggest issue now in American Commerce is how can small businesses compete with the larger Box Stores? Well, through economies of scale, small business co-ops and franchising. But if franchising is inhibited in the market place you have in fact eliminated the competition of the giant corporate box stores. Yet small business employs over 70% of our economy. So further regulations on franchising and incessant over disclosure (190-230 page UFOCs) doesn’t help anyone as it causes the following;Over Disclosure creates barriers to entry into the franchising field for franchisors, who have a mortality rate of 5:1 in the first five years already, yet the Federal Trade Commission claims to be pro-competition? BS, it is total protectionism, helping larger corporations against entrepreneurship. If no new industries get a foothold the older industries like text tiles, mining, steel will slowly dwindle with no new venues to buy up or expand into. Without new industries starting and with old ones maturing and dying we cannot have a healthy economy. The $25-35K to prepare documents and the $20K to stay registered in Franchise Registration states and the $45K for yearly audits does not a
    e card:

    Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

    1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

    2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

    3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

    4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

    TEST CALL #1
    5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

    6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

    (now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not

    Four Cs for Restructuring: Communication, Concentration, Cost Cutting and Cash
    Restructuring is not a slash-and-burn exercise, but one that calls for the surgeon’s skills. It does not require the use of a parang or long knife but the surgeon’s lancet. The restructuring process may involve re-engineering, downsizing, rightsizing and delayering. These all require the use of the same basic techniques and approaches.During the restructuring exercise, remember to use the 4 Cs.Communication: The manager needs to communicate personally the restructuring plans truthfully to the staff. Similarly, a doctor does not delegate to a nurse the task of briefing the patient about his ailment and treatment. You need to communicate the restructuring plans personally. Regular communication with all the staff, shareholders, board members, customers and business associates is necessary to get their buy-in and support for the restructuring plan. It is also very important that whatever you promise, you need to implement and deliver. There are many anxious and impatient people waiting to know the progress and outcome of the restructuring programme. You need to keep them duly informed. You need to “walk the talk”, otherwise it is like shouting at a dead body to leave. The dead body will not leave but your friends may.Concentration: The surgeon operates on only one patient at a time. Similarly, the sick company needs to concentrate on its core competence. During bad times, you need to concentrate even more as resources are scarce. If possible, sell away all non-core businesses. In desperate turnaround situations, your focus should be as sharp as laser.
    The phone card business is not what is was a few years ago. Every new telecommunications product that comes along, has a product life cycle of about four years at which time something new and better comes along, and so begins a downward trend. There are still millions of phone cards being purchased every day at this country in convenience stores, gas stations, online websites, news stands, and at various ethnic restaurants, ethnic grocery stores, and ethnic import stores. While many international phone cards represent excellent value when calling your home country, Why is it that almost every phone card advertises more minutes than it delivers?.

    First, let's understand the trend.
    When phone cards first hit the market in the USA, calling cards were advertising and giving about 25 domestic minutes on a $10 phone card. This was a good deal, since long distance credit cards issued by the phone companies such as AT&T, MCI, Sprint, and others were assessing a surcharge of about $1.50 to make a call using a long distance calling card. Most of the early phone cards disclosed and assessed a connection fee on international calls of $1.00/minute.

    As technology made it easier to get into the calling card business, competition for minutes began to heat up. While the actual cost of long distance minutes was coming down, phone card companies were struggling with the hidden costs of issuing phone cards. For example, the cost of making a phone call to Nigeria includes an inbound 800 number (or local access number) leg and an outbound international leg. The phone card issuer has to pay for the inbound 800 number leg, even if the call does not complete to Nigeria. Typically this might result in 20 "incomplete" calls billable to the phone card issuer, for every one billable phone call to Nigeria, especially if there is a poor quality service in the local Nigeria community. Phone card companies who did not adjust for these costs, ran up big debts and often went out of business. Soon the hidden surcharge was invented to deal with these costs.

    Early calling card surcharges were disclosed. At the beginning (around 1985), phone cards were such a good deal, most phone card companies were run by honest techno - entrepreneurs, who disclosed their surcharges. For example, a typical surcharge was $1.00 for each international call; and the phone card delivered the advertised minutes after deducting $1.00 for the call. The poster adjusted for the connection fee, so that a $10 phone card with a connection fee of $1.00 and $.10 per minute, would announce and deliver 90 minutes on one call, 80 minutes over two calls, etc. The surcharge was only deducted for completed calls. This covered the cost incurred by the phone card company for all the uncompleted calls. But as competition heated up, phone card companies began to find that the consumer would prefer to buy a phone card with smaller connection fees. So advertised connection fees began to come down, but phone card issuers applied other surcharges and named them "communication taxes".

    This resulted in the birth of the hidden fee. Phone card industry soon came up with all sorts of ways to increase the advertised minutes on a calling card, while delivering fewer minutes than advertised. This practice has continued to this day, to the point where virtually no phone cards delivery advertised minutes on multiple calls over a period of weeks. Most if not all all phone card companies charge some combination of call connection fees, long call surcharges, activation fee after the first completed call, daily or weekly maintenance fees. More often than not, these fees are not accurately disclosed. Moreover, it is common for card issues to juice up the fees to certain countries on a temporary basis if they find that consumers are actually using the card to call the countries with the most advertised minutes. The president of a well know Florida based phone card company claims these temporary fees are justified when consumers "bastardize" his phone cards, by making calls only to the advertised countries.

    What is the best way to compare phone cards?
    First, know that all phone card companies cheat on their minutes. All of them, including AT&T, MCI, Sprint, as well as the thousands of smaller phone card companies advertise more minutes to a certain country than they deliver over multiple calls.

    Bait and switch
    Keep in mind that almost all phone card companies reduce or eliminate their fees altogether during the first 30 to 90 days of a new card release. Once the card is popular with consumers, stores and distributors; the fees begin piling up. It is reasonable to assume that phone card companies who issue one or more phone cards every month for calling to the same region of the world, are doing so specifically with the intention of jacking up the fees after a few months on the older phone cards. The big phone card companies have actually turned this into a science. They know exactly how much money they are willing to loose at the beginning on a new phone card, so they can make it up later on with hacking fees. Consumers will generally do good to jump on the new phone cards issued by companies who have issued good phone cards in the past.

    How to test a phone card:

    Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

    1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

    2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

    3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

    4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

    TEST CALL #1
    5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

    6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

    (now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not b

    Selecting The Right Retail Software Solution That Does Everything You Need
    Maybe you've heard some retailers say that at one time--way back when--they used a pencil and paper as a method of tracking inventory? Times have changed, yes, but just how far have retailers gone to make the advancements they need to keep up?Systems administrator Ken Sweeney has been around retail for over ten years and witnessed the antiquated methods of tracking inventory. He is responsible for the technology of one of the leading sports and entertainment presenters in the world, AEG Merchandising. Before the installation of a modern day retail point of sale system in 1997, the only methods for tracking inventory and keeping income and products organized were kept with pencil and paper.It took considerable research to find a technology solution suitable for the needs of AEG. After using retail service provider One Step Data, Sweeney was able to make the right choice for his company.But do retailers really know what they need without help of a service provider?Today's retail point-of-sale technology needs to have certain key features that allow flexibility, as well as total functionality for the retailer.* A system that is scalable. It needs to scale smoothly from a single store to a chain of stores. It needs to be deployed with a stable and scalable database.* A system that is easy to learn. It needs to have an architecture that is familiar to employees and easy to use.* A system that is integrates with other applications. It needs to operate on a platform that allows users to move easily from one
    as coming down, phone card companies were struggling with the hidden costs of issuing phone cards. For example, the cost of making a phone call to Nigeria includes an inbound 800 number (or local access number) leg and an outbound international leg. The phone card issuer has to pay for the inbound 800 number leg, even if the call does not complete to Nigeria. Typically this might result in 20 "incomplete" calls billable to the phone card issuer, for every one billable phone call to Nigeria, especially if there is a poor quality service in the local Nigeria community. Phone card companies who did not adjust for these costs, ran up big debts and often went out of business. Soon the hidden surcharge was invented to deal with these costs.

    Early calling card surcharges were disclosed. At the beginning (around 1985), phone cards were such a good deal, most phone card companies were run by honest techno - entrepreneurs, who disclosed their surcharges. For example, a typical surcharge was $1.00 for each international call; and the phone card delivered the advertised minutes after deducting $1.00 for the call. The poster adjusted for the connection fee, so that a $10 phone card with a connection fee of $1.00 and $.10 per minute, would announce and deliver 90 minutes on one call, 80 minutes over two calls, etc. The surcharge was only deducted for completed calls. This covered the cost incurred by the phone card company for all the uncompleted calls. But as competition heated up, phone card companies began to find that the consumer would prefer to buy a phone card with smaller connection fees. So advertised connection fees began to come down, but phone card issuers applied other surcharges and named them "communication taxes".

    This resulted in the birth of the hidden fee. Phone card industry soon came up with all sorts of ways to increase the advertised minutes on a calling card, while delivering fewer minutes than advertised. This practice has continued to this day, to the point where virtually no phone cards delivery advertised minutes on multiple calls over a period of weeks. Most if not all all phone card companies charge some combination of call connection fees, long call surcharges, activation fee after the first completed call, daily or weekly maintenance fees. More often than not, these fees are not accurately disclosed. Moreover, it is common for card issues to juice up the fees to certain countries on a temporary basis if they find that consumers are actually using the card to call the countries with the most advertised minutes. The president of a well know Florida based phone card company claims these temporary fees are justified when consumers "bastardize" his phone cards, by making calls only to the advertised countries.

    What is the best way to compare phone cards?
    First, know that all phone card companies cheat on their minutes. All of them, including AT&T, MCI, Sprint, as well as the thousands of smaller phone card companies advertise more minutes to a certain country than they deliver over multiple calls.

    Bait and switch
    Keep in mind that almost all phone card companies reduce or eliminate their fees altogether during the first 30 to 90 days of a new card release. Once the card is popular with consumers, stores and distributors; the fees begin piling up. It is reasonable to assume that phone card companies who issue one or more phone cards every month for calling to the same region of the world, are doing so specifically with the intention of jacking up the fees after a few months on the older phone cards. The big phone card companies have actually turned this into a science. They know exactly how much money they are willing to loose at the beginning on a new phone card, so they can make it up later on with hacking fees. Consumers will generally do good to jump on the new phone cards issued by companies who have issued good phone cards in the past.

    How to test a phone card:

    Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

    1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

    2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

    3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

    4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

    TEST CALL #1
    5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

    6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

    (now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not

    Take Everything You Think You Know About Career Management And Throw It Out The Window
    Really, throw it out the window.The workplace today is nothing like it was ten years ago and there is no going back. The world of our parents, a world where employers concerned themselves with the long term; or even the overall moral of their employees - that is gone. A world where one can expect to stay with a company for twenty plus years, retire with a modest pension and health care is non existant.The reality is far harsher.Most CEOs do not see past the next fiscal report to Wall Street, or the short term politics of the board of directors. While small businesses are being developed to be sold. Most of you reading this will go through a downsizing due to a sale of you place of employment.Part of this change is due to the global economy, and the downward pressure it places on the wages of the middle class.There is very little any political party can do about this as the global economy is here to stay.So what do you do?There are great advantages to this for the average Joe, and I have lived on both the managerial side making the decisions and on the side that was downsized.• Do not make the mistake and assume that your boss is looking after your career. If you do not have a five year plan with specific goals – you are no better off than a hamster using its exercise wheel, running in place and getting nowhere. • Do not buy into the old rules of career planning, the average person will stay at their current job no more than four years. Job hopping does not carry the same stigma it once did. In most cases THE ONLY way to advance your
    . The surcharge was only deducted for completed calls. This covered the cost incurred by the phone card company for all the uncompleted calls. But as competition heated up, phone card companies began to find that the consumer would prefer to buy a phone card with smaller connection fees. So advertised connection fees began to come down, but phone card issuers applied other surcharges and named them "communication taxes".

    This resulted in the birth of the hidden fee. Phone card industry soon came up with all sorts of ways to increase the advertised minutes on a calling card, while delivering fewer minutes than advertised. This practice has continued to this day, to the point where virtually no phone cards delivery advertised minutes on multiple calls over a period of weeks. Most if not all all phone card companies charge some combination of call connection fees, long call surcharges, activation fee after the first completed call, daily or weekly maintenance fees. More often than not, these fees are not accurately disclosed. Moreover, it is common for card issues to juice up the fees to certain countries on a temporary basis if they find that consumers are actually using the card to call the countries with the most advertised minutes. The president of a well know Florida based phone card company claims these temporary fees are justified when consumers "bastardize" his phone cards, by making calls only to the advertised countries.

    What is the best way to compare phone cards?
    First, know that all phone card companies cheat on their minutes. All of them, including AT&T, MCI, Sprint, as well as the thousands of smaller phone card companies advertise more minutes to a certain country than they deliver over multiple calls.

    Bait and switch
    Keep in mind that almost all phone card companies reduce or eliminate their fees altogether during the first 30 to 90 days of a new card release. Once the card is popular with consumers, stores and distributors; the fees begin piling up. It is reasonable to assume that phone card companies who issue one or more phone cards every month for calling to the same region of the world, are doing so specifically with the intention of jacking up the fees after a few months on the older phone cards. The big phone card companies have actually turned this into a science. They know exactly how much money they are willing to loose at the beginning on a new phone card, so they can make it up later on with hacking fees. Consumers will generally do good to jump on the new phone cards issued by companies who have issued good phone cards in the past.

    How to test a phone card:

    Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

    1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

    2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

    3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

    4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

    TEST CALL #1
    5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

    6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

    (now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not

    Earnings Claims from Franchisors
    There has been talk at the Federal Trade Commission of requiring Franchisor’s to give earnings claims in their disclosure documents. The franchise rights groups want it and the consumers need it to help them make a decision. But unfortunately with all the litigation in our nation it is too risky for franchisors. The Federal Trade Commission put forth a report on franchising last summer and has been reviewing the franchise rule in our country. Chances are and most agree in the franchise industry that earnings claims should not be required but should be considered for those franchisors who wish to sell more franchises as it will improve their sales.On page 26 of the Franchise Report; the Federal Trade Commission made reference to a potentially gray area of this rule and said they believed that a statement such as:“You’ll make so much money you can buy a Porsche!”is an earnings claim and maybe it could be considered that. These types of things appear in advertising, brochures and in simple conversation. My question is; Yes, this is in a way an earnings claim, yet are we really interested in regulating normal human interaction? I mean we already have such a sterile world as it is. People are afraid what to say for fear they might get sued? This breaks down communication. Adding to this the FTC wishes to regulate such common conversation? And if a picture is worth a thousand words then what is an advertisement, which has a franchisee next to his house? Did he purchase that exact house through his franchised outlet or was it left to him from his folks or did he buy that house d
    these temporary fees are justified when consumers "bastardize" his phone cards, by making calls only to the advertised countries.

    What is the best way to compare phone cards?
    First, know that all phone card companies cheat on their minutes. All of them, including AT&T, MCI, Sprint, as well as the thousands of smaller phone card companies advertise more minutes to a certain country than they deliver over multiple calls.

    Bait and switch
    Keep in mind that almost all phone card companies reduce or eliminate their fees altogether during the first 30 to 90 days of a new card release. Once the card is popular with consumers, stores and distributors; the fees begin piling up. It is reasonable to assume that phone card companies who issue one or more phone cards every month for calling to the same region of the world, are doing so specifically with the intention of jacking up the fees after a few months on the older phone cards. The big phone card companies have actually turned this into a science. They know exactly how much money they are willing to loose at the beginning on a new phone card, so they can make it up later on with hacking fees. Consumers will generally do good to jump on the new phone cards issued by companies who have issued good phone cards in the past.

    How to test a phone card:

    Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

    1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

    2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

    3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

    4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

    TEST CALL #1
    5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

    6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

    (now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not

    ISO 9000 Software Products
    For most companies, adhering to the strict regulations regarding document management and implementation of ISO 9000 standards can be a monotonous task. Luckily, since ISO 9000 was first developed almost 20 years ago, a variety of ISO 9000 software products are now available for purchase.ISO 9000 software is available to suit any business’ needs. Whether it is a large or small company, a software program can be selected from over 300 products to meet the specific requirements of the quality process. Prices range from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars depending on the resources needed. Even a small start-up company can afford some of the options, and ISO 9000 software solutions can make it easier to implement quality procedures.On the lower end of the price spectrum is 3C Technologies’ Rapid Start Up Kit. Prices for this program begin at around $145 and include all of the features that are currently available for ISO 9000 software. This program is only compatible with Windows operating systems. A few of the areas in which the program can manage are quality control documents, training, contract review and product identification. This is an ideal program for small or start-up businesses that need assistance in complying with ISO 9000 regulations.One example of ISO 9000 software designed for medium-sized businesses is designed by Advanced Technologies. This product begins at $395 and is perfect for businesses ready to take the next step in quality control management. Like other programs, it offers a wide range of solutions for the management process. Process control
    e card:

    Try this if you wish to test any phone card to any specific country (if you find one to be good, we certainly want to know about it)

    1. First buy a phone card based upon the minutes listed on the point of sale phone card poster displayed in the convenience store, gas station, restaurant, or ethnic store.

    2. Write down the number of minutes advertised on the back of the phone card, while you are in the store.

    3. When you get home get some paper and write down the name of the phone card, the date, the country you plan to call, the city you plan to call, and the destination phone number you plan to call, and the minutes advertised on the phone card poster to that country.

    4. Get a good timepiece. Preferably one with a second hand, or a stop watch.

    TEST CALL #1
    5. Now make a test call. On your paper write test call #1. Write down the date and time of the test call. (Remember to write down the country, city and dialed number)

    6. Usually, you will get an announcement telling you how many minutes you have remaining for this phone call. Write down the announced minutes and hang up immediately. Were the announced minutes the same as the minutes advertised on the poster?

    (now in theory, you have not completed a phone call, so your phone card should not be debited.)

    TEST CALL #2
    7. Now write down on your paper Test call #2, then repeat the exact same process once again. Remember to write down the date and time of the test. Write down the the announced minutes.

    8. THEN HANG UP immediately after the announcement..

    Note: Did the announced minutes change from the first call to the second call?

    TEST CALL #3
    9. Now if you are patient, put the phone card away, and wait until tomorrow. This will tell you if the phone card company charges an activation fee even if you do not complete a phone call. Some cards charge an activation fee immediately after the first call while some charge the activation fee at midnight after the first call. Most will not charge anything if the call is not connected. But some large big name companies charge an activation fee as soon as you enter the pin number!

    10. Now we are ready to see what happens with a completed call. Write down the date, and time, and make a call to the same destination. Write down Test Call #3 on the paper. This time let the party at the other end answer, but tell them quickly that you are making a test call, and that you will call them back in a few minutes. Make sure you are on the phone call for less than one minute.

    a. This time, write down the exact time you finish dialing the 800 number or the local access number.

    b. Then enter the pin, and write down the exact time you finish entering the pin.

    c. Next enter the destination number, and write down the exact time you finish entering the destination number. Make a note of the announced minutes.

    d. Then write down the time when the dialed party answers the phone

    e. Finally write down the time when you hang up after about 30 seconds.

    f. Calculate the actual minutes and seconds of elapsed time from when the dialed party answers until you hang up. This is the call duration.

    Now the fun starts.

    TEST CALL #4
    11. Make another call marked as TEST CALL #4 to the same phone number.

    a. note announced minutes.

    b. record start time (as soon as party answers) and end time (as soon as you hang up)

    Note the difference between the advertised minutes and the announced minute after you only one completed 30 second phone call. Is there a significant difference?

    TEST CALL #5
    12. Now make another call TEST CALL#5 using approximately 25% of the remaining minutes.

    a. once again write down the date, start time of call, end time of call, announced minutes

    B. Write down the actual minutes talked (minutes and seconds)

    By now you have a good idea if the phone card company is assessing hidden surcharges. But watch what happens next.

    13. Once again put the card away until tomorrow.

    TEST CALL #6
    14. Make one more additional calls to the same number and mark the call as TEST CALL #6.

    a Remember to record the announced minutes for each additional call, the date, the time, and the actual used minutes.

    The variance between advertised minutes and delivered minutes will be more dramatic if you wait one week before making subsequent calls after #6.

    TEST CALL #7
    15. If there is additional time remaining on your phone card, go ahead and use it up over one or more calls, recording the date, time, duration, and announced minutes before each call.

    One final test in order to see how your phone card performs "advertised" world is get a second phone card (same brand and denomination), and use it to make one long phone call. Record the date and time, the announced time, and the actual time from answer until the card is consumed, or until the phone card company disconnects or drops the call.

    Now once all of this testing is done, if you feel you are not happy with the results, you can contact customer service at the customer service number on the back of the phone card and explain to them that you conducted a test, and let them know what you found. If you did not get the announced minutes, you might ask the customer service representative to reinstate the entire value of your card; so that you can try again and make just one long phone call.

    I do not recommend that you get nasty with customer service, or they will just hang up. Likewise, if you are not happy, I would not recommend you take it out on the store owner where you purchased the phone card, because they do not make the phone cards. However it might be a good idea to give your store owner a copy of your notes. Convenience store owners, gas stations, and ethnic stores value your business. They would much rather sell quality phone cards. I suggest you give the store owner a copy of your test notes.

    (There is little point in suggesting that you are going to go to the FBI, or FCC, or the Public Utility Commission. These agencies know what's going on, and if they wanted to prevent this sort of thing, they would have cleaned it up years ago... however if you are really upset, you might complain to the State's Attorney General. Unless the actual carrier and phone card issuer are located in your state, you will only be causing problems for some store owner or phone card distributor who has no control of the surcharges.) It might also be fun to take your

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    [url=http://www.hubyou.info/article/18833/hubyou-How-To-Test-A-Phone-Card-For-Hidden-Fees--Why-All-Phone-Cards-Have-Surcharges.html]How To Test A Phone Card For Hidden Fees - Why All Phone Cards Have Surcharges?[/url]

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