LONG DISTANCE INFO AND TIPS |
|
Despite the avalanche of ads that tell little about how the offered savings are
calculated, half of the long-distance dial around (1010's) users have
apparently reported saving
money. |
NEVER THROW AWAY
YOUR PHONE BILLS |
|
In looking for a telco that helps you cut your long distance costs, bear in mind that some
of them are actually owned by one of the 3 telco giants. For example, TelecomUSA is the
1010 face of MCI. The dial around service advertised under 1010-345 is actually owned by
AT&T. Why they do not offer the big savings under their actual commercial name is an
interesting question to ask. Some
others, although smaller, are engaged in the same practice. For instance, 1010-297 and
1010-457 are both owned by the Telco Communication Group. |
NEVER DIAL 90#
TO ANYONE REQUESTING IT FROM YOUR PHONE LINE
If anyone calls you, presumed telco technician or not, and
ask you to dial 90#, please DO NOT. If you do, you have just opened the door to long
distance fraud on your line. |
| However, true differences in calling and rates parameters exist between the
long distance telco's. The best way to go, if not the only way, to really cut your long
distance costs is to find one or two telco's whose calling rates and parameters match your
long distance calling patterns. Your phone bills are your prime information source in
order to assess your calling patterns. You will never want to throw away or lose any of
your phone bills, current or past, as they disclose extremely valuable info, itemized or
in charts, that will help you or your communication consultant find correct telco
parameter matches for you. |
To know which dial around telco is available in your area, call
your local phone company. They will mail an information package to you.
They also make this information available through recorded messages on a dedicated phone
line. |
|
Besides, your phone bills, present and past, are your only support for refund claims, if
you detect any billing error in any one of them at any time. Apparently billing mistakes are not few among
the telco's despite many efforts to prevent them. |
Some of the very employees of long distance telcos are believed to be
responsible for some of the largest telecom frauds. They take hold of
currently valid long distance codes to which they have free access. They either sell them
or release them to close friends. |
|
What if you don't do any long distance at all? If you don't usually make any long distance,
you may want to call your local phone company and ask them to suspend your long distance
service. You will still be able to call all the 800 numbers and make long distance calls
as well by using any one of the many 1010 dial around services. Make sure to screen them
before you make a selection. This way
you take care of the usage flat fees charged by the long distance carrier (one of the 3
big telcos) ascribed to your line. These flat fees are lured by the 3 giants, each of
which have presumably asked local phone companies to switch customer's carriers to their
advantage on these customer's behalf! Complaints still persist.
Even if you don't do a lot of long distance, it is to your
advantage to check if suspending your long distance service is not worthwhile. In many
cases it is. Since you just pay for the calls you make through the dial around, and
if any flat charge it is likely to be comparatively smaller.
Download
a listing of all available 1010 dial around numbers
Take a look at our home telephone intercom systems for big savings
on your phone services.
and
more comfort at home.
Long distance calling codes in our On-Line Telephone
Directory.
|
1010-345 (AT&T)
Claim: 10 cents/min any time.
Fine print catch: 1st min. 20
cents.
1010-297 (Excel Communications)
Claim:15 cents/min weekdays, 9 cents weekends.
Fine print catch: 4.4% fees added
to your monthly bill.
1010-321 (TelecomUSA)
Claim: 50% savings on calls over 10 min.
Fine print catch: high rates of 30
cents/min.
1010-811 (VarTec Telecom)
Claim: 10 cents/min. anytime.
Fine print catch: minimum 30
cents, 4.9% fee added to monthly bill
1010-345 (WorldxChange)
Claim: 5 cents/min
Fine print catch: add 6.4% in fees to monthly
billALWAYS
LOOK FOR
THE FINE PRINT |
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INTERCOM
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