The 411 on Phone Cards
by Matt Booher

Planning on making some calls with a phone card you picked up at the local 7-Eleven? You might want to think twice. Some of the deals on pre-paid phone cards are as flimsy as the cards themselves.

According to public interest group Consumer Action, sales of pre-paid phone cards amounted to $750 million in 1995. By 1999, the number skyrocketed to $4 billion. And somewhere in the middle, some of these companies have been up to no good.

To avoid scams, choose your calling card carefully. Shopping for the best price might not be in your best interest. Perhaps going with a familiar face, such as AT&T or MCI, or a brand-name billable card will keep your money safe.

Check the Card before You Call
Make sure the card doesn’t practice questionable policies such as:

• Rounding calls off to large segments of time, in some cases as much as five minutes.
• Hidden connection charges for using pay phones.
• Hidden activation costs.
• Hidden catches including distance charges, minimum call-length requirements, recharging fees, and expiration dates.
• Card that counts minutes while dialing the 800 number or waiting for the call to connect.

• Call the 800 customer-service numbers to verify that the number actually works.
• Read the fine print, but be aware that many states do not require a disclosure statement, and therefore don’t spell out the conditions of the card. Stay away from these—regardless of the advertised rate.
• Deals too good to be true are probably too good to be true.