Long Distance

The Big 4 Long Distance Questions

Everyone wants to save money on their long distance. To help you decide which plan to choose, answer these questions first:

• Can you use your cell phone or Internet (Voice Over IP) for your long distance calls or do you need a stand alone service? Both of these options are probably cheapest for low-to-mid volume calls.
  
  
• If you're a high volume user, does your existing phone provider offer bundled service plans? The plans price Internet service, phone service and long distance together for one price. Typically these work in your favor ONLY if you make a lot of long distance calls.
  
  
• When considering a separate long distance provider, find out the monthly plan costs including any fees, per-call minimum charges and incremental billing policy. For example, do they bill by the minute or every six seconds? (6 second billing can save you 40%).
  
  
• Make sure to check whether the plan has any restrictions such as limited hours.
  
  

Don't be afraid to use a smaller long distance phone company, or independent phone service. They often have better deals. You can find many long distance savings and sometimes even free long distance minutes from smaller companies.

More Long Distance and Consumer Information

Consumer confusion over telephone bills has significantly contributed to the growth of slamming (changing a consumer's telephone long distance provider without his/her permission), cramming (adding charges to a consumer's bill for long distance services he/she did not authorize), and other types of telecommunications fraud. To help consumers detect fraud, the FCC has asked phone companies to simplify their bills so that their customers can easily understand what they are paying for and how much they are paying.

The following FCC rules state that a telephone company's bill must:

• Be clearly organized;
  
  
• Identify the service provider associated with each charge;
  
  
• Highlight new service providers and indicate the date the provider change was made;
  
  
• Contain full and non-misleading descriptions of charges;
  
  
• Identify those charges for which failure to pay will not result in disconnection of the customer's basic local service; and
  
  
• Provide a toll-free number for customers to call in order to lodge a complaint or obtain information.
  
  

How to Protect Yourself and Save Money

Treat your telephone service just like any other major consumer purchase. You should review your monthly telephone bills just as closely as you review your monthly credit card and bank statements.

Check the following:

Do I recognize the names of all the companies listed on my bill?

What services were provided by the listed companies?

Does the bill include charges for calls I did not place and services I did not authorize?

Are the rates charged by each company consistent with the rates that the company quoted to me?

Keep in mind that you may sometimes be billed for a call you placed or a service you used - but the description listed on your telephone bill for the call or service may be unclear. If you don't know what service was provided for a charge listed on your bill, ask the company to explain the service before paying the bill.

The cost of small, incorrect charges for telephone-related services adds up over time. Make sure you know what service was provided for small charges. Crammers often try to go undetected by submitting $2 or $3 charges to thousands of customers.

Keep a record of the telephone services you have authorized and used - including calls placed to 900 numbers and other types of telephone information services. These records can be helpful when billing descriptions are unclear.

Carefully read all forms and promotional materials - including all of the fine print - before signing up for telephone services.

Companies compete for your long distance and local telephone business. Use your buying power wisely and shop around.

If you think that a company's long distance or local charges are too high or that their services do not meet your needs, contact other companies and try to get a better deal.