Are you aware that there are so many complaints filed against phone card companies? Some of the complaints spring from the fact that a lot of prepaid phone cards you buy from convenience stores do not provide the exact number of minutes that you paid for.

Still, despite the multitudes of complaints, unscrupulous companies that provide wireless prepaid cell phone service continue to sell out these phone cards and profit much from their cunning activities.

So, if you want to avoid being ripped-off, you have to be armed with helpful tips that will guide you in buying only legitimate prepaid phone cards. This way, you could be assured of getting your money’s worth paid on a prepaid phone card.

Some Helpful Tips

1. Purchase a phone card from a reliable supplier in the Internet. You could easily use the internet in searching for the Top 10 list of wireless prepaid phone service providers. If you have located a credible phone card provider, and you decide to purchase a prepaid card, you will be required to pay for your purchase using PayPal or a credit card. This works to your advantage. In what way?

By using these two secured methods, consumers like you will be allowed to run investigations on a company, should it fail to provide you the card you have purchased. These two methods are also governed by the Fair Credit Billing Act that allows consumers to file for disputes in case of a bad customer service.

2. Ask important questions prior to buying a prepaid phone card. You have the right to gain accurate information about the phone cards that you plan to purchase. So be upfront in asking these five questions:

• What is the rate that the prepaid phone card charges to my calling destination?
• What is the minute rounding and building schedules imposed on the card?
• What are the extra fees or taxes imposed on the calling card?
• Does the calling card have a date of expiration? Or how long can I enjoy the wireless prepaid phone service of the card you offer?
• Will I be charged for phone calls that failed to connect?

By knowing the answers to these questions, you could be guided on deciding whether or not to acquire of the wireless prepaid cell phone service that most phone card providers offer.

3. Be aware of the sly activities of scam artists. As we all know prevention is better than cure. So you need to be aware of the scams and schemes used by illegal distributors of calling cards. This way you could come up with your own preventive actions so that you will not be victimized by illegitimate providers of prepaid phone cards.

Remember these three helpful tips and for sure you will avoid filing complaints against unscrupulous phone card companies. After all, you need to have the assurance that the calling cards you would be purchasing will definitely amount to your money’s worth!

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards,prepaid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

A lot of people find it hard to decide whether they would buy prepaid phone plans or not. The dilemma usually lies on the difficulty of weighing out the pros and cons of using wireless prepaid phone services.

Actually the issue of whether or not to purchase prepaid phones is caused by the misconception and wrong information that people obtain about prepaid phones. So to finally correct these misconceptions, allow us to present the real benefits and disadvantages of buying and using prepaid cell phone service.

The Advantages of Prepaid Phones

Prepaid plans work best for teen agers. Through a wireless prepaid phone service, parents can easily control and manage the cell phone activities of their teenage children. Through a prepaid plan, parents can help their children understand the value of living – and in this case calling and texting – within their means.

Should they go overboard, these youngsters will be left with a mobile phone that will merely serve as a paperweight until new minutes could be loaded to it. Yes, prepaid services will teach your kids the value of responsibly managing not just their finances but also the minutes in their phones.

A prepaid cell phone service does not require providers to evaluate your credit report. Since your consumption of the minutes is limited, prepaid phone providers need not worry about the risk of offering this prepaid plan to as many people as they can. This means that everyone can enjoy the use of prepaid plans in their phones.

The Drawbacks in using Prepaid Phones

Now let us discuss the cons or disadvantages of prepaid phones. A lot of people usually complain about the high call rates charged on most prepaid phone cards. If we will look closely, most of the prepaid plans for cell phones charge higher costs per minute of call than post paid plans. Hence, a prepaid phone user needs to be conscious about the calls he/she makes.

Also, prepaid plans usually have expiration dates. To enjoy the continuous services of your prepaid plan, you have to re-load minutes to your phone. This will be a major drawback if you use your phone for web surfing, because your surfing will be interrupted once your prepaid minutes run out.

Lastly, some providers of wireless prepaid phone services deactivate not just your phone but even your phone number if you fail to reload immediately. This will require you to re-do the whole application process just so you could get a new phone number.

Now that you know the real pros and cons of using prepaid phones, we hope that you can analyze and finally decide whether or not to purchase a prepaid phone plan.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards,prepaid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

If you have friends and family who live far, long distance calls cannot be slashed out from your budget plan. But because of tough economic times, consumers need to find ways to save money without cutting the lines of communications.

The good news is that prepaid calling cards are now available in the market. These latest products in telecommunications give consumers the flexibility to purchase call cards that fit their budget. Prepaid phone cards can be used to make domestic and international calls. In this article, let’s discuss the benefits of these telecommunications product.

Enjoy lower call rates with prepaid phone cards.

Calls made from prepaid cellular phones are generally much cheaper compared to calls from landline phones. Many wireless carriers offer a low per minute rate on long distance calls especially during off peak hours. Best of all, you can choose a prepaid card denomination that’s easy on the wallet. If you only need a few minutes of call, you can purchase the lowest denomination available.

Get connected anywhere, anytime.

Prepaid phone cards can be purchased from any telecommunications booth at malls, book stores, or wireless service carrier offices. There different types of call cards to choose from. Some prepaid call cards can be loaded into mobile phones or can be used to make paid calls from landlines.

Wherever and whenever you need to call long distance, all you have to do is reload your call card from your mobile phone unit to get in touch with a friend or loved one. From a landline phone, all you need to do is dial the PIN code found on the call card and follow the voice prompt for instructions on calling long distance.

Reload your prepaid account through online banking.

Wireless carriers give their customers the option to reload their account using funds from their savings account through online banking. If you have a credit card, you may use it to reload your wireless phone from the nearest ATM.

Avoid unnecessary calls and limit your spending.

It is easy to just dial a number from a landline and prolong the call for as long as you enjoy the conversation. Before you know it, you already spent thirty minutes on the phone without noticing the time. When your phone bill arrives, that’s when you realize that you have gone over your intended budget on long distance calls.

By using a prepaid call card, it is easier to set limits on your talk time and the frequency of calls. You can choose to call only if you have an important business to discuss. Or you can limit your calls to ten minutes at the most or up until your call card runs out.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards,prepaid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!

Prepaid Cell Phone cards can really save you money. Especially if your home phone doesn’t have a good international phone plan, you can get a phone card instead of having to cancel your whole service.

Not all prepaid phone card services are alike. You really need to make sure you are working with a reputable company.

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Some of the complaints I’ve heard and experienced have been

• bad (or no) customer service
• Shorted minuted
• Bad connections
• Being charged a minute even if the call didn’t connect
• Hidden fees for using a pay phone
• Maintenance fees in super small script!
• Pin numbers that don’t work – but you can’t get a hold of the issuerer since their 800 number is always busy

If you want to avoid this type of trouble, before you buy your next prepaid phone card, make sure you know the answers to these questions:

• Read the information provided carefully. They have to disclose all maintenance fees up front. Be on the look out for surcharges, fees for calling from a pay phone, fees for making calls to cell phones or 800 numbers.
• Look for expiration dates. Some cards have them and whatever minutes you haven’t used on the card when it expires are forfeited. You won’t get them rolled into a new card
• Look for a customer service phone number on the card. Call it if you can before you buy the card. Try to see how easy it is to get your questions answered. If you can’t get thru that can be an indicator of trouble ahead
• Is the rate really low? Much lower than most companies, BEWARE! That can mean that there maybe hidden fess that more than make up for the savings.
• Make sure the card comes sealed in a package with the pin number hidden. Its too easy for someone to write down pin numbers and activate a card without it ever leaving the store. Wouldn’t you hate to buy a card, get it home and find out there are no minutes left on it!
• Make sure you understand how to use the card and the instructions are clear
• Make sure you know what the rates truly are. International rates are generally more than the domestic rates.

About the Author

Tara Tiemann is a credit analyst for Go-prepaid.com which has been a resource site for people who want to live debt free. If you are on a budget using prepaid debit cards, pre paid credit cards and prepaid cell phone service can save you big money!