Purchasing
Calling Card Services
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Printable Version
Cost Per Minute
Billing Increments
Surcharges
Pay Telephone Charges
Unsolicited Cards
Ease of Use
Geograhic Coverage
Options for Billing and Reporting
Keeping Track of Users
Protect Yourself from Fraud
Many times
when a company is negotiating their long distance contract, details pertaining
to calling card costs are overlooked. The hard work you put into arranging low-cost-per-minute
calls from your office can easily be negated by failure to agree upon calling
card costs.
These
calling "cards" may be a credit card sized card or simply a number memorized
or jotted down on a piece of paper. In all cases, a Personal Identification
Number is issued to prevent misuse by unauthorized users.
These cards
work at most public, business, and residential telephones. Main Resource technicians
and sales staff find them to be especially useful at client sites where they
can use their card to prevent the call being billed to the customer.
COST
PER MINUTE
One important issue to consider when arranging calling card service is the cost
per minute. Your provider should be able to give you the same rate on calling
cards that you receive for your normal long distance calls from your business
location. If you have both dedicated (connection through a high-capacity circuit
such as a T1) and switched (accessed through your local telephone company lines)
long distance service as does Main Resource, you are likely to be charged the
higher of the two rates for calling card calls.
As is true
with all calls (except with certain pre-arranged calling plans), rates for calls
placed with your card will have varying rates for intrastate, interstate and
international calls. Rates for local calls and those that are nearby but still
outside your local area (called intra-LATA) should also be covered in the agreement.
Local
telephone companies offer calling cards that may be cost-effective if you make
a lot of local and in-state calls. However, to avoid confusion it is best if
you issue only one card and do not ask employees to use one or the other depending
on the destination of the call.
Just as with
calls from your location, it is vital when negotiating calling card rates to
negotiate rates that are fixed for the duration of the contract. If your rates
are based on a percentage discount from a "tariff rate" and the tariff, or tax,
goes up, your rates will increase as well.
BILLING
INCREMENTS
With almost all long distance calls, you are charged for an initial period,
perhaps 15 seconds. When your first 15 seconds
are up, the call will be charged in increments of one or six seconds. The lower
the increments, whether initial or subsequent, the lower will be your cost because
you will not be paying for time you did not use. Often, calling card calls are
subject to a longer initial period, sometimes up to a minute. Therefore it is
vital that you negotiate for the shortest billing increment available.
SURCHARGES
The billing for your calling card calls will include a surcharge, which is simply
an additional cost to every call that is not dependant on the length of the
call. These surcharges may be anywhere from $.45 to $2.50. You may be able to
arrange rates that do not impose a surcharge, but you will be subject to a higher
per-minute charge. Analyze the types of calls you commonly make to determine
which will be more cost-effective for you.
PAY
TELEPHONE CHARGES
Federal law entitles those sponsoring pay phones to charge calling card
users a fee for each call placed using a calling card. The charge is at least
$.35 per call by FCC mandate and has no connection with our
calling card supplier.
UNSOLICITED
CARDS
Review your bills carefully for evidence of unsolicited calling card use. Main
Resource has received unsolicited cards that are not connected to our agreement.
If employees were to inadvertently acquire these cards we would incur much higher
rates than we had negotiated for.
Sometimes
calling cards are sold as part of a promotion with a credit card company. They
may offer appealing benefits such as airline miles. Make sure you read the fine
print, as these cards may include hidden costs that offset the benefits.
EASE
OF USE
Because of volume discounts and other factors, it usually makes economic sense
to purchase your calling cards from your regular long distance provider. However,
some calling cards are easier to use than others. Some cards may need fewer
digits entered, or the physical card may be "swiped" credit card-style, eliminating
all dialing.
Most calling
cards require three steps before connecting the call.
1. A toll-free
number entered.
2. T area code and number for the destination is dialed.
3. A PIN number of up to 14 digits is entered.
By the time
you have completed step 3 you will have dialed 36 digits! If you make a mistake
you often have to start all over again. Some providers enable you to preprogram
"speed dial" for frequently called numbers. Ask your potential provider what
they do to make the cards easier to use.
Inquire about
your long distance provider's advanced capabilities. Some providers will maintain
a directory of your company's frequently dialed numbers that are made available
to all users. Many offer speed dial so each user can store frequently called
numbers easily. Voice recognition technology is also available. This allows
you to speak the name associated in the database you create with the number
you wish to dial. Determine the costs and potential benefits, and then experiment
on a small scale before universally implementing these features.
GEOGRAPHIC
COVERAGE
If
your staff travels internationally, it is important to be sure that the calling
card works in other countries. Currently AT&T has teh widest coverage with
more than 200 countries. MCI WorldCom and Sprint are second, each covering over
80 countries. Get instructions on how to use the hotel and pay phones outside
the United States.
optionS
FOR BILLING AND REPORTING
Details of calls made by calling card are usually broken down by the number
of the calling card and shown in your billing detail. Some providers offer detail
information accessible on the web. If you prefer to have your employee's calling
card charges billed to their corporate credit card, be sure that service is
available and that a detailed report will be available for review and verification
of the charges.
In
order to make good decisions about your calling card services, and to negotiate
the best deal, it is important to have accurate information about your company's
calling card usage. Request monthly reports by user and by type of calls (local,
intra-LATA, intrastate by state, and international). If you can provide your
ten or twenty most frequently called countries you may be able to negotiate
a fixed rate.
KEEPING
TRACK OF USERS
Check your billing every month. Create a procedure to cancel a calling card
number when the assigned user leaves your company. If the former employee continues
using the card, you will be responsible for charges. If you keep spare calling
cards to provide to new employees, keep them in a secure location to prevent
unauthorized use. Here at Main Resource we have found it beneficial to have
one card that infrequent travelers can share, returning it to the administrator
when the trip is completed.
PROTECT
YOURSELF FROM FRAUD
Limit your liability in the event of fraudulent use of calling cards by taking
advantage of your long distance provider's toll fraud insurance.
Calling card thieves make it a practice to overhear you if you speak your calling
card number, look over your shoulder to read your calling card number, or even
translate the touch-tone signals they can hear you dialing.
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