Ten Questions To Ask Before You Buy A Pre-Paid Phone Card

For those of you who are purchasing pre-paid phone cards, there are some important questions you should find out the answers to. This is to ensure you are getting your money's worth:

1. Can I reach a customer service representative 24 hours a day?

2. What fees or taxes will I be charged per call?

3. Is there a connection fee or disconnection fee?

4. Does the phone card have an expiration date?

5. What is the minute rounding process?

6. Do the rates change based on the time of day?

7. What rate will I be charged per minute for the destination I am calling?

8. Is there a guarantee that if the phone card doesn't operate properly that I will get my money back?

9. Is the company trustworthy?

10. Will I be charged for calls if the person I am calling doesn't answer?

When purchasing a phone card, there are so many things that you have to worry about! If you make a one minute phone call, many pre-paid phone cards will use minute rounding and turn that into a 5 minute phone call! Most people do not even know this. The minutes can expire if you don't use them in time, and you could be charged outrageous taxes and fees if you are not careful.

With PhoneHog, it's different, though. The minutes that you earn are free, as are all of the phone calls, and there is never a fee associated with using it. If you sign up, the program is very easy to use. Imagine making free long distance phone calls anytime you want! You never have to wait until after 7pm or 9pm where your phone company has better rates. Try signing up - you have nothing to lose except a few minutes on the phone making free phone calls!

Don't Give Up Your Landline Just Yet!

So many people have given up their landlines and have opted to just use their cell phones as their primary means of telephone communication. Although it makes sense in a way, especially due to how heavily people rely on cell phones, you shouldn't give up your landline just yet. At least one good reason is that in a natural disaster, your cell phone is most certainly not going to work. Your landline may be your only means of communication to the outside world in a situation like a hurricane.

An article I read recently said that by 2009, between 23 and 37 percent of wireless cell phone users will use their cell phone as their only telephone. Other users will choose voice over internet, or VoIP, for broadband and phone service because they like to have choices and they are all competing for the lowest prices and plans.

As far as surveys go, however, the traditional landline is said to still the most reliable phone service available. Just contact your phone company to make sure you are getting the best deal and use PhoneHog for free long distance and you won't have to give up your landline or switch your current phone number.

Phone Slamming - An Old Trick From Long Distance Phone Companies

Have you ever opened your phone bill and suddenly you discover it is from a completely different phone company than you signed up with? If so, then you have probably been slammed. Phone slamming is when your phone company switches your service to another provider without your permission. The practice is completely illegal!

If you think this may have happened to you already, go ahead and contact the telephone company that you did sign up with. Tell them very clearly that you want to reconnect your original long distance calling plan that you signed up for. The company is not allowed to charge you for this switch, and hopefully you haven’t already paid your bill because by law, you don’t have to pay the charges for the time you were switched to the other company without your permission.

However, if you did happen to pay the bill, the law says that the company that “slammed” you has to pay you back 150% of your payment. If they refuse, be sure to get in touch with the FCC to make a formal complaint.

Another way to avoid this altogether is to drop your long distance company. You can have a home phone line and with PhoneHog, you can earn free long distance minutes. It’s very easy to sign up and earn the minutes. It’s as easy as using a pre-paid phone card, but without the cost. Try it for yourself to see, and post a comment to tell us what you think!

AT&T Customers Angry After DSL Outage

Well, it looks like AT&T is finally apologizing for last Monday's DSL outage for customers in the Southeast. That night, there were several customer service problems as people called in and only received a busy signal when trying to get through to the company to find out what was going on. AT&T spokesperson Dawn Benton released a statement late last Wednesday afternoon: "We apologize that some customers received busy signals when they attempted to call for support. Again, this was due to the unusually high call volume."

To me that "apology" was rather lame in comparison to what the loss of an internet connection can do to a business or a student taking classes online. It seems that many people are hesitant to cancel because their email address is linked to their AT&T account, but I'm going to go set up a Hotmail or a Yahoo email address for free and start looking for other service providers in my area. I was personally affected and was so upset by the lack of concern from AT&T over what had happened.

How many of you were affected by this outage? Did you try to call AT&T only to get a busy signal? If so, you can vent here! Tell us all about it.

Is Your Holiday Spending Spiraling Out of Control?

At this time of year, I hear many of my friends and family complaining about how much money they are spending on decorations and gifts for the holiday season. Are you in the same boat? Is your holiday spending getting a little bit out of control? I read that the average American family spends between $1,000.00 - $4,000.00 during Christmas. That just seems like too much to me!

This year I wanted to find out how to save money during the holidays so that my own family doesn't go into debt over buying presents and putting up a tree. The number one thing that I am doing differently this year is shopping early, so that I am not paying for overnight shipping! Last year, I procrastinated to the point where every gift I purchased for family out of state had to be shipped overnight. It cost us a fortune!

This year, I am making a lot of homemade gifts. From cookies to dolls, I have found a long list of great ideas online to make gifts for many of the people on my list. Don't forget that people love food! You wouldn't believe the reaction I've gotten to a batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies! I have set aside time to actually complete these tasks and I hope that people appreciate the effort.

Are any of you sending out homemade gifts this year, too? What ideas have you come up with to save money this holiday season? Post a comment to let us know!

And don't forget that PhoneHog is another way you can save lots of money during the holidays while you keep in touch with family and friends. Sign up today!