- Calling Card -
Calling cards are an invaluable resource for people without long-distance telephone service in their home or those who make frequent overseas calls. Common users are students, members of the Armed Forces, those who have family living outside of the United States and those who cannot afford home service. Calling cards, when providing the services advertised, can save consumers a great deal of money when they make overseas calls.
But these calling cards can also lead to unsavory business practices when companies fail to keep their advertised terms.
About three years ago, I began hearing from a number of constituents whose cards did not provide the number of minutes advertised. Furthermore, when attempting to contact the calling card company, they found it difficult or impossible to reach a customer service line.
I purchased a calling card to investigate for myself, and I experienced the exact same problems. This is when I decided to introduce my legislation (H.R. 3993) to ban these practices, and have re-introduced it this year.
A study by the Hispanic Institute found that callers only received an average of 60 percent of the minutes “guaranteed” by the card. The prepaid calling card industry takes in $4 billion a year in revenue. If the cards are only providing 60 percent of the minutes, you can do the unfortunate math.
Companies also have instituted a variety of hidden fees that reduce the amount of minutes. Some cards deduct minutes even if the call is not connected. Other cards cut off the call after a few minutes so the consumer must redial and be subjected to another connection charge. Some cards round up the number of minutes used in four-minute increments. Others advertise “no connection fees,” but then charge you a hang-up fee.
Calling card fraud harms those who are among the most vulnerable: poor, minority and immigrant populations, as well as our military serving overseas.
An article in Business Week described a company that marketed in Spanish, but the fine print detailing fees was in English. The company responded that, “We’re in America.” It seems they could use the Spanish language to sell their products, just not to sell them honestly.
Honest businesses, which provide all the minutes they advertise, are being taken advantage of by their unscrupulous competitors. A misinformed consumer will always choose the card advertised to provide 1,000 minutes over a similarly-priced one offering 500 minutes, not knowing that the 1,000-minute card will only be worth 400 minutes.
- Free Phone Program for Returning Troops -
To achieve this goal, the charity is calling on all Americans to donate their old phones to the cause. The free phones are drawn from those donated by individuals and corporations; to achieve this goal, an additional 1 million phones will need to be donated in 2010.
"With tens of thousands of our brave troops returning from active duty this year, the need to help them get back on their feet here at home has never been greater," said Brittany Bergquist, cofounder of Cell Phones for Soldiers. "We are thrilled to be able to provide this tremendous service to our brave men and women."
The Helping Heroes Home campaign relies on the donations of used phones. Qualifying phones are refurbished and given to requesting soldiers along with a month of calling time. Other donated phones will either be recycled or used to fund the charity's free calling-card program for troops overseas.
Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded in 2004 by brother and sister Robbie and Brittany Bergquist. To date, they have provided more than 60,000,000 minutes of free calling cards thanks to a national network of individual and corporate supporters donating phones and money.
Make four phone calls a day to customers telling them of new merchandise just received you know they usually buy. Or of a special sale on their most liked items. Or any reason that gives them a personal benefit.
OR: Write four emails a day. One idea: Thank customers for their recent purchase from you.
OR: Give out four calling cards a day. You meet new people every day. A waiter or waitress. A fellow Rotarian. The person next to you on the plane. We believe calling cards are “miniature billboards.” They tell who you are and what you do and if you give enough away you’re practicing the Fuller Brush theory of knocking on enough doors and one will open.
OR: AFTO four times a day. Which is shorthand for Ask For The Order. Too many salespeople present their case and wait for the customer to say “OK, I’ll buy it.” Rarely happens. Ask For The Order.
Do one of each or four of one of these techniques every day! That’s more than 1,200 contacts a year. If only 10% respond, you have more than 100 extra sales you would not have had.
|
| |
