Richard

Hello everyone,

I've googled it, and in the past, when people ask how to get cheap rates to
call Canada or the US from London, the advice often is: buy a phone card,
they're available at corner stores all over London.

Here availability is on par with London but in my experience, quality
varies: some cards have hidden connection fees, others have too much line
noise, others simply don't work at all, etc.

Could someone recommend a particular brand of phone card available in London
that they've used to call the US or Canada and that they've been pleased
with?

Thanks!

Richard

Phil

Richard wrote:
    > Hello everyone,
    >
    > I've googled it, and in the past, when people ask how to get cheap rates to
    > call Canada or the US from London, the advice often is: buy a phone card,
    > they're available at corner stores all over London.
    >
    > Here availability is on par with London but in my experience, quality
    > varies: some cards have hidden connection fees, others have too much line
    > noise, others simply don't work at all, etc.
    >
    > Could someone recommend a particular brand of phone card available in London
    > that they've used to call the US or Canada and that they've been pleased
    > with?
    >
    > Thanks!
    >
    > Richard
    >
    >
Telco America is the cheapest I've found, part of a range Telco Europe,
Telco Asia etc. I can't remember the exact price but it is something
like 1.3p/min.

Some shops sell cards at less than face value, about 70%. The only one I
can remember is a small Chinese phone shop in Little Newport St. near
China Town (or it might be Newport Court, old age is a terrible thing).


Phil

Tim

"Richard" <> wrote in message news:bql41h$no8$...
    > Hello everyone,
    >
    > I've googled it, and in the past, when people ask how to get cheap rates to
    > call Canada or the US from London, the advice often is: buy a phone card,
    > they're available at corner stores all over London.
    >
    > Here availability is on par with London but in my experience, quality
    > varies: some cards have hidden connection fees, others have too much line
    > noise, others simply don't work at all, etc.

If calling from a public pay-phone all cards should have a 'hidden' surcharge.

The pay-phone network runs at a loss, subsidisied by the owners of
land-lines. The telco though that it was a bit off that people without
phones should: arrive, use a public-pay-phone (with a calling card)
and not make a penny contribution to the provision of that phone.
So they asked for a surcharge to be applied. Fortunately, the regulator
agreed.

tim

    >
    > Could someone recommend a particular brand of phone card available in London
    > that they've used to call the US or Canada and that they've been pleased
    > with?
    >
    > Thanks!
    >
    > Richard
    >
    >

Richard

"tim" <> wrote in message
news:bqlcis$tvb$04$...

    > If calling from a public pay-phone all cards should have
    > a 'hidden' surcharge.

My experience is with phone cards in my own city, where I have access to
numerous landlines, and still find that certain phone cards have hidden
connection fees. What is your scope when you say "all cards should have a
'hidden' surcharge" ? London, the UK or phone cards anywhere?

    > The pay-phone network runs at a loss, subsidisied by the
    > owners of land-lines. The telco though that it was a bit off
    > that people without phones should: arrive, use a public-pay-phone
    > (with a calling card) and not make a penny contribution to the
    > provision of that phone. So they asked for a surcharge to be
    > applied. Fortunately, the regulator agreed.

Here, I assume you're talking about London. It still leaves me wondering why
phone card companies would neglect to mention such a surcharge. I don't see
any harm in mentioning a fee associated with a product if all competitors
are forced to charge the same fee.

Richard

Owain

"Richard" wrote
    | I've googled it, and in the past, when people ask how to get cheap rates
    | to call Canada or the US from London, the advice often is: buy a phone
card,
    | they're available at corner stores all over London.
    | Here availability is on par with London but in my experience, quality
    | varies: some cards have hidden connection fees, others have too much line
    | noise, others simply don't work at all, etc.
    | Could someone recommend a particular brand of phone card available in
    | London that they've used to call the US or Canada and that they've been
    | pleased with?

It is worth checking for payphone surcharges when using those cards though.
The
Post Office one adds 19p a minute to the cost of the call. That would make a
call to the USA 24p/min (5p + 19p).

This could be a situation where using a private payphone in a pub or B&B is
better value - they are usually connected to standard phone lines so won't
be surcharged.

The Post Office calling card website should be at:
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/networkb...doc=phone_info

click on 'phone services' on the left.

You could also use a service such as Telediscount.co.uk - read their FAQ
and the notes at
http://www.dooyoo.co.uk/services/tel...elediscount_co
_uk/
especially that (a) call costs will be higher from Payphones and many hotel
phones and (b) charging starts when Telediscount answers the call,
irrespective of whether you get a connection to the called party. However,
no subscription or prepayment is required.

Owain

Owain

"Richard" wrote
    | > If calling from a public pay-phone all cards should have
    | > a 'hidden' surcharge.
    | What is your scope when you say "all cards should have a
    | 'hidden' surcharge" ? London, the UK or phone cards anywhere?

All phone cards when used from payphones in the UK.

    | It still leaves me wondering why phone card companies would
    | neglect to mention such a surcharge. I don't see any harm in
    | mentioning a fee associated with a product if all competitors
    | are forced to charge the same fee.

But it is up to each individual phone card company how much of the payphone
fee it absorbs and how much it passes on to the customer above its
non-payphone rates.

They should be up front about their rates, of course, but some are not as
reputable or honest as others.

Owain

Tim

"Richard" <> wrote in message news:bqlj6h$q1g$...
    > "tim" <> wrote in message
    > news:bqlcis$tvb$04$...
    >
    > > If calling from a public pay-phone all cards should have
    > > a 'hidden' surcharge.
    >
    > My experience is with phone cards in my own city, where I have access to
    > numerous landlines, and still find that certain phone cards have hidden
    > connection fees. What is your scope when you say "all cards should have a
    > 'hidden' surcharge" ? London, the UK or phone cards anywhere?

All BT phone boxes in the UK.

the best explanation I could find is here:

http://www.1st4phonecards.com/info/p...ss_numbers.htm
item "f"

    > > The pay-phone network runs at a loss, subsidisied by the
    > > owners of land-lines. The telco though that it was a bit off
    > > that people without phones should: arrive, use a public-pay-phone
    > > (with a calling card) and not make a penny contribution to the
    > > provision of that phone. So they asked for a surcharge to be
    > > applied. Fortunately, the regulator agreed.
    >
    > Here, I assume you're talking about London. It still leaves me wondering why
    > phone card companies would neglect to mention such a surcharge. I don't see
    > any harm in mentioning a fee associated with a product if all competitors
    > are forced to charge the same fee.

It's called marketing. It only takes one not to do it and all the rest
have to follow or their prices look less competitive. So the price that
they quote in the headline will be the price that they charge if you make
the call from a friend's phone and they may neglect to tell you that you
will pay more from a pay-phone, hotel phone etc.....

tim




    >
    > Richard
    >
    >

Keith Willshaw

"Richard" <> wrote in message
news:bqlj6h$q1g$...
    > "tim" <> wrote in message
    > news:bqlcis$tvb$04$...
    > > If calling from a public pay-phone all cards should have
    > > a 'hidden' surcharge.
    > My experience is with phone cards in my own city, where I have access to
    > numerous landlines, and still find that certain phone cards have hidden
    > connection fees. What is your scope when you say "all cards should have a
    > 'hidden' surcharge" ? London, the UK or phone cards anywhere?
    > > The pay-phone network runs at a loss, subsidisied by the
    > > owners of land-lines. The telco though that it was a bit off
    > > that people without phones should: arrive, use a public-pay-phone
    > > (with a calling card) and not make a penny contribution to the
    > > provision of that phone. So they asked for a surcharge to be
    > > applied. Fortunately, the regulator agreed.
    > Here, I assume you're talking about London. It still leaves me wondering
why
    > phone card companies would neglect to mention such a surcharge. I don't
see
    > any harm in mentioning a fee associated with a product if all competitors
    > are forced to charge the same fee.

For the same reason that not all US companies mention the fact
that similar (and larger IRC) surcharges are levied there.

Keith

Charles Hawtrey

"Richard" <> staggered to the nearest keyboard and
wrote:

    >Hello everyone,
    >I've googled it, and in the past, when people ask how to get cheap rates to
    >call Canada or the US from London, the advice often is: buy a phone card,
    >they're available at corner stores all over London.
    >Here availability is on par with London but in my experience, quality
    >varies: some cards have hidden connection fees, others have too much line
    >noise, others simply don't work at all, etc.
    >Could someone recommend a particular brand of phone card available in London
    >that they've used to call the US or Canada and that they've been pleased
    >with?

Some years ago I had good experience using Swiftcall cards sold in the
UK but I don't know whether they are still in business or if their
service has changed.

MCI cards purchased in the US can be used to call back from the UK.
The rates are (if I recall correctly) about US$0.17 per minute. That's
not rock-bottom, but you don't have to worry about whether the card
will work, hidden charges, and so on. These cards are available
through Costco or from Ebay. AT&T cards also work but rates are
higher.

Another possibility is www.go2call.com . Again, rates are about
US$0.17/min.

Beware that some hotels in the UK block access to 0800 (toll-free)
numbers.

Go Fig

In article <>,
(Charles Hawtrey) wrote:

    > "Richard" <> staggered to the nearest keyboard and
    > wrote:
    >
    > >Hello everyone,
    > >
    > >I've googled it, and in the past, when people ask how to get cheap rates to
    > >call Canada or the US from London, the advice often is: buy a phone card,
    > >they're available at corner stores all over London.
    > >
    > >Here availability is on par with London but in my experience, quality
    > >varies: some cards have hidden connection fees, others have too much line
    > >noise, others simply don't work at all, etc.
    > >
    > >Could someone recommend a particular brand of phone card available in London
    > >that they've used to call the US or Canada and that they've been pleased
    > >with?
    >
    > Some years ago I had good experience using Swiftcall cards sold in the
    > UK but I don't know whether they are still in business or if their
    > service has changed.
    >
    > MCI cards purchased in the US can be used to call back from the UK.
    > The rates are (if I recall correctly) about US$0.17 per minute. That's
    > not rock-bottom, but you don't have to worry about whether the card
    > will work, hidden charges, and so on. These cards are available
    > through Costco or from Ebay. AT&T cards also work but rates are
    > higher.
    >
    > Another possibility is www.go2call.com . Again, rates are about
    > US$0.17/min.
    >
    > Beware that some hotels in the UK block access to 0800 (toll-free)
    > numbers.
    >
    >
I bought the "Bubble" card. I was pleased. In addition to the toll
free access number, they had a normal local London number. It was IIRC
6.5 cents to the U.S. (1 min billing). It was not ISP, but I have been
on ISP that was very good.

What I did was program my cell with the access and pin- cell rate was
10P min. Very convenient.

jay
Wed, Dec 3, 2003
mailto: