The cards may be convenient, but the nation’s consumer protection agency, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), warns that many prepaid calling cards have hidden fees and don’t deliver the promised minutes as advertised. Once you’ve paid, you may discover a problem that leaves you out of luck and out of cash.

The FTC has a few suggestions for avoiding difficulties:

* Look for information about maintenance fees, surcharges, fees for using the card at a pay phone, and extra charges for calls to a cell phone or toll-free number.

* Verify that you can follow the directions on the card.

* See when the card expires.

* Look at the package and in-store marketing for the card’s local and international fees. If you are unsure of the price, then think about buying another card.

* Verify that the card is contained in a sealed package or that the PIN cannot be seen. Otherwise any person can write down the PIN and use your phone time.

* Look at different rates. Extremely low rates, especially for international calling, may serve as a red flag that the card won’t actually deliver the promised number of minutes.

* Ask the retailer if it will back a card that fails to deliver the number of minutes promised.

* Locate a toll-free customer service phone number. If you can’t find the customer service number or if it isn’t a toll-free number, it may be difficult to get in touch with someone at the company who can assist you with problems.

These are some of the claims from some prepaid phone cards.

However, once you realize that you are not getting what you thought, it’s too late.

Let’s look at Diamond phone cards.

The card claims that you can call Mexico for 400 minutes, for just a couple of dollars.

The FTC found that you only receive 106 minutes.

They also claim that the business’s 50 minute card to Honduras, only provided customers with 20 minutes.

Diamond’s $2 and $5 cards subtracted a $.79 maintenance fee from the total.

The FTC states that information can be found, but at the end of the ad in barely readable text.

In 2010, the FTC cited deceptive business practices as the reason for legal action against prepaid phone card providers Alternatel, Voice Prepaid, Mystic Prepaid, and Clifton Telecard.

A settlement was reached between these companies and the FTC.

Diamond deferred to their attorney who indicated that the now defunct business has sold its brand to another company.

The Federal Trade Commission wishes for the two leaders of Diamond to return the funds they made from dishonest business dealings.

Take care of yourself. Beware of connection fees, monthly service costs, pre-set minimum call lengths, short-term expiration dates, activation and/or set-up fees and expansive billing increments.

Even though you only used a single minute, you might be charged in five minute segments.

Investigate the company’s history on the Internet.

Get complete answers to all your questions before making the purchase; once you’ve handed over the cash, it’s too late.

Annually, millions of people immigrate to the United States. Given these high immigration numbers, the purchase of international calling card will certainly increase.

It is a cost effective method for people to stay in touch without breaking the budget, and it allows you to invest in one of the various types of international phone calling cards.

Which are the best type of international calling cards? When making an international phone call, what should a person be looking at? To find out, continue reading.

Helpful Guidelines For International Prepaid Calling Cards

• Find Out the Rates-These guidelines can often be found within the terms of service. Do they charge by the minute? Are there different charges for different times of the day? You will be charged more to make a call to a cell phone outside the US using your international calling card.

• Confirm the Rates Advertised-The rate should not fluctuate – it should be set for all international calling cards.

• How is their Billing System Computed?-Do they round up or down?

• Hidden Fees-Are the terms of service explained in a way where you fully understand them, or are you charged for services you don’t know about?

• Connection Fees-When you are unable to connect to the person on the other line, you will still be charged for the call?

• Does the Company Offer a Guarantee?-Do you receive the actual minutes you pay for, or is it impossible to verify this?

• Customer Service-When you have problems with service, do they have live agents available 24 hours a day to assist you?

• Is the expiration date listed on the calling card?-Find the expiration date so that you are sure not to use all your minutes at once.

• Is the Company Trustworthy?-It is important to do your research prior to your purchase so that you don’t fall victim to an Internet scam artist. Look for positive feedback and make sure the company is legit before purchasing a calling card.

• How is your Calling Card Accessed-Did you receive your calling card by email or in the mail? In today’s high tech society, online calling cards are quickly becoming very popular. When they are sent through snail mail, they are easily accessible and are received faster. In virtually no time at all, it is easier to connect to your friends and family members.

A number of international phone calling cards are available to choose from, but by investigating the facts and reputation of the company you are purchasing from, you can feel confident that you are making a wise purchase. Comparison shopping and fact checking before you buy will insure that you won’t have to deal with any unforeseen problems when connecting to your loved ones.

Through the wonder of the Internet, it is now possible to communicate with distant friends and relatives. With the availability of Internet phone service, it is now a simple matter to make PC to PC calls with no stress. VoIP technology has arisen as a form of Internet phone service and it is one of the least costly forms of communication. This technology allows people to easily make international calls at no cost to mobile phones and landlines by utilizing their computers. Using this service also enables people to see each other by using a web cam. In addition, the caller can also use voice mail, call divert, call conference, and others. A user can take advantage of inexpensive international calls as well as all these features. So in order to reap the benefits of inexpensive calling, a user should find and use calling cards that will help him/her reduce the amount of money spent on calls.

Users depend on cheap calling cards to enable them to make cheap international calls. This allows them to eliminate high phone bills for long distance calls. Many different cards can be found on the Internet; a user must only search for the card that will suit his/her needs. Many calling cards are available that enable people to make international calls with no hassles. Pre-paid cards are loaded with a certain amount of credit and allow a user to make an unlimited number of international calls at low rates. Once the credit is used up, the card can be reloaded with more credit for future use; with Postpaid cards, the user makes international calls at the lowest rates and receives a bill at the end of the month detailing the amount owed for the VoIP calls that have been placed. Students and housewives find that pre-paid cards work best for them, whereas people such as businessmen, servicemen, etc. find postpaid cards better suited to their needs.

www.icalls4u.com provides detailed information regarding every available calling card. The different countries’ rates of calling can be looked for by the user. Users can select whichever calling cards best meet their needs. Current international calling rates are so expensive that they are unaffordable for the average person, but calling cards provide an inexpensive way for people to stay in touch with loved ones. Every single nation has its own rates for international calls. It is a simple matter to find out the calling rates for various calling cards and make comparisons. So have a bit of fun when you place cheap international calls. Have fun chatting with your friends without worrying about the phone bill.

iCalls4u.com has everything you need in calling cards and lots of advantages and benefits that you can’t get from other companies. You are not correct if you are thinking these cards can be found at any retail store. There isn’t another place in the world that you can find the information that the iCalls4u.com site provides, as they offer domestic, international, and prepaid cards and also offer tips, all for the least expensive cost.

Do you need to keep in touch with family in Europe and Africa? Are you unaware of what a good rate is? iCalls4u.com can fix these issues and lots more. Will you need to make business calls to the South Pacific or to eastern Asia? iCalls4u.com has calling cards that have been specially created for long distance calls that may take more than the normal length of time. Do you have to contact someone in the Middle East? You can find calling cards for these countries also at iCalls4u.com. iCalls4u.com stocks calling cards for numerous countries worldwide. All the continents are available, and almost any nation that has phone service is on the list of countries that are available. iCalls4u.com even offers a calling card for the Fernandina Island area.

This site has international calling cards for every country in the world. They also have really terrific rates on both international calls and domestic calls. These calling cards are better than any other on earth! With iCalls4u.com you can search for the best rates because they resell calling cards from several different companies on the Internet. Calling cards with a larger amount of minutes can be purchased for one cent per minute if your plans are to talk for hours at a time. Purchase a card for five to ten minutes, if you plan on calling a person for a short business call. iCalls4u.com offers a lot of flexibility, so anyone who visits their site will be able to get just what they need without buying a collection of calling cards or a bunch of unnecessary extra minutes. You will get exactly the rates you wanted and searched for. You will not find a better rate anywhere in the world.

The best thing about getting a free international calls from iCalls4u.com is that you can do it right from your own computer. Perhaps you needed to contact someone in the past, but had not a clue as to where to purchase a phone card. Why go outside to look for a phone card if you can just go online, type in iCalls4u.com, and have a wide choice of calling cards immediately available to you? You purchase a phone card practically in seconds. On the site you find a toll free number, a pin number, and easy to use instructions so you will be making cheap international calls within 2 minutes. If you are on the phone and run out of minutes, you simply go back online, purchase more minutes and call back– and all this for an extremely low price. You don’t have to spend your time running around looking for the least expensive phone card retailer. Everything you might need is right there.