Question For Anyone With A Land Line Phone And Long Distance...

[mamac]

I haven't had a land line phone in years but I decided to have a separate line installed just for my business. I ordered the basic service- no caller id, no call waiting, no long distance. Nothing. It is a metered service which means I will pay to make outgoing calls. I only wanted it for incoming business calls and for easier 911 access.
I received a letter a week later thanking me for choosing a long distance plan. No charge for this plan unless I made less than $10 a month in calls and then that's what I would pay. Called to cancel that and they said ok. A week later I get another thank you letter for a different plan only this one the minimum is $20. I call to say WTH. Guy tells me I have no carrier listed and that it's an automated letter that they are trying to put a stop to. He tells me nothing goes on my plan and I will not be charged. I double check on what my monthly charges will be just to make sure he has everything correct. Everything is good to go.

Fast forward to today and I get my first bill. Monthly charges are okay but there is a charge that says "Long Distance Selection Jan 28 $5.50"
Below that it says: "Carrier is: NO CARRIER: Under the other surcharges section I am billed a "Long Distance Access Charge" of 43 cents.


Am I stuck paying for long distance charges no matter what?? I have looked online and I see that they charge a minimum fee no matter what for LD but can they charge be monthly for NOT having a LD carrier?? I am so irritated right now. If they were open I would have called to cancel service already.... And the company is Verizon if that matters. I think all companies are a bunch of thieves, which is why I haven't dealt with them in years.

[butterfly]

I have a home phone with the ability to call long distance. I chose not to select a particular long distance carrier so my long distance is billed by the minute through who I set my phone service up with (not verizon for me-just our city carrier). I get charged a monthly bill for having phone service and my long distance charges are only for the minutes that I actually call each month. Usually less than $5-10/mth.

[Meeko]

I love, love, love my Nettalk. $29 a YEAR.

This includes long distance, voicemail, call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID, 911 service, etc etc. I have it just for my business. I got to choose my phone number, and can make changes to my account online or with live support if I want. No hidden charges of any kind. I just paid for my first renewal as we were so happy the first year.

I moved my business this past summer from a separate house in another city, to my home. But kept the same number and phone. Just unplugged it at the old place and plugged it in at the new one. Done. No wiring or switching or connect and disconnect fees!

[mamac]

Originally Posted by butterfly

I have a home phone with the ability to call long distance. I chose not to select a particular long distance carrier so my long distance is billed by the minute through who I set my phone service up with (not verizon for me-just our city carrier). I get charged a monthly bill for having phone service and my long distance charges are only for the minutes that I actually call each month. Usually less than $5-10/mth.

That's what I figured I was going to do except I never planned on making LD calls since I use my cell phone for that. The only choices I have for local carriers are Verizon and Comcast. Comcast was more than twice what Verizon wanted so that's who I chose. I just don't understand them charging me for not having a LD carrier. As much as I really want a separate business line I won't pay for something I'm not receiving. That's just insane....

[mamac]

Originally Posted by Meeko

I love, love, love my Nettalk. $29 a YEAR.

This includes long distance, voicemail, call forwarding, call waiting, caller ID, 911 service, etc etc. I have it just for my business. I got to choose my phone number, and can make changes to my account online or with live support if I want. No hidden charges of any kind. I just paid for my first renewal as we were so happy the first year.

I moved my business this past summer from a separate house in another city, to my home. But kept the same number and phone. Just unplugged it at the old place and plugged it in at the new one. Done. No wiring or switching or connect and disconnect fees!

How does the 911 service work? Do your emergency calls go directly to your local dispatcher or do they get sent to some third world country? I had looked into services like Vonage in the past and I didn't like their 911 service. I would rather have the E-911 service that sends my address automatically in an emergency. That way, as long as you teach a child what number to dial, someone is always going to show up even if they can't tell dispatchers what the problem is.

[Loveyoustinkyface]

We have MagicJack Plus, we can still use our fax machine. It's very cheap per year. I had my old number rolled over so that didn't even change!!

[SquirrellyMama]

The last time I remember looking into no long distance there was a $5 fee for that option. Can you just get a business cell phone instead? You can get a prepaid plan for fairly cheap.

K

[Meeko]

Originally Posted by mamac

How does the 911 service work? Do your emergency calls go directly to your local dispatcher or do they get sent to some third world country? I had looked into services like Vonage in the past and I didn't like their 911 service. I would rather have the E-911 service that sends my address automatically in an emergency. That way, as long as you teach a child what number to dial, someone is always going to show up even if they can't tell dispatchers what the problem is.

Yes, Nettalk has E911 service. I just had to make sure that my address was updated in my account.

[mamac]

This is just an update for anyone who is interested.... I called Verizon yesterday ready to cancel my phone line because of the $5.50 charge on my bill for no LD service. They explained to me that the charge was a "change fee" resulting from me cancelling the LD service that THEY put on my plan!!! "Well, anytime you change your service, whether you add, change or cancel it you will be billed $5.50." Needless to say they got an earful from me and promptly removed all the charges. Can't wait to get my next bill......

[countrymom]

I don't use my phone for long distance (I use my cell phone for that) but the minute I use the land line, I'm charged 3 dollars and then per minute. Luckily I rarely need to make long distance phone calls.