International Callers Beware

(By Ray D.)

I realize that this is a bit off topic, but I am sure that it applies to many of our readers and may spare some of you future financial agony. So if you make a lot of international calls or even just a lot of long-distance calls, read on.

As someone who has lived in both Germany and the US, I must say that I have had outrageous experiences with telephone companies on both sides of the Atlantic. The experiences usually involved international calls from Germany to the USA and vice-versa…

My VERIZON Nightmare

Unfortunately, I had a major problem with Verizon (a large US telecommunications company) when I requested a second phone line for internet use. The second line was activated and not long thereafter, a storm knocked out my telephone service. Verizon sent someone out to “fix things” and my telephone service was restored. The problem was that I had no idea which line corresponded to which jack and really didn’t give it much thought as I was under the impression that things were working as before.

I had always had my first, original line on an international calling plan with relatively reasonable rates (10 cents a minute) on calls to Germany. My second line was not on the plan. Unfortunately, not knowing which line was which, I began using my second line to make international calls to Germany…at well over $2 a minute, an exorbitant rate by any standard. I received my phone bill at the end of the month along with a major shock…over $1000. I called Verizon and explained the problem. I asked that they re-rate the calls at my usual rate, the one I had been using for years and years on my first line. I felt confident that the issue would be resolved since I knew from others who had gone through similar experiences that most phone companies rerate calls in such situations. But Verizon refused and insisted I pay the $1000+. They ignored my complaints and refused to talk to me. Simply put, Verizon chose to give me the shaft rather than cut me some slack, and the fact that I had a family to support couldn't have interested them less.

After doing a bit of research I realized that hordes of people are extremely unhappy with Verizon. Recently, for example, the company lost a major class-action lawsuit for overcharging scores of its customers on late-fees. I found entire web-sites dedicated to complaints and grievances against Verizon. The complaints sections of these sites contain thousands (yes, thousands) of entries. In my case and in many other cases Verizon clearly displayed a “no-mercy, no-compromise” attitude towards customers. Not only did Verizon seriously hurt me financially, but through their short-sightedness they also harmed themselves financially. Long story short, I switched providers. From my personal experience and from what I have read, I would advise anyone currently with Verizon to seriously consider switching to a competitor or at least looking into it. It saved me money and nerves, and it will do the same for you.

Live in Germany? The Right “Vorwahl” Can Save You Real Money

Now back to Europe. For a long time I overpaid on calls to the USA with Deutsche Telekom. Everyone living in Germany should be aware that there are codes you can dial before making a call, also known as a “Vorwahl” that can save you a great deal of money, particularly on international calls. I have found an excellent web-site that gives the best codes for wherever you want to call at any particular time: www.billigertelefonieren.de

Always be aware that many of these codes have peak and off-peak rates just like phone companies and examine this aspect VERY carefully. Also be aware that the companies that own the codes can change the rates at any time, so you have to stay informed and up to date. The website mentioned above is a super tool.

To make life simple, I recommend using codes that announce how much you pay per minute when you make the call so that you know exactly how much you are paying each time you call. I personally use 01081, which always tells you how the call is per minute, but there are many good codes. Just do your homework and you will save a bundle.

The comments section is open for your stories and tips on this topic. I am sure many of you have had your problems with international long distance calling as well. Maybe someone will read this all and learn from it…

Comments

[Joe]

Ray,

One of the things you surely want to do is to make a complaint to your state public service commmisson who set rates for telephone service in your area.

Here this is a great threat. The companies regulated by the PSC do have answer these complaints and it does affect their rate requests.

As far as your bill is concerned, you have just paid enough to have had your cable company deliver serivce.

Sorry this happened to you. This is why I have local serive and dsl with one carrier and long distance with a second carrier.

In these situations, it pays to fight back. Start out with phone calls and keep calling. Then write letters to a company's official complaint address. You usually will always win in the end although it really gets your nerves sometimes.

Years ago I had AT&T do a "bait and switch" on me and I had to write a letter to their official complaint center in Florida to get reimbursed. I had to make several phone calls and asking/demanding many questions/answers before I got clued in to the address and procedures.

Bottom line: Do not give in.

[WhatDoIKnow]

Another good "Vorwahl" I found is 0190031.

[Gabi]

"Basketball
Litauer Jasikevicius blamiert Amerika"

Das finde ich auf der FAZ-Seite zu Olympia. Unter etlichen sachlichen Headlines sticht diese mit Häme hervor. Kein anderes Land wurde mit ähnlich schäbigen Worten bedacht.

http://www.faz.net/s/Rub9F27A221597D4C39A82856B0FE79F051/Tpl~Eaktuell~Sressort.html

[Gabi]

Read this:

Commentary- World War IV - Norman Podhoretz

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/A11802017_1.pdf

Great information!

[Joe N.]

Hello Ray:
I agree with you, I'm in the process of dumping Verizon as soon as I move.
Like a media monopoly, a virtual monopoly in any sector of business hardly ever defers in the direction of it's customers' interest or honesty. It's just too much work!

[Joe N.]

Thanks for the link, Gabi -
verrry interesting!

All the best!

[Thomas]

Auch wenn's nicht zum Thema ist, möchte ich diesen Link aus der Kommentarsektion meines Blogs doch einmal weiter"empfehlen":

http://blog.tagesschau.de/mehr.php?id=53_0_1_0_M

Obwohl ich es falsch finde, daß Tagesschau-Menschen unter dem Label der Sendung ihre Privatmeinung verbreiten können, finde ich es schon interessant, dort mal unverhohlen zu lesen, was sonst immer nur unterschwellig eingebaut wird. Wer so etwas liest und dann immer noch an die "Ausgewogenheit" und "Objektivität" deutscher Amerika-Berichterstatter glaubt, dem ist wohl kaum noch zu helfen... Und das ist nur die Tagesschau, die sich ja nun wirklich noch zurückhält im Vergleich zu anderen...

[Eric B]

I use a VOIP solution. I use www.sipgate.de for a free german phone number and I pay 8.90 Euro for 1000 minutes of outgoing calls. If I didnt use the 1000 minute plan, it would be 1.87 eurocents per minute. Plus my german friends can call me with a local call and I pay nothing.

Before I used VOIP, I used a virtual calling card from www.onesuite.com that charged me 4 cents using an 800 number or 3 cents if I used one of their local dial-ins. Also what was nice, I could give them my home phone number, and whenever I called the dial-in, it would recognize my phone and not ask me to enter the 15-digit pin. So placing a call was simply hitting the speed dial button for the service and then dialing the german number. Also using a calling card has no surprises, because you pay in advance.

[Sadly, No!]

My latest prefered dial around code is 01071 (which also states the price.) 1 cent/minute within Germany, to the US, Canada, etc...

[Gabi]

Thomas, danke für den Hinweis. Hier ist Info über den Schreiber dieses Textes. Er ist zur Zeit in New York. Was wohl die Amerikaner über ihn denken? Sein Hinweis auf Liebermann ist empörend.

"Name: Rainer Sütfeld

Letzter Beitrag: 22.08.2004

Aufenthaltsort: New York

Biografie:
1955 in Essen geboren. Studium in Berlin und München: Komunikationswissenschaften, Neuere Geschichte, Kunstgeschichte Volontariat "Münchner Merkur", Redakteur, Reporter und Moderator beim Saarländischen Rundfunk, Bayerischen Rundfunk und Hessischen Rundfunk, seit 1991 beim NDR als Zeitfunkleiter, CvD, Leiter Aktuelles und Politik. Ab 1995 Korrespondent in Berlin und Hörfunkbeauftragter für den Aufbau des ARD-Hauptstadtstudios, wurde 1999 stellvertretender Studioleiter und Hauptstadtkorrespondent. Seit 1. Juni 2002 ARD-Korrespondent im Studio New York. (Quelle: ndr info)"

Er schrieb das:

"Es ist so infam, das es fast schon wieder genial ist und ich hier sitze und gar nicht weiss, welchen Trick ich (aus taktischer Sicht) mehr bewundern soll, dabei aber staendig an Max Liebermann denken muss. Der Berliner Maler schaute aus seiner Wohnung auf den braunen Fackelzug durchs Brandenburger Tor und meinte „Ich kann gar nicht so viel essen, wie ich kotzen moechte.“ Nein, um alle weitergehenden historischen Vergleiche von der Hand zu weisen, hier geht es nur um eine GAU im US-Wahlkampf, um die Groesste Anzunehmende Unappetitlichkeit, die in der Strategie des George W. Bush und seiner Republikaner jedoch nicht neu ist. ..."

Ist das nicht e k e l h a f t ???

[scum of the univ]

@David, Gabi

I'm not sure what relevance Gabi's article has to transatlantic calls, although the article seems interesting enough to be worth a mention. But it brought to mind an idea: you might consider a static list of links to interesting resources of greater length, such as Gabi's article. No interpretive commentary (that can go in the usual place in the weblog), no commentary, just a list with all the major resources in one place where they acn be located easily. Each should have the title, a link to article, and a brief (one or two sentence) abstract. You could also provide a link back to the appropriate entry in the weblog (if one exists), so people could read the comments other might have had on the article.

I frequently find myself digging through various weblogs looking for links I've read but didn't bother to keep track of myself. Having them in one place where they would be easy to find six months later would be nice.

[Jacob]

I'm an occasional visitor to Europe, and I encountered a different kind of international overcharge. Whatever you do, DON'T use your credit card for a call. We ended up paying something like a $67 connection fee. Made three calls and payed something like $220. We were calling from Vienna to the U.S. I'm sure expats probably don't try to use something like a credit card, but it was convenient for us till we were able to get some euros in our pockets. Never again.