When it Comes to Options, It's Your Call!
Today telephone companies offer a wide variety of services like call waiting, voice mail, caller ID, and 3-way calling. Some companies offer service bundles which may include the services you want at a discount.
In some areas, services like automatic callback, three-way calling and repeat dialing are available on your telephone automatically and are billed on a per-use basis. For occasional users, paying on a per-use basis is a good option. For heavy users, monthly subscriptions are available and may be more economical. If you do not want access to these services, call your local telephone company and ask to have them blocked. Most local telephone companies offer blocking for pay-per-use services at no charge.
Read the Fine Print
Always remember
to read the fine print.
If the devil is in the
details, that's where
you will find him lurking.
For example, dial around companies promote "discounts" on long distance and local toll service. Before using dial around, be sure to read the fine print. Some dial around companies add a monthly service charge to your bill and require that a call be at least three minutes long to get the discount rate. If you make a lot of long distance calls each month, you may be able to save using a dial around service, even one that has monthly fees and minimum call requirements. If you do not make that many calls, you could end up paying more.
Dial around lets consumers select a company for each call they make. To use dial around services, consumers have to dial 1+0+three digit access code+area code+telephone number every time they make a call. You can not pre-subscribe to a dial around service.
If you are considering using a dial around service, read the fine print and make sure you get the whole picture.