Long Distance carrier advice -- Yes, again

[tim...@mailcity.com]

I know this subject comes up fairly frequently, but it has become such
a shell game that a post from a few months ago is not necessarily
valid anymore.

I am looking for cheap, reliable long-distance service for plain
"phone on the wall in the kitchen."

I had signed up for Verizon's Evalues plan a few years ago, and it
wasn't bad at first, that is until the creeping services charges
started to appear and then double each year.

So, switched to OPEX in May. Great call quality, but.....they claim to
send an e-mail bill each month, I've never seen one. You are supposed
to be able to check bills online, but I was unable to for two months,
despite many calls to customer service.

I finally was able to get a straight answer about my bill, sent in my
check and payment was promptly posted.....Then, couldn't access bill
again for several weeks. Same old customer service run-around on the
phone. Finally accessed bill, which included a 3-cent finance charge
for being late....Sent in the check. That was 2.5 weeks ago, they
still claim never to have seen it.

So, am looking for a new carrier. Any suggestions.

[Rick]

tim...@mailcity.com wrote:
>
> I know this subject comes up fairly frequently, but it has become such
> a shell game that a post from a few months ago is not necessarily
> valid anymore.
>
> I am looking for cheap, reliable long-distance service for plain
> "phone on the wall in the kitchen."
>
> I had signed up for Verizon's Evalues plan a few years ago, and it
> wasn't bad at first, that is until the creeping services charges
> started to appear and then double each year.

You may want to revisit Verizon. They now have an unlimited nationwide
calling plan for, in theory, a flat rate with no extra charges.

Rick

[tim...@mailcity.com]

I considered Powernet when I decided on Opex. Forget why I decided on
Opex vs. Powernet.

Just looked at Verizon's rates, still way too high compared to others
such as Opex.

[George Grapman]

Keep in mind that some companies require you to buy other services in
order to get an unlimited call plan. I pay $35 for IDT which includes
caller ID, three way and the bundle of features. AT&T had to but other
features which made it closer to $45.

[tim...@mailcity.com]

On Aug 12, 2:15 pm, George Grapman <sfgeo...@paccbell.net> wrote:

I just need something simple. Like to keep it around $9 - $10 per
month. Don't need much more.

[George Grapman]

Are most of your calls local? You can drop your long distance carrier
which saves you about $5 and use phone cards or a dial around service
for LD calls.

[tim...@mailcity.com]

.
>
> Are most of your calls local? You can drop your long distance carrier
> which saves you about $5 and use phone cards or a dial around service
> for LD calls.

With Verizon we had about a $25-$30 LD bill each month, mostly wife
calling sisters out of state.

Bill dropped more than 50 percent with OPEX, hitting around $9 to $12
a month.

I did have a dial around for a bit, in the late 90's. Call America, I
think, but wife hated it, don't know why, worked fine for me...but
anyway, she wants 1+ and I have been married long enough to know when
not to argue LOL!

[Gene S. Berkowitz]

In article <1186961178....@i13g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
tim...@mailcity.com says...

I continue to be happy with ECG. 3.5 cents/minute for LD, slightly
higher for intra-state. They do pass along the Universal Service Fee, at
9.1% of your call total.

http://www.ecglongdistance.net/

--Gene

[tim...@mailcity.com]

On Aug 12, 8:53 pm, Gene S. Berkowitz <first.l...@comcast.net> wrote:

> I continue to be happy with ECG. 3.5 cents/minute for LD, slightly
> higher for intra-state. They do pass along the Universal Service Fee, at
> 9.1% of your call total.
>
> http://www.ecglongdistance.net/
>
> --Gene

ECG looks fantastic. Unfortunately, they don't offer service in my
area. :>(

PowerNet seems to want my social security number, at least in the
couple of "resellers" I found. Not going to happen.

Any other ideas.?

[Dave L]

<tim...@mailcity.com> wrote in message
news:1186977883....@q4g2000prc.googlegroups.com...

Zone LD. 3.5c/min with online billing and invoices. Bill automatically to
your cc.. I believe they still use the Global Crossing network.
http://my.zoneld.com

-Dave

[imascot]

Here's a comparison site which I used to find my LD carrier. Don't know about the SS thing. Some of
these co.'s drop any monthly fee in exchange for online-only billing. I did this, we hardly ever make
LD calls, but when we do, I don't want to have to pay a monthly fee just to have it, dial long strings,
locate the card, etc.
http://www.saveonphone.com/

J.