Prepaid Phone Card Doesn't Work: Steps to Take

If you've avoided the Top 5 Calling Card Purchase Mistakes and your calling card still does not work, here is what you do:

1. Call the customer service number (oops, this should work; see link above),
2. Contact the retailer (where you bought the card)
3. Ask the retailer who the card issuer is. Look up the issuer's head office number on-line or in the phone book, call it.

If these options do not work, i.e. if the customer service number doesn't work, or the retailer does not help you, then you may be a victim of phone card fraud. What some shady issuers do is they will make thousands of long distance cards and then sell them to many retailers and make a profit, then they will shut down their systems and take off with the money that they have made from retailers, leaving a bunch of dead cards on the market being sold to consumers.

If you feel that you are a victim of a phone card scam or calling card fraud, this is who you should contact:

FCC (USA Calling Card Fraud) :
"...call or write your local Consumer Affairs Department or state Attorney General. (These phone numbers are often found in the blue pages of your telephone book.) You can also file a complaint or research the company through your local Better Business Bureau, or contact the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To To contact the FTC, call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)."

http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/consumerfacts/prepaidcards.html

Competition Bureau (Canada):
"Consumers who suspect they have been the victim of deceptive business practices or who want information on the application of the Competition Act should contact the Bureau's Information Centre at 1 800 348-5358, or visit our Web site at www.cb-bc.gc.ca."

http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/internet/index.cfm?itemID=420&lg=e

Hope this helps,

Tavis McKenzie
GM, Phone Card Depot
http://www.phonecarddepot.com/blog