HI there,
I have just been billed $51.31 for a no cost conference call to this number. Can you kindly let me know why and how this can be the case when they claim the contrary?
Thank you,
Dana
HI there,
I have just been billed $51.31 for a no cost conference call to this number. Can you kindly let me know why and how this can be the case when they claim the contrary?
Thank you,
Dana
The Free Conference Call line didn't bill you, your phone carrier did. Here's why...
Many "free" conference call services engage in a practice called "traffic pumping".
It has to do with the high termination fees charged to YOUR phone carrier by the conference call telephone services, "traffic pumping" and "telephone arbitrage".
If you subscribe to unlimited US long distance service, then your carrier can't bill you for these conference calls, but your carrier has to pay the conference call service their excessive "termination fees". If you don't subscribe to unlimited US long distance service, then your carrier can (and will) bill you for these costs. This appear to what happened to you this time.
Google Voice (a free telephone call service from Google) blocks a handful of US telephone numbers that charge excessive "termination" fees. The practice of attracting many telephone users to dial these rural telephone companies is called "traffic pumping" and "telephone arbitrage" and is the subject of litigation by AT&T, Google, and others.
New York Times: Why Google doesn't like its phone bill (October 31, 2009)
Calls to some of the "free" conference calling phone numbers are free to you because you don't get charged on your personal phone bill for the time you use calling them. But these numbers are allowed to charge your telephone provider a "termination fee" which your phone provider pays for each minute one of their customers is connected to the "free" conference number. Unlike most long distance calls, your provider doesn't itemize or charge its customers for these calls. When thousands of customers use the "free" numbers, the termination fees add up for your phone provider. The concept is called telephone arbitrage and Google, AT&T and other phone providers are quite unhappy about these "free" calls because they cost the phone providers more and more in termination fees.
I received a call from this number from what they claimed what was 'freeisraeliadventures.com'. They explained all about their business and said to go to there website to register.