Having problems with phone card

[John K]

Based on recommendations here, we switched our phone card to Nobel (www.nobelcom.com).  We were happy with them until recently, when all of a sudden, they started stealing minutes from us.  My wife would attempt to call Ukraine, get nothing but silence, then find out she was charged for the time for not connecting.  Not only that, she would try connecting for 2 or 3 minutes and get charged for 10.

I am curious what cards some of you folks are using out there?  We've tried Cognidial, who ended up being worse than what we're at.  We've tried Tel3, which was also a big joke.  We've even tried AT&T calling cards, but still got problems with sound quality and connection.  Do any of you have suggestions regarding what you use and what kind of luck you have connecting?  

[UnitedNut]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

I've had nothing but good luck and experience with ExpressPin cards:  http://pointme.to/expresspin

[AJ277]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

I kind of gave up on the phone cards.

the card rates to the city in Ukraine I call where not THAT much better than my regular ATT long distance rates.
I called ATT directly and asked them to match another
published rate froma competitor..they did.

The connerction is always better dialing direct,
and the fallouts are not nearly as often,as well as not having to dial an 800 numberr then your account or PIN ,,etc..

I still use a card when calling from my mobile.
Normally a walgreens drugs card,
very easy to recharge,and keeop the same PIN.
fairly decent rate.

its connection rate and quality is the same as any of the other cards i used in the past ,and tha covers the gammet really of Star, cardinal, globalpapa ,East/west, or tothers that masterbell.com offers

Best monery i spent phone wise? buying her a cell.
The cell service is about 80% better than the home phone
as no matter where or how you are placing your call the crappy overloaded local ukrainian lines will give you frustration and headaches.

The mobile/cells have free incoming international calls , kyiv star etc..plus SMS

Used cells are inexpensive there and to get mninutes or service on them is reasoinable.
it was worth every penny and much more to relieve some of the headaches..of the home line.

This of course is only an option when you are in  that type of relationship..
be a little pricey if you are still looking

[SteveM]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

We too have had problems with Nobelcom in the past, and their customer service does not really involve service.  However, one possible strategy with Nobelcom is to ask for an exchange--transfer your remaining balance to a different type of card.  This wound up working for us, and we are using them again.  At 6.5 cents/minute to Russia with good connections and quality, it is hard to beat, even if there are problems with the cards every few months.

[jrm]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

not very good and all of a sudden my crdeit was "deleted". After complaining to them they said I would have to buy more cards and then I would get some credit.

[RickM]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

John,have you paid attention to what the weekly or monthly services charges (seperate from "connection" charges if they apply)and the plans all have different "round-off to minute" plans.ALL CARDS SEEM TO EQUAL OUT MINUTE-WISE ON DEALS DEPENDING ON WHAT YOUR USES AND NEEDS ARE...

The reason I ask is because in the beginning we thought we were getting "beat" for minutes but now we realize there is a weekly charge (I think 79 cents and the card rounds off at 4 or 5 minute calls...)If you don't use the cards fast like my wife does some others have "monthly" charges...and "one minute" rounding...

The wife mostly calls south Russia and Kyrgyzstan and the Talk Russia card has proven to be a "blessing"...Ridicolous amount of minutes for $20.00.Sometimes,weekends are a little "problematic".Particularly on Sunday afternoons and on holidays...For the most part,most problems are usually associated with the other end,the relatives lines being overloaded at the time she calls...

I'm not certain about Noblecom use in Ukraine but I'd guess the same as above would apply...

FWIW...I "have" had times the card did not work and I used my normal long distance carrier and got "instant amd clear" connections but the rates were outrageous...
It's all an issue of costs,patience and need...We've found Nobelcom to be worth to us the overall costs and we don't expect perfection from them for the rates we are paying...

[John K]

... in response to Re: Having problems with phone card, posted by RickM on Feb 16, 2004

My wife wasted $3 fruitlessly trying to connect to her mother this last weekend.  She would dial the number and get dead air.  It would eventually drop and ask her to dial again, of course they charged her for all that dead air time.  

This has happened more and more, and my wife and I are both fed up with it.  That's why we are looking elsewhere.

[exlabman]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

I just bought a card from www.extremephonecards.com and it was about .05 a minute. We used it Saturday and it went through with no problem to a small rural town in Ukraine and quality was great. HTH

Larry
Atlanta

[gator70]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

I am paying 0.089 cents a minute and have no reaccuring problems. Occasionally I have to dial twice to get the perfect connection. For the money you can not do better.

http://1st-usa.com/?aff=4029&co_branded=0

[MarkInTx]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

Different cards seem to be better for different places.

Victoria uses EuroMAMA, and likes them.

Pretty good price, and usually gets a good connection.

We used MCI when she first got here -- not a card... I mean we'd call direct through their "Call International" plan. It was about four times as expensive, and the connection was no better.

www.ldpost.com is where we order our cards.

[RfB]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

We used Nobel for a while, and like you, we started to loose minutes, and the rate didn't add up to the talk time used, then the quality took a major dump. We tried Discall.com (to St Petersburg), and haven't looked back since. We have a local number to get access, and use it for all calls to Russia and toll calls in the US, with no complaints for almost 2 years. The amazing part is it's still cheaper, using this card, for my wife to talk to her Mother in Russia, than it is for me to talk with my Dad, only an hour drive away.

[CFonde]

... in response to We use Discall.com, posted by RfB on Feb 15, 2004

Good, very important thread guys, which tends to not get talked about that much.

Lately, I've been searching for better phone cards myself. I had been using Zvonok.com for about 2 years, with great quality connections to St. Petersburg. However, lately their website is not operating for recharging existing accounts, and my e-mails to them have gone unanswered, as well as a full voicemail box for their 800 customer service #.

Then, I purchased a card from IntercallUSA.com about 2 months ago. My initial impression was that the quality of the IntercallUSA connection did not equal that of Zvonok, but I decided to continue to burn time off my IntercallUSA card instead of making a fuss.

Then, just last week, I purchased a card from Enjoyprepaid.com (a subsidiary of Nobel). My first call on that service SUCKED! I wrote them and asked them to refund the remaining balance in my account. They stated that I needed to make a total of 4 calls within 24 hours to the same phone in order to give their technicians enough data to troubleshoot, or something to that effect.

Immediately after spending 45 difficult minutes on Enjoyprepaid's card, I used the final 15 minutes of my IntercallUSA card to compare call quality, by calling the same person. Both Lena and I noticed that the quality of IntercallUSA was FAR superior to Enjoyprepaid's call. I would guess about a 50% increase in call quality, if such thing can actually be measured.

Therefore, my present card of choice is IntercallUSA, with excellent quality connections, and about 0.0350 to St. Petersburg. Like someone else said, what good is price if connection quality sucks!? The only problem with IntercallUSA is that it's only to be used on calls FROM the USA. I'm traveling to St. Petersburg in late April, with a layover at CDG for 3 hours (yeah, yeah, I've heard all about Paris and Air France). I'd like to make a call to St. Petersburg from Paris, Warsaw, Helsinki, or bum-fluke Egypt if that's where my travels take me. So, if anyone has an excellent quality "totally international" phone card option, I'd like to know about it. Otherwise, calling to the FSU from the USA, IntercallUSA is the best I've found, that appears to still be operating. Keep the recommendations coming.

~ Chris

[Philb]

... in response to Having problems with phone card, posted by John K on Feb 15, 2004

I am currently using Pinzoo Gold Card to call Kiev.  I buy the $50.00 dollar card because you get a 10% discount with this.  The rate is about 12 cents a minute.  This rate reflects a recent increase from about 9 cents a minute.  Generally sound quality and connections have been decent.  also, you can go to their web site and review your calling records to make sure you are being charged at the appropriate rate.