Rategate Service & Help

Dear user,
Rategate.com wants you to make a well educated caller. We want you to find and navigate through the telecommunication jungle. Thus we tried to collect many usefull infos concerning telecommunication issues. We continously try to collect all telecommunication data to help you explain all the different telecommunication terms. One example is your telphone bill. You will find tons of different terms, rates and prices allthough you really do not understand what you should pay for. If you navigate through our help and service section, you will find a lot of explanation for all those terms. Please feel free to navigate through Rategate and make yourself a well educated caller.

Telecom helpdesk

Get informed about:

Understanding your phone bill / Monthly fees & charges

10-10 Dial-Around information

Bundled local & long distance service plans

Wireless local number portability

Prepaid Phone / Calling card scams

The pre-paid phone card industry experienced an immense growth in the last several years. With this growth, some consumer problems are surfacing. While some cards are working perfectly unfortunately some of them generate complaints. The most common are as follows:

Hidden connection charges, taxes and surcharges on cards that claim to have "no fees"
Large billing increments so that calls get rounded up to the "nearest 5 minutes" or so
Monthly service fees being deducted automatically from your balance each month
Being charged at a rate higher than advertised
Access numbers or PIN codes that do not work
Toll-free access numbers that are constantly busy, preventing use of the card
Customer service numbers that are constantly busy or simply do not work
Card issuers that go out of business, leaving card-holders with a useless card and no way to recover the money spent
Cards that debit minutes or units for the entire time you access their toll free number, even when you are listening to ringing, busy signals, or do not connect to the called party
Poor quality connections

Ways to avoid many of these problems:

Consider getting a "billed card" that you do not have to prepay
Ask about satisfaction guarantees
Check rates carefully - besides the advertised rate. Pay particular attention to extra connection surcharges, call completion rules, USF fees, time restrictions, and distance restrictions
Check other surcharges. Many pre-paid cards charge a first minute penalty, minimum call lengths, large payphone fees, monthly service fee, a recharging fee, or set expiration dates which you have to pay to extend to save unused time
Check the customer service number for the provider and verify that it works before purchasing the card
Beware of deals that sound too good to be true - they probably are!
Make sure the card has the full time promised by verifying that it comes in a sealed package and that the PIN is not visible
Ask who the underlying provider is to know which company will be carrying your calls
Be cautious of prepaid card providers that won't answer your basic questions in a professional manner
Be sure to ask these basic questions:
Are you charged for a call when there is no answer or when the line is busy?
Is there a minimum charge for each call?
Is there a monthly charge even if you don't use the card?
Does the time purchased expire?
Do I know the provider of the card? Are they a reliable company that will be around long enough for me to use all the time I pay for?
Is the card really a good deal after taking all the hidden fees into account? Check on billed calling cards as well to see if a better deal is available in a less risky way