BUCKS WATCH
California Consumers Get More Free 411 Options - It seems that the days of paying for telephone directory assistance are coming to a close, at least for consumers in California. In September, we wrote about 1-800-FREE-411 (click here to read that article). The “free directory assistance” model seems to be catching on, with two additional services offering the same feature. Consumers in San Francisco Bay (area codes 408, 510, 415, 650 or 925 only) looking for residential, business, or government listings can try using 1-800-411-SAVE to get the number they are looking for. Like other free directory assistance services, callers looking for business listings may need to listen to a short advertisement for another business before getting the number they are looking for. However, the service offers an added enticement in the form of discounts. For example, a caller asking for a particular florist in San Francisco may hear an ad from a competing florist with an offer for 10% off any service. According to the company, they are planning to roll out the service nationally in 2006. For more information on 1-800-411-SAVE, click here. For consumers searching for business listings only, 800ideas.com’s 1-800-SANDIEGO service has recently expanded to 13 additional California cities, including Los Angeles (1-800-LOS-ANGELES), San Francisco (1-800-SAN-FRANCISCO), Sacramento (1-866-SACRAMENTO), and San Jose (1-877-SAN-JOSE), among others. For a full listing of all the California cities served, click here. Unlike 1-800-FREE-411, however, neither 1-800-411-SAVE nor 1-800-SANDIEGO (or its regional variants) offer to connect and carry the call for free, which can help consumers save on long distance charges. For the moment, consumers outside of California are probably better off sticking with 1-800-FREE-411 for their free directory assistance needs.
Black Friday Deals Abound for Telecommunications Consumers - As most consumers know, the day after Thanksgiving – Black Friday – is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. As such, many retailers are eager to cash in on the crush of holiday shoppers and offer deep discounts to savvy shoppers. Telecommunications consumers will not be forgotten this year. The hottest deals will be on cordless telephones and prepaid cellular phones. Consumers should note that most of these deals require a mail-in rebate to get the full savings. Don’t forget to mail then in! See below for a sampling of some of the hot deals that can be expected this November 25.
Note: These deals have been collected on reputable Internet sites. However, actual in-store prices may differ significantly. Call the store or check newspaper circulars to confirm these deals before heading out.
Best Buy
- GE 5.8 GHz Analog Cordless Phone - $24.99 ($7.99 after $17 mail-in rebate)
- Panasonic 2.4 GHz Digital Cordless Set with Answering System - $49.99 ($29.99 after $20 mail-in rebate)
- Panasonic 2.4 GHz Digital Cordless w/ Answering Machine (2 handsets included) - $79.99 ($49.99 after $30 mail-in rebate)
- Panasonic 5.8 GHz Digital Cordless Set w/ Answering System (AR) - $119.99 ($99.99 after $20 mail-in rebate)
- VTech 5.8 GHz Digital Cordless Set (2 handsets and 2 headsets included) - $99.99 ($69.99 after $30 mail-in rebate)
- Pay-As-You-Go Phone from Virgin Mobile - $29.99 ($9.99 after mail-in rebate)
CompUSA
- T-Mobile Nokia 6010 Phone - $79.99 ($49.99 after $30 mail-in rebate)
Office Max
- GE 5.8 GHz Cordless Phone with Digital Messaging - $19.99
- TracFone Nokia Pre-Paid Phone – $79.99 ($19.99 after $10 price break, $40 instant rebate, and $10 mail-in rebate)
Radio Shack
- Virgin Mobile Kyocera K10 Pre-Paid Phone - $19.99 ($49.99 retail)
- Radio Shack 5.8 Cordless Phone with Answering Machine - $29.99 ($19.99 after $10 mail-in rebate)
- Panasonic 5.8 GHz Digital Cordless Phone System with Answering Machine - $79.99 ($49.99 after $30 mail-in rebate)
Sears
- VTech 5.8 GHz phone and answering machine system with three handsets - $129.99 ($64.99 after $45 instant savings plus $20 mail-in rebate, 6am-11am 11/25/05 only)
Staples
- VTech 2.4 GHz dual handset phone system - $49.99 ($14.94 after $5 instant savings and $30 Staples rebate)
- AT&T trimline white phone – $13.99 (Free after $6 instant savings and $8 Staples rebate)
TRAC’s Second Annual Golden Turkey Award – With the Thanksgiving season upon us, it is again time for us here at TRACNotes to hand out our annual Golden Turkey Award. In 2004, we handed out the inaugural award to AT&T in recognition of their impressive record of rate, fee, and surcharge increases. This year, we again turn to a telephone carrier that managed to raise fees on at least seven separate occasions – and all this despite being in the middle of a bruising takeover fight. That is quite an accomplishment! We are therefore proud to present the Second Annual TRAC Golden Turkey Award to MCI.
The veteran local and long distance telephone carrier started off 2005 with a bang as February was a banner month for fee increases. MCI changed their carrier cost recovery fee from 1.4% of interstate and international long distance calls to a flat 99¢ fee. For callers that make no or only a few long distance calls every month, that amounted to a hefty fee increase. Also in February, MCI’s non-local subscribers saw their local telephone billing option fee increase from $2.99 to $3.99 per month. The fee for calling (area code) 555-1212 for directory assistance increased from $2.49 to $3.49. Almost all MCI long distance subscribers felt the pinch when the company raised the monthly minimums on most plans to $6.99. There was no relief in site in March as MCI began charging many of its customers a new $1.90 Carrier Access Charge. April Fools Day was no laughing matter as subscribers on four Nationwide long distance plans saw their monthly recurring fee go up anywhere from $1-$3. Springtime brought with it a new 99¢ fee as MCI started charging for receiving a paper bill in the mail. Independence Day was less merry thanks to a 26¢ increase in the Carrier Cost Recovery Charge for non-local subscribers. International callers got no relief from the summer heat either, as their international mobile termination charge was either introduced or increased for calls to 49 countries. Finally, basic rate customer found out on October 1 that they would be in for a sad fall season as their monthly recurring charge increased by $1 to $4.95.
The impact of all these fee increases on MCI subscribers has been significant. By way of example, let’s imagine a hypothetical MCI long distance subscriber, Mr. Joe Smith. On January 1, 2005 Mr. Smith was a relatively happy subscriber of MCI’s popular Nationwide Unlimited calling plan. He was charged a $24.99 monthly service fee for unlimited state-to-state, in-state long distance, and local toll calls. After adding in MCI’s 35¢ (1.4% of $24.99) carrier cost recovery charge, the $2.99 local telephone company billing option fee, the $2.49 cost of one directory assistance call per month using (area code)555-1212, Mr. Smith was facing a $30.82 bill even before adding in the federal, state, and local taxes. Despite the additional 19% in fees and surcharges he was paying beyond the monthly service fee, Mr. Smith was fairly satisfied with his service. Fast forward eleven months to November 2005. Mr. Smith’s pre-tax bill has now mushroomed more than 22% to $39.61 thanks to an increase of $3 in his monthly service fee, 90¢ in the carrier cost recovery fee, $1 in the local telephone billing option fee, $1 in the 555-1212 charge, a new 99¢ paper billing option fee, and a new $1.90 Carrier Access Charge. Needless to say, the hypothetical Mr. Smith is not a very happy customer.
All in all, it was a stellar year for MCI fee increases. Congratulations on receiving the 2005 TRAC Golden Turkey Award, MCI. You’ve earned it!
TRAC IN THE NEWS
Don’t Pay for 411 When You Can Get it For Free, Says TRAC – Our TRACNotes article about 1-800-FREE-411 has generated quite a bit of interest in the media over the past few weeks. "We think this is pretty exciting and it's a good deal for consumers," said John Breyault, TRAC research associate in Wednesday’s San Francisco Chronicle. "Paying for 411 or directory assistance is really a money-waster now that there are so many other options for you." Click here to read the full article.
TRAC AND YOU
Happy Thanksgiving From TRAC – In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday, TRACNotes will be taking a break next week. We will return on Friday, December 2.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
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©2005 Telecommunications Research and Action Center. TRAC grants unlimited rights to reproduce TRACNotes or any information contained in it provided attribution is given as follows: "Source: Telecommunications Research and Action Center. http://www.trac.org"
