Tollfree numbers at the VT_500 plan?

[TechniKal]

Do calls to tollfree numbers count against the 500 minutes in the VT_500 plan? How about calls to voicemail?

I know access to tollfree numbers are 'free' under Vonage and some of the other voip provider's limited plans, but I can't find that info for Viatalk.

Thanks!

[KLH]

Toll Free Calls are always free, along with other ViaTalk members. I'm not 100% sure, but I do belive that voicemail calls are free also. (I'm not sure why they woldn't be).

http://support.viatalk.com/index.php?_a=knowledgebase&_j=questiondetails&_i=7&nav=+%26gt%3B+%3Ca+href%3D%27index.php%3F_a%3Dknowledgebase%26_j%3Dsubcat%26_i%3D2%27%3EBilling%3C%2 Fa%3E+%26gt%3B+%3Ca+href%3D%27index.php%3F_a%3Dknowledgebase%26_j%3Dsubcat%26_i%3D3%27%3ECharges%3C% 2Fa%3E

[TechniKal]

Excellent - I have no idea how I missed that on the site.

Thanks for your help.

[VTAllan]

Voicemail calls are indeed not counted towards your minutes. If you wanted to delve further in that, it's just like an "in-network" call which is always free with our service.

[Heat305]

Voicemail calls are indeed not counted towards your minutes. If you wanted to delve further in that, it's just like an "in-network" call which is always free with our service.

I am currently on the VT_500 plan. I recently had my dial plan modified so when I dial the digits "611" from my VT line it dials the "1-866-626-7150. The dial plan works just fine. My concern is this. You stated that all calls to toll free numbers are considered like in network calls and we shouldn't be charged any minutes towards our calling plan right? I made two calls since having my dial plan programmed with the "611" digits. I logged into my outgoing call logs online and it shows minutes being charged. Is this something that the network doesn't automatically detect and we would need to wait for the end of month billing to show it as not being charged? It's kinda confusing because in my total minutes for outgoing in counts them in with the total minutes used for outgoing calls. Is this something that can be looked into. I would prefer if the network automatically picked it up as dialing a toll free number and my call logs show "ZERO" minutes used for calling support. Or is the "1-866-626-7150" not a toll free number. I have attached a screen shot of the call logs. Also my call logs doesn't show what number I dialed, which I wish it could show me. It shows the number as being "Hungup" and being charged minutes from my plan. Any feedback is grately appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Medic63]

The call log shows all calls, not just those charged against your allowance for the month. To test this, call another 1-800 number or your voicemail (*123) and when you check your call logs, it will be listed right along with the other calls you've made. They are not, however, charged against your 500 minute allowance.
On the other hand, I'm unsure as to the effect hacking into the dial plan has on the billing process. Apparently such a modification doesn't play nice with the call logs. You may have to wait until the end of the billing cycle to verify it is not charged against you.

[voxabox]

I too opened a ticket to VT billing dept. about toll free calls being counted against my minutes, and was informed that:


--- snipped---
The total number of minutes you are looking at does not reflect the
number of minutes you will be billed for. Toll free calls do not count
against the 500 minutes you have each month. This number is merely the
total number of minutes used each month. If you would like to know how
many minutes you have used which count against the 500 minutes each
month you can take this total number of minutes and subtract any toll
calls, in network calls, etc. If you have any other questions, let us
know. Thank you.
--- snipped---


While VT Control Pannel is quite usable,
I don't see why we have to do the calculation ourselves just to find how many minutes we have used that were counted against our subscribed service plan minutes:rolleyes:

Reporting the correct minutes (per subscriber's plan) used not only helps us the subscribers,
but also saves VT support from wasting their time assisting customers with this sort of questions


my $0.02

v

[Heat305]

I too opened a ticket to VT billing dept. about toll free calls being counted against my minutes, and was informed that:



While VT Control Pannel is quite usable,
I don't see why we have to do the calculation ourselves just to find how many minutes we have used that were counted against our subscribed service plan minutes:rolleyes:

Reporting the correct minutes (per subscriber's plan) used not only helps us the subscribers,
but also saves VT support from wasting their time assisting customers with this sort of questions


my $0.02

v

My take exactly. Why should customers have to take time out to figure out what is being charged or not. By the time I get home from work and dealing with the kids I don't even want to waste my energy calling support asking about the minutes.

Why not have the system automatically mark all "TOLL FREE" calls as "NO CHARGE" instead of "ANSWERED" in the control panel, I think more customers would then be more less likely to bring this topic up again or call into the support line. My two cents. What do you guys think?