Maxroam (aka Roam4Free V2)

[MATHA531]

But Phil, I know you monitor the board, your system should not charge people for calls that aren't completed......and please none of this it can't be helped.

A big big demerit for maxroam. Get it fixed Phil, it is almost robbery to bill people for calls that aren't completed. United Mobile and other international cards do not stoop to that low.

It is absolutely as egregious as what T Mobile US pulls when you use it for international roaming and don't answer a call and it bounces back to voice mail you get charged twice....they claim it can't be helped. It most assuredly can be helped and is just one giant rip off.

[snidely]

Originally Posted by MATHA531

But Phil, I know you monitor the board, your system should not charge people for calls that aren't completed......and please none of this it can't be helped.

A big big demerit for maxroam. Get it fixed Phil, it is almost robbery to bill people for calls that aren't completed. United Mobile and other international cards do not stoop to that low.

It is absolutely as egregious as what T Mobile US pulls when you use it for international roaming and don't answer a call and it bounces back to voice mail you get charged twice....they claim it can't be helped. It most assuredly can be helped and is just one giant rip off.

ATT does the same Do other operators in the world do this as well?

I can see that some cost is involved in carrying the call "round trip". Since that real cost is only a few cents, they could simply waive the cost. It would often be made up when the customer calls to pick up messages. It would also generate more revenue because people wouldn't be afraid to leave their phone on most of the time.

...mike

[dg7feq]

Originally Posted by snidely

ATT does the same Do other operators in the world do this as well?

I can see that some cost is involved in carrying the call "round trip". Since that real cost is only a few cents, they could simply waive the cost. It would often be made up when the customer calls to pick up messages. It would also generate more revenue because people wouldn't be afraid to leave their phone on most of the time.

...mike

Yes, they do it in germany too. But they also write in bold letters on the websites that you should switch off your voicemail before going abroad to avoid high roaming costs.

Chris

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by snidely

ATT does the same Do other operators in the world do this as well?

It depends on if the carrier uses Default Conditional Forwarding or not. I call DCF, "The customer is an idiot mode." It's done because 90% of calls to customer care are "I'm not getting my voicemails." and the carrier gets tired of fielding these calls from stupid customers. So, they just program the HLR to reset the conditional forwarding back to the voicemail numer if it ever gets turned off.

Most European carriers do not use DCF. I think Orange UK does.

[MATHA531]

Here is the reply I received from Maxroam regarding the charges for calls not completed.

The reason you are charged for incomplete calls is because our system operates on a ‘call back’ method, you are charged to receive this call, it is similar to a connection fee. We are working on removing call back, and thus the connection fee, and should have this removed by the end of Q1 2008.


While operators such as United Mobile do not charge this fee (we are only charging it due to the system we use, which we are trying to eliminate), they do not offer the advantage of local numbers in 46+ countries, which means that those calling your from the US can call your US number at local rates, and do not need to dial a Jersey number, as provided by United Mobile, which is sometimes charged not only as an international number, but also as a premium number.

Of course, it is inexcusable on their part not to prominently tell people they will be charged even if the call is not completed...I don't think this is a usual thing and I can't, in all due respect to them, understand why it should be different just because you have a local number than it is for UM. (and of course the question is are you charged on both ends namely the call to their switching center in Ireland and then to receive the callback?)...it is a gigantic deficiency on their part and very nearly a deal buster, nobody should be charged when a call is not completed.

[Bossman]

My maxroam sim card is showing unregistered sim. Anyone here have the same issue. I am in the US. I last used it on a recent trip in September. I can still log in and do any maintenance online. I have already opened a ticket with their customer service.

[bbob]

Originally Posted by MATHA531

Here is the reply I received from Maxroam regarding the charges for calls not completed.

The reason you are charged for incomplete calls is because our system operates on a ‘call back’ method, you are charged to receive this call, it is similar to a connection fee. We are working on removing call back, and thus the connection fee, and should have this removed by the end of Q1 2008.


While operators such as United Mobile do not charge this fee (we are only charging it due to the system we use, which we are trying to eliminate), they do not offer the advantage of local numbers in 46+ countries, which means that those calling your from the US can call your US number at local rates, and do not need to dial a Jersey number, as provided by United Mobile, which is sometimes charged not only as an international number, but also as a premium number.

Of course, it is inexcusable on their part not to prominently tell people they will be charged even if the call is not completed...I don't think this is a usual thing and I can't, in all due respect to them, understand why it should be different just because you have a local number than it is for UM. (and of course the question is are you charged on both ends namely the call to their switching center in Ireland and then to receive the callback?)...it is a gigantic deficiency on their part and very nearly a deal buster, nobody should be charged when a call is not completed.

Maxroam is also charging you even if the call is not completed, many other do this.

The argument that they have inbound numbers is very nice but has nothing to do with the story. If someone calls you on 1 of these did numbers and the call gets forwarded you have to pay for this forward anyhow. Also you have to pay for the did number if you want more than one. You can easliy setup a system like this yourself and use any roamfree sim.

For now I have not had to many problems calling jersey and it being treated as premium number.

but we have had the discussion here before about paying for calls that were not answered or if you received a busy tone. Yes operators should be clear about it and sure somewhere in the small print you might be able to find it. But like many others they are not clear or advertised rates on a website are outdated. There are just a few operators that have been in business a longer time that are clear about what they do.

[DRNewcomb]

Originally Posted by MATHA531

It is absolutely as egregious as what T Mobile US pulls when you use it for international roaming and don't answer a call and it bounces back to voice mail you get charged twice....they claim it can't be helped. It most assuredly can be helped and is just one giant rip off.

This is because of DCF (Defined/Default Conditional Forwarding). I used to fight this battle every time I went overseas. It took about an hour with CS & Tech Support before someone would turn off the DCF. However, I knew that it was only temporary. Every now and then they ran a self-audit program on the system and that would reset the DCF if it was found turned off.

However, a few years ago I went through the usual pre-travel drill with Tech Support and when they turned it off this last time, it stayed turned off. Ever since then I've had full control of my conditional forwarding. (I have no idea what they did different that time.) When I roam overseas I can just turn the forwarding off and that takes care of it.

Only once did I get charged for a forward to voicemail. I was roaming on DoCoMo in Japan and had suspended my conditional forwarding. Their system still forwarded the call to voicemail. Since then, when in Japan, I cancel and erase my condtional forwarding (##) so that they won't have any way to know where to send the call.

[petkow]

That doesn't sound too good then! Some destinations take notoriously long for the call to actually get put through after one has dialled. Hate to think you are getting charged for all that time.

[Bossman]

I also noticed that unlike every other international sim that uses call back where each of them specifically states that "Call charges start after the called party answers the call. No charge applies during the callback", No where is something similar mentioned on maxroam's site. So, maxroam should at least let their users know that charging starts as soon as the callback is answered. This will obviously make some think twice using this sim. Especially with a similar offer from Yackie that works/charges the way its supposed to.

This is obviously a major NEGATIVE for maxroam in my opinion. Most people that have used other callbacks probably assumed maxroam will work like the others, and never thought much about this.