Prepaid Calling Cards

Prepaid Phone Card

Consumer Bill of Rights

Research shows that consumers of prepaid phone cards are more confused than ever by the growing number of products in the market and the constant battle to try and figure out which ones are reputable. On a weekly basis, new "brands" are introduced and existing products disappear - which ones should they trust? Frustrated by companies that prey on consumers because of their unfamiliarity with these products or by the complicated manner in which they are presented, it is time for the industry to establish and abide by a standard Consumer Bill of Rights that will protect the consumer from fraudulent practices.

Elite Telecom and The Kroger Company believes each and every consumer has the following basic rights:

1. "What is prompted on a call the consumer gets!" There should NEVER be a voice prompt given on a product that does not deliver what the consumer expects on that call - whatever the voice prompt says, that should ALWAYS be the number of minutes delivered on that call. If the voice prompt says 60 minutes, that does not mean 58 minutes.
2. "No Hidden Fees!" All fees, taxes or other methods of reducing the original value or remaining balance will be disclosed on each card, not just on posters or other Point of sale material.
3. "There will be no unexplained rate changes!" rates will not be arbitrarily increased without communicating the impact to the consumer! All rate changes reducing the actual talk time, regardless of the reason, will be communicated via a recording at the beginning of the effected call, informing the consumer of the reasons why the rate changed from the original provided rates. These recordings will remain in place for a minimum of 30 days from when the effected change was made.
4. "Easy to use and understand" The product should be easy to use (access numbers clearly identified), easy to understand (in their own language) and explain exactly what the consumer will receive with their purchase (rate structure clearly explained).
5. "Real customer service" Full access to a live customer service representative, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in their own language - not an answering machine in English.

The Kroger Phone Cards are services provided by Elite Telecom.

Cards expire 24 months from date of activation, or 24 months from the date of last recharge. Calls must be made from a touch tone phone. Directory assistance has a surcharge of $.85, and payphone calls have a surcharge of $.99. All calls made on the cards are billed in one minute increments. Cards have NO connection or maintenance fees. Rates are subject to change without notice. Maximum minutes presented on card assume non-payphone calls. International calls are billed at a higher rate. International rates will vary by city and cellular destinations. Calls made from Alaska and Hawaii are subject to higher rates. Cards cannot be refunded or exchanged at the store except where prohibited by law, and has no surrender value. Not responsible for loss, theft, or unauthorized use of the card or PIN. If you are unable to resolve a complaint with customer service, you have the right to contact the state regulatory agency in the state where the card was purchased.

Recharge limits on the cards are set from $10 to $100 at each time of recharge.