"Dial Around Numbers" received their name because when you use a 10-10 dial around number you are dialing around your phone’s long distance calling plan. This allows you to take advantage of alternative rates when making calls that may be more expensive with your long distance calling plan. For example, if you have a peak period that is $0.25 per minute for state-to-state calling, and you need to make a state-to-state call during your peak period, there may exist a dial around number with a lower overall cost. However, be careful because dial around numbers can actually be more expensive than your calling plan. For example, when they say you get 20 minutes for $0.99, this means if you call and get an answering machine, that 30 second call cost $0.99; also, a dial around number may also have extra monthly charges. CallSense computes all of these costs for you, and shows you the true costs of using one dial around number versus another.

Bottom line: Sometimes it may make sense to use a dial around number for a call, and sometimes it may not. We recommend keeping your dial around number usage low for the first month you use a dial around number, and wait to see what charges actually appear on your phone bill. However, there are dial around numbers that waive fees for the first month, and so keep reviewing the dial around charges on your phone bills.

1. CallSense includes the following items when computing your dial around number true costs:

• for each call 

  • usage rates

  • any call minimum charge

  • any direct-dialed per call surcharge

• for calling plan account total

  • any monthly recurring fees

  • any Universal Service Fund charge

  • any monthly minimum charges

  • however, it does not include taxes: state, federal, …

2. Before using a specific dial around number from a specific residential phone number, please call the dial around phone company’s customer service number and verify the rates and terms you will have when you use a dial around number from that residential phone number. Just because a dial-around number has great new rates, doesn’t mean you will automatically get them. In fact, if your phone number has ever used the dial around number in the past, the odds are you will get the older rates that were in effect when the dial around number was "first" used from your phone number. Customer service numbers are available from CallSense’s main menu.

3. Typically, charges from your dial around number usage will appear on your local telephone bill.

4. Remember that the Universal Service Fund charge varies by phone company, and so you cannot simply assume that this charge is the same for all phone companies. Phone companies will either

   1. charge you a flat rate such as $1.00 per month

   2. charge you a percentage of your charges such as 4.9%

   3. or not charge you this fee. When CallSense computes the calling plan account totals, where applicable it computes and includes the Universal Service Fund charge in the calling plan account totals.

There exist dial around numbers that give deals such as $0.05 per minute, but the first 10 minutes are $0.50; or $0.10 per minute, but the first 20 minutes are $0.99. The problem with dial around numbers that charge you an initial fee for 10 minutes, 20 minutes, …, is that many calls may result in either (1) an answering machine picking up, (2) the person not being home, or (3) the person not being able to speak for as long as you had expected. In these cases, a less than 1 minute call could cost you $0.50, $0.99, or more.

One way to manage these minimum charges is to use your phone’s long distance calling plan to check to see if the person is home and can speak for a while, and then immediately hang-up and call them back using the dial around number. This may help you avoid paying $0.99 for a 30 second call. Of course if the person is always home and ready to speak, then it would make sense to just dial them the first time using the dial around number. Also, if your per-minute rate for your long distance calling plan is more than the initial 10 minute or 20 minute rate for the dial around number then it would make sense to use the dial around number for the initial call.

If you make international calls, especially calls to Canada or Mexico, you should definitely evaluate using a dial around number for these calls.

For example, if in October 1999 you made a 1 hour call once a week from Northern California to Mexico City, over 3 years you would have spent approximately $2400 with 10-10-811's FiveLine and approximately $11,000 with Sprint Most II's basic international rates.

If you make any international calls, we recommend using CallSense International to see if there is an optional international calling plan that is less expensive than the 10-10 dial around numbers for your actual calling patterns.