Here's a helpful comment from the woman who inspired the entire tech series, Patti:
"Enjoying the tech articles and questions being raised. Would like to read responses from others on what's worked and what's not.
For example, we have swapped cell phones twice for international exchangers. Both times it has worked wonderfully! We have excess/carryover minutes and they did, too! Minutes/usage was not an issue. On one of the cells, we needed a special password to place calls from one phone. The exchanger forgot to give the details. We placed a SKYPE (voice over the internet) call and got the info. Also, since we have SKYPE calling for our guest, expensive international calls are not a problem.
Did you see today's, June 7, 2007, Wall Street Journal article Rivals Answer the iPhone.
The article had a matrix comparison of the Apple iPhone, HTC Touch, LG Prada, Nokia N95 and Samsung Upstage high-end smart phones?"
Being a touchy-feely medical professional, I do not read the Wall Street Journal, which is a financial newspaper. If I did, I'd probably have several more houses to swap with you, but unfortunately I have a prejudice against reading anything pink (WSJ is printed on rose-colored paper). This article sounds extremely interesting and helpful for anyone considering an internet-capable mobile phone, so I urge everyone to check it out.
Meanwhile, here are some other options for calling home when on home exchange.
DON'T ASSUME THE EXCHANGE HOME HAS A PHONE
Most of us have a normal, old-fashioned telephone in our homes. These are now called land lines to distinguish them from mobile phones. We should not assume that the home exchange property we are about to use has a land line. In many countries land lines are prohibitively expensive or too much of a hassle to install. Home exchangers in those countries may rely entirely on mobile phones for all calling.
If the swapper is offering you a second home, it is possible there may not be a phone set up in that vacation property. The swap family may choose not to pay a monthly phone bill for a property they use only one or two months per year. For homes which are rented out, the swapper may choose not to have a land line so the renter takes on the expense.
These days, many young people find a land line redundant. They can be reached anywhere via their mobile phone number. Why take on the hassle of a land line? If a wired phone line at your swap home is important to you, make sure it exists before you confirm the exchange.
NO-CONTRACT PHONE CONTRACTS
It is always good home exchange etiquette to discuss phones before the swap begins. Let your swap partner know in advance which calls are local or free and which should be avoided. Offer a suggestion for an alternative if you do not want to pay for the exchanger's long-distance calls. For swaps with foreign exchangers, include dialing instructions in your home exchange info packet. An example:
"Local calls are free to all numbers in area codes 415 and 510. You must dial in this format for all calls to the US and Canada: 1-area code-phone number. For instance, our cell phone number is 1-415-555-1212. Please call us with any questions."
There are many ways to handle long distance calls. I have occasionally heard of swappers mistakenly (or knowingly?) using a swap partner's phone for lots of expensive long-distance calls.
I have never had a problem with unauthorized calls by home exchangers, partly because I have always had some form of very inexpensive or free long-distance calling. Internet-based phone service is one option. We will discuss that in more detail tomorrow. These days, many traditional phone companies have been forced to offer plans which compete with these inexpensive computer-telephony services.
The ultimate solution to unauthorized calls is to have your phone company block all non-local calls for the duration of your swap. While I am not in favor of this choice for long-distance calls (it is inhospitable and usually unnecessary) I urge everyone to block access to those expensive phone numbers, usually for naughty chat, which can easily run into the hundreds of dollars per call. In other countries, high-cost per minute phone lines are used for other applications like customer service. Swappers may not know which phone prefixes indicate expensive calls. Blocking those numbers protects them from error and you from bankruptcy.
DIALING INSTRUCTIONS
It's important to inform exchangers in advance how they can make calls if long-distance calls are blocked:
"To make long-distance calls from our phone it is necessary to use a pre-paid calling card. You can buy one on the corner at the magazine shop. They are also available at any pharmacy. The best card we have found for France is 'Say Oui' which costs $5 for 500 minutes."
A less formal method of making sure you don't face a huge phone bill is to rely on the honor system:
"Long distance calls within the US cost us a flat rate of 25 cents per minute. Calls to Europe are one dollar per minute. Please keep track of your calls. We would appreciate it if you would reimburse us for any long distance calls."
Asking swappers to pay for long distance calls seems petty to me. If you swap for more than a few days per year, setting up a phone system that is cheap enough to offer your swappers free calls is easy and inexpensive. It's another way home exchange trumps hotels. Find out how your phone can help make you a champion home exchanger. Tune in tomorrow.
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