Billing

What are the call rates?

To view our rates click here. All calls made using the phone attract a charge. By default the country rate will apply unless otherwise stated on our rates page. Some cities or regions within countries have different rates as do mobile and premium rate numbers. Rates shown on our website are constantly reviewed and may change at any time.

How can I purchase call time?

The phone works on a pre-pay basis. Call time is obtained by purchasing a calling card from your local vendor. These are available in various denominations and currencies – see your vendor for details.

Each time you use the phone you will be prompted for your account number and PIN. Once you have used the entire card’s call time simply buy a new card for a new account and balance.

Can I carry over my account balance from one card to another?

Each calling card has a set amount of calling credit (units) according to its denomination.

For technical reasons, at present Phoneserve cannot transfer any outstanding balance from one card to another.

However, it is possible to check your account balance at all times, even whilst a call is in progress. This will allow you to efficiently manage the duration of your calls according to your remaining funds.

How is the billing calculated?

You are charged for calls that are connected. There are no subscription or monthly charges. Each call attracts a minimum charge of thirty seconds of call-time, and then additional 60 second blocks.

The Phoneserve Internet telephone has an inbuilt clock to help customers check the duration of their calls. The timer starts running the moment your call is connected and stops counting as soon as you (or the person at the other end of the line) hang up.

The signal to transmit the ‘call end’ takes a few seconds to reach our billing server. This might cause a discrepancy between the call duration as the timer displays it and the actual call cost as it is reported on your ‘Last 10 calls’ page.

The timer is meant to provide indicative call duration whilst the call is in progress, and should not be used as an accurate billing tool. Please bear this in mind when checking your account balance after each call.

How can I see an itemised bill?

Details of the last ten calls made can be viewed by pressing the dollar button on your phone. This shows the following call details:

What is Phoneserve's refund policy?

Sorry – our terms and conditions don’t allow refunds!

Why does my balance disappear when I make a call?

When a call is placed, our systems calculate how long you can be connected based on the call rate and your account balance. If a call exceeds this time it is disconnected and you will need to buy a new card.

Whilst a call is in progress the balance is frozen (which is why it disappears). When a call is finished our system calculates the cost, deducts that from your balance and displays the new balance on your phone.

What is VAT?

Due to European law VAT (Value Added Tax) is levied on all calls originating from within the EU (European Union). At present the rate for this is 17.5%.

VAT is calculated according to rules set out by "HM Customs & Excise".