Calls from the DR to cell phones?

mountainannie · #1 05-02-2009, 08:19 AM

I know that once I called a friend in the States on her cell , and she got charged a HUGE amount of money. Unlike the cell phones in the DR which do not charge for incoming calls, lots of US cell phone plans do charge. What have you all learned about this?
thanks

ybonabeach · #2 05-02-2009, 09:01 AM

When I visit Canada, I receive many calls on my cell there and never have had a charge. Maybe it depends on her plan, or if it's a pay as you go. No idea really!

sangria · #3 05-02-2009, 10:40 AM

It is confusing in NA to have a cell phone....In the DR its easy.

In the DR, incoming calls are free and you pay for outgoing calls either with pay as you go cards or a monthly plan.

In NA, it depends on your plan but no matter whether you are making or recieving a call, it is counting your minutes. IF you are outside your home city then you are also paying long distance on top of counting your minutes. Pay as you go works the same.

There are now some plans that allow you some freedom from long distance or give NA minutes free or let you call 5 or 10 numbers unlimited depending on the company and where you live.

It would be nice it was as simple as it is in the DR but then the companies wouldnt make billions of dollars each year.

Sangria

AlterEgo · #4 05-02-2009, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountainannie

I know that once I called a friend in the States on her cell , and she got charged a HUGE amount of money. Unlike the cell phones in the DR which do not charge for incoming calls, lots of US cell phone plans do charge. What have you all learned about this?
thanks

Almost all big cell companies here charge the same for incoming as outgoing calls - minutes used are minutes used. The only exception is when some plans allow unlimited talk to others who have the same carrier [someone with Verizon calls someone from Verizon] - but not all plans offer that. My kids have free 'mobile to mobile' but I don't, and we're with the same carrier [AT&T]. On the other hand, here in the US most incoming and outgoing calls are FREE after 9 p.m. weeknights and all day Saturday and Sunday - so ask your friend if she has that on her plan.

bachata · #5 05-02-2009, 11:07 AM

My first cell phone plan here in the US with AT&T was killing me I was charged for out going and incoming calls even when other people dial wrong number I had to pay for, that is Ridiculous....
Now I have a different company "Cricket" all incoming calls are free, unlimited out going call nation wide including Mexico. I call 829 area code cells in the DR free of any charge, I can send text mess any number in the DR for free and I only pay $ 35. Plus taxes.

JJ

web · #6 05-02-2009, 11:03 PM

llámeme JJ tengo chisme ..... como es carolina de norte?

Bklynny · #7 05-03-2009, 11:48 PM

My husband and I also have AT&T cell phone service here in the U.S.

In February, after a trip to the DR, we had numerous "roaming" charges on our bill and I spent over an hour on the phone with AT&T mobility. We always leave our cell phones on when we go away, just in case of an emergency at home. We received a lot of calls while in the DR, but only answered them if they were from family. However, we paid roaming charges on every incoming call, regardless of whether we answered it or not.

As per the AT&T Customer Service rep - if someone calls you on your cell, THEY don't know that you are out of the country, so their phone is being charged the minutes it takes to roam. It's "not their fault they did not know they were trying to reach you internationally" is what I was told. For all calls we receive, regardless of whether they were answered or not, we are charged the roaming charges. We just came back the other day again - I'm sure we'll find the same thing again on the next bill. I think it's outrageous, but it seems there's not much we can do about it with AT&T. We are better off getting a cell phone in the DR when we're there, which we've done in the past, and will start doing again.

Tamborista · #8 05-04-2009, 01:01 AM

There is NO charge to either party if the call is unanswered!
If they leave a voice mail they will be charged not you.

You either picked up calls while roaming, or retreived voice mail.

Just leave your DR number on your US voicemail to avoid a $500 phone bill.

pmey27 · #9 05-04-2009, 08:07 AM

How much does orange charge for their monthly plan...not the card plan?

Bklynny · #10 05-04-2009, 09:46 AM

Tamboritsta I hate to disagree but as timing would have it, this morning I received this month's cell phone bill via email and there are $45.77 worth of roaming charges on it. Two of those calls were answered and they were domestic, from my husband's brother in the DR - one is for 1 minute and the other is for 2 minutes ($1.62 for the first call and $1.97 for the second call)-

No other call was answered -in total there are 29 calls, and 2 left voicemails when we returned home. Each call indicates that it is 1 minute in length (which, as AT&T had explained in the last phone call, everything is rounded up to the nearest minute). It's also interesting that, at least on an AT&T cell phone bill, when someone calls you and you're out of the country, it will always show YOU"RE cell phone number as the number being called (in other words, it looks like you called yourself).

I cannot speak for any other cell phone companies, but with AT&T you pay for every single call - whether or not you answer it, whether or not someone sends you a text, whether or not they leave you a voicemail, etc...I went over this at length with them and all the arguing in the world would not change the bill for me. It was a lost cause. The only answer is to get a DR cell phone and or use Skype I guess - unless someone else has a better solution.

Colleen