why no collect?

Requires additional staffing ($$$) and opens the door to fraudulent charges and subscriber allegations/claims of fraudulent charges (more $$$). By not supporting collect calls there's also no bookkeeping and banking fees associated with billing for, hassling deadbeat customers for and accounting for and transferring collected funds to the various LD carriers. It's all about $$$.

One almost feels compelled to ask, in this age of 2½¢ a minute LD and blue bazillions of free minutes, who the dickens still calls "collect"?

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:12:29 -0600, Mitel Lurker

Inmates in prisons and persons making their 'one phone call' after being taken in custody.

I thought we're talking collect calls here? A collect call is a call which is billed to the recipient rather then billed to the caller. No credit card involved, nor is an operator required in most cases (assuming both parties are domestic)

But... they put charges directly onto credit card... I guess the answer is correct: no operator, hence no opperator assisted calls!

Teenages without a cell phone? Oh, ...

My abbreviated reply mislead you, sorry. One person said 'collect calls have billing costs' and I replied 'but they just bill to [my] credit card.'

But the real issue is that CallVantage has * No Operators * and hence do not support ANY "operator assisted" types of calls!

However (!) I just realized that there are two directions to 'collect calls', doh! A CallVantage (VoIP) caller (me) cannot dial 0 for Operator! But it may still be that Incoming Collect calls can be handled.

What happens with in/out operator-assisted calls on VoIP systems?

Sucks being them, now doesn't it.

That may sound a bit harsh to those among you in the bleeding hearts crowd, but we've been down that road before and we'll not be going down that road ever again. How's it go? Oh yes, now I remember, "Been there and done that!" Now any and all related to us whether by blood or marriage know exactly who not to call after your third strike. Your get out of jail free card has already been punched. Screw up once, shame on you. Screw up twice, shame on me.

By the way, that "first" call that you're legally entitled to make is not collect, so take my advice and make that one count and call someone who can help you, like calling one of your scooter trash friends you run with. You didn't learn this behavior at home. Your "friends" got you into this mess, so let them get you out of it.

Tough love? You bet it is.