Buzzcard -- Anyone used it

andy88_2

Actually, Woody, some networks do have free 0800 or equivalent calls, as I have already said.

But you are confusing a roaming phone with one containing a local SIM card. Maybe you should research a Vodafone Italy one ...?

But as I have already told several people, in Italy I would use Wind as it has its own calling card system, using 800 numbers
http://www.wind.it/it/privati/calling_cards_stampa_all.php

REGNO UNITO 50 0,100 50 0,100 25 0,200 14 0,357

- rates from Wind, fixed lines, callboxes, other mobile networks, using free numbers for the first 3 - 800905500, 800905140, 800905141

as this relies on the free 800 calls on Wind, then it is not facile to speculate on whether Buzzcard will be usable there in that manner, or its number blocked. What surprises me slightly is that the man from Buzzcard completely ducked my question about this on another thread. Even if it is blocked then 7 pence for UK landlines is hardly expensive.

Keep paying 75p if you really wish though, but if I were you, I'd ask about Vodafone's International Call Saver option - 60p outgoing, 30p incoming - or even their Passport scheme launched earlier this month.

Woody

Andy,
Are you saying that this only works out cheaper if I purchase a Wind SIM (how much, and where from?) OR do I select WIND as my network provider locally - and get free 800 calls with no chargebacks from Vodafone and then use the buzzcard?

Thanks,
Woody.

andy88_2

You'd need to have Wind SIM for the free calls, bought locally for €10 (with €5 credit) and put in an unlocked phone. Then use either their Dialoga International calling card referred to above for calls at €0.10 per minute, or we need to find out if Buzzcard will work.

I've sent a PM to someone on another forum to ask if he would try the Buzzcard access number from Wind and the others (I don't remember if all networks have free 800 calls).


nb for Italian SIM purchase you also need to have a Codice Fiscale, a sort of financial ID. A search on the MSE forums would find previous mention of it, or it's detailed lower down this page that also has tariff and network website details linked from it.
http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/italy.html

andy88_2

andy88 wrote:

I've sent a PM to someone on another forum to ask if he would try the Buzzcard access number from Wind and the others (I don't remember if all networks have free 800 calls).

Reply follows -

I called it now with my Wind and 3 ITA card, and it asked me for the PIN code; all for free of course, as all 800 numbers.
Good discovery!

RadioactiveFrog

Hello Everyone.

Sorry for not replying sooner.

I have been asked by MSE Martin not to reply to every post asking about Buzzcard or potentially asking about Buzzcard. Wishing to honour that entirely i edited my initial post to ask people to contact me persoanlly if they had any questions! But as some people may not have read the other thread i have spoken to Martin and he is happy for me to mention it again here.

If anyone does have any questions regardning Buzzcard then please do contact us directly. Either send me a Personal Message via these forums, email me at graham at buzzcard.co.uk(at an attempt to reduce spam i have printed my address in that way. please remove the spaces and replace the at for @) or contact the Buzzcard Customer Service team using our Contact Page

Also many questions that people have had are answered on our FAQ's Page.

Hopefully this will be of help to people. We look forward to hearing from you.

To keep up to date with Buzzcard and to hear about special offers please signup to our newsletter. There is a simple form on the home where you can do this!

We hope you enjoy using Buzzcard and find it benificial and Money Saving!!

Kindest Regards,

Graham Martin
https://www.buzzcard.co.uk

andy88_2

Although I am obviously not party to your discussion with Martin, I would hope that you would respond to queries about Buzzcard and how it works, but not take advantage of queries that were not specific to your company.

On the other thread, you started replying to every post that could have any relevance to Buzzcard. That was not the subject of the thread, and people would also be interested in comparing other services, like callthrough, call-by-call, callback and other calling cards. You also questioned my conduct in looking up details for Falkland Islands and Columbia, which were of no interest to you, but still genuine queries.

An example of the sort of question that would have been interesting, which I hope you could legitimately have answered would be the query about foreign mobile access, about which your first reply was totally patronising, and you have since ignored.

You appear to have a very interesting product, as I have said, but you should take care not to abuse people's tolerance. I note that you have recently joined the other forum I mentioned.

andy88_2

My personal observation of Buzzcard is that it has very interesting low rates; many calling cards have higher charges from abroad but this one does not.

However, the Buzzcard rates to mobiles look rather higher, and I am tempted myself to use it in conjunction with another calling card for lower mobile rates.

For example, from my Vodafone Germany mobile, perhaps I could call Buzzcard's access (waiting for a reply from my brother), then a US calling card that has mobile rates for UK at 10p/minute, rather than Buzzcard's 19p, or German mobile from 13p/min against Buzzcard's 27p. (Unless Buzzcard block thousands of US calling card access numbers of course)

andy88_2

In response to your PM Graham, if my last post is inappropriate, I expect to hear from Martin or the Board Guide, not you.

So if my observation that your rates for mobile destinations are nowhere near as keen as those for landlines embarrasses you, fine, but I think that might interest others as well.

MSE_Martin

OK this is what I am going to do. As there are many questions about the Buzzcard, I am going to give Radioactive Frog permission to discuss Buzzcard and answer questions in detail in this thread (as its a Buzzcard only thread anyway rather than talking about cards in genera) . I think that'd be beneficial to many people answering questions.



Also can i ask other posters, lets not let this get personal. It seems (And i've not fully checked it out myself) the Buzzcard could be a nice MoneySaving development, so if we get answers here, some we'll like, some we won't hopefully it'll help developed a better MoneySaving prospect

Martin

andy88_2

Thank you for clarifying all that Martin.

I shall re-ask the question that had the off-topic response deleted.

I have made general comments in the second post on the thread about all calling cards, with specific reference to the question of access to 0800 and equivalent numbers from foreign mobile networks.

Some networks do have such free (cost) access, some charge. Some block access to recognised calling card numbers; some have agreements with certain calling card firms who charge the customer a higher rate and feed some of thatrevenue to the network.

As Buzzcard appears to be a new product, and says it has no such surcharges, it would be very interesting for all of us to know whether the access numbers are not blocked at present. This is why I asked, and in the absence of response, have made my own enquiries for 3 countries to start with (still awaiting 2 replies, but Italy is mentioned above).

Just to clarify a bit more, such network tariffs are a feature of the local network of course, and apply to the use of a local SIM card, not to roaming with a UK SIM. Therefore it is not of any use to ask, for example, Orange UK about charges by Orange Slovakia or Orange Romania, and I hope any reply will not repeat this previous advice.

As Martin has said, the product is very interesting, in my view specifically because of the same tariffs when calling from abroad, as many cards have differing rates from different countries.

Perhaps RadioactiveFrog would care to respond. If the response is that the subject is rather complicated, or that he does not at present have details of which foreign networks do not charge freephone numbers, as the specific tariffs are difficult to find, that is fine (I agree, and we will have to continue researching).