FAQs
1.1 What is PCO4NRI Service?
1.2 What are the benefits of PCO4NRI?
1.3 Which is the company that offers PCO4NRI service?
2. Rates
2.1 What rates and tariff plans do you offer?
2.2 What is the cost calculator?
2.3 Does the rate per minute tariff include taxes?
2.4 When I purchase or recharge the service, will I be charged any taxes?
3. Use the service
3.1 How do I use PCO4NRI?
3.2 Which are the access numbers?
3.3 Can I change my PIN?
4. Sign up
4.1 How do I sign-up for PCO4NRI?
4.2 When can I plave a call?
4.3 What is PINless dialing?
4.4 Why should I register my phone number with the service?
4.5 How can I register my phone number with the service?
4.6 What if i have more than one phone in my house?
4.7 What if I do not have access to a secure phone line?
4.8 Why can't I register a number that is on a PBX?
4.9 Can I register a Hotel or a Hostel Number?
4.10 What are the benefits of the online service?
4.11 What is the credit transfer function?
4.11 Will I be charged for the credit transfer function?
4.13 Are there any commitments? Do I have to sign up for a certain period of time or can I cancel my service at any time? Are there any activation or disconnection fees?
4.14 Can I change my website Username and my website password?
5. Wireless/Cellular Phone
5.1 Why should I use PCO4NRI with my mobile phone?
5.2 How do I use PCO4NRI from my mobile phone?
6. Account Details
6.1 How do I log into My Account?
6.2 Can I manage my account online?
6.3 How do I change my registered phone number(s)?
6.4 How do I change my billing address and my web site password?
6.6 How to change my E-mail address?
6.8 What should I do in case someone has stolen my password?
7. Payment
7.1 What are the different payment options available?
7.2 Why was my credit card declined?
8. Recharge
8.1 What are the different Recharge options available?
8.2 Why is PCO4NRI charging tax on the recharge amount?
8.3 How is the usage calculated?
8.4 Will I be charged for busy signals for calls that are not connected?
8.5 What kind of credit card do you accept?
8.6 How do I recharge my tariff plan?
8.7 Is there a validity period for the recharge amount?
8.8 I'm having trouble recharging.
8.9 What is the CVV verification number?
9. Security & Privacy
9.1 How does PCO4NRI protect my credit card information?
9.2 Will you sell or share my information with other companies?
9.3 Is it safe to send my confidential information over the Internet?
9.4 What kinds of email will you send me?
10. Features PIN less dialing
10.1 How can I use PIN less dialing?
10.2 Can I use PIN less dialing from an un-registered phone number?
10.3 If someone has already registered my phone number for PIN less dialing, can I register that number back from him (Eg: Hostel no.)?
11. FAX
11.1 Can I send a fax message?
11.2 Will I be charged for sending a FAX?
11.3 Will I be charged a fee for this service?
12. Customer Support
12.1 Whom can I contact if I have any questions about my account?
12.2 What are the hours of operation of PCO4NRI Customer Service Center?
12.3 "I have a question that isn't addressed on the website." What should I do?
Top 1.1 What is PCO4NRI Service?
PCO4NRI Service is more than just a calling card. Besides providing you the facility to call India, we offer many other value added services that help you stay connected with India. Our aim is to provide you with an electronic wallet that will make life more convenient.
Currently we offer an easy to use calling service which allows you to make calls to India from the United States. Very soon you will also be able to top up your folks' mobile phones or your own mobile when you are abroad. Pretty cool, isn't it?
You can access the calling service from any phone by calling any one of our Access numbers .
Top 1.2 What are the benefits of PCO4NRI?
We offer the best of both worlds – great clarity and great prices. There are lots of value added services in store, so watch this space for more details. We even have a Cost Calculator that helps you choose the best rates depending upon your calling habits.
Top 1.3 Which is the company that offers PCO4NRI service?
PCO4NRI is offered by Telecom Italia Sparkle North America.
Top 2.1 What rates and tariff plans do you offer?
PCO4NRI offers calling services to various countries and a special calling card for India.
We offer 3 Plans – Value Plan , Unlimited Conversation Plan and the Traveler Plan
You can also use our Cost Calculator to find the plan that suits your needs the best.
We also offer you the flexibility of changing your plan, if you so desire. In case you still can't figure out the best deal, call our Customer Care and we will be more than happy to help you.
Top 2.2 What is the Cost Calculator?
We have figured, that with most calling cards, it's difficult to understand the real cost of a call, and you end up paying much more than you expected. But with PCO4NRI, you'll get the breakup of a call through our Cost Calculator.
We levy different rates, according to the phone used to make calls. For example, we have to apply a surcharge if you call from a payphone because as per the current rules we must pay the same to the local operator.
We want to be completely transparent, so we've provided a tool where you can feed in the conditions under which you want to call (e.g. the estimated average duration, the type of line from which you want to call, etc.) and then we recommend the best plan for you and the exact cost of the call, subject to the declared terms and conditions.
The calculator can compute the costs that are under our control, but however much if we wish to, we cannot control other possible costs like the cost for calling our access number and other surcharges as possibly levied by your cellular service provider.
Top 2.3 Does the rate per minute tariff include taxes?
The current applicable taxes are charged at the time of purchase, however there could be an instance when due to certain unforeseeable reasons (regulatory obligations, new rules, etc) additional taxed will be levied.
Top 2.4 When I purchase or recharge the service, will I be charged any taxes?
Yes, the purchase may be subject to sales tax and other applicable taxes, charged as per the US Federal and State laws. According to US laws, you may pay tax depending on your billing address (the one declared to your credit card issuer) because different states in the US have different tax rates/laws whereby some states have taxes which are higher/lower than other states. The tax depends also on the State where our company has offices, so you pay taxes only in few States.
You do not need to pay taxes if you are an Indian resident with a credit card issued by an Indian bank with a billing address in India.
Top 3.1 How do I use PCO4NRI?
To use the service, you must first sign up and purchase credit for at least one our available plans.
After you have successfully signed up, you can start using PCO4NRI services as soon as you get your PIN details, which will be sent to your email address.
You can access PCO4NRI services from all states of USA except Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Placing a call on our service is really simple. Refer to our ‘Get Started' section to learn more.
Top 3.2 Which are the access numbers?
You may find the local access numbers in the Tariff Plan Section of the site.
You can also contact our Customer service to speak to one of our representatives who will be glad to help you.
Top 3.3 Can I change a PIN?
No, you cannot change your PIN.
Top 4.1 How do I sign-up for PCO4NRI?
You can sign up for PCO4NRI by clicking on 'Sign-up' .
During signup stage, you will be required to provide your email address, your personal data and a password of your choice. At this stage you do not need to make any purchase; you may, if you choose, subscribe to our newsletter service for finding out news from PCO4NRI.
At the end of the registration phase, you will receive an email where you will find the confirmation message: click on it and voila, your account is activated. You can change your data and password anytime, by accessing the My Account section of the website.
Note that the billing address you provide might be verified by the Credit Card payment gateways.
Top 4.2 When can I place a call?
You need to be a registered user to make calls. And of course you need to have balance in your account. If you've met these conditions, you're eligible to make calls. But do keep the time difference between United States and India in mind before dialing that number!
Top 4.3 What is PINless dialing?
Our system can recognize the phone numbers associated with the tariff plans you've chosen. This feature allows you to skip entering the PIN when placing calls through these registered lines (except in a few cases where your local exchange carrier does not provide us with the Caller Line Identification). You must make sure, however, that the caller ID number (Calling Line Identity or A-Number Identity) is activated on the phone line that you register
Top 4.4 Why should I register my phone number with the service?
When you associate a phone number with a PCO4NRI tariff plan, you no longer need to enter the PIN to access our service from that phone number. In a few cases, when your local exchange carrier does not provide us with the Caller Line Identification (CLI) you may be asked to enter your Username even when dialing from a registered phone number. You must make sure that the caller ID number (Calling Line Identity or A-Number Identity) is activated on the phone line that you register with us. It is recommended that only a secure phone line is registered - that is, a number that is not publicly shared. You CANNOT register payphone numbers, nor can you register a number that is on a local PBX. You should also avoid registering shared phones such as a common dormitory phone or other shared phones. You CAN register your home phone, your cellular phone, as well as an office phone as long as it is a private line.
IF YOU ASSOCIATE ONE SHARED PHONE NUMBER TO A TARIFF PLAN, YOU ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO USE THE SERVICE YOU HAVE PAID FOR. BE CAREFUL, THIS IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!
Top 4.5 How can I register my phone number with the service?
You can register your phone number in a couple of ways:
• You can access the website, login into your account and use the Telephone Number Registration option in the left menu
• You can call one of the available Access Numbers, enter the PIN and then press the ‘* followed by ‘3'. Following this step, you will not need to enter the PIN; if you've already registered another phone number for the same tariff plan, the new registration will override the old one.
Top 4.6 What if I have more than one phone in my house?
You can associate only one telephone with each tariff plan and vice versa. You may associate only one tariff plan with one telephone number; so if you purchase only one plan you may have the PINLESS feature only on one telephone.
Top 4.7 What if I do not have access to a secure phone line?
If you do not have access to a secure phone line, when signing up, you may choose to not register any phone number. However, you can add one later by accessing My Account section on the website.
Top 4.8 Why can't I register a number that is on a PBX?
Many offices use a PBX number for making and receiving phone calls. You are on a PBX generally when you have to dial a number (ex. 9) to get an outside line. These types of systems generally use different phone numbers to make outgoing calls. Therefore, when you make a call from a PBX number, PCO4NRI is unable to identify your user details and you will be required to enter your PIN.
Top 4.9 Can I register a Hotel or a Hostel Number?
Please do not register a hotel or a hostel number for your credit security . To prevent misuse of your account (by anyone else using the phone line) please use your PIN for dialing.
Top 4.10 What are the benefits of the online service?
PCO4NRI online enables you to manage your account easily. You may view your calls and purchase history and perform the purchase and the registration of your telephone number for PINLESS dialing at the click of a button.
You have also a function that is unique for this kind of service, the function of transferring the credit from one tariff plan to another, if you consider the latter plan more convenient for you.
Your personal details remain confidential in our highly secure system.
Top 4.11 What is the credit transfer function?
PCO4NRI online enables you to transfer your credit from a tariff plan to another one.
Currently you may only move the entire credit to another plan.
After performing the function you may check the new credit information by visiting the ‘My Account' section.
Top 4.12 Will I be charged for the credit transfer function?
Currently, there is no charge for this service.
Top 4.13 Are there any commitments? Do I have to sign up for a certain period of time or can I cancel my service at any time? Are there any activation or disconnection fees?
PCO4NRI does not force you into any time commitment since we are confident of the value and quality of our service. There is no cancellation fee associated with our service, however if you choose to cancel the service you will forgo the balance in your prepaid account, if any, and there will be no refund of money from PCO4NRI.
Top 4.14 Can I change my website Username and my website password?
Your website Username is unique and is the email address you communicated at the sign up stage, hence it cannot be changed. However, you can change your password by visiting the ‘My Account' section.
Top 5.1 Why should I use PCO4NRI with my mobile phone?
PCO4NRI has the same tariffs from fixed line as well as from your cellular phone but the rates vary for a payphone. Furthermore you can store the access number in your mobile phone book. Please note that we are not responsible for any additional charges your cellular service provider may levy for dialing the access number.
Top 5.2 How can I use PCO4NRI from my mobile phone?
Dial the Access Number, enter your PIN along with the destination number you wish to call after the prompt. Or an even simpler way to call is to associate your cellular number to PCO4NRI service and skip entering the PIN.
Top 6.1 How do I log into My Account?
Log in by clicking on the ‘My Account' section. Use your registered email address as your login id and enter your website password. After logging in, you will see the list of the available functions for maintaining your personal data, checking your balance and buying a recharge or a new PIN.
Top 6.2 Can I manage my account online?
All PCO4NRI customers have access to our online My Account management tool. This tool is accessed by providing the username and the password. This customized tool allows you to maintain your account details and to perform other useful functions
Top 6.3 How do I change my registered phone number(s)?
You can change any of the registered phone numbers through the website. To make the changes through the website log onto 'My Account' section of the website and click the function, ‘Telephone numbers registration.'
Top 6.4 How do I change my billing address and my web site password?
Sign in through the 'My Account' section of the website and click the My Profile link. You can change your password in this section.
Top 6.5 How do I change my E-mail address?
You cannot change your email address as it is your account identification (Username).
Top 6.6 What should I do in case someone has stolen my Password?
If you suspect that someone else has unauthorized access to your account, you will need to change your Password immediately. Please log on to your 'My Account' at our website and inform our Customer service immediately.
Please protect the privacy of your account at all times and do not share your Password with anyone else. Please note that Telecom Italia will never ask for your private password either by email or by phone or by any other means.
Top 7.1 What are the different payment options available?
We are currently offering only the Prepaid option and accept payments only through Master Card or VISA.
Top 7.2 Why was my credit card declined?
There can be multiple reasons why your credit card could have been declined:
1. There may have been a Master Card or VISA processor or server error. Due to the high volume of people trying to sign up and make payments, occasionally our system cannot handle the traffic, resulting in a declined transaction.
2. Please make sure that expiry date on the Master Card or VISA matches the date which you have keyed in.
3. Please make sure that the billing address of the Master Card or VISA matches the address you entered in the website.
Failure to exactly match any of the above mentioned information will result in a declined transaction. Please contact your bank to make sure there is no issue with your card or credit limit available.
Top 8.1 What are the different Recharge options available?
You can select a tariff plan and purchase it for the amount you see in the website which will be your initial tariff plan balance. Every time a call is made, the call charges are deducted from this balance.
You may top up your balance at any time by accessing our website by choosing the plan that you prefer.
You may purchase and top up different tariff plans that you may use in different situations, choosing the most convenient with respect to the expected duration of your calls.
Visit our Tariff Plans section to know more about our Plans.
Top 8.2 Why is PCO4NRI charging tax on the recharge amount?
Other operators deduct the value of the tax from the talk time you get on the card. We give you full talk time on your chosen tariff plan and charge tax on top of the tariff plan/recharge price. This transparent process helps you to know the available talk time.
Top 8.3 How is the usage calculated?
We charge you on the basis of the tariff plan that you have chosen.
Value Plan - You will be charged a fixed rate for each minute of conversation. Charges for the telephone calls are measured in whole minutes. All calls, which are fractions of a minute, are rounded up to the next whole minute (e.g. a call which lasts 1 minute 45 seconds will be charged as a 2 minute call).
Traveller Plan – You will be charged a fixed charge for an initial duration (e.g. 3 minutes) and after this duration, in the balance period of the call you will charged a fix rate per minute.
Unlimited Conversation Plan You will be charged a fixed charge for the call and you can talk as long as you like, but our system will cut the call after 90 minutes for technical reasons.
Timing on calls begins when the called party answers the call. Timing on calls ends when the calling party hangs up or PCO4NRI network receives an "on-hook" signal from the terminating carrier - which is when the called party hangs up or when the call is cut by the system after 90 minutes of conversation.
The calls placed from a payphone using the Toll Free Number are subject to a surcharge per each call, but some tariff plans do not allow the calls from payphone.
You can also check out our Cost Calculator to understand the charges per call.
Top 8.4 Will I be charged for busy signals for calls that are not connected?
You will not be charged for non-connected calls. In the unlikely event that you are ever charged for non-connected calls we will be happy to refund you the amount. However if you are using any payphone for the same, the pay phone surcharge will be charged to your account.
Top 8.5 What kind of credit card do you accept?
At present we accept Master Card and Visa only.
Top 8.6 How do I recharge my tariff plan?
You can recharge your prepaid account online by logging into your account by visiting the My Account Section.
Top 8.7 Is there a validity period for the recharge amount?
Yes, but not for the recharge amount, but for the tariff plan life. The prepayments/recharge does not expire as long as the related tariff plan remains active. If your tariff plan does expire, we will not be obligated to refund any balance remaining in your Account. See our Expiration Policy in Services Agreement for more details.
Top 8.8 I'm having trouble recharging.
Please make sure that the expiry date on your Master Card or VISA Card matches with the date you have keyed in. Also please make sure that the billing address of the Master Card or VISA Card matches with the address mentioned in your account. Failure to exactly match this information will result in a declined transaction. Also, please contact your bank to make sure there is no issue with your card.
Top 8.9 What is the CVV verification number?
CVV verification number is for your safety and security. You're required to enter your Master Card or VISA's verification number. The verification number is the last 3/4 digits of the number printed on the back of your Master Card or VISA.
Top 9.1 How does PCO4NRI protect my credit card information?
We use SSL and 128-bit encryption. Our website is VeriSign certified. Your personal information is heavily encrypted as it travels from your browser to our server, and once it reaches us, it is safe behind multiple layers of security.
Top 9.2 Will you sell or share my information with other companies?
No. All information you submit will be kept strictly confidential. We also take extra measures to protect your sensitive information by restricting access and encrypting your sensitive personal data.
Top 9.3 Is it safe to send my confidential information over the Internet?
Yes. We have taken steps to ensure that your Master Card or VISA Card details or other sensitive information is never sent unprotected over the Internet. Through the use of a security protocol known as SSL, we encrypt your transaction information prior to transmission over the Internet so it can't be read in transit. This works to keep your Internet transactions private and secure.
Top 9.4 What kinds of email will you send me?
We will send service confirmations, other account-related details, updates on our services and information about other products and services that we believe may be of interest to you. Thus, the email account is a necessary component of your PCO4NRI service.
Top 10.1 How can I use PIN less dialing?
If you are calling from a registered phone number, you will not be required to enter the PIN.
Top 10.2 Can I use PIN less dialing from an un-registered phone number?
No you can only use this facility when dialing from a registered phone number.
Top 10.3 If someone has already registered my phone number for PIN less dialing, can I register that number back from him (Eg: Hostel no.)?
If someone, say your friend, has already registered your phone number for PIN less dialing then you cannot register that number back from him. Please note that a phone number can be registered to one tariff plan only at any single point of time. In this case, if you want your phone number to be registered with your account, then you would have to ask your friend to un-register the phone number from his account.
Top 11.1 Can I send a fax message?
Yes. Simply dial the access numbers through your fax machine. Once you have connected to the receiving fax machine, start transmitting the fax. Please refer to your FAX machine user guide to set up the facility.
Top 11.2 Will I be charged for sending a FAX?
Yes, you will be charged for the duration of the call, during which your fax gets transmitted.
Top 11.3 Will I be charged a fee for the FAX service?
Presently we are not charging any fees for the FAX service.
Top 12.1 Whom can I contact if I have any questions about my account?
For any query, you may contact our Customer Service Center by email at customercare@pco4nri.com or by phone at 1-800-815-9645.
Top 12.2 What are the hours of operation of PCO4NRI Customer Service Center?
Our Customer Service Center is operational throughout the day.
Top 12.3 "I have a question that isn't addressed on the website." What should I do?
You can reach us by phone at 1-800-815-9645 or alternatively you can also mail us at customercare@pco4nri.com . We will be more than glad to help you out.
Top
