A. By requiring each tenant to have his or her own long distance calling card, each tenant is then responsible only for his or her own calls. This eliminates many arguments and bad feelings in the apartment. This service also eliminates one roommate having to get a phone line in his or her name and getting stuck with paying a costly deposit for phone service.

Q. How do I dial a long distance call with my Off Campus Telecommunications calling card?

A. Lift the handset.   Dial 8 (wait for dial tone).   Enter your 7-digit authorization code (wait for second dial tone).   Dial 1 + area code + telephone number.

Q. How do I dial a long distance call with another company's long distance calling card?

A. Lift the handset.   Dial 9 for an outside line.   Dial the access number provided by the other calling card company. Follow the instructions they have provided you.

Q. I hear a stutter dial tone when I lift the handset. (This applies only to apartments using Off Campus Telecommunications' voice mail service.)

A. This means you have new voice mail messages in your mailbox.

Q. How do I listen to the messages in my voice mailbox?

A. From your apartment lift the handset, dial 5000, enter your pass code, and follow the prompts to retrieve your messages. Get complete voice mail instructions in a packet available from your apartment complex office.

Q. Can I listen to my messages when I am away from my apartment?

A. Dial 379-5000, press the # key, enter your passcode.

Q. Can I get voice mail added to my apartment telephone line if I don't already have it?

A. If your telephone line does not already have voice mail, it can be added easily by contacting the Telephone Center. This is a prepaid feature and the fee is $20 per semester (4 months), or $36 for two semesters (8 months). To use a credit or debit card to order voice mail, call the telephone center at 379-3000.

Q. Can I get Caller ID added to my apartment telephone line?

A. This is an optional prepaid feature that can be added to any of our telephone lines. The user must provide his or her own caller ID box. We have three pricing options (prices shown do not include tax). MONTHLY: $5.95 plus a one-time $9.95 installation fee. ONE SEMESTER (4 months): $19.95 plus a one-time $5.95 installation fee. TWO SEMESTERS (8 months): $34.95 (no installation fee!).

Q. I get nuisance, harassing or threatening phone calls on my apartment telephone line.

A. There is no effective way to prevent these calls. If you blocked the number from which the calls originate, the caller can easily move to another telephone to place the calls. Caller ID service (an optional feature) would identify the telephone number from which the calls originate unless the caller has set up "no identification" on his or her line. For threatening calls, you can file a police report with the local police department who in turn contacts our telephone center to set up call tracing on your telephone line. However, no action is taken unless the caller places at least 3 calls from the same number.

Q. Where do I send my payments?

A. Our monthly statements include a self-addressed return envelope. We encourage customers to use these envelopes to return their payments to us. Our mailing address for payments is P.O. Box 1009, Provo UT 84603. You can also drop off payments at our office located at 379 North University Ave, Suite 301, Provo UT 84601.

Q. Does Off Campus Telecommunications accept credit cards for payment by phone?

A. We accept payments (minimum $5.00) by phone using Visa or MasterCard credit or debit cards. Call us at 379-3000 for this service.

Q. Is it alright to send cash to pay my bill?

A. We strongly discourage sending cash by mail. The customer does so at his or her own risk. Because of the mechanical equipment used to process mail, are frequently lost in the mail before it reaches our office. We can only credit the customer's account for the amount of cash we actually receive.

Q. When are the monthyly statements mailed?

A. Our billing cycle normally ends on the 25th of each month. Bills are then processed and mailed one or two days later. You can expect to receive your bills around the 29th or 30th of each month.

Q. Does Off Campus Telecommunications offer any kind of payment plan if I can't pay my whole bill at one time?

A. Customers are expected to pay the total amount due each month by the date specified on the bill. If you are unable to pay the entire amount, we will try to work with you to set up a payment plan to extend your payments over a 3-month period.

Q. I received a blue past due notice in the mail. What is this for?

A. For accounts with unpaid balances, we mail a past due notice as a reminder there is a past due amount still unpaid. We mail these notices for accounts whose accounts are 30 or 60 days past due. We also make a courtesy reminder phone call to customers whose balances are over 60 days past due.

Q. I received a letter saying my account was going to be sent to a collection agency. What is this for?

A. For accounts with unpaid balances over 90 days past due, we mail a final latter as a reminder there is a past due amount still unpaid. Accounts which remain unpaid are then sent to a collection agency for collection action. This can adversely affect a person's credit history.

Q. Our apartment telephone line has no dial tone.

A. Call our telephone center at 379-3000 for troubleshooting instructions and repair assistance.

Q. We hear one short ring but no one is on the line when we pick it up.

A. Most often this indicates the phone line has been forwarded to another number. Cancel Call Forwarding by pressing *73, then have someone try calling your apartment phone number again.

Q. Callers dialing our apartment telephone number cannot reach us; they reach another apartment instead.

A. Your phone line has been forwarded to another number. To cancel call forwarding, pick up the handset, press #73, wait until you hear two beeps, then hang up. Have someone try calling your number. If they still cannot reach you, call our telephone center at 379-5000 for troubleshooting and repair assistance.

Q. There is static/noise/hum/buzz on our apartment telephone line.

A. Call our telephone center at 379-3000 for troubleshooting instructions and repair assistance.

Q. I cannot dial any calls from my apartment.

A. (1) Check your telephone and make sure it is set for "tone" dialing and not for "pulse" dialing. Our system will only accept calls placed from a touch-tone phone. (2) Make sure your phone is plugged into a telephone jack, and not an Internet port. (3) Try plugging your phone into a different telephone jack and try dialing a call. (4) Can other roommates dial outgoing calls? If yes, your jack or your telephone may require repair.

Q. Where do we call for jack repairs and other telephone repairs?

A. Call our telephone center at 379-3000 for troubleshooting instructions and repair assistance.

Q. Can I have an additional private line installed in my apartment?

A. We can install additional (second) lines in most apartments. The installation fee is $48, the wiring charge is $45, and the first month's charge of $24.50. With tax, the initial set-up fee is $131.60. Thereafter the monthly charge is $24.50 plus tax. This service requires a written, signed agreement so the user must come to the Telephone Center at 379 North University Avenue, Suite 301, to set up this service. We accept cash, check, money order or Visa/MasterCard.

Q. Does O.C.T. offer high-speed Internet access?

A. Yes! See this page for additional info.

Q. Can I get high-speed digital service (such as Qwest DSL or "megabit" service) installed on my apartment phone line?

A. No--not on your apartment telephone line. If you desire digital service from a third-party provider, you will have to have an additional private line installed which is eligible for digital service.

Q. How can I get "regular" dial-up Internet service from my apartment?

A. Contact any of the local Internet service providers (ISPs) for this service.

Q. Off Campus Telecommunications rates really the lowest rates available?

A. Our basic domestic long distance calling card rates range from 3.9¢ per minute to 4.9¢ per minute. The basic 4.9¢ rate has no monthly fee and no per-call set-up charge. We bill in one-minute increments. Compare our rates with any other calling card rates and you'll find that we do offer some of the lowest rates available. (Keep in mind that you cannot compare calling card rates with residential service rates!)

Q. Why does our apartment sometimes get a bill from Shared Communications Systems, Inc.?

A. Off Campus Telecommunications provides your long distance calling card service. Your apartment telephone service is actually provided by Shared Communications Systems, Inc., a "sister" company to O.C.T. Occasionally we find unauthorized charges billed to apartment telephone numbers. For example, a tenant will sometimes try to get directory assistance through long distance carriers without our authorization. These charges are billed directly to the apartment phone number. In other cases telemarketing companies phone apartments and convince a tenant to sign up for a "free trial" service such as voice mail. Again, these charges are billed directly to the apartment phone number. S.C.S.I. sends bills to those apartments which have these unauthorized charges being billed to their phone number. The responsible tenant should pay for these charges as outlined in the bill.

Q. Can Off Campus Telecommunications tell me where a call originated from?

A. No. We receive no data giving us the origin phone number for incoming phone calls.

Q. Why is there a $100 credit limit on my account?

A. When you get one of our calling cards we are in effect extending credit to you for your calls. To limit our liability, we place a $100 credit limit on all accounts. When the account exceeds this limit, our system automatically disables the card. We re-activate the card upon receipt of a payment which brings the balance below our established credit limits. We will place a lower limit on accounts at the customer's request to help them budget their long distance use. We will not raise the credit limit. A customer can avoid having his or her card temporarily turned off by paying an additional amount on his account in advance. If you expect to use your card a lot, this is the best way to prevent having your card temporarily de-activated by our system.

Q. Will you send my bill to my home address for the summer?

A. When you moved, please be sure to contact our office with your change of address. Whether you are moving home for the summer or moving to another apartment, we are happy to change the mailing address. Just remember to call us again with your new address when you move back to Provo.