Questions to ask before buying a pager

Shopping around for a pager?

Considering buying a pager on Ebay or Amazon without service and thinking you can just connect anywhere?

Here are some questions that you may not have thought to ask when selecting your paging service provider:

• If I have my own pager from another company or buy one on ebay, can you reconnect it ?

This is probably a question we hear daily and unfortunately, the answer is often no. The reason is because a pager needs to be on the proper frequency and not tied to another account with a different paging company. Many pagers that are offered for sale on a marketplace such as ebay from private sellers are on old paging frequencies that are no longer in operation or from an account that owes money to the paging carrier and is not able to be reactivated. We don't recommend buying a pager from one seller and trying to activate with a different paging company. If you still insist on doing this, get the frequency and capcode before purchasing the pager and let us know this information ahead of time to see if we can add it to our system. Also find out the return policy in the event the pager doesn't function or receive pages.

• How long have you been in the paging business?

DirectPage has been offering pagers and related services since 1988. It's important to know how long a company has been offering paging service as DirectPage takes over many paging accounts across the country that have exited the paging business or in a worse case scenario...Closed up overnight with no advance notice to their customers.

• What are your hours of operation? Are you open 7 days a week if I have a problem?

DirectPage is OPEN Monday through Friday from 10am to 7pm eastern time. For urgent matters after regular business hours, holidays and weekends we are accessible via email by using our "contact support" link located at the top of our website.

• Do you charge an activation fee? Are there any other hidden fees that I should be aware of such as statement fees, surcharges, convenience fees, inconvenience fees, exchange fees, account disconnect fees, account reconnect fees, late fees, on time fees, shipping fees, any other fees or surcharges? How much are these fees? 

DirectPage does not charge an activation fee nor do we have other hidden fees. If a pager is disconnected for non-payment, there is a $10 reconnect fee which can be waived if the pager is reconnected within 14 days of disconnection. DirectPage offers FREE first class mail shipping as well as extra cost expedited shipping options listed under the shipping options heading in the information category.

• Do you really offer a FREE or Discounted pager when I prepay for service? or Do you offer gimmick pricing such as a FREE pager with a $10 activation fee or a $25 pager with a $35 activation fee making the true price of the pager much higher? 

DirectPage does not use gimmick pricing, if our pager is advertised as FREE with prepaid service, it's FREE.

• What happens if my pager malfunctions? What are your return and exchange policies? What type of warranty do you offer? If it's 30 days, and I sign up for one year of service, what happens if my pager malfunctions after 30 days and what happens if the replacement for my malfunctioning pager malfunctions?

If your pager malfunctions at anytime during uninterrupted DirectPage service, we will replace free of charge including a return postage paid envelope for the return of your malfunctioning pager. This includes the replacement pager(s) that we exchange for you.

• If I have to wait for a replacement, will you credit me for lost airtime since I couldn't use my pager?

If you are without service for an extended period and notify DirectPage, we will extend your service by the number of days you are without service, this does not include the time that you wait to notify DirectPage, for example, if you wait 3 months to tell us that your pager has not been receiving for 3 months, we will only credit you from the time you notify us to the time that we replace your pager. Therefore, it is important to notify us immediately of any pager malfunction or outage.

• Who pays for the return shipping charges if my pager malfunctions and I need to send it back? Can I even send it back?

DirectPage will pay for the return shipping of a malfunctioning pager.

• What is your refund policy? 10 days? 30 days? No refunds? If I pay an activation fee and return my pager, do I get the activation fee back? Do I get a full refund or is there a restocking charge, if so, how much is the restocking charge?

DirectPage will accept returns for a refund up to 30 days from the date of customer receipt. We charge a 15% restocking fee based on the total paid, DirectPage does not refund shipping fees paid (if any). Since we do not charge an activation fee, there is no refund to be made for activation fees.

• What happens if my pager does not receive pages once my pager arrives?

Call us immediately, we will attempt a reset. In most cases, a coverage modification is all that is needed. Sometimes just a battery replacement will solve many issues. If we cannot remedy the situation, the pager can be returned for an exchange or refund.

• If my pager works in most areas, but there are some dead areas, do you have any service options available or am I just out of luck?

Yes, DirectPage offers an optional extra cost service called Message Carbon Copy. With Message Carbon Copy, a copy of every page sent can also go to up to 2 email addresses that you designate. Many customers have their pages copied to their cellphone's email address and/or text messaging address.

• What service options are available for my pager, what are the additional costs?

All options, including costs and descriptions are listed under the rate plan link located under the information category at the left side of each page at DirectPage.net

• How large of an inventory do you carry? Will I have trouble getting replacement pagers if needed or parts and accessories?

DirectPage keeps an inventory of hundreds of pagers on hand. In the event of a temporary out of stock situation, our strategic distribution partners can replenish our inventory within 48 hours. DirectPage also stocks the most popular accessories and replacement parts including back clips, battery doors and holsters.

• How come you have dead links on your website for important or helpful information?

We try to keep our website free of dead links, however if you find one, let us know and we will beat our webmaster over the head and have the link repaired asap.

• Will you put me on hold forever if I call and will you return my call promptly if I leave a message?

We try to keep hold times under a minute, in the event of an extended hold, we ask that we return your call. Return calls are made as soon as possible.

• How does your billing work? Will I get a bill in the mail, email or do you just beep me when my bill is due? Do I get plenty of time to pay?

DirectPage sends e-bills, printed bills, emailed reminder notices and printed mailed reminder notices. For customers with 12 or 24 month prepaid paging service, the billing process starts 120 days before your prepaid service ends. We make every effort to contact you before service disconnection.

• What happens if I pay late, will I get hit with a late charge and if so, how soon and how much? Do you offer a grace period before late fees are assessed, if so how long? Do you charge interest on past due balances? Can I pay online with a credit or debit card or paypal? Can I mail you a check?

DirectPage does not charge late fees, interest or report to credit bureaus. You may pay online using a major credit card, debit card, or paypal. You may also mail us a check or money order.

Do your homework before choosing your paging provider and please contact us if you have a question that isn't answered on our website.

 1-800-908-2337 ext 2 for customer care