That seems to be an indictment of a large collection of vendors. I have not had anything but straightforward situations with the cards I've used from smaller stores. The terms are usually spelled out quite clearly.
Well, YMMV. I speak from my personal experience - and especially when I was in Toronto a few years back, I had nothing but trouble with the "off-brand" corner-store type of calling cards.
Obviously, if you need "1.9 Cent per Minute" on the billboard to move the cards, you have to make your money elsewhere. And usually, the terms and conditions are in extremely fine print.
A few of the popular fee schemes:
- Maintenance fees. I have seen 79 Cents per week
- Minimum time per call, say 10 minutes
- Setup fee by call, anywhere between 5 Cents and 25 Cents
- Payphone surcharge, up to 89 Cents per call
- Toll-free access surcharge
And Toronto was the place where I bought the only card that did not work at all (dial-in number was disconnected).
So I would rather use a card from a reputable company that does not hit me with funny fees. I named one that works and is reasonably priced. You are welcome to do the same.