FAQs
General
What is an estimate of average rental costs?- Average consumers spend per rental approximately $99 - $165 for cell phone rental, $200-$250 for the Vismo Tracking solution, depending on the amount of calls placed and received. This includes all costs of the entire rental. Please refer to the rental agreement matrix for your specific contract.
- Cellhire’s Individual Tracking solution gives parents access to a secure web site where they can view daily call logs listing their student’s phone calls and SMS messages. Renting this solution will provide parents an extra level of comfort by providing daily visibility of their student’s phone usage.
- For other Cellhire solutions a credit alert has been set based upon certain parameters. Standard high spend alert for People to People Ambassadors has been set at $200, customers using Cellhire’s European, International, Australian, Chinese and South African airtime solutions will be eligible for the credit alert notifications. However, Ambassadors traveling to Brazil, China, Japan or Canada will not be included in the alert program because the local networks in these countries provide only a monthly call feed. Please note due to constraints on information provided by different countries’ networks, even qualifying customers may not receive a credit alert immediately at the point their account reaches $200 because even though the roaming network provides a daily call feed, the networks the roaming solution is roaming on may only provide a monthly feed.
- While the handset is on hire, once invoicing from the network reaches a minimum of $50, Cellhire will charge the customer’s credit card the amount on the call feed and a detailed invoice will be generated and sent to the customer (with the few exceptions listed above). Subsequent invoices will be produced as $50 increments are reached.
- At $525, a call may be made to the student’s parents or contract signer. In the event that no response is received within 24 hours, the phone will be shut down and an email will be sent to the address on file, requesting the parent or contract signor to contact Cellhire. This action is taken to protect both Cellhire’s customers as well as Cellhire from fraudulent use of the equipment.
- In order for the phone to be returned to service or replaced, Customer Service must be contacted at 888-510-1910 from within the US or 214-432-3018 from outside the US.
Cellhire offers two types of airtime solutions: local airtime and global roaming airtime.
- Local airtime is available in those countries where Cellhire has partnered with a local network to provide airtime for use in that specific country. These solutions offer competitive airtime pricing in the home country but extremely high call pricing when used outside the home country.
- Approved times for cell phone use will be set by your delegation leaders. In general, anytime you are in your hotel room or on the motor coach is an approved and appropriate time to use a cell phone.
- Cell phone use may not interfere in any way with the program or its participants.
- As you will be traveling in a group, going back for lost or misplaced items will not be possible.
- Cellhire customer service should be contacted the moment a phone is lost or stolen.
- Customer service is provided 24/7 by the Cellhire global support team. The phone numbers or email to reach customer service are as follows:
- While overseas: +1-214-355-5285. The number may be found in 4 places. In the rental pack, on the confirmation email and in dispatch emails you will receive.
- While in the US: 888-510-1910. This number is for customers before they leave or after they return from program.
- Email: p2psupport@cellhire.com
- Cellhire’s People to People site address: http://www.cellhire.com/ambassador
- All operating instructions, as well as complete user manuals can be found on Cellhire’s People to People web site, http://www.cellhire.com/ambassador/instructions. Please visit the Instructions section to also view video and audio instructions explaining basic handset and dialing information.
- All operating instructions will come in the initial shipment. Additionally all phones come live so no activation is required.
- Voicemail instructions.
Billing
What cost will I be responsible for in the event the phone is lost or stolen? Is insurance offered?- In the event your phone is lost or stolen you will be responsible for all calls up until the point the network suspends the line. For this reason it is imperative that you contact Cellhire as soon as possible to report the phone lost or stolen.
- Insurance is offered. Theft & Loss Protection is offered with Cellhire rentals for a nominal fee, however there is a deductible for stolen, lost and damaged phones. For Theft & Loss Protection plans please refer to the rental charges matrix on the web site.
- Replacement costs will depend on what components of the kit are lost. Most handsets are in the $225 range, with complete kits running roughly $525 in the event the power adaptors, cases or any other portions of the kit are not returned.
- Call Charges will be charged up until the network suspends the line.
- An invoice for the rental will generate upon shipment of the order; this invoice will include all rental, theft and loss, and shipping charges.
- While the handset is on hire, once invoicing from the network reaches a minimum of $50, Cellhire will charge the user’s credit card the amount on the call feed and a detailed invoice will be generated and sent to the customer (with the few exceptions listed above). Subsequent invoices will be produced as $50 increments are reached.
- A closing invoice will be produced within 4 business days of the close of the Rental Agreement. Please allow an additional 2-4 days for the invoice to be mailed to the invoice address as specified on your Rental Agreement – electronic billing will be sent via e-mail immediately. This invoice may or may not reflect all calls made. Due to varying service level agreements with different wireless carriers, some call charges may take up to 60 days to be billed and will appear on subsequent invoices.
- If the rental is cancelled before the rental is shipped, no cancellation fee will be imposed. However, if the equipment has already been shipped, an administrative fee is applicable. Cancellation fees are dependent on rental service and ship method. Please call for specific cancellation charges.
Delivery & Collection
How is equipment delivered?- Cellhire uses express small parcel couriers for most shipments. In cities where same-day deliveries are available, Cellhire may use an in-house messenger or courier service.
- Yes, priority overnight delivery is available for an additional charge. For priority overnight delivery charges, please refer to the rental charges matrix on the web site.
- Saturday delivery is available for an additional charge to many US destinations. For Saturday delivery charges, please refer to the rental charges matrix on the web site. To confirm whether Saturday service is available in your area please visit www.ups.com and click on the Calculate Time & Cost bar in the left hand menu and follow the instructions.
- For clients receiving their equipment in the United States, Cellhire includes a pre-paid return pack along with the rental kit. Simply place the equipment into the supplied return bag and contact the courier company to arrange for collection, or hand the package to an authorized courier representative or location. The customer is responsible for all charges incurred on the phone until the airbill on the Cellhire provided return pack is scanned by UPS or, if the package is returned by the customer’s courier, it is received by a Cellhire location.
- For applicable charges, please refer to the rental charges matrix on the web site.
- Due to security reasons Cellhire cannot deliver to airports. However, in many cases, Cellhire can deliver your rental to your hotel or office in the city you are visiting.
- Unless otherwise requested, deliveries will be shipped via UPS Ground service and will be delivered 1-4 business days from ship date. Business deliveries will occur generally between 9:00a.m. and 5:00 p.m., residential deliveries as late as 7:00 p.m. Earlier deliveries such as two-day and overnight are available through the online order pages and upon request. If services other than standard deliveries are requested, additional fees are applicable.
- Cellhire does not recommend leaving your return equipment with the hotel concierge.
The customer retains responsibility and liability for the equipment and all associated
charges until the equipment has been scanned by the Cellhire approved carrier or
handed to an authorized Cellhire representative.
Please note, a hotel concierge is neither an approved carrier, nor an authorized Cellhire representative.
Coverage
Where will I have coverage?- Coverage varies by service. Global Phone Rental from Cellhire operates in 170+ countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and the Middle East. American Phone Rental covers most of the United States, Canada and select cities throughout Latin America. Japanese Phone Rental and Korean Phone Rental specifically operate in their individual country. Satellite Phone Rental does not rely on land-based cell sites and is ideal for those traveling to the more remote regions of the world including cruise ships. Cellhire is a service provider of various wireless carriers around the world and can never guarantee coverage.
- Yes, you will be billed for every attempted call. As with all cellular services, the possibility of dropped and disconnected calls exists. Unfortunately, Cellhire cannot be liable for these interruptions in service.
Individual Tracking
What is Vismo?
- Vismo is an application that allows a smartphone to be tracked from any computer via the internet. The application also reports back call records and location details.
How does it work ?
- A special application is loaded onto the smartphone before it is sent out to you. When you switch the phone on, the application runs invisibly in the background. As the phone travels the application will send location data back to a central website. You need do nothing special with the phone – Vismo will work without any interaction – although there is a user interface so that your student can see that Vismo is working.
- Vismo uses a combination of cell tower and GPS to report location information. When the phone is outside and the battery is charged it will utilize GPS to plot location information. When inside or when the view to the sky is blocked it will use cell towers to plot location information. This location information is transmitted to Cellhire via the cell tower, so if a Vismo device is out of cell coverage yet outside and visible to the sky it will continue to plot the coordinates via GPS and will store them until the phone is back in cell tower coverage, at which point the location details will be sent to Cellhire and updated to the user’s Vismo map.
- The Vismo website provides authorized friends and family the capability to log in and view the current and historical location information for the handset using a combination of a color map display, reports and charts. You may also view call logs, and send/receive SMS direct from the website.
What do you need to do with the phone?
The good news is that you need do very little for Vismo to work. Just follow these basic guidelines.
- Keep it charged and keep it on
Vismo can only work if the phone is charged up and switched on. A good rule of thumb is to charge the battery every night regardless of how much charge remains, that way you are ensured of a fully charged battery at the start of each day. If in an area where cell phones must be turned off (i.e., lectures, museums, etc.) it is better to put the phone into “silent” mode than power it off completely. If the phone is off, it is impossible to get location information for that period. If the battery is allowed to get low, Vismo will switch to cell tower locations only (instead of attempting GPS) to conserve battery life. - The phone must be in a network coverage area in order to report your location information
back to Cellhire
If the phone is on a plane, in the metro/underground, on a boat/ferry or in a remote area then there may be no network coverage on the phone. When this happens, Vismo will continue to receive GPS location information (as long as it is visible to the sky) but will only be able to send this information back when the phone returns to a coverage area. When this happens you may see a gap in the location information for several hours and then the information will be filled in later once the phone registers onto a cellular network again. - Vismo needs to be outdoors to get GPS (satellite) fixes
Generally Vismo can only return GPS fixes when outdoors or near a window because it must have a clear view of the sky to reach the satellite, so for the best fixes please make sure that the phone is turned on when outdoors.
How quickly will I see locations?
With a fully charged battery the Vismo phone will get a location every 20 minutes during the day time and every hour during the night (local time where the phone is). Usually these will be sent to the website immediately. However, if the phone is not in a coverage area it will not report until the phone returns to coverage. Please be aware that if the phone is switched off, the website cannot receive location information for that time, nor will the location of the phone be recorded while the phone is turned off.
How accurate are the locations?
Vismo will always attempt to get a GPS fix using satellite technology. GPS fixes (the green dots on the map) are accurate to within around 50m. However it is not always possible to get a GPS fix. GPS typically only works when outdoors so if the phone is indoors Vismo will instead provide you with the location of the cell tower to which the smartphone is currently connected. A cell tower location (the blue dots on the map) is typically accurate to around 200m in a city and up to 3km in a remote area.
How often will I get GPS fixes?
This depends completely on how often the phone is outdoors but on average we find that 35% of the locations will be GPS fixes. The remainder will be cell tower fixes. The phone will continue to send location requests every 20 minutes (depending on charge level of the battery), roughly 35% of these will be GPS, 65% cell tower.
Does it work in the US?
Yes, Vismo will work in the US but it will only provide location fixes once every hour to minimize the amount of data traffic and cost used by the application before the trip starts. Once the device leaves the US, it will begin locating every 20 minutes during the day, every hour overnight.
Can my student see their locations on the phone?
No, it is not possible to see the address of the location but the Vismo application home screen on the device will show the date/time of the last location, the type of fix (GPS or cell tower) and the country. This will provide your student with the reassurance that Vismo is working well for them.
Can I see the calls and SMS made on the phone?
Yes – on the Individual Tracking product you will be able to see a record of every call made, received and missed from your student’s Vismo smartphone. These records are updated every 24 hours, please note if the phone is not turned on or is out of coverage there will be a delay in these updates. You will also be able to see the complete text of every SMS made and received on the phone. The call records do not show data use (e.g. web browsing). Please note these call records are reported from the device, not the network, so they may vary from the actually billing feeds received from each network.
Can I see where my student was when a call or SMS was made/received?
When you view the call records on the Vismo web site, clicking on a call will load the mini-map in the lower left hand side of the web page, showing the location of the phone when the call was made. This will be the location made closest to the time of the call. Also keep in mind that a cell tower fix could be up to 1km away from the actual position.
Can I send SMS to my student’s phone direct from the Vismo website?
Yes, you will receive 50 free SMS messages to send direct from the website. Simply type in your message and press send. You will also be able to view any reply from the phone. Please note SMS replies from your student’s rental device will bill at the published SMS rates on the Cellhire website.
Can I see if and when my SMS from the website was delivered to the phone?
Yes, when you send an SMS you will see the status of that message and know the exact date/time that it gets delivered to your child's phone.
Can I check if my students's phone is turned on?
Yes, Vismo has a Connectivity Check feature which will perform a real-time check with the phone directly from the Vismo web site to determine if it is switched on and in a coverage area. It usually takes about 1 minute to respond if the phone is on. If the phone is on and in coverage the status light will change from yellow to green. If the phone is not on or out of cellular coverage the status light will remain yellow until the phone is again turned on and accesses a cellular network. This feature uses one SMS from your allocation of 50.
Can I buy more SMS if I run out?
Yes, you may purchase an additional bundle of 50, 100 or 200 SMS messages through the website. The price of the bundle will be added onto your phone bill.
Can I see if the battery is running low?
Yes, the Vismo site shows you the most recent battery reading and most recent signal strength indication in the mini-menu on the left hand side.
What is the panic feature – how does it work?
The Vismo BlackBerry phones have a panic feature built in. Four quick presses of the “mute” button on the top edge of the device will raise an alert with People to People's control center in Spokane. The People To People control center will be able to see the latest locations of your child and hear 20 seconds of recorded audio from the device to help them diagnose the problem. Pressing the panic button will be treated with the utmost seriousness and urgency and hence abuse of this feature will not be tolerated.
The Panic Alert feature has been tested prior to shipping the device, we strongly advise you NOT to test this feature while you are in the US.
Note: There is no panic feature on the standard cell phone.
Are there any other charges for Vismo?
No. Vismo does use data (internet traffic) in order to communicate with the website but the solution comes with an unlimited data bundle which will ensure that this is free of charge to you. Cellhire has also preloaded a facebook® application on each Vismo device. If your child has set up a facebook® account prior to travel they can simply login right on the Vismo Blackberry and upload pictures taken from the Vismo Blackberry directly to their facebook® page.
Please note that any calls or SMS text messages on the smartphone will appear on your bill – this is not part of the Vismo fee. So if your child replies to SMS sent from the Vismo website then these replies will be priced according to the agreed rates for that country.
So how do I login to the Vismo website?
- Sign into https://secure.vismo.com with your email address and the password you will receive after ordering Vismo (this will be sent to you via e-mail once the Vismo phone has shipped). You will see the latest location.
What should I do if I cannot see my Student's Location?
- First, don't panic. It's quite common for locations not to be visible for periods of the day for a number of reasons. The most common reason is travelling. Vismo will typically not report back locations when the phone is travelling by plane, boat, underground, or trains because there is no cellular coverage. Equally the leader of the trip may ask children to turn off their phone in sensitive places or at night to avoid disruption.
- If you've not seen a location for several hours, use the Connectivity Check from the Vismo website to see if the phone is turned on. If the phone is on and you've not seen a location for more than 8 hours then please contact Cellhire's Technical Support team at p2psupport@cellhire.com.
What do I do if I have a problem
The Vismo website has a support section where you can log an issue. Our support team have full access to view the website that you see and they also have additional tools to help them diagnose problems. You may also contact the support team directly at p2psupport@cellhire.com
Can I see the locations in text form and export them?
Yes. You may use the Location Report feature to view all locations throughout the trip in text form. This may in turn be exported into a program like Excel.
How many days of location information can I see?
Vismo records all the locations for the duration of the trip so you may view the location history from any part of the trip. The map will typically only show 3 days at a time because it becomes confusing to view the whole trip and the maps draw much slower over longer periods. Select the date range you wish to view from the menu bar at the top of the map.
How do I send photos while on my trip?
- Due to the high cost of sending pictures via MMS Cellhire does not allow pictures to be sent via MMS but instead recommends all pictures are saved to a Memory Card and downloaded to a computer or uploaded to the preloaded facebook® application on the Vismo Blackberry device. Pictures sent via MMS can cost as high a $40.00 per picture (5Mb picture @ $8 per Mb) sent depending on which network the user is on and which country they are in at the time the picture is transmitted. For this reason Cellhire does not offer the MMS option with its Vismo solution.
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