*** No charge for directory assistance***
Phone companies are charging us $1.00 or more for 411 / information calls when they don't have to.
When you need to use the 411 / information option, simply dial 1-800-FREE-411 or 1 800 373 3411 without incurring a charge.
***Works on home phones and cell phones***
One of the many changes that has taken place in the telephone industry in the last few decades is that while phone companies once generally provided their local customers with free directory assistance (via the 411 phone number), in most cases telephone customers are now charged a fee (typically $1.00 or more) for each directory assistance call.
Despite the charges, U.S. consumers continue to avail themselves of the 411 directory assistance service, placing about 6 billion such
calls per year.
Now, however, an outfit called Jingle Networks is providing an alternative directory assistance service - and it's free. Users who call the toll-free number 1-800-FREE411 (or 1-800-373-3411) can navigate a nifty automated voice recognition system that asks for a location (city and state), type of listing (business, government, or residential), and name. Once the service has located an entry for the requested number, it reads the information aloud and offers the caller the option of connecting to the number by pressing a single number on his telephone keypad.
How can Free-411 afford to offer free directory assistance service? It works sort of like commercial radio or television -businesses pay to sponsor it
in exchange for presenting their advertisements to customers. The funding of Free-411 is typically explained thusly:
The service is made possible by thousands of national and local businesses who sponsor this service with brief valuable audio advertisements that are played
to callers who request businesses in their yellow pages category. This advertising model allows businesses to acquire new customers over the phone, cost
effectively, with little or no risk. Meanwhile callers get free directory assistance, potentially saving each of them thousand of dollars per year.
The way it works in practice is that a caller who requests a business number is first presented with a short (about 12 seconds) audio advertisement for a sponsor who operates a competing business in that area; the caller is then given the option of being connected to either that competitor or the business he originally requested. If no sponsor operates a local competing business, then the caller hears no advertisement at all. (In the latter case, if the caller accepts the option to connect to the desired number, the business receiving the call hears a short message at the beginning advising them that the call was placed via Free-411, and a Free-411 salesman may follow up with them a few days later to solicit them as a potential advertiser.)
(Cell phone users concerned that taking advantage of the free directory assistance service will entail potentially giving out their cell phone numbers to telemarketers should note that federal law already prohibits certain types of telemarketing calls from being placed to cell phones, and all phone users can block telemarketing calls by listing their numbers with the national Do Not Call registry.)
In three separate trial calls to 1-800-FREE411 asking for information on different local businesses, in each case the voice recognition system smoothly processed all the information and correctly identified the businesses of interest. In only one trial out of the three was an audio advertisement heard.
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A directory of cell phone numbers has been published. This opens the door to solicitors calling your cell phones using up your minutes.
The Federal Trade Commission has set up a do not call list. You must call FROM the number you wish to register.
The number to call is 1-888-382-1222.
You can also register your cell phones on line at:
https://www.donotcall.gov/register/Reg.aspx
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Please call for assistance with any VA health related problems, comments or questions you need help with.
San Antonio:
210-949-3994
Toll Free:
1 -888-686-6350
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The Department of Veterans Affairs has activated a new web site dedicated to the surviving spouses of service members who died on active duty and surviving spouses of veterans who died after serving their country. The site, at:
Surviving Spouse Web Site
has links not only to VA pages describing survivor benefits but also to other government sites that may offer information and assistance.
It also contains a link to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). For questions more specific than those covered on the FAQ link, the site has instructions for contacting the VA directly.
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Brief summary on the amount paid and who is eligible for payment.
Click the link below to read the document, then press Alt + Left Arrow to return to this page.
VA Travel Policy
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Click on the link below for details
ID Card Info
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Copies of the DD Form 214, which show proof of military service, are on file at the National Personnel Records Center (Military Personnel Records) and are available upon request.
You may contact the "Records Information Lines" at the following telephone numbers:
Air Force (314) 538-4243
Army (314) 538-4261
Navy/Marine Corps/coast Guard (314) 538-4141
Callers will receive a tape-recorded statement and should leave a message with their name and address. The center will mail the forms necessary to submit a request. You may also send a written request to:
National Personnel Records Center
9700 Page Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63132-5100
The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has provided the following website for veterans to gain access to their DD-214s online:
DD-214 On Line
This may be particularly helpful when a veteran needs a copy of his DD-214 for employment purposes. NPRC is working to make it easier for veterans with computers and Internet access to obtain copies of documents from their military files.
Military veterans and the next of kin of deceased former military members may now use a new online military personnel records system to request documents.
Other individuals with a need for documents must still complete the Standard Form 180, which can be downloaded from the online web site. Because the requester will be asked to supply all information essential for NPRC to process the request, delays that normally occur when NPRC has to ask veterans for additional information will be minimized. The new web-based application was designed to provide better service on these requests by eliminating the records center's mailroom processing time.
Please pass this information on to former military personnel you may know and their dependents.
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Questions about Annuitant Pay (SBP)?
Contact the Defense Finance and Accounting Service in Denver, Colorado, at (800) 435-3396 or send e-mail to:
Defense Finance and Accounting Service
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Visit the VIST
How is the VIST program configured?
What are the goals and how are they accomplished?
Click on the link below to get an In depth look at the VIST program
South Texas VIST Program
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Clinical Practice Recommendations for the Prescription of Computers and Peripheral Devices to Blind and Visually Impaired Veterans and Supplemental Guidelines
Click on the links below to view the documents pertaining to the issuance of computers, scanners, printers and various supplies
The national contract with EVAS was effective 7-25-05. Under the national contract new computer packages must be ordered from the contract source. This is the same process that has been in effect for CCTVs for a number of years.
However, the contracted items will not and were not intended to meet the needs of all veterans. There will be veterans with special needs that will require special package configurations not covered under the standard contract.
Click on the link below to view the document pertaining to the issuance of waivers, exceptions and excluded items.
Computer Issuance Waivers, Exceptions and Excluded Items
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VHA DIRECTIVE 2000-001
Guidance on the process by which a veteran can request, and be evaluated for, catastrophically disabled status.
Click on the link below to view the document
Catastrophically disabled status
VHA DIRECTIVE 2004-019
Who is eligible and what the VA must provide.
Click on the link below to view the document
Nursing Home Care
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A Review of the Conditions and Benefits
Editor: Bob Kozel
Click on the link below to view the document
Agent Orange Primer
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