The catch to Magic Jack

July 30, 2009 (WPVI) -- A product on the market claims to save you hundreds, even thousands, of dollars off your landline phone bill.

Cindy Kelly bought the Magic Jack expecting a "lifetime of savings" on her landline telephone service.

And your first year is free when you buy Magic Jack which retails for $39.95.

The Magic Jack website says just plug your phone into one end of the Magic Jack, your computer into the other, and make phone calls over the internet.

The savings are hard to beat.

Cindy says after using Magic Jack for only four months, "I picked up the phone and I dialed my best friend's number out in LA and rather than it ringing I got a message."

Cindy says the message told her to call due to excessive use they had the right to disconnect her telephone.

Cindy says her family only uses the landline a couple hours a day and she isn't the only one complaining about Magic Jack. Action News found many others reporting the same issue online and many of those consumers, including Cindy, say they were told they'd have to buy a Magic Jack calling card with prepaid minutes at the cost of one cent per minute!

Buried in Magic Jack's website, we did find this: "If Magic Jack sees excessive use, including but not limited to, a customer whose usage is twenty times more than the average Magic Jack's customers usage... it reserves the right... to terminate your use of the Magic Jack device... Immediately, and you will not be entitled to get a refund."

Dan Borislow is the inventor of the device.

We wanted him to tell us what average Magic Jack usage is, but neither he nor his company would respond directly to that issue or any others Action News brought to their attention.

"My whole point in trying to make a point in this is to prevent people from getting ripped off," Cindy said.

Magic Jack has been the subject of scrutiny before.

In April, the Florida-based company settled a lawsuit filed by that state's Attorney General.

The Attorney General's office alleged a number of other deceptive practices and as part of the settlement, Magic Jack did agree to implement various new practices.

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