VM minutes not matching phone counter

[yoramsk]

I have contacted VM a couple of times about this issue and they create a ticket, give me numbers and promise to contact me after investigating but do not. The problem is that VM seems to be consistently debiting extra minutes. Ex. Phone log says a call lasted 3 min 48 seconds. I would expect my minute balance to reduce by 4. VM reduces it by 5. I see this many times in the call log.
Anyone else experience this? Are they including the time the phone rings?

 

[davidh44]

From discussion a long time ago on another carrier, my understanding was that if the call is answered, then it is charged from when the call connected to the network (i.e. a little before the phone starts ringing). But doesn't the minute timer on the phone also start counting from that point too? (i.e. it doesn't know when the call was answered).

If you have, for example, a 3 min 20 second call that gets charged as 5 minutes...that'd be more clear that there's no way you were connected to their network for that long before the phone's call timer started counting and after you terminated the call. At 3min 48 seconds, it gets more ambiguous.