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BS: Cell Phone ???...US...
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BS: Cell Phone ???...US... |
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Subject: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Bobert Date: 04 Aug 11 - 06:46 PM Okay, here's the deal... We have two cell phone which don't get 200 minutes combined a month and we are being charged $80 a month from Verison... That sounds high to me... Is it??? If so, who out there is cheaper??? Thanks, Bob |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: GUEST,999 Date: 04 Aug 11 - 06:59 PM Google the following, Bob. ComparePlans.us |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Bobert Date: 04 Aug 11 - 07:03 PM Thanks, Brucie... I will... B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: gnu Date: 04 Aug 11 - 07:05 PM Get a pay as you go plan if the minutes are within reason. BTW, if you spend a lot of time on a cell phone, don't worry about the money for the cell phnone bill. Worry about the hospital bill. Them cell phones is nasty. And, YES, I know there are "no studies" that have proven they are bad news. The WHO just issued a release that says there MAY be a link. More to come, I suspect. Wanna see my pics? It's a dibilitating operation and mine was about the best of choices if you have a choice. Oh, yeah, my cousin is scheduled to get out of the hospital today... second op... this time, he was paralized on the left side from the removal of the second tumour. He can walk a bit and can talk with a slurred voice... left arm is still like a rag doll. Talk it up on yer cell. You can always dial 911 when the tremours start. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Jack the Sailor Date: 04 Aug 11 - 07:06 PM 200 minutes combined a month Virgin Mobile is what we use. The Phones were $10 each and it is about 10 cents a minute. If you use both phones about equal it will cost you about $30.00 per month for both if you use one way more than the other, you can buy "minute packs" and save. Those are not exact figures, but they are close. Version is about the most expensive and restrictive in their plans. But they do have more rural coverage. We used to need Version. Now we don't. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Jack the Sailor Date: 04 Aug 11 - 07:12 PM gnu is right |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Greg F. Date: 04 Aug 11 - 08:28 PM Consumer Cellular. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: JohnInKansas Date: 04 Aug 11 - 10:29 PM Be aware that the "coverage" lies in the advertising for different services may not be particularly accurate. The same is true for "wireless" computer hookups. Asking the neighbors what works in the area where you need a phone is a good idea, but be aware that most users don't have a foggy clue about what they're actually using so apply many grains of salt in liberal fashion. I don't know what policies are at Our "first need" for cellular phones was at our annual festival in Winfield, KS. The first year there, the phone I got worked "sometimes" and the different branded one that Lin got worked "hardly at all." Back at home, hers worked pretty well but mine was the "nevernever" kind. A couple of years later, connections at the festival (Winfield KS) improved some, but a flood chased lots of people to Oxford - 20 miles down the highway and all (we had 3 by then) our phones were useless in Oxford. Another 20 miles in the same direction, to Wellington, they all worked pretty well. We're now living where both the prepaid phones work, but my son's $600 smartphone with the exhorbitant "subscription" service is close to useless, but it's necessary for him because it's the only service that doesn't charge HUGE "roaming fees" (he claims one bill was $30/minute on a previous service) when he trucks into Canada. IF ONE WORKS where you need to use it, a "prepaid" phone is probably the cheapest - and safest for avoiding hidden "gotchas." $20 or $30 dollars gets you a "serviceable" phone, and you'll likely need a $20 "time card" to get turned on. For ours, you buy a $20 card "almost anywhere" and punch in the code to get 60 minutes and 90 days. With the ones we're using now, as long as you plug in a new card within the 90 days, you get a new 90 days from the time when you add it, but the minutes are added to what's left of the previous balance. (We're using TracFone service, and others vary.) One of the phones (a Motorola) came with a "double minutes for life" deal, so the $20 card got 120 minutes and 180 days, and the calendar time extends from the old "expiration" instead of restarting when you add a card. Usage on that one ran up the calendar time quite a bit, but depleted "minutes;" so I had to add another $20 last September, and today the phone says I've still got 100 days and 141 minutes left. For a while, TracFone sold a "double minutes card" that you could install like a regular one and get the double credit on any of their phones for any subsequent cards - forever or until you install some other special offer. It appears that if you take a "one-shot" extra time offer that they advertise frequently it may "void" the "double time card" - forever. My Motorola/TracFone was getting better reception than Lin's Nokia/TracFone so we got her a newer Motorola (also TracFone) and put a double-time card on it. She uses hers a lot more than I do, but hasn't exceeded about $20 per three - or more - months. I don't know if TracFone still offers the double-minutes card, or whether any other providers have anything similar. Note that the same phone or card, that looks like another one, may have different "terms of service" and they can change at any time, so you do have to read the fine print before you buy. We haven't noticed any significant changes in our phones/service so the ones we're using appear to "grandfather" the terms in effect at purchase time as long as you keep connected. I can't say that other providers will do the same, or that our service won't change. Some cards show your balance in cash value rather than minutes, and may show an "expiration date" rather than "days remaining. How much you get for an amount of cash varies some with the service, but I haven't seen any that were too far from what we've paid (other than our double-time bonus). One advantage of the prepaids is that there's never an "early termination charge." If you let the calendar run out, it quits working. You can "reactivate" nearly all of them by loading another $20 card, but you usually are assigned a new phone number. Some let you request your old number, but if it's been very long since you let it lapse the number probably belongs to somebody else. IF YOU LET PEOPLE send you text messages, and sign up for recording of missed-call messages, the charges can be a maze to figure out, and appear to eat up what you've paid for a lot faster. We don't use those features so I can't quote any real numbers. Note though that we have a landline phone (and DSL) at home, and an answering machine on the phone there. The main use we make of our cell phones other than during festivals is to find where she wandered off to at the supermarket. (She usually grabs a handicap scooter, so she's gone real quick and too short to be seen over the racks. When she forgets her phone, I just have follow the litter trail - or ask someone with a limp.) In different circumstances you may want a different deal. Shop carefully. John |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Ebbie Date: 04 Aug 11 - 10:59 PM I too use a TracPhone. I get a monthly $25 card that offers 750 minutes/30 days. The minutes do not roll over, however. I always have a couple of hundred minutes left over; I use the phone mostly for my weekly calls to my siblings in Oregon and for use in connection with apartment house managing. If I wished I could buy a card for $50/30 days for unlimited minutes. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: catspaw49 Date: 04 Aug 11 - 11:19 PM Check the coverage first if you're rural at all. Verizon has the best coverage in most areas. We tried a couple of others but we're happy with them in price, service, and they have been really great about helping out on other things......like when Michael screwed up and ran up a big one accidentally......they wrote it all off. Spaw |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Janie Date: 04 Aug 11 - 11:44 PM Hmmm. Bobert, I also have Verizon and am in North Carolina. I don't have a Smart Phone and do not text so do not have a texting package. Including taxes and other odd charges, some government related and some not, I pay just under $45 per month. That includes 400 peak time minutes, no charge for calls to other Verizon cell phones, no charge for any calls made after 9:00 pm at night and no charge for calls made on the weekend. I use the phone for my private practice, and also pay for text messages forwarded to my cell phone from my company paid pager, because the pager is unreliable. I am on-call 24-7. Even with paying per message for forwarded text pages, my cell phone bill has never exceeded $49.00 per month. I have a land line only because I need a fax machine for my private practice. I have had the same phone plan for 4 years and have not gotten anywhere close to going over the 400 minutes per month. The only expense my ex pays for our son is to include him on his Verizon family share plan. It adds $20 per month to his Verizon Wireless bill. I am a fan of Verizon. Hassle free, the terms are unambiguous, and their coverage sans roaming charges (which is important to me since I travel a lot) is the best there is. If you are paying $80 per month for 2 basic phones (not smart phones) with only 200 minutes per month, you got sold a bill of goods by a secondary sales person. Call the Verizon Customer Service number. Believe it or not, they will give very good advice and direction regarding the most economical phone plan to fit your needs, PROVIDED you are very clear about your wants and needs, and also prepared to draw a line between you wants and your needs. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Bobert Date: 05 Aug 11 - 07:42 PM Well, Janie... We are generally happy with Verison and I guess seein' as yer paying $45 a month with one phone that $80 for two ain't bad but it seems bad... I donno??? B~ |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Jack the Sailor Date: 05 Aug 11 - 08:12 PM Virgin has a $50 card with 1000 minutes |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: GUEST,Mrr Date: 05 Aug 11 - 08:50 PM I like US Cellular because you don't pay for INCOMING calls or text, only for outgoing. So you can call someone and have them call you back... |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Stilly River Sage Date: 05 Aug 11 - 09:58 PM I'll just jump to the bottom with my two cents worth. If you like the numbers you have and want to transfer them to a new company then you have to do it by stealth, sort of. Decide on the new company then tell them these are your numbers on your old phone plan and you want to port them into the one one. It takes several days and ONLY works if the phone is still an active part of another system. If you cancel it then try to move it it doesn't work. I have a plan with Sprint that is friends and family and we share minutes (M-F 8am - 7pm) and the rest of the time is free evenings and weekends. Unlimited texting (important if you're talking to kids, but I use it a great deal also now) and we don't pay for a data plan, though most of the phones will do internet stuff if you tell them to (it costs extra and goes expensive in a hurry, but is there for emergencies). There are five phones on my plan and we still never manage to use even half of the 1500 minutes because we mostly text and talk on evenings and weekends. I think you should be able to find a plan the two of you can share and get minutes with the text and free times of the day/week for a better price, or at least a lot more service for the same amount of money. You're grandfathered into an old plan so why should they try to push you to use more stuff for the same money? I entered the zip code 28105 (just a shot in the dark from a NC zip code map) in the Sprint page and see that their 200 minute plan costs $30. A family plan has 700 minutes to share (M-F 8am - 7pm) and the rest is free. $69 plus tax. see if this shows up from the search I did. They usually have attractive offers on free or very cheap phones to get you in the door and every 18 months or so you're eligible for another free or cheap phone. All of the companies vary, but since I won't be caught dead with AT&T and their jammed up network because of all of the iPhones, I like Sprint. Good luck choosing from all of the info we're providing! SRS PS -- you can often get a company discount with most of these phone companies, my university affiliation earns me a 10% discount, but it isn't just with Sprint. And for 5 phones, my total bill is $140, not bad on a per-phone basis. After 2 phones in the friends and family plan, for unlimited text and sharing the minutes it's $10 more each month per phone, from the base amount of $99 a month. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Cell Phone ???...US... From: Bobert Date: 05 Aug 11 - 10:24 PM Thnakx, Magz... That was very informative... I'll ponder... B~ |
