Verizon Kills Off Service Contracts And Subsidies

HecticArt

Administrator
Oct 19, 2008
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Verizon sucks balls.

I rather enjoyed the T-mobile adds running through article.

Verizon shafted me at my last upgrade.
I had 350 minutes, & 250 texts with unlimited data. When I got my Note, they had gotten rid of the unlimited data. They offered unlimited talk and text with 2 gb of data. I asked why I was giving up so much in the deal, and they said they could give me the ul t/t with 6 gb as an incentive for giving up my data. I rarely use all of my minutes or text, and am usually below 2gb. So I took the deal. They said (and for the life of me I still don't get why) the data change would take effect that day, and the t/t would take a couple of billing cycles to catch up. It's funny how they take something away instantly but it takes them a while to give something back. Since I rarely go over, I didn't worry about it.

As it stands, I still haven't gotten my ul t/t 9 months later. I've been too busy to go in and get it sorted out till a week or so ago. They told me at Best Buy, after 45 minutes on the phone with their rep, that they couldn't do it. I had the receipt in my hand that said that's what VZW agreed to. The salesman at BB was great, as frustrated as I was, but said I needed to go to a VZW store to try to sort it out. I haven't had a chance to do that yet.

This is the kind of thing class action law suits are made of.

Verizon sucks balls.
 

Wolf

Well-Known Member
Oct 11, 2008
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Pretty much all wireless carriers sucks balls, even though I have AT&T. I can't stand them from time to time, glad I didn't choose Verizon.
 

blueneon36

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Mar 10, 2009
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Sprint still has unlimited everything and now has HD Voice (AWESOME), but their data speeds are slow compared to everyone else.

If T-Mobile would actually work in my house I would switch in a heartbeat. When you cant even use your phone in the basement... its a deal breaker for me.

AT&T's call quality sucks balls. I cant hear anyone on the other end of the phone when I call someone with AT&T service....It sounds like I am talking to someone through 2 cans and a string.

I cant afford Verizon Wireless and absolutely hate that they dropped The Weather Channel on the FiOS side of the house (I am a subscriber). Their rewards program has also proven to be nothing more than a gimmick.

I might as well just stay where I am until October, 2016 when my contract is up with Shprint. Maybe by then T-Mobile will work in my house... maybe........
 
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semipenguin

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I have to stay with Verizon until Nov 2016. They have the best service for me, but they are expensive for 15g of data.

I'm really thinking of just getting a Straight Talk phone next year, even if I have to pay the full price
 
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blueneon36

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Mar 10, 2009
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I have to stay with Verizon until Nov 2016. They have the best service for me, but they are expensive for 15g of data.

I'm really thinking of just getting a Straight Talk phone next year, even if I have to pay the full price

MVNO is the way to go moving forward. I will be researching as much as I can when my contract is up.

$150 a month for 2 phones subsidized on contract is crazy.. and thats after my 18% discount on the first $110.00.
 
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Wolf

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I still have another year with AT&T, I doubt I will switch carriers. Since AT&T bought DirecTV, they will start offering deals if you are a duel customer. I have been thinking of ditching cable soon.
 

semipenguin

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With the cost of data these days, it might become easier to just go with a regular phone instead of a smart phone.

I use my phone for so much. I guess I will have to find other ways to get by

MVNO is the way to go moving forward. I will be researching as much as I can when my contract is up.

$150 a month for 2 phones subsidized on contract is crazy.. and thats after my 18% discount on the first $110.00.

I had to look up mvno

List of United States mobile virtual network operators - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I get a discount with Verizon because I belong to the VFW, but even then, three phones cost $277/mo
 
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blueneon36

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Holy Smokes! $277 a month? You should definitely look into the other carriers (if they work in your situation).

T-Mobile has a test drive where you can test drive an iPhone for 7 days as long as you let them put a hold on your credit card for the full price of the phone (in case you dont return it). On day 7, you return the phone to an actual T-Mobile Corporate Store where they attempt to get you to convert. If their service works for you, you can get 4 lines with 10GB's each, rollover data, music streaming freedom, and unlimited talk/text for $30 a line ($120 per month, not including phone monthly charge).

That would represent a tremendous savings, but once again.... thats only if T-Mobile works for you.

If you are looking at AT&T service, and can stand data speed caps at 8 MB per sec/down and slower ping times, then Cricket Wireless is a good MVNO to look up as they have AT&T Service. If you want AT&T Postpaid Service Priority without the large bill, check out AT&T GoPhone.... although their data caps are a bit small.

If you even consider Sprint, just go postpaid, not MVNO. Boost, Virgin, Freedom Pop, and other MVNO's are ok, but they usually cap data at 2.5GB and the call quality will not have HD Voice on Sprint to Sprint Calls.

Once again.... its all in what you want out of a phone plan and what you can afford. Good Luck. :)
 

semipenguin

Cheeseburger Connoisseur
Oct 11, 2008
25,162
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Holy Smokes! $277 a month? You should definitely look into the other carriers (if they work in your situation).

T-Mobile has a test drive where you can test drive an iPhone for 7 days as long as you let them put a hold on your credit card for the full price of the phone (in case you dont return it). On day 7, you return the phone to an actual T-Mobile Corporate Store where they attempt to get you to convert. If their service works for you, you can get 4 lines with 10GB's each, rollover data, music streaming freedom, and unlimited talk/text for $30 a line ($120 per month, not including phone monthly charge).

That would represent a tremendous savings, but once again.... thats only if T-Mobile works for you.

If you are looking at AT&T service, and can stand data speed caps at 8 MB per sec/down and slower ping times, then Cricket Wireless is a good MVNO to look up as they have AT&T Service. If you want AT&T Postpaid Service Priority without the large bill, check out AT&T GoPhone.... although their data caps are a bit small.

If you even consider Sprint, just go postpaid, not MVNO. Boost, Virgin, Freedom Pop, and other MVNO's are ok, but they usually cap data at 2.5GB and the call quality will not have HD Voice on Sprint to Sprint Calls.

Once again.... its all in what you want out of a phone plan and what you can afford. Good Luck. :)

My phones are paid for via the $277. Plus the 15g of data.

I used to have Sprint. One time I had a tire blowout heading to Roswell, NM. I limped along to Vaughn, NM. Tried calling my company to let them know I needed someone to come out & change the tire.

My service was so bad, I couldn't get a good enough signal to go thru all the prompts to get to the trailer breakdown dept.

There is one pay phone in Vaughn, NM, & it was on the other end of town.

That's why I'm with Verizon.

I'll figure something out, if my phone holds up another 15 months or so.

Thanks for the info
 
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blueneon36

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That sounds pretty crappy as far as Sprint is concerned, but it doesn't surprise me. Their coverage west of the Mississippi probably isn't that great until you get to the major cities.

I am not happy with them at all, but their service works in Pittsburgh.... T-Mobile's data service (2G) barely covers the PA Turnpike, of which I use frequently to go see family across state in Philadelphia.

When its time for my next phone I will check out AT&T via Cricket.... but Verizon is out of the question completely. Yes.... Verizon just works almost everywhere, but I use 10 GB a month in data by myself. My wife uses 6-8 GB. My bill would be astronomical when you add up the data and monthly phone rent charges.
 
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HecticArt

Administrator
Oct 19, 2008
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My phones are paid for via the $277. Plus the 15g of data.

I used to have Sprint. One time I had a tire blowout heading to Roswell, NM. I limped along to Vaughn, NM. Tried calling my company to let them know I needed someone to come out & change the tire.

My service was so bad, I couldn't get a good enough signal to go thru all the prompts to get to the trailer breakdown dept.

There is one pay phone in Vaughn, NM, & it was on the other end of town.

That's why I'm with Verizon.

I'll figure something out, if my phone holds up another 15 months or so.

Thanks for the info
And this is why Verizon can bend us over the barrel.
 
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Kryptonite

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Oct 21, 2008
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AT&T's call quality sucks balls. I cant hear anyone on the other end of the phone when I call someone with AT&T service....It sounds like I am talking to someone through 2 cans and a string.

I'm glad someone else is having this issue. At first, I thought it was an iPhone thing...but maybe it's an AT&T thing. It always sounds distant, like they're driving and the phone is on the console between the seats.

At least in my area, T-Mobile has crummy service outside cities...if you're lucky to get it at all. Speaking of T-Mobile, this was over ten years ago, but I would call someone who had T-Mobile. Most times, I got an error message. Sometimes, I actually got ringing.

I still think quality of service (voice included) is also dependent on where someone is located. Verizon might be great in one major city but horrible in another city. To say "such and such service is horrible..." well, there's more to the equation than just that.

Another thing I've noticed. When you go to a service provider's site, they have their map and the maps of the competitors. Go to the competitor's site and their map does not match the map you just saw. For example...go to Sprint's site and see AT&T's map. Go to AT&T's map and it's a lot better. -- You'd think such stuff would be regulated, but I guess not.
 
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blueneon36

Active Member
Mar 10, 2009
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Pittsburgh
AT&T is going to roll out a new data plan package this weekend.

AT&T Introduces New AT&T Mobile Share Value Plans | AT&T

So, let me add this up..... $100 a month for 15 GB's of Shareable Data. $15 per phone for unlimited talk/text. $30 per phone per month in "rental" charges. Ummmm..... No thanks, AT&T Postpaid. I have 2 lines now. Paying $200 a month for 2 lines isn't an option.

I would rather buy 2 used phones on Swappa, get Cricket's version of AT&T Service and deal with slow 8MB/sec download speeds. My cost would be $100 for 2 phones with 20GB in total data.
 
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Wolf

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So, let me add this up..... $100 a month for 15 GB's of Shareable Data. $15 per phone for unlimited talk/text. $30 per phone per month in "rental" charges. Ummmm..... No thanks, AT&T Postpaid. I have 2 lines now. Paying $200 a month for 2 lines isn't an option.

I do understand, but to me, this seems like a great deal. I use to pay:

$120 for 10GB, $40 and $25 for 2 phones a total of $185 bucks and I'm still using an old employee discount from a former job as 18% which brought it down to $150+ bucks with taxes.

Now the new deal:

$100 for 15GB and $15 for 2 phones = $130 but no contracts and no AT&T Next deals, I still keep my 18% a new grand total close to $106+ bucks with tax, to me sounds like a great deal. No worries about swapping phones or slower data with a another company.
 
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