I bought my first cell-phone last fall
By barehugs
@barehugs (8973)
Canada
June 3, 2008 3:39pm CST
I was thinking how handy It would be when we went on our annual winter vacation to South Texas. I had to buy an American package to use it in the States. That was an extra $85.00 each month. I purchased the phone at Radio Shack, and the clerk assured me it would cost $25.00 a month on a three Year contract. The phone had hundreds of extras which we didn't need. It had a camera built in. There were many other options as well.When we tried use the phone we were puzzled. The user's hand book covered many functions in a quick manner( as if it would be very simple.)We never were able to access the simplest things like adding our own phone number. We could dial, call out and receive calls, but that was it. The Bills came in every month,($11.95 for 911 calls which we didn't want), like $130.00 and our friends didn't call us because they had to pay for the privilege. At Home in Canada our bill was $103.35 or thereabouts each month. I'd had enough and bought out the contract. This cost me $436.00. I had the phone for 6 months and it cost me over $1000.00 by the time I had kissed it goodbye.
I'm wondering if any myLot seniors have had similar cell-phone problems?
3 responses
@smacksman (6053)
•
3 Jun 08
It's a real trap!!
Whenever I go to a new country I just get a 'Pay As You Go' sim card on arrival and pop it in my phone. Then you are on local networks with local rates. Keeps it simple.
OK, the drawback is that you have a new number and you have to have a printout of all your friends numbers or keep swapping your old sim card back in to read your address book.
But hey! I'm on holiday so I'm not calling home or the office every day.
@smacksman (6053)
•
4 Jun 08
Sorry - my ignorance!
I read below that different frequencies are involved so changing SIM cards wouldn't work anyway and a new phone is required.
They've really got you by the balls haven't they! haha
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
3 Jun 08
I can't say that i have ever had anything happen like that. Your bill does make sense though $85 +$25 for your regular bills + tax (everyone HAS to pay for 911 calls, you don't have a choice).
I am surprised that that you had to buy an add on for your phone. We live in the US and when my husband went to London all he had to do was take his phone to a T-Mobile store and have his phone upgraded (took 5 minutes) and his plan worked like he was at home.
1 person likes this
@barehugs (8973)
• Canada
4 Jun 08
My Bill when in the U.S. was high but manageable. When I returned home the bill was still above $100.00 a month. The 911 number is compulsory. The phone companies have to provide it. They pass the charge off on the unwitting Customer.I was with Rogers Wireless, and I'm convinced they are crooks. I had to buy the U.S. Package because the roving charges would have been prohibitive. And then my friends in Texas had to pay long-distance charges to call me at my house a quarter mile away.
@AnnieOakley1 (5596)
• Canada
4 Jun 08
It is exactly for reasons like this that I held back for so long, too. It has been just over a year since I finally broke down and bought a cell. My husband works construction and they use walkie-talkie cell phones there so he was becoming accustomed to using them.
So that is what I bought. I bought one for me and him and my daughter, too.
It is a walkie talkie, a cell and can text and I think it goes on the web, too, if you want it to, but I haven't used that feature. It only cost $70 to purchase and came loaded with $10 on it already. But I mostly use it as a walkie, and text. I only have the cell feature for emergencies as those minutes are outrageously priced because I REFUSED to sign up to a plan that tied me in legally for years in order to get the minutes cheapest.
So we pay no monthly fee, except $3/mo to have it on the system and active and included in 911. It is called a Solo Mobile. You can buy it at Zehrs or any affiliate of them like Loblaws.
Cell minutes are 40cents and add 20cents more if it is long distance, incoming or out. So we do not use it as a chatting device for useless conversations.
If you use the walkie feature once, you are billed $1 for the whole day (up till 3 am). So it is unlimited after that first use, so you can chat all you want then. But if we don't use it for days, we do not get billed for walkie use.
We use prepaid phone cards to 'load' the phone, and we buy a $30 card that doesn't expire for 75 days. The $20 cards don't expire for 45 days. And you can prevent losing any minutes by 'reloading' but we have always used the minutes within the time alotted.
Texting is free to receive and 15 cents to send. My daughter and I use this feature quite alot to keep in touch when she is away at school or like now when she is in another province.
