just in case you didn't notice, they are changing their texting rates which allows you (if you DON'T already have a text plan) to get out of your contract without ANY penalty

call them up and try and stay calm the entire time, if someone says they can't help you just keep asking to talk to someone higher, eventually they will do something like "hey can my manager call you back in xx time?" (they are required to call back within that time) and you should be good to go

i'm happy with verizon and unfortunately i have a text plan so im not using it but i did it with suncom a year ago

1/26/2008 5:33:00 PM

http://tinyurl.com/2mxv9j

1/26/2008 5:41:49 PM

Shoot I just recently noticed that they started charging $0.15 a message, now as of March 8, 2008 it is going up to $0.20?

We have a family share plan and my line is already out of the contract, but the two other lines are expiring in July.

I am kind of at a loss of where to go next.

1/26/2008 6:37:50 PM

thats my problem, verizon is expensive as hell but works very well. they have cool phones as well. altell is a good deal with the mycircle, but the phone selection is limited. I have a G'z one from casio, it waterproof and lasts a hell of a long time on a charge. nextel is the only other one I have seen with a ruggedized phone, and they have limited coverage, esp. in places i work.

1/26/2008 6:41:13 PM

AT&T also will be going up as well on March 30th.

1/26/2008 7:49:26 PM

fuxverizonson

1/26/2008 8:20:16 PM

.20 per message jesus titty fucking christ.

i know w/ AT&T you can get a package of 200 texts for $5 or 1500 for $10.

even the pay-per use is only like 0.05

1/26/2008 8:24:02 PM

at&t pay per use is $0.15.

1/26/2008 8:28:54 PM

Quote :

"AT&T also will be going up as well on March 30th"

will i be able to get out of my at&t contract beforehand like verizon is allowing now?

1/26/2008 8:34:53 PM

this does not effect iPhone users I hope. Since i've got unlimited txt

1/26/2008 8:55:59 PM

All the companies are trying to drive users to buy the packages. If you read it says that these rates only affect pay-per-use TXTing and does not affect packages. They are basically trying to make paying per text so unreasonable that most folks will just pony up for the texting packages.

As I understand it AT&T is now going to .20/text and .30/picture while Verizon is going .20/txt & staying at .25/pics. Both suck, but if your on a package this matters precisely dick, and probably will not allow you to get out of the contract as your rate has not been adjusted one lick.

[Edited on January 26, 2008 at 10:09 PM. Reason : ]

1/26/2008 10:06:54 PM

i tried this shit with sprint and they absolutely refused to cut me any kind of break, saying their lawyers had assured them they weren't doing anything to breach a contract. good luck

1/26/2008 10:07:35 PM

^ i know people who did it with sprint. you must have quit too early,

1/26/2008 10:23:11 PM

fwiw i just talked to THE most helpful verizon CSR i think ive ever experienced

i was in love

1/27/2008 1:32:40 PM

^^ no i tried on at least 5 separate occasions with 5 different supervisors and they all gave me the same BS. whatever though, i canceled both mine and my dad's lines and only got billed for one, so i guess someone screwed up

1/27/2008 1:41:11 PM

Quote :

"^^ no i tried on at least 5 separate occasions with 5 different supervisors and they all gave me the same BS."

That means you're definitely not trying hard enough.

1/27/2008 1:45:55 PM

i also went by the store where i got my phones to get a copy of my contract, as well as have that store manager speak to someone at the corporate office on my behalf, and they still wouldn't accept it. by that point the bill was like over a week late, so i just said fuck it

and apparently at one point people were having success with the text thing, so they changed the wording of the rules which is legal i guess, although incredibly shady. i read several message boards where people tried to do it after the change and no one could do it.

[Edited on January 27, 2008 at 2:18 PM. Reason : .]

1/27/2008 2:10:06 PM

cell phone companies should never have gotten away with charging for texts. Can you imagine what it would be like if TWC tried to charge for sending an email?

1/27/2008 2:35:53 PM

yeah whats funny is that texting actually uses less bandwidth and is easier on the cell networks then making a phone call. you would think the cell phone companies would be encouraging texts in order to alleviate pressure on the local cell phone cells.

1/27/2008 3:09:03 PM

This isn't entirely true. You have the option to block text messaging.

1/27/2008 3:40:07 PM

i have unlimited texting

1/27/2008 3:41:54 PM

"hey can my manager call you back in xx time?" (they are required to call back within that time)


also, don't always go by this logic.

1/27/2008 3:44:03 PM

the fact that anything related to wireless technology is going up in price is ridiculous and shows that there's just a high level cartel keeping control of the market.

I will never ever sign a contract with a cell phone company. Don't trust 'em.

1/27/2008 3:52:37 PM

there are finite resources available for transmitting the data...as more and more people move to wireless phones, they have to buy more bands, which cost billions of dollars to get the rights for

of course, if you're staying prepaid, they probably like you more as they get better return on pre-paid and have no credit risk

1/27/2008 5:23:22 PM

I probably send 2 text messages a month. So, it's no big deal to me. I like Verizon though.

When we first moved into our first home up here in NE Raleigh, we didn't have a good connection. Our calls kept getting dropped. And would only get 1 bar if we stand in a certain part of the house. I called Verizon about it. Then e-mailed them about it. They sent me a generic message about "Yes, we're always working to improve the signal receptions, blah blah blah blah".

I was about to drop Verizon and go with another provider. But, after a few months, our reception actually improved. We have around 3 bars now and rarely get dropped calls in our house. I was surprised and decided to stick with Verizon. I guess the really do backup their "Can you hear me now?" commercials. I was impressed.

1/27/2008 6:48:49 PM

In network texting is free.

1/27/2008 7:07:34 PM

i'm not a fan of verizon, but there aren't any better alternatives

1/27/2008 8:13:42 PM

they are actually one of the few service providers (of any utility) that i haven't had any problems with.

1/27/2008 8:17:32 PM

A lady came into the store the other day and brought her aircard back. She lived out in the country and couldn't get a signal. They sent a truck out just to check on her complaint to see if they could get the coverage straight for her. Guy came out in a truck, tested around her house and everything and said she was shit outta luck and return the thing. They had already credited her account when she came in and I made the call to turn it off. I was kinda surprised by that.

1/27/2008 9:45:40 PM

Does anyone know if they offer Fios in raleigh? I'm tired of roadrunners 60kByte upload rate.

1/27/2008 10:43:35 PM

My mom lives out where there is no signal for her cell phone for about 3 miles around where she lives, they had the verizon guy come out, verify it, and they were like- we cant refund your phone $$ but you can get out of the contract 100% free - just tell us to turn it off because it doesnt work where you live.

So they apparently do back that up.

I cant believe texting is going UP in price though, that's BS. Buti only send at most 5-6 a month so it's STILL not worth a plan for me. And some of those are in network too. So whatever.

I doubt though i'll stay with verizon after the remaining year of my contract is up. We'll have to see. (Mostly I have to break off my families plan and i really would probably be better with Alltel if i'm not on their plan).

1/27/2008 10:44:21 PM

Who the fuck pays by the text?

1/28/2008 3:03:29 AM

Quote :

"yeah whats funny is that texting actually uses less bandwidth and is easier on the cell networks then making a phone call. you would think the cell phone companies would be encouraging texts in order to alleviate pressure on the local cell phone cells."

In Europe, it's actually done that way, which makes more sense. All the pricing plans there are very limited on minutes but allow huge numbers of texts, so you can pretty much use texting as an IM conversation with someone to make plans to meet up with them, and it's no big deal at all. It was so strange moving back to the US and phone plans being so backwards by comparison.

1/28/2008 4:52:32 AM

Quote :

"In network texting is free."

No. Costs my wife and I to msg each other.

Also, would consider if my contract didn't expire in May. Besides, I like VZW. The only way I would switch is if I could get the same minutes, etc. for less.

[Edited on January 28, 2008 at 8:05 AM. Reason : ]

1/28/2008 8:04:51 AM

Quote :

"Also, would consider if my contract didn't expire in May. Besides, I like VZW. The only way I would switch is if I could get the same minutes, etc. for less."

well how about getting a brand new phone? if your contract is up in may that means you have a 1 1/2 year old phone and you could get out and then immediately sign a new contract and get a new phone, i mean that is if you were planning on staying with them anyway

1/28/2008 8:44:31 AM

yeah, with the new every two thing, makes that pointless. I've upgraded my phone for free once already, so it's only about 6 mos. old.

1/28/2008 8:47:38 AM

ah, ok...wait, don't they make you extend your contract if you update using the new every 2?

1/28/2008 8:48:30 AM

yep

but how's that any different than what you were saying? unless i wanted to go with someone else?

1/28/2008 9:13:31 AM

I'm very happy with Verizon's cell service, but their texting policies and phone limitations absolutely suck in my opinion.

1/28/2008 10:06:15 AM

Quote :

"All American Who the fuck pays by the text? "

Agreed.

Verizon is king up here in the Northeast, nobody's service can touch it. I pay for the mid-grade txt package (500 txts out of network, unlimited in network) for $10 and there's no way in hell I'll ever exceed it.

1/28/2008 1:38:12 PM

i was so impressed as posted above because recently my bill has fluctuated by a couple bucks and i knew my minutes werent over and my data is unlimited, so i couldnt figure it out because it wasnt very clear on the billing statement

then when i talked to the CSR, she told me it was a result of overages on texts, but since i was only going over by like 20-30 a month, it was actually more beneficial to me to just go over and not upgrade to the next level of text plans....(we're talking fluctuations of like 2-3 bucks here)

she actually talked me out of giving them more money

verizon customer for the foreseeable future as a result

1/28/2008 1:44:21 PM

They try and get you to do higher packages and stuff, but Verizon seems to give more of a damn about their customers then any other company I have ever worked for, directly or indirectly.

An other example. Had a guy on a prepaid phone that was hitting his credit card automatically. He said it was hitting him for like $50 twice a month or something, which was REALLY high. He was in coverage, but the phone needed to be updated on the roaming, and at the time it was going into extended network, instead of picking up the newer towers. I called to check what was going on for him, and they fixed it up and even refunded him the difference for like the last 3 months since it was a phone problem. Needless to say he was very happy, as he just wanted to get it to stop roaming, and the money already used was not a big issue to him.

Senez the texting is sometimes unlimited in, and sometimes not. Older plans from like 03 and before I believe included unlimited in txting to all customers. Now all of the txting plans include unlimited inMessaging, except the cheap ass $5/250 msg plan.

If any of you go to the new Nationwide plans though, please make sure that you are aware that the new billing system removed the minute charge for downloading data, and instead charges by the megabyte. $5/meg, and of course, it rounds up. So things like Mobile Web which were 5/month are now free, but on the flipside if you use any data that month (TXT is NOT included in that) then your going to pay $5 at the minimum.

[Edited on January 28, 2008 at 2:41 PM. Reason : ]

1/28/2008 2:35:57 PM

no im saying they did the opposite of that...most people would say "oh you should upgrade to the next up package" but she was like "no you dont go over enough to really make it worth it...you're better off just paying the overages each month" (again, like a buck or two, sometimes 3)

she probably got fired afterward haha

1/28/2008 2:37:50 PM

I didn't complete my thought, sorry. I meant they do ask you to sell folks on the higher data packages if they need it, but if its not necessary, then explain to them why they do not need it.

1/28/2008 2:42:55 PM

Quote :

"there are finite resources available for transmitting the data...as more and more people move to wireless phones, they have to buy more bands, which cost billions of dollars to get the rights for"

It is one thing if they are charging more simply to make money, but I laugh if they cite increasing technology costs to send a 160 alphanumeric character message to a phone number.

Shoot the fact I get charged for an incoming text message is crap enough.

[Edited on January 28, 2008 at 3:11 PM. Reason : :]

1/28/2008 3:10:51 PM

http://tinyurl.com/yrbdyu

1/28/2008 5:41:27 PM

just about to post that. i might try it tonight.

1/28/2008 6:22:46 PM

Quote :

"So things like Mobile Web which were 5/month are now free, but on the flipside if you use any data that month (TXT is NOT included in that) then your going to pay $5 at the minimum"

Nah, it's actually $1.99/MB

1/28/2008 7:57:56 PM

BTW for some fucking reason I had $32 in roaming charges on my personal VZW phone that my wife uses. I called up and the CSR immediately voided all of that. Dunno WTF happened, but I think Alltel may be having some issue with the tower that we pull off of at home, so I think it may have been jumping onto US Cellular or something and roaming. But they yanked it off with no complaints. Very happy.

1/28/2008 8:48:13 PM

1.99/mb

1/29/2008 9:56:51 PM