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Cell phone rip off IMO

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cell imo phone rip
2K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  jaleh28 
#1 ·
As you can see in my siggy, our cell phone contract is up in May. Well I called Alltel, to see about getting it cancelled, they said that my contract is up May 13th, but even if I cancel my account then, I will still be charged until June 2nd, regardless if I use the minutes or not. That stinks. They had no problem prorating my bill in the beginning of the contract which was 2 years ago. This irritates me. That means another $107 a month I wasn't planning on. DH isn't thrilled about me cancelling it anyway, but I really don't give a darn right now, it is going..going...going. sonn to be gone. I may look into a trac phone though. $107 x 12 months a year, adds up to a chunk of change. Yeah know what I mean??
 
#2 ·
Wow I dont think that is fair that you will still be charged if your contract is up on 5/12??? I've never heard of that but they are all out to make money and I agree $107 a month is pretty steep for a cell phone bill.
 
#3 ·
Wow, that really stinks. I think I would ask to speak to a supervisor and let them know that you are canceling your contract as of May 12 and that you expect no further charges after that date. You have fulfilled your obligation and they must now fulfill theirs which is ending the charges and commitment as of the end of the contract, if you can not reason with the supervisor continue to go up the chain of command until you find a person with some authority and some common sense to go along with it. :)
 
#5 ·
Alltel really sucks anyway.
We had them in AL and when we went to get out of our contract because of dh's orders (Army) to move to NY, they tried to tell us we could still use Alltel where we were going and that we didn't qualify to get out of our contract free of charge because of a military move (like our contract stated).
Yeah, the closest Alltel office is TWO HOURS away from where we are now and all our calls would be out of the area. After two weeks of fighting with them, they finally relented. Only they confiscated our phones...along with my cell phone cover that I paid money for.

I guess I'm still a little bitter over Alltel :blush:
 
#6 ·
Does the FCC cover cell phones? You can print a complain form out right off the internet.

YankeeMom, how did they confiscate the phones? I'm picturing a couple of goons showing up and repo'ing them :ponder:
 
#10 ·
They refused to cancel our contract until they had physical possession of the phones. Since we were literally on our way out of the state before they finally relented, dh just gave them our phones. The cover that came with the phone was packed away at that point.
 
#8 ·
I would check the cancellation policy on the contract.

If I remember correctly, my Cingular contract required a 30 day notice to cancel the policy.
 
#9 ·
Oh, I've since gone prepaid, and I love it. I pay about $120 for the entire year. I rarely use my phone.
 
#11 ·
I am considering the Trac phones as well. Right now I have two with Sprint. They (the company) have been a nightmare to deal with. They always say they will credit you this or that and never do. For example after Hurricane Katrina we had service disabled for ages. When I called to find out what was going on and when service would be restored I was told we would get credit for loss air time. Never happened. I hate how if you make any changes to your service it locks you in for another two years on the contract. To cancel it will take $400 ($200 per phone). With the kids getting out of school in three weeks, DD will need one (no house phone) since DS is in summer school. Just trying to figure out the cheapest/best way to go.
 
#12 ·
We like our Tracfones. I bought DH one for Christmas, it cost $29.99 for the phone and came with 80 minutes of airtime. I bought one for myself about three weeks ago. We don't use our phones much at all, so the cost for each phone will be about $10 a month.
 
#13 ·
I was soooo excited when I got my first cell phone. I was 20.

On my 25th birthday my husband and I decided that we were going to completely get rid of the phones. I wasn't even considering a pre-paid phone. I was so fed up with all of it. BUT my grandmother didn't like calling the house (it is my in-laws house, after all)-- she just felt uncomfortable... so she bought me a pre-paid phone.

I didn't want anything-- especially a new bill. It has come in handy. We have had a few car emergencies where we needed something-- and it has saved us from hiking to a phone from the highway. We pay $20 every 3 months (that's required) and hardly come close to using that much. But when we went back to Hawaii we needed a cell phone and all the saved $$ (I think it was around $80) was completely used up. So, pre-paid phones can be great if you hardly use them. We keep ours in the car for emergencies only.
 
#14 ·
Um, I have a question....whats a TRAC phone? How does it differ from a regular cell phone?

I have gone prepaid and I love it!! Cheaper then my monthly bill every month, I cant complain.

I was in non contract plan but they prorated as well. Its just in case you flee w/o paying etc so they can cover the basic cost vs being 100% ripped off. But Id do as someone else suggested....calling the service provider, demand to speak to a call ctre mgr and then explain to them your contracts up and you have no further interest in continuing with their services - as much as they will sell you and claim to give you for free - and ask what exactly needs to be done step by step to ensure you do not get anymore charges from them. Enjoy the last month free - kinda sorta!

Always get their name, ID# and which call centre they're in and dept. I tried calling once and I got sent to a guy named John in England...hrmm...how many Johns can there really be? Grrr....but as stated above, Im on prepaid and LOVING IT! :)
 
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