Cell phone switch? WWYD?? About This Page:

[Teresa]

I've got a decision to make.
DH and I have Verizon cell phones, and are very unimpressed with the sesrvice lately. I especially have tons of dropped calls - almost daily, sometimes repeatedly. We have a hard time getting service in places others around us have no problems. I'd like to switch. Here's the info on the plan we have now and the plan I think we could use, based on our history thus far:

Current Plan: Verizon

1500 minutes $94.99 – I usually go over, because I talk to my Daddy every day
2nd line $ 9.99
3rd line $ 9.99 – don’t have it yet, probably in Sept.
Overage minutes $ 0.45
Any text $ 0.15 – whether sent or received

Left over minutes lost

Unlimited nights, weekends, long-distance (is part of minutes) and to DH’s phone


Proposed plan:AT&T

700 minutes $69.99
Second line $ 0.00
Third Line $ 9.99 – we’ll be adding this later, for DD
Overage minutes $ 0.45
Text NO idea

Left over minutes rolled over to next month, etc.

Unlimited nights, weekends, AND “unity minutes” This means that I can call ANY AT&T phone from my cell – whether land or cell, and it is not charged against my minutes

Now the problem: Our contracts do not expire until July and September, respectively. If we wait until September to switch, we will pay out a minimum of $912, including taxes etc. That's IF I don't go over my minutes, and I almost always do. IF I get the usual bill, it'll be more like $1360!!
If we switch now though, it will cost us $175 EACH to buy out our contract - it's too old for that whole "pro-rated" thing that is now law. And, we'd have to buy new phones. I figured on a smaller amount of minutes because of the unity plan, and my dad and everyone I call and talk to for extended periods of time has AT&T.
So, to switch would cost us at least: $910 ($70 a month for 8 months plus $350 cancellation fees) PLUS the price of 2 new phones.

So, how do I convince DH to switch? All he sees is the $350 cancellation!!

[stefffe]

put everything down on paper.....once he sees the totals he will understand.

[Colexis Mom]

Good luck with the switch We just renewed our contract at AT&T and only had to pay $20 for the phone (Nokia flip). I think if you bought the package/contract online, it would have been free. Make sure to check that out

[Disney_Scarlett]

Put the math on paper. Yes, the $350 is $350 wasted, but so is the plan that doesn't work for you and all the overage costs. If it works out to be minimal savings, at least you're saving a little and saving your sanity from all those dropped calls and worrying about overage minutes!

I had to pay $200 to get out of my Nextel contract when I switched to Alltel. It made me sick to have to do that, but when I moved, I got NO service with Nextel and I was fed up with them anyway, AND I was constantly going over on my minutes. As I had almost a year left on my contract (I had just renewed the year before when I bought a new phone), waiting it out wasn't an option for me, especially since I couldn't get service at my house! Anyway, I saved money by paying the $200.

If you sign a new contract with AT&T, you should get free phones, or at least very cheap phones - unless you want something like a Blackberry or Treo.

[emtpej]

We are dumping NexTel. The service has gotten much worse since they "together"ed with Sprint. We had planned to get Verizon, but now I am not so sure and maybe we should go with AT and T?

[Teresa]

Thanks everyone - it was easy. Tonight after dinner, I presented him with the totals and THEN told him that it included the $350 fee. He agreed- seems silly to keep Verizon, especially since I almost always go over.
He was waiting to talk to me about getting internet with AT&T instead of our cable provider - his dad just switched and is very happy.
SO, we're going to the AT&T store in the AM to talk about bundling it all. Land-line, cells, cable, internet.

I'd love an i-phone, but it would be wasted on me. I'm pretty computer illiterate.

[Grandmasam]

Glad you got him to change. I'm planning on doing the same as soon as I can get Mom out to the AT&T store!