More Confusing Phone Plans

I've had a ToGo Phone with AT&T since 1996. It suits me just fine, because I rarely make a call on the phone. In fact I had so much credit on the phone, I haven't made a payment since April, 2012. I will for the first time in June, 2014.

Bob...right again! When Sprint's lips are moving....RUN!!! So disappointed and angry, gotta wait it out....

Got the FreedomPop after you wrote it up. No complaints other than short battery life and no costs since buying the phone. hmmmmm.....

Great article Bob. I understand and agree with all your points. I have helped many people navigate these troubled cell plan waters. These companies make a lot of noise with their new offers, but I don't see the real savings for customers. I've recently been asked to look into Consumer Cellular as an alternative to the larger, more well-known, carriers. So far, I don't see any hidden "gotchas". You pay for the full price of the phone, you don't have to buy from them, the plans seem cheaper, and they use AT&T's network and hardware, so the service should be equal to that of AT&T. I like that they don't try to complicate things. Yes, you pay a lot for the phone since you probably have to pay full price (unless you can find a deal or used phone), but after that, you are in control. Month-to-month, no contract, easily adjust plan if/when needed. Sounds good. Do you know anything about this company and/or their plans? Am I missing something? Maybe you can add them to your comparison.

I went to the Sprint dealer I signed with because my phone was acting "hinky" and I still had 6 months left on a 2 year contract. His recommendation was to jump to a new "no-contract" plan (he said Sprint doesn't have contracts anymore). For a new phone, instead of a contract you pay a "small amount extra" (it added about 30% more) per month to pay off the phone. BUT he would have to "take" my old phone because the old contract was not paid up. I swear he held out his hands as if to take the phone from me and just then I felt like he was Rumplestiltskin and I was signing over not only my firstborn but every future child, as well. (Yes, I know one mustn't feel thus about mere "possessions" even if they ARE at your side 24 hours a day.) At any rate, I have paid $200, plus 18 months of a 24 month contract, but I own nothing. Of course I didn't do that. Point is...when deciding on a plan you also have to weigh the present and future value of the phone against the amortized cost of the phone and whether or not you will even be able to sell it to mitigate the cost of a new phone if you upgrade before your term is satisfied. More complexity.

Bob: Not a comment, but I think you meant "simplicity" in your sidebar.
Have enjoyed your columns for years.

I tried to switch my AT&T $40/mo unlimited phone service (voice only) to the new lower, 'senior plan' and the rep said it was $20, but the 'phone charge' was $20.00 MORE, giving me the exact same price...WHAT A RIPOFF! I laughed when she said consider the 'data package free' - when I said I wanted ONLY VOICE - no net access. What kind of savings for seniors is this?????????

I switched from Verizon to consumer cellular 2 months ago. From $37 to $18 month. Cellulars Bluetooth phone cost me $#35 and $18 month taxes included. Not text 200 minutes a month. All I need

I've used a Tracfone Motorola flip phone for years with a Double Minutes feature. Been looking at smartphones, bought a Tracfone Samsung Centura Android at Target, price $129 but at register was $80, which comes with a Triple Minutes, Text, and Data lifetime feature. Works for me as I try to use Skype as much as possible at home. Enjoy your articles.

Thanks for yet another timely article, Bob. My suggestion to everybody is to look at the various MVNO's out there. Same networks, lower prices. A few years back, after a LOT of research, my wife and I switched to Platinum Tel because of AT&T's bad service and pricing. P-tel's pre-paid prices were 2cents/text, 5cents/min talk and 10cents/picture message. They used the Sprint network and we NEVER had any problems with dropped calls, etc., unlike when we were with AT&T. A BIG PLUS - their customer service was exceptional. We ended up spending about $25/month total for our two phones. When our phone usages skyrocketed, I did my research again and settled on an unlimited-all plan for my wife - $45/month on straight talk using Verizon's network - and a $35/month Virgin Mobile plan for me that uses Sprint's network. We also bought our first smart phones via those providers - both perfectly adequate for our needs and bargains at only around $100 each. The absolutely only negative issue we have had was with Straight Talk's customer service. A minor billing problem became an ORDEAL to get corrected, though it was finally accomplished. My Virgin Mobile service has been good with no problems, technical or cost-wise. Sorry for the length of this but high-value and high-quality cell service IS available and it does NOT cost big $$$. Last thing, Bob. Thanks for years of keeping me informed and protected.

Check out ConsumerCellular.com for what I have found to be both an affordable and a reliable cell service provider. Its plans are simple and straight forward, with the option of adjusting your plan during any month depending upon your usage needs. Consumer Cellular offers the added benefit of a discount to AARP members on its services.

Very good and needed posting to open some people's eyes! You never mention Metro PCS and they have been supplying a great no contract plan before any of these abusive large companies ever thought about doing it. Simply they have no contract, no gimmicks and a straight monthly charge of $40 including all taxes and charges (just $40)that includes unlimited talk, text and 500 MB at 4G and after that you get unlimited 3G. You have to buy your phone and can buy a new one as many times and as often as you want. I got an LG smart phone for free after their promotion and have been paying $40 ever after. I live in Florida and the service is excellent. If you don't want 4G you can drop to a $35 per month with all unlimited. I'm so happy of having left ATT that every month my bill was a different amount. They always found a new charge to add some taxes and some their own charges. Now I pay $40 and it never changes. I don't know why people don't line up at their doors unless you want an I phone. We need to support companies that give us a fair value w/o the confusing mumbo jumbo. There are smaller companies like Booth Mobile that also will give you a fair deal unlimited all for $35 except data which is sometimes limited in 4G.

I switched from Verizon to T-Mobile about three and a half years ago. Now they're even better with the Simple Choice plans. I have a family plan that starts at $80 for two lines for unlimited talk, text and data. The data gets throttled to 3G speeds after 500 MB but you can bump that to 2.5 GB for an additional $10/month. I also added two additional lines at $10 each, so that's $100/month for four lines with unlimited talk, text and data. I did have to spring for the extra $10 to get 2.5 GB of data for my daughter, but the rest of us are usually well under the 500 MB.

Amen to all, Bob

Years ago, when we were traveling all over the country in our RV we went with Sprint. But hardly ever had any service except in major cities. So in '92 we switched to AT&T and have stayed there. We have two phones and we paid $69.95 per month. THEN we got new phones...iPhone for the wife....Android for me. Guess what. Up went our bill $40 per month....$20 for each phone because they were "smart" phones. Never mind that we never text...never use data...etc. If ya got a smart phone...it's gonna cost you that much extra. Now why did we get smart phones? Because, at the time, we simply could not find good quality "dumb" phones. They were all trash. So not our service costs us about $110 per month. But, at least, we did pull the plug on our old home phone & that saved us $30. Got tired of the blasted marketing calls. We registered our number on both federal and state "no-call" lists but the tele-marketers ignore that. We are about to start looking for a better deal.

Thanks for this article.

With Virgin Mobile, I get unlimited data, text, and email, and 300 minutes of talk for $35 a month.

Unlike so many today, I don't walk around with a phone glued to my ear or texting away while tripping over a curb. I can't text anyway; I had a broken wrist that did not heal properly and texting is very painful.

I have lived with my GoPhone for so long that an X-Ray tech at a hospital looked at it and said "I haven't seen one of those in 5 years". Proud to say it is still working fine. I just buy minutes and use the phone for minimal conversation. It has served me well.

When my hubby's contract with AT & T is finished, he is going with TracFone. Phone plans are always designed to profit the company, true, so we give them as little as possible. Corporations already control most of our lives. It is possible to enjoy life without their idea of what we absolutely, positively NEED.

I have been with T-Mo for over 10 years and only changed plans with them when it made my bill cheaper. I love the customer service. I live in the SF Bay Area, so coverage isn't an issue and like someone else said, I am usually at work or home or close to someone's wi-fi and end up using very little of own my data. Not pushing T-Mo - to each his own - I just know I have loved them, and have heard many complaints from others about their issues with other carriers.

Cell providers as a group stink. Three years ago I switched from Verizon to Boost Mobile (sprint). Saved a bundle and had good service. Moved 15 miles - still in a major metro area - and the service was unusable. Their customer service was the worst. First blamed system upgrades. Then said nothing was wrong. Also tried three different phones. Finally got to their corporate customer service and they said that all three towers in my area were below acceptable levels. That was the last I heard from them as they stopped responding to follow-up requests as the service never improved.

Just switched to T-Mobile and while it is more expensive, I'm just happy to have working cell service. $70/month is reasonable for unlimited talk(including free calls overseas), messaging and data (only 500mb of 4g, then downgrades).

Cellular Phone Plans, be they contractual or pay-as-you-go ... Basically ... Suck canal water!!! Remember, all of these companies are in this ... To make money, nothing less will do. So, to think that you will or are getting a "good deal", is delusional at best.

One thing that I have learned ... Ask your friends and acquaintances that live in your area ... Which cell service is the best in not dropping calls and getting good phone reception? When, I lived in Rome, GA ... Verizon had the "best" service, for getting excellent to good reception ... I had AT&T and could easily see the difference. No mystery, Verizon had more towers in the area, than AT&T, therefore better reception.

Please, remember Verizon and AT&T use different methods of sending and receiving signals. Verizon uses CDMA ... While, AT&T uses GSM. Please, I don't understand what the letters mean, I just know and have read, that CDMA and GSM do not mix! Basically, cell phone companies are broken down to either CDMA or GSM, for phone reception. There is also, an EDGE, but, overall the other two methods are the most popular, for cell phone companies.

So, one cellular company starts an Ad Campaign on "lowering" cell plans ... To be competitive, all cellular phone companies, do the same thing. However, most of the caveats are in "legalese" ... Meaning, that most people don't understand what they have signed up for. In other words ... The "Fine Print" on the contract. Pay-As-You-Go is pretty straight up and forward, about what you can pay for or not pay for. Still in the end ... Remember, ALL Cellular Companies are out to make money!!!

As a person who has grown up in a family business business and studied business at school, your article points to something that bothers very much about business marketing these days. That is, today’s business marketing never seems geared to offer the straight deal anymore. Instead, “business marketing" has come to mean "confuse the customers as much as you can" so that you may ultimately extract more from them without them knowing it. This sort of "trickery" is dirty and low and it's why i've always said that if a company really wants to differentiate themselves from others these days, the only thing they really need do is offer a straight deal to the customer. Any marketing campaign as such would be so rare now, customers would flock to it as they would consider the company to be exceptional.