Emergency phone with no monthly cost?

[veremchuka]

I read the other thread on cell phones but nothing in that addresses my need. I'm sure a lot of people would like this same thing so I suspect it is out there but where?

What I want is a cell phone to use in an emergency. I don't mind buying it but I want to purchase a minimal number of minutes (say 60 minutes) and expect those minutes to last until I use them without the need to purchase more minutes on a regular basis. I don't want a camera, clock, GPS, radio, I don't text, no interest in apps... all I want is a phone that I'd use in an accident or breakdown situation ie an emergency.

Last week my car broke down at 6:45 am on a very very cold day in a very inconvenient place. This phone I want would have allowed me to call the police or a towing company. I'd pay 10 or 20 cents a minute to buy the time but if I don't use it then 5 years later I want it all to be there and again I do not want to have to buy more time every x days.

Does such a thing exist? $5 or $10 a month is way too much to pay for this. The last time my car broke down was in 1998 and I never had an accident. I expect to die and never use those 60 minutes but just in case! Any ideas?

 

[Texas Proud]

Good luck with that.... no profit in it for phone companies..

Also, how do they know when you die and do not need the phone number anymore


From what I remember, you can to T-Mobile for $5 per year, that is the cheapest I have seen.... that is after you are Gold or something.... which cost $100 plus phone....

 

[ksr]

From what I remember, you can to T-Mobile for $5 per year, that is the cheapest I have seen.... that is after you are Gold or something.... which cost $100 plus phone....

Yes, this T-Mobile prepaid plan is exactly what I have. I had to purchase the phone (I have a very basic one) and think I spent around $50, including the car charger. Then I added $100 worth of minutes (1000 minutes good for one year) which upgraded me to "Gold" status. Now all I have to do is remember every year, before those minutes expire, to add just the minimal amount (I think that is $10/year). Unused minutes roll over to the next year, provided that I add more minutes before the end of the year. The only gotcha was the year that I missed my expiration date by a few days, and lost all my accumulated minutes.

I keep it purely as an emergency phone. I don't keep it turned on, don't give out that number, and don't text.

 

[pb4uski]

ksr's deal sounds good for OP's need in that 5 year cost would be $140 ($100 for first year and $10 a year therafter), or $2.33/month, (ignoring the cost of the phone) below OP's $5-10 a month threshold of pain.

Best deal I am aware of is AT&T gophone which is $50 for the phone and then $100 a year, or $8.33/month (plus a little tax brings it up to ~$9/month IIRC).

 

[rbmrtn]

If you just need a phone for 911 any cell phone can be used, for free.

Dollar General had a cheap Tracfone last week for $10, a 3 month card is $20 ( 6.67/month ) for Tracfone

 

[easysurfer]

This may be old rules, but thought that for emergencies that a cell phone without any minutes still could call for help, like 911. No?

For me, I just reload a year of time (which also adds about 800 minutes) in Jan. That should last me for the entire year.

I know with Tracfone, you can also get an automatic load of 50 minutes a month for about $9.99 if you don't want to fool with having to reload separately.

 

[travelover]

I posted this before, but with Page Plus you have to add $10 every 120 days, so $30 a year. It is on the Verizon network. You can buy a cheap Verizon phone (not prepaid) off eBay or someone might even give you one.

To go with auto pay you have to kick up to the $80 a year plan.

 

[mickeyd]

DW wanted a cell phone about 15 years ago for "emergencies" and such. So we bought a phone and signed up and linked somehow to a company that I worked for. We often do not make any calls. I guess that we are still somehow linked to that company.

A recent monthly bill was for $1.08 and was all fees~Fed universal svc .02, Regulatory Cost recovery .45,Tx universal Svc .01, 911 surcharge .06, sales tax .01...you get the idea. The days of "no monthly cost" are over.

 

[pixelville]

If you just need a phone for 911 any cell phone can be used, for free.

Dollar General had a cheap Tracfone last week for $10, a 3 month card is $20 ( 6.67/month ) for Tracfone

As rbmrtn wrote, calling 911 is free from any cell phone whether you have minutes or not. You can get a cheap feature phone from craigslist for almost free. Lot of people have them sitting around at home from when they upgrade to a fancy phone.
Of course, if you need to call a tow-truck, etc you will need a phone with minutes. Tmobile prepaid is the cheapest I know of.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

Yes, this T-Mobile prepaid plan is exactly what I have. I had to purchase the phone (I have a very basic one) and think I spent around $50, including the car charger. Then I added $100 worth of minutes (1000 minutes good for one year) which upgraded me to "Gold" status. Now all I have to do is remember every year, before those minutes expire, to add just the minimal amount (I think that is $10/year). Unused minutes roll over to the next year, provided that I add more minutes before the end of the year. The only gotcha was the year that I missed my expiration date by a few days, and lost all my accumulated minutes.

I keep it purely as an emergency phone. I don't keep it turned on, don't give out that number, and don't text.

+1

I have been using this plan for several years now, and it is perfect for me as I only use a small number of minutes a month (I have never spent more than $25 to refill and I still have over 300 unused minutes from previous rollovers). Actually, you don't need to buy the 1000 minutes upfront, although this is the best deal in terms of cost/minute. You can spend as little as $10. Once you've spent $100, you are upgraded to Gold Status, and then it works the way KSR described. As a Gold Status member you get 15% additional minutes for free each time you buy minutes.

Another thing I like about T-Mobile is that if you get a new phone you can simply move the SIM card from the old phone to the new one, thereby saving all of your unused minutes as well as any stored information (phone number, personal phone book, etc).

Finally, from time to time T-Mobile has specials on phones for this plan. When I last purchased a new phone, I got a Samsung t139 flip phone for $30 with free shipping and a free $25 refill card, so my effective cost for the phone was only $5.

 

[noelm]

DO you have unlocked T-Mobile or at&t phone? If you don't then you can definitely buy it from ebay. You can use Airvoice Wireless $10/3 months, 10c/min or text.

I am using it for 9 months now. No problem. It uses at&t network.

Airvoice Wireless | Pay As You Go
Buy their SIM card from ebay for a buck.

 

[veremchuka]

So what I want does not exist based upon replies. Calling 911 is only for an emergency and that would work. Calling 911 for a tow truck, you can't do that.

Believe it or not the least expensive option mentioned is way too expensive because I do not want to add minutes period... LBYM thinking. I do not use a cell and do not want to be accumulating minutes. This is why I'd be willing to pay an inordinate amount for say 60 minutes but those minutes have to remain until I used them.

As I mentioned the last time I needed "the phone" other than a week ago this morning was in July of 1998. So I guess that's that, thankfully all you other people, what 99 out of 100, have a cell so someone can make that call when I need it in another 15 years.

 

[EvrClrx311]

Definitely a younger generation thing at the moment, but many people are giving up their land lines entirely (up to $35 with long distance) and just using a cell phone in its place. Now that cells seem to work everywhere (at least in metro areas). Wal-Mart is rolling out an unlimited minute cell phone for $40-45 a month soon. They think in another couple years this cost will go down even more as cell companies stop paying to maintain the land lines and instead boost production of cell towers (cheaper to build, more profit, more coverage, more range).

Many predict that the aging infrastructure of wired land lines is a sinking ship. What happens when all of those wooden telephone poles across the country start to deteriorate and phone companies are seeing a drop in subscribers? Up to this point those in cities have subsidized the miles and miles of telephone lines to rural areas by paying the same rates. As more people move to cell we'll see a steep drop in land-line use - except in the most remote areas, where the cost of maintaining them will send monthly bills way up. I predict we'll have what look like land lines, but they'll really run on the internet... much like Vontage. My guess is that wired telephone lines across the country will be extinct by 2025. By then internet, satellite and cell will take over the entire infrastructure.

 

[REWahoo]

Definitely a younger generation thing, but some people are saving the cost of a land line by removing it and just using a cell phone...

We did away with our land line and went cell only in 2006. I had no idea I was in "a younger generation" at age 59...

 

[EvrClrx311]

We did away with our land line and went cell only in 2006. I had no idea I was in "a younger generation" at age 59...

 

[Katsmeow]

As I mentioned the last time I needed "the phone" other than a week ago this morning was in July of 1998. So I guess that's that, thankfully all you other people, what 99 out of 100, have a cell so someone can make that call when I need it in another 15 years.

Are you saying you have no phone at all, no land line, no cell, no VOIP, no nothing? Or, are you saying you have a land line or some sort of phone at home but you are talking about finding some sort of cell phone while out and about?

If you have a landline at home one option would definitely be to ditch it for some sort of prepaid cell phone which would end up being much less expensive than a landline.

We got rid of the landline awhile ago. We actually have cell phones with unlimited minutes so could use them for everything. As a practical matter though I paid $30 or so annually to Skype to be able to call phones using Skype so 95% of our home calling is through Skype.

 

[JakeBrake]

Please excuse my ignorance, but for those of you who have gotten rid of your landlines, how do you get your internet?

At my house the DSL service is on the same cable pairs as the landline.

 

[Katsmeow]

one - You can actually get DSL without having a landline. We had DSL for awhile without a landline.

Two - I don't actually like DSL since I find it much slower than getting broadband through the cable company. You can get broadband from the cable company without having cable TV.

 

[pb4uski]

Landline=conventional wired phone service, you can buy DSL only from the phone company. Same wiring.

 

[ERD50]

So what I want does not exist based upon replies. Calling 911 is only for an emergency and that would work. Calling 911 for a tow truck, you can't do that.

Believe it or not the least expensive option mentioned is way too expensive because I do not want to add minutes period... LBYM thinking. I do not use a cell and do not want to be accumulating minutes. This is why I'd be willing to pay an inordinate amount for say 60 minutes but those minutes have to remain until I used them.

As I mentioned the last time I needed "the phone" other than a week ago this morning was in July of 1998. So I guess that's that, thankfully all you other people, what 99 out of 100, have a cell so someone can make that call when I need it in another 15 years.

I understand where you are coming from, I use ~ 5 minutes a month average. But I think you need to look at it as a total cost of ownership - forget minutes or anything. Just what is the cost to have this convenience/insurance (like insurance, you pay for it hoping you never need it). For me, the $100 first year, $10/year there-after with T-Mobile Gold status is close enough.

So, like it or not, I think you are going to have to pay something to keep the account active so it's there when you need it. It's just the cost of doing business. I think you can understand that the cell companies, esp because they are in a market with a high barrier to entry, aren't exactly bending over backwards to attract customers like you & me.

One option - if you expect your 'once in a decade' phone call could be put off until you get to a wi-fi zone, there are ways to make free calls, or pay-by-the-minute-no-monthly-fee calls from a wi-fi zone. Otherwise, just bite the bullet or decide to do with-out. Or carry a dummy cell phone and rely on a good Samaritan, telling them that your battery is dead (since 2001!), could you use their phone?

-ERD50

 

[veremchuka]

I think I'm in the rely on the good samaritan camp, worked this time. It's hilly around here and the ultimate kick in the pants would be in a valley with no reception.

I thought I was using a landline at home but cuz my phone is plugged into the wall jack like when I had AT&T but it occurred to me I bundled tv, phone and internet via the cable company so I guess I'm in the no land line group.

 

[Texas Proud]

I think I'm in the rely on the good samaritan camp, worked this time. It's hilly around here and the ultimate kick in the pants would be in a valley with no reception.

I thought I was using a landline at home but cuz my phone is plugged into the wall jack like when I had AT&T but it occurred to me I bundled tv, phone and internet via the cable company so I guess I'm in the no land line group.

The rely on someone else is all well and good as long as you are in places where there are others....


I still vote that you are using a landline, but others might not think so.... you are using a wire that comes to your house... I don't care if it is the telephone company or cable... it is still a wire.... to me, no landline means you went wireless....

 

[JakeBrake]

My definition of a landline is a cable pair from the phone company central office to your house. the phone company feeds 48VDC from the CO to your house through the cable pair which means that a corded phone will work when the AC power is out.

By the way AAA says that for AAA members they can now immediately locate your geographic position when you call them for assistance from your registered cellphone. This will come in handy because I've had a hard time giving directions when I've called for assistance after breaking down on an unmarked rural road.

 

[Katsmeow]

It sounds like OP is using VOIP. OP -- you might check the cost on what it would cost for you to have TV and internet and no phone at home and then figure out the cost of a prepaid cell phone instead of the VOIP. I suspect you will find that the cost of the prepaid cell phone over time will be less than what you are paying for VOIP. You could even pay an extra $30 a year to be able to use Skype to call phones and you would probably still be under what you are paying now. Where I am adding VOIP to a bundle adds about $30 a month.

 

[obgyn65]

Have you searched for 'tracfone' on the Walmart website ?