Increasing (?) costs for communications

[W2R]

Total amounts, taxes and all:

BellSouth land line: $22.35/month (no long distance provider)
Verizon cell phone: $33.85/month (old regional plan)
Cox Cable: $58.46/month ($15.55 for bare bones basic cable TV, $41.95 for cable internet)
AOL: $14.95 (TCP/IP access)

Gee, all of this sounds like a lot more than I thought it would! It's almost $130 total.

 

[d]

They keep tacking six months on the end of my contract. The last time they sent me an email thanking me for accepting an offer for a discount on a month's service. I noticed also that my contract expiration date had been extended again. When I called, wrote, and called again to complain about this practice, I was told that I (or DW) had visited a store and accepted an offer and when you "make a change" to your plan, they can extend the contract to 2 years from that date. Neither of us visited a store or accepted any offer from Sprint PCS. Anyway, they slammed me and then called me a liar.

i'd suggest you not take this lying down, and would suggest you file complaints with your attorney general and the fcc and anyone else you can think of. i would also write to Sprint, attaching copies of the complaints, and "respectfully" request that the fraudulent extensions be rescinded.

 

[OkieTexan]

i'd suggest you not take this lying down, and would suggest you file complaints with your attorney general and the fcc and anyone else you can think of. i would also write to Sprint, attaching copies of the complaints, and "respectfully" request that the fraudulent extensions be rescinded.

I have considered calling the Better Business Bureau and a local TV consumer reporter; but unfortunately all I have is an email message as evidence. There is no paper trail. It is basically their word against mine. I don't intend to ignore it; but it may take a good strategy to get their attention. I think a store employee picked an account at random and imposed the promotion in order to make their sales numbers look better.

 

[clifp]

Landline: About $24/month
Dial up: $5.50
No cell phones
No cable, satellite, etc.

Grand total for communication expenses: $29.50/mo.

I think we have a winner.

Cell phone (Verizon) $90 split with sister and husband
Internet, Cable, Tivo $102 split with roomate
Total $96

 

[dumpster56]

Yes I had dial up for what seemed forever but then you get high speed and its like your first....... time and....... well you never go back to that slow ........

 

[free4now]

$20 land line AT&T
$16 cell Cingular (special deal)
$24 split Cable internet with neighbor over wifi
No CATV... I stopped watching TV around when I FIRE'd.

$60 total per month

 

[ChrisC]

Total amounts, taxes and all:

BellSouth land line: $22.35/month (no long distance provider)
Verizon cell phone: $33.85/month (old regional plan)
Cox Cable: $58.46/month ($15.55 for bare bones basic cable TV, $41.95 for cable internet)
AOL: $14.95 (TCP/IP access)

Gee, all of this sounds like a lot more than I thought it would! It's almost $130 total.

Why are you paying for AOL? It's now completely free, if you have your own broadband access like Cox Cable and you can keep you AOL email accounts.

 

[W2R]

I need to dial up when I travel for work. I got the idea that the free plan doesn't allow any dial-up. (?)

I'd sure like to eliminate $15/month, though, and now that you mention it, I am thinking it might be a good idea to go to the free plan anyway. A lot of motels have broadband these days, as compared with a few years ago. Hmmm! Thanks for the great idea!

edited to add....

I wonder if I can keep all 7 e-mail addresses without interruption when I change to a free broadband account? The AOL e-mail address that I use for everything (relatives, bills, everything important) is not my primary AOL e-mail address. Anybody know?

 

[youbet]

I need to dial up when I travel

I need dial up when travelling too. Anyone know if any of the broadband providers can/will toss in dial up along with the broadband?

 

[Cut-Throat]

I need dial up when travelling too. Anyone know if any of the broadband providers can/will toss in dial up along with the broadband?

I use MaGlobe when I travel. It's a pay as you go dial-up service like a phone card. They have hundreds of local numbers and usually costs me less than 1 cent a minute. 800 numbers are 3 cents a minute.

http://www.maglobe.net/homegoa.asp?gclid=CNe_2fbUg4oCFQlQWAodukvqQw

 

[sgeeeee]

I need dial up when travelling too. Anyone know if any of the broadband providers can/will toss in dial up along with the broadband?

AOL. They offer broadband with up to 10 hours per month dial-up. AOL has lots of other problems, though. They are pretty intrusive into your computer. They are more expensive than many other options. They are a prime target for spammers. . .

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

A lot of broadband providers will offer limited dialup for traveling, so check available packages.

There are also some dialup providers with "free" limited monthly access, although some of those carry problems in the way of spyware, adware or other crapware you need to install. IIRC netzero has a nine-hour-per-month plan thats free, but minutes you use over the 9 hours is expensive.

As noted, wireless free (or cheap) internet access is available in a lot of places. Malls, coffee shops, car dealerships, etc.

Try www.jwire.com to locate free hotspots in your area, or ones that will let you use their network for the price of a cup of coffee or lunch. I have 15 of them within a 5 mile radius of my house, out here in the boondocks.

Or buy a keychain wifi locator...many will light up or beep when you pass near a hotspot and even indicate if the hotspot is not password or encryption protected. You might 'discover' quite a variety of open access points.

I'd just be a little careful about what you do when not in https mode, or using some key encryption pptp type corporate encryption scheme.

 

[ChrisC]

I need to dial up when I travel for work. I got the idea that the free plan doesn't allow any dial-up. (?)

I'd sure like to eliminate $15/month, though, and now that you mention it, I am thinking it might be a good idea to go to the free plan anyway. A lot of motels have broadband these days, as compared with a few years ago. Hmmm! Thanks for the great idea!

edited to add....

I wonder if I can keep all 7 e-mail addresses without interruption when I change to a free broadband account? The AOL e-mail address that I use for everything (relatives, bills, everything important) is not my primary AOL e-mail address. Anybody know?

Why do you need dial-up, if hotels and other places you travel support broadband or wireless? If you have a laptop with wireless WI-FI capability, most major hotels have broadband hook-ups in their rooms and WI-FI in public areas. Panera has free WI-FI and most public libraries and some cities have open hot-spots.

I have AOL free (after having AOL bring your own broadband for several years, where you got 2 or 4 hours of free dial-up service per month) and I still have 5 AOL email accounts, without any interruption when I changed to the free-service. Don't know about seven accounts, but the other people who are relying on AOL email could get their own separate free AOL email accounts as well. In fact, my kids hardly ever used the AOL email addresses assigned to them.

 

[youbet]

Why do you need dial-up, if hotels and other places you travel support broadband or wireless?

Not to answer for the other poster, but.......

DW and I often frequent outdoorsey areas where broadband or wireless are not offered. And I dial in from MIL's condo while we're there on obligatory "go visit mom" visits. For me, anyway, having dial up as an option is really handy when traveling.

 

[audreyh1]

"Outdoorsey Internet" is why we have the Verizon aircard. It's cellular internet and even out in the boonies you can usually get a decent 156kb connection. Sure beats dialup! (both in terms of speed and having to go find a land line).

It's a great mobile internet solution.

Audrey

 

[youbet]

I use MaGlobe when I travel. It's a pay as you go dial-up service like a phone card. They have hundreds of local numbers and usually costs me less than 1 cent a minute. 800 numbers are 3 cents a minute.

http://www.maglobe.net/homegoa.asp?gclid=CNe_2fbUg4oCFQlQWAodukvqQw

Thanks C-T. I checked the web site and that just might do the trick! It doesn't look like there is any downside.

Audrey - I use Verizon as my cell phone provider and they do have coverage at most of the places we go. I assume their "aircard" is the same system with the same coverage? I'll have to go check their site for more details. Thanks.

 

[Cut-Throat]

"Outdoorsey Internet" is why we have the Verizon aircard. It's cellular internet and even out in the boonies you can usually get a decent 156kb connection. Sure beats dialup! (both in terms of speed and having to go find a land line).

It's a great mobile internet solution.

Audrey

Audrey,

Do you know if this this aircard has a pay as you go service like a Phone Card? Or do you have to sign up for a monthly plan? What do you pay for this service?

 

[Martha]

Audrey isn't here right now, but you have to pay $60 a month for the Verizon data service for the aircard Audrey was talking about and as far as I know there is no pay as you go plan.

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey,

Do you know if this this aircard has a pay as you go service like a Phone Card? Or do you have to sign up for a monthly plan? What do you pay for this service?

I think Verizon scrapped all their pay-as-you-go plans. They used to have by the min or megabyte. It's $60/month unlimited data and time.

I think it's kind of pricey, especially compared to home DSL, but it works really well it's so totally convenient for a constant traveller like me.

Audrey

P.S. Right now I am sitting at the rest stop on I-37 mile 112. Even though we appear to be out in the boonies, I'm using broadband access from the San Antonio area. Pulled over for lunch - check email, weather conditions, browse the web a bit. Love it!

 

[FIRE2022]

I have considered calling the Better Business Bureau and a local TV consumer reporter; but unfortunately all I have is an email message as evidence. There is no paper trail. It is basically their word against mine. I don't intend to ignore it; but it may take a good strategy to get their attention. I think a store employee picked an account at random and imposed the promotion in order to make their sales numbers look better.

OkieTexan,

Another possibility: Many of the major Telecoms hire 3rd Party vendors for marketing to existing customers. It is possible that one of the vendors attempted to contact you (or not) to convince you to extend your contract. Either way it sounds like the vendor went ahead and did it without your permission. (Again, just a theory).

I would try to call Sprint one more time, insist on talking to a manager. When you are speaking in your defense, ask the Rep/Manager why in the world you would agree to a new contract if your new contract extension did not give you a.) a lower rate or b.) new cell phones Also, the Telecoms HATE getting reported to the FCC, so tell the rep you will contact the FCC, and if Sprint does not release you from the contract then follow through with a "cramming" complaint. Here is a link to the FCC website complaint area: http://www.fcc.gov/cgb/complaints_general.html

Finally, I would recommend that you get out of the Sprint contract and go with Cingular or Verizon, both have decent coverage (I have family in Chouteau, OK and they are happy with their Cingular service) and reasonable rates.

Good Luck!

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey - I use Verizon as my cell phone provider and they do have coverage at most of the places we go. I assume their "aircard" is the same system with the same coverage? I'll have to go check their site for more details. Thanks.

Close - but not necessarily identical. You have to specifically look at their coverage for "National Enhanced Services". If I see "Verizon 1X" on my cellphone indicating that I am in a Verizon digital area, I know my aircard will work. If I see "Extended 1X" on the cellphone - it depends on the agreement between Verizon and who owns the digital network in the area - some yes, some no. If I am in an analog area - no luck.

On the other hand, my Kyocera 650 aircard is very, very sensitive and I have a small external antenna to boost reception. I've been able to do internet just fine in areas where the signal was too weak to use my voice cellphone - now that's kind of wierd! Not uncommon either.

Audrey