Mommamia Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 My cell contract with Verizon just ended. Now I'm trying to decide what to do. Any suggestions? Do you prefer contract or prepaid? Which carrier do you like best? Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I am switching to StraightTalk for a trial period. My contract ends tomorrow. I am buying a phone that has a "C" in the model number(uses Verizon network). It will cost the same as I pay now but I will have data. To get data on Verizon it would cost $80 more/month. No thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 :bigear::bigear: We are wondering about this too. Although, for us, it may boil down to Verizon's reception in our area. I don't think it can be beat...unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I am switching to StraightTalk for a trial period. My contract ends tomorrow. I am buying a phone that has a "C" in the model number. It will cost the same as I pay now but I will have data. To get data on Verizon it would cost $80 more/month. No thanks. What does the "C" in the model number mean? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProudGrandma Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 I use tracfone and I like it. The coverage area is great. I just bought a phone with triple minutes for life...and I bought a year service, plus 1500 minutes....which translated into 4500 minutes which equals about .04 a minute. I don't use my phone all that much...but I am use it some. So I am thinking 4500 minutes will last about a year. I don't text much, but when I do, I can text or receive a text for about .01 a text...(actually it is 3 per minute)....and without a monthly charge, I think that is pretty good. Hope that helps some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 What does the "C" in the model number mean? Sorry, I edited. The "C" means it uses Verizon's network. A "G" means it uses At&t. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KnitWit Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Sorry, I edited. The "C" means it uses Verizon's network. A "G" means it uses At&t. Oh! That is very useful information! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Do you need a plan for only one user or do you need several people on the plan? Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 3rd option is no-contract billed service. Check out Consumer Cellular. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommamia Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Just an individual plan (right now). I don't need a smart phone, but it would be ok. I mostly talk and text a ton! I was with Verizon for years, but now open to anything. I would love to purchase a new phone. I've been researching for hours and have online chatted with Verizon a couple of times. I'm thinking of doing the Verizon prepaid $50 plan, but they said I had to have one of their phones. Wondering if I could purchase a "C" phone anywhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 DH and I just switched to Straight Talk. We got the phones that run on Verizon. We are saving $85/month. Love it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommamia Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 Did you purchase the phones at Walmart? Walmart is the Straight Talk vendor, correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Princess Peach Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 Did you purchase the phones at Walmart? Walmart is the Straight Talk vendor, correct? We got ours at WM and you can order directly at straighttalk.com too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 We use a prepaid, too (local company). For me, it's nice not to be locked in to a 2 year contract. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommamia Posted June 29, 2012 Author Share Posted June 29, 2012 Anyone have any feedback on customer service with prepaid phones? Also, concerned about potential roaming charges? In my searching, I found a number of negative reviews about ST's customer service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 We use prepaid. (1) We don't care much what phones we have- no smart phones, or anything fancy at all (2) we don't hardly use them- dh might use 100 min a month I think- I used about 100 for the year iirc (3) we don't need or want any extra features (4) for the amount we use any kind of contract would cost us way more and we would end up with more than we want or need. There are a wide variety of options out there these days. You need to decide what you want and need first though because what is best for one person is not for antoher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Anyone have any feedback on customer service with prepaid phones? I've used Virgin Mobile for at least 8 years. I'm not a phone person so the $20 for 3 months is enough for my needs. I don't surf the web--you could but it's slow and expensive. I got my phone from Target. I haven't had problems with service. Dh travels a lot and also hasn't had problems getting service. No service outside the US though. You don't get charged a roaming fee--just actual minutes and texts. Roaming drains the battery, though. I had one dealing with customer service. When I switched to a new phone I couldn't check my balance from my phone. I called customer service and spoke with a woman. I could understand her for the most part; she did have an Indian/Pakistani accent. I was on hold for a long time as she talked to another department to get my account fixed. While on hold she tried to make polite conversation--how are you doing today, do you like blah blah blah. Really, I just want you to fix my phone not make conversation! (I think they must be instructed to do this.) She must have figured that out because she stopped asking stuff. But in the end she fixed my problem and was very polite through the whole thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 I have used t-mobile prepaid, verizon prepaid, straight talk prepaid and cricket. All of them work great. I think its straight talk that uses verizon's cell towers, so you are getting the service of verizon anyways. IMHO it can not be beat to do prepaid. I can get an android phone and have unlimited web, text, talk, etc. for $45 a MONTH. Who can say that on a contract? I will never go back to a contract as it is. Sure, I don't have an iPhone, but I like Androids, too. I have NEVER had an issue with calls dropping, etc. It's the same verizon service. Just not on a contract and verizon goes practically everywhere. Check out the coverage maps and compare the prepaid plans at walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kissy Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 I have heard good stuff about page plus too. They use the Verizon network. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 If you don't use it that much, prepaid is the way to go. We have three of them, and it runs less than $20 a month for the three of us, depending on how much we use them. I use mine most of all, and even then, maybe 6-8 calls a month and a few texts. DH rarely uses his, and the third is passed to the teens when they're dropped off for an activity. Watch coverage though. Almost any carrier is fine in our area, but Verizon is the only one available where I'm from. So one of our phones is a Verizon one so that I can take it with me when I go there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommamia Posted July 3, 2012 Author Share Posted July 3, 2012 I switched to Straight Talk a couple of days ago. I am having the worst time sending text messages. Sometimes people get them, sometimes they don't. Making me crazy and causing problems. Anyone else have this issue with ST? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 Oh my. That would be a no-go for me. Is there a 30 day return? Dawn I switched to Straight Talk a couple of days ago. I am having the worst time sending text messages. Sometimes people get them, sometimes they don't. Making me crazy and causing problems. Anyone else have this issue with ST? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Sue Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I'm looking at Net10...I think they have 750minutes a month for $25, or at least they used to. Unlimited is $50/month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I switched to Straight Talk a couple of days ago. I am having the worst time sending text messages. Sometimes people get them, sometimes they don't. Making me crazy and causing problems. Anyone else have this issue with ST? We have a ST phone and a Tracfone. The ST phone uses Verizon and the Tracfone uses AT&T. We've never had issues with text messages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lovinmomma Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 We have a ST phone and a Tracfone. The ST phone uses Verizon and the Tracfone uses AT&T. We've never had issues with text messages. :iagree: Never had any problems here, either and there are 2 of us using ST. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artichoke Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 We like AT&T prepaid. You can purchase $100 (1000 min) which are good for a year and can be rolled over if you add other minutes before the year ends. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Peregrine Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 DH got a ST android phone 3 days ago and so far, so good. I called customer service to port his old number and it went smoothly. We made sure to pick a Verizon-using phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 We have tracfones, and they have been fine for us for the last 6 or so years. We pay $25 or so every few months for minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.