Cellphone

phantom billing
Verizon Keeps On Billing Guy Who Canceled Service
Gregory canceled Verizon, but Verizon didn't cancel him. The company kept on billing him every month, and every month he'd call to get the charges wiped away, which the CSR promptly did. More »

11:20 AM on Tue Oct 27 2009
By Phil Villarreal
7,641 views, 51 comments
kafkaesque
AT&T Charges You A Fee For Getting A Discount
Reader "ValentineHumphrey" has a part-time job with a company that gets a 25% discount from AT&T. It sounded like a good deal until she found out there was actually a fee for signing up for the discount. What? More »

1:59 PM on Mon Jul 27 2009
By Meg Marco
132,971 views, 71 comments
iphone
Leaked Pix Of iPhone's New Firmware Upgrades

Leaked photos have surfaced showing off the iPhone's new firmware upgrades, which include:
- multimedia messaging
- horizontal typing
- compass
- video and voice recording an
- a camera autofocus that lets you select your point of focus by tapping your finger on the touch screen
More photos at the Apple 2.0. blog.

The new iPhone: See all the leaked photos here [Apple 2.0, via The Awl]
10:55 AM on Wed Jun 3 2009
By Phil Villarreal
7,088 views, 60 comments

Most discussed tedyc03: Um...I might get disemvowled or banned for this, but this isn't a consumer issue. It's interesting, sure. But it doesn't more »
no etf
Reader Escapes Sprint With No ETF Thanks To Admin Fee Increase
Reader Kenneth says he escaped Sprint without paying an ETF because of our post "Escape Sprint ETF-Free Over Administrative Fee Increase." He sent us the transcript of his chat with Sprint so you can see how he did it. More »

4:21 PM on Mon Nov 24 2008
By Meg Marco
14,176 views, 53 comments
consumer 101
Consumer 101: 3 Ways To Lower Your Out Of Control Cable, Internet And Phone Bills
How much to spend on cable, internet and telephone is something nobody had to worry about only a few generations ago. Today, the Pew Research Center says that after housing, cable and satellite TV service was most frequently cited as a regular household expense (78%), followed by cell phones (74%) and internet service (65%). By contrast, just four-in-ten adults (42%) say they make a car payment. If you're looking for a way to cut the amount of money you spend on these "information age" expenses, we've got three of them to choose from. More »

12:18 PM on Thu Nov 13 2008
By Meg Marco
37,336 views, 75 comments

Most discussed kwsventures: Cancel all 3. Life will move forward. more »
att
AT&T Won't Honor iPhone Price Announced In Its Own Press Release
Reader Rom is angry with AT&T because they won't sell him an iPhone 3G for the price listed in their press release. AT&T says the promotional pricing ($199 for an 8GB, $299 for a 16GB) is only available to, among others, existing iPhone customers. Rom is an existing iPhone customer. More »

8:12 PM on Mon Aug 18 2008
By Alex Chasick
16,087 views, 56 comments

Latest by describe_one: I hate AT&T! This is just another reason to dislike them. I switched to Cingular from AT&T due to poor reception, more »
Good news for some of AT&T's business customers who don't live near a AT&T or Apple Store: if you're part of with AT&T's Premier Enterprise program, you can now buy your iPhone online. [PC World] MORE »

1 comment
Well, it looks like the new iPhone has been unlocked already. [Gizmodo] MORE »

1 comment

errors
Sprint: Can You Please Give Us $39,952 Today?
Reader Richard says he came home this summer to angry parents "because of our sprint bill with the family share plan was insanely high." Of course, it turned out to be the same typo we'd written about before, but we really enjoyed the polite but firm manner in which Sprint asked Richard's parents for $39,952... "today." More »

10:35 AM on Tue May 6 2008
By Meg Marco
7,539 views, 25 comments

Latest by LenitaElpenor: Comment on Sprint: Can You Please Give Us $39,952 Today? As for the comment that Sprints billing system is notoriously more »
Rumors on the Internets: T-Mobile may be consider buying Sprint in order to keep the company from lowering its prices and triggering a price war, says Merrill Lynch. "In such a price war scenario, we think T-Mobile would face the most pressure, and Deutsche Telekom would see the increased urgency to drive market repair," the firm's analysts said. Sprint has lost more than 60 percent of its value since June 2007. We're not like analysts or anything, but wouldn't T-Mobile have to be under a lot of pressure (or be able to get a great deal) to bother buying Sprint and its incompatible network when it might be able to sit back, do nothing, and wait as the company's few remaining customers defect? Wouldn't a CDMA-network based company make more sense? [NYT] MORE »

37 comments
sisyphus
Three Weeks Later, Your Helio Phone Is Still Not Activated
Reader Katherine has been trying for the past 3 weeks to get her Helio phone activated and has had no luck. The CSRs say they're working on transferring her number from Verizon, but when she calls Verizon they say that no one from Helio has called. How mysterious. More »

11:55 AM on Mon Jan 28 2008
By Meg Marco
2,178 views, 17 comments

Latest by bar_merch: I have Helio and ported my number over. The port took 5 mins tops. Before I was in my car more »
materially adverse
Another Customer Escapes Verizon Contract For Free
Reader Bret writes in to let us know that he was able to escape the chains of his Verizon contract with no ETF thanks to a txt message increase: More »

12:53 PM on Fri Jan 25 2008
By Meg Marco
6,008 views, 24 comments
contracts
Cancel T-Mobile With No ETF By Complaining To The FCC
Reader Jeffrey didn't have service on his phone with T-Mobile, so he wanted to switch to another carrier. The trouble is, T-Mobile refused to let him out of his contract without an ETF: More »

8:47 PM on Thu Jan 17 2008
By Meg Marco
9,730 views, 25 comments
happy endings
Another Reader Escapes Sprint With No ETF
Reader Jordan writes: More »
Alltel has magical feature that will let you read voicemail messages. Expensive, but should please people who violently hate voicemail. (Like, me, for example.) [NYT]

7 comments
debt collection
"Why I Never Want Anything To Do With Verizon Ever Ever Again"
Verizon is finally installing FiOS in my area. But I'll never use it. I'll never sign up for another Verizon account in my life, and I'm encouraging my parents to change to a different service when their Verizon cell contracts end soon. Over the course of eight months, I've become completely appalled at the horrible customer service I've gotten from that company. More »

11:16 AM on Tue Dec 11 2007
By Meg Marco
57,634 views, 92 comments

Latest by Xerloq, we are all...: @youbastid: According to Verizon, once the auto debit is scheduled and you're notified, it's too late to stop. more »
customer service
Two Tales Of Sprint's Executive Customer Service
Awhile back, Sprint got tired of us posting the contact information for everyone in the company, and instead set up a number that went directly to the executive customer service queue. Lately we've been getting quite a few positive stories about the hotline, as well as one negative experience. More »

2:16 PM on Mon Dec 10 2007
6,757 views, 40 comments

Latest by bmilburn: I've had Sprint for a year now. The bill is wrong more than right. My recent bill had $248 in extra more »
unlocked
Verizon To Open Its Network To Any Compatible Device
Verzon Wireless announced today that it will be opening its network to any compatible device. Verizon uses the CDMA network, a technology it shares with Sprint. According to Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam, Sprint phones could work on Verizon's network "if they pass Verizon's testing procedure." Sadly, GSM phones used by AT&T and T-Mobile, including the iPhone, can not work on Verizon's network. More »

11:52 AM on Tue Nov 27 2007
By Meg Marco
4,506 views, 35 comments

Latest by chili_dog: I'll concede that Verizon does have the online option but still, to change it out you still have to deal more »