It stings enough to pay inflated monthly charges to cell phone companies, but it’s far worse when your device doesn’t let you access the network you’re paying for. [More]
cell phones
AT&T Writes Me To Say It's Spending Tons Of Money To Improve Network
By 9.10.10
Derick forwarded us a letter from AT&T boasting that the company plans to spend between $18 and $19 billion to stop the company from being the butt of call-dropping and crackly service jokes. [More]
Verizon Guy Tells Me The Customer Is No Longer Always Right
By 9.8.10
Let’s face it — the maxim “the customer is always right” never really held true. But still it was nice and polite for managers and customer service reps to at least pretend they had customers’ needs in mind. So it’s distressing yet oddly comforting to hear the bluntness in which A Verizon CSR handled Sean: [More]
Pay Your Early Termination Fee Or Get A Black Mark On Your Credit Report
By 9.7.10
A cell phone provider’s early termination fees isn’t a polite suggestion — it’s a contractual payment you’ve agreed to give to the company for failing to stick with its unsatisfying service. Whether or not the agreements are ethically valid, you’ll have to pay them or face collections and a likely scar on your credit report. [More]
Verizon Wants $500 For 35MB Of Phantom Data Use
By 8.20.10
Chris is taking on Verizon over what he says are fraudulent cell phone data plan charges. He says his dad uses an old plan that charges 1.5 cents per kilobyte as opposed to Verizon’s current rate of $2 per megabyte. There are 1,024 kilobytes in a megabyte. [More]
Phones Loaded With Porn Rarely Go To People Who Appreciate Them
By 8.13.10
As if parents didn’t have enough of a reason to hesitate to give their 10-year-olds cell phones, now they have to worry that the devices will be loaded with images that are quite a bit more graphic than what kids will see in elementary school sex-ed videos. [More]
Verizon Sent My Billing Info To Some Other Guy
By 8.12.10
When Matt ordered his phone from Verizon, he expected a confirmation email. What he got instead was a phone call from a stranger who got his email by accident. The message contained loads of personal information. Matt, freaked out about the privacy violation, is going to use the free month of service Verizon offered to make up for the lapse to reduce his early termination fee. [More]
Verizon Treats My Dumb Phone Like A Smart Phone, Requires Useless Data Package
By 7.22.10
Jonathan is angry that Verizon requires a $10-a-month data package for his wife’s lower-end flip phone, which she has no intention of using to web surf. [More]
Sprint Totally Has The Hots For Me
By 7.21.10
Relationships get awkward when one party drops the “L” word too quickly. Such is the situation in which Jeremy found himself when he dug through his Sprint contract. [More]
Do You Still Use Your Land Line?
By 7.20.10
According to a recently released study, there are more than 5 billion cell phones in use around the world today, with 20% of those just coming into use in the last 18 months. More and more, people are either ditching their traditional land lines or relegating it to a secondary role, especially in large metropolitan areas. [More]
Virgin Mobile Jolted Into Action By Executive E-Mail Carpet Bomb
By 7.8.10
Nancy tells Consumerist that she and her husband recently bought shiny new phones from Virgin Mobile, and were quite happy with their service. Well, until Nancy’s phone stopped working entirely. She tried the normal technical support channels, but encountered a run-around that lasted for almost two weeks. Two weeks during which Nancy lacked a functioning phone. She gave up on the normal channels, read our guide to sending an executive e-mail carpet bomb, and sent us a copy of her original missive. [More]
T-Mobile Will Give You Any Phone You Want For Free Saturday
By 6.16.10
T-Mobile must really, really want your dad to get rid of his Zack Morris-style bricklike cell phone, because it’s offering any phone it offers in its stores for free Saturday with a 2-year new commitment or extension along with a switch to a family plan or an added line on your account. The offer is only good at retail stores. [More]
AT&T Site Sells iPhone Plans For $30 Cheaper Than Apple Site
By 6.11.10
On the hunt for the best iPhone 4 plan price he could find, Josh says he found plans to be much cheaper on the AT&T site than through Apple. Unless his findings were some sort of fluke it seems like a no-brainer that prospective customers should visit the former rather than the latter. [More]
Why The iPhone 4 Is Sticking With AT&T… For Now
By 6.8.10
While Monday was a joyous one for iPhone geeks eager to re-up their AT&T contracts to nab an iPhone 4, it was a sad day in Mudville for Verizon folk who feel they were left at the altar with no announcement that they too could partake in its wonders. But the wait for the device, or one like it, on Verizon may not be all that far off. [More]
I Don't Want This Random Government-Subsidized Cell Phone
By 6.3.10
There are programs that provide government-subsidized cell phones to low-income people. This is all very useful and lovely…unless you’re Laurin, who is stuck with a subsidized phone that no one in her household ordered, and the company doesn’t seem to want back. [More]
Survey: 15% Of Drivers Getting Their Swerve On While Driving
By 6.2.10
From cell phones to stereos to billboards to those pesky other vehicles on the road, driving a car comes with a whole host of distractions. A new survey attempts to quantify just how many people are being distracted by the various and sundry things vying for drivers’ attention. [More]
I Live In A Place Can You Hear Me Now Guy Fears To Tread
By 5.31.10
Craig most definitely can’t hear you now because he’s stuck in a Verizon dead zone. The cell phone provider offered to sell him a coverage extender for $200, but he felt like he was being shaken down and is choosing to bail. He writes: [More]
Bipartisan Senate Push Seeks To Expose Owners Of Prepaid Cell Phones
By 5.28.10
A couple Senators are Voltroning to introduce legislation that would let authorities track identities of prepaid cell phone owners. Anyone who’s seen The Wire knows criminals thrive off of pre-paids. [More]
