They say that for people going through a divorce it can feel like you’re losing half of yourself. As if it that wasn’t bad enough, Verizon Wireless has taken away William’s unlimited broadband plan on the account he used to share with his wife.
cellphones
Reach T-Mobile Executive Customer Relations
By 10.9.09
If T-mobile’s normal channels fail, you can try calling T-Mobile Executive Customer Relations. Here’s a contact: Octavio Robertson, 505-341-8059.
Call Drop Rate For iPhones In NYC Is 30%, Says Apple Genius
By 9.30.09
Hey AT&T, maybe you should offer some sort of congestion pricing on your iPhone plans in places like New York City. We’ve heard/read all sorts of anecdotal reports on dropped calls before, but today Engadget reported that an Apple Genius said a 30% drop call rate is average for the area. If that’s true, it seems like false advertising to charge for a full-time calling plan that you can only use about two-thirds of the time.
LG Looking To Buy Back 5 Phones For $10k Each
By 9.30.09
If you bought an LG Chocolate phone, compare its serial number to the ones on this site—if it matches then you can sell it back to LG for $10,000. We’re not sure if this is just a fancy way to hold a contest, or if those 5 phones accidentally shipped with alien technology inside. Either way, it’s a bit more than you’d get through Craigslist. Hurry though; the offer/contest/coverup ends today.
AT&T Robocalls Me Again For No Apparent Reason
By 9.25.09
Wow – just got another robocall from AT&T telling me that it was an important message and that I should call them. Either something is wrong with my account that yesterday’s CSR couldn’t figure out, or something is wrong with AT&T. Either way, annoying.
No Palm Pre For Verizon Wireless?
By 9.25.09
If you’ve been holding out on a phone upgrade or carrier switch until the Palm Pre comes to Verizon, you may need to give up the dream. The carrier has “reportedly ditched plans to offer the Palm Pre early next year,” says PC World. Apparently poor sales of the device at Sprint, combined with Verizon’s interest in upcoming Blackberry devices, killed any enthusiasm the carrier once had. Update: The no-Pre rumor may be false, according to these two analysts.
When Someone Is Being Rude On An Airplane, Why Don't You Say Something?
By 9.23.09
The NYT has a “Frequent Flier” column from personal finance adviser to the chronically irresponsible, Larry Winget. In it he describes being the sole person on the plane to say what everyone is thinking.
Reverse Sneaky Fees With These Free Complaint Letters
By 9.21.09
Want to claim a missing rebate, or reverse sneaky cable, bank, cellphone or hotel fee? These free complaint letter templates posted by Gotcha Capitalism and Red Tape Chronicles author Bob Sullivan are a godsend. It’s like Madlibs for money.
MMS For iPhone Rollout Begins, 2 Weeks Early
By 9.12.09
Reports are showing up online that AT&T is beginning a slow rollout of official MMS functionality to seemingly random iPhone users, from Manhattan to Idaho. The official start date is September 25, but it makes sense that the company would implement the change gradually to make sure the network can handle it.
Sprint Yanks $100 Credit Offer On Palm Pre, Says Oops
By 9.9.09
Earlier today, Sprint made news by effectively cutting the price of a Palm Pre to $99 for new Sprint customers, after a $100 credit. Now Sprint is saying it was a publishing error and not a valid offer.
Tmobile Raising Overage Rates 9/01 – Cancel Without Fee
By 8.31.09
Tmobile will be raising overage rates September 1st, and customers can use it to cancel without early termination fee.
FCC Launches Large Scale Investigation Of Cellular Industry
By 8.28.09
Uh-oh, the FCC is getting serious about doing its job, which probably means more memos like the one Apple posted last week from companies like AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile. Yesterday the FCC announced three “Notices of Inquiry”—all unanimously voted for by a full, bi-partisan commission—that will look at different aspects of the cellular industry.
Which Cellphone Company Has The Worst Call Quality In Your Region?
By 8.28.09
If you want to decide which cellular provider to do business with based on performance, you might be interested in checking out the new “2009 Wireless Call Quality Performance Study” from J.D. Power and Associates. If you don’t have time, just remember that Verizon Wireless offers the most reliable call quality around the country, coming out on top in 4 of the 6 regions.
Is Verizon Randomly Charging You $1.99 Per Line For "Data Usage"?
By 8.27.09
On August 14, the Cleveland Plain Dealer printed a column by a business writer who described her 6-month-long ordeal with Verizon concerning a mysterious $1.99 charge for “data usage.” The paper says that over 400 Plain Dealer readers responded with complaints similar to the one in the column. Now the paper says they have a promise from Verizon to refund these mysterious and erroneous charges.
Verizon And Nokia Announce "Constant Reboot" Feature
By 8.24.09
Ryan’s new Nokia Intrigue 7205, which Verizon gave him, doesn’t work with the Verizon network: “48 hours ago, the phone began cycling on and off continuously.” He’s not the only Intrigue owner experiencing this problem on Verizon, although Verizon is following that tired old “it couldn’t possibly be our fault so let’s make you jump through a dozen useless hoops” protocol. Sadly, a single Google search would give them the quick fix for Ryan and other Intrigue owners.
Congratulations Americans, We Pay The Most For Cellphone Service
By 8.12.09
A new survey from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) compared annual costs around the world for consumers who have cellphones, and the U.S. is in the top three for most expensive. How expensive? DSLReports notes that “on average, the OECD found that Americans pay $635.85 on cell phone service, compared to $131.44 per year in the Netherlands or $137.94 per year in Sweden.”
