Camelot One
Premium,MVM
join:2001-11-21
Sarasota, FL
clubs: | Ouch
And to think, I almost switched....... |
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Jim Gurd
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
 ·Comcast
| I thought they were strictly a prepaid service. I guess not.
They probably could have made it if they had forced their customers with poor credit into a prepaid plan. Once the minutes were used up the phone would stop working until more time was added to the account. That way customers couldn't run up huge charges and then not pay. That's what Tracfone does and it seems to be working for them.
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We don't care. We don't have to. We're the phone company.
-- Ernestine |
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phattieg
join:2001-04-29
Winter Park, FL
 ·Verizon Wireless B..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to Camelot One
said by Camelot One  :And to think, I almost switched....... Don't feel bad, I almost did too. I was interested in their content, etc, but the prices were too much. At least they're not alone, because I owe Verizon a few hundred (partly because canceled contract fee). I ain't paying them, and they can stick it on my credit until they are blue in the face. Anyone who charges what they did should of had unlimited text messages. Now I have the Sero plan with Sprint, and have no issues with service, or billing, AND I got the Moto Q, without paying $200+ for it like Verizon. I went from $80 a month on Verizon, with airtime charges for everything, including internet, down to $35 a month, 7pm nights and weekends, 100 more minutes a month than VZ (500 on Sprint, 400 on VZ), and it doesn't matter what time of day it is, I don't have to pay for airtime on my unlimited internet access. This Moto Q is great for browsing on the go. Thanks to it, I can now have no life, in style!  No, seriously. I can be bored, waiting at the doctors office, and pop on DSLR, or wikipedia, or just about anywhere. It especially comes in handy for google maps, etc... 
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SIPPhone/Gizmo # 17476200648 / PIMPNET Chatline / Ran by Asterisk & Slackware 10.1. |
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Cabal
Premium
join:2007-01-21
Boston, MA
| And all you had to trade for it was your ability to get a significant loan in the near future. Where can I sign up for your newsletter?
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Interested in open source engine management for your Subaru? |
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Corona
It's cool, I'm takin it back
Premium
join:2000-03-14
Aubrey, TX | No shit. He'll pay for it now, or he'll pay for it later. Wonder when he's getting a finance show on CNN? |
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JPuppy
Java Heathen
Premium
join:2002-11-24
Honesdale, PA
clubs: | Yeah, I hope he doesn't plan on buying house in the near future. I had a $20 Verizon charge from 2000 become an issue when I applied for my Mortgage.
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Official BBR Grouch |
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ISurfTooMuch
join:2007-04-23
Tuscaloosa, AL
| reply to phattieg
If you don't pay it, it'll be the most expensive bill you never paid. Once it goes on your credit report, and it will, you'll pay higher interest rates on loans, such as mortgages, car loans, student loans, etc, assuming you can even get them. You'll have a harder time getting an apartment, since many landlords run credit checks, you'll be required to pay bigger deposits for utilities and other services, and you might even get turned down for some jobs, since more and more employers are checking the credit of applicants they're considering hiring.
Do what you want, but don't think for a second that this charge will just go on your credit report and be some abstract thing that won't affect you. It will. |
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raderator
join:2003-07-22
Conklin, NY
 ·PHONE POWER
| reply to Camelot One
Meanwhile, I'm still enjoying nearly free broadband tethered to my laptop with my Prepaid Amp'd Angel and the nearly free cable channels and web access (for some reason, they have been way undercharging for MBs). $20/2 months (no tax, no PINs) and 10c/min on calls ain't bad either. I'll stay with it as long as it lasts.
My Prepaid Amp'd Moto E816 ($50AR) I switched to Page Plus Cellular for my father. Works great. I've used them for a couple of years. They are a well-run and lean company with good CS. And they just lowered their rates too. Mins last for FOUR months. SMS is only 8c (less, actually, cuz they credit you with MORE than the value of your PIN). The 50c monthly fee knocks prices up a bit. There is usually a 6% tax on PINs but you can avoid it if you shop around or buy on ebay. For older folks, you can add time using a CC with a free call and talk to a REAL person who will add the PIN for you.
$10 = 83 Minutes (12c/min)
$25 = 300 Minutes (8.3c/min)
$50 = 700 Minutes (7c/min)
$80 = 1400 Minutes (5.7c/min)
50c monthly fee to resume in July.
Unlike Amp'd, they do charge for roaming off the native Verizon network but they have just lowered the rate from 99c/min to 59/min. Check the Verizon broadband map (the Inpusle map mixes roaming and no coverage areas). The "Extended Service" areas (which looks like baby poop) are roaming. »www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/Cove···ge%20Map
The Amp'd customers who went the Prepaid route made out great. They got phones dirt cheap, tons of features and Page Plus is a great alternative service, if need be. And PP will be adding some sort of web access this fall. BTW, you can activate any new Verizon Inpulse phone on PP. Rumor is that the $50 CDM 7075 will work with the new web access.
Amp'd will probably stay in business and will probably go more mainstream (more adults). Or Verizon might buy them out. |
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phattieg
join:2001-04-29
Winter Park, FL
·Verizon Wireless B..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to Cabal
Well, since the phone was in my ex-girlfriends name, and she's my EX, I don't have to worry about that now, do I? I agree with the saying "don't get mad, get even". But even still, I don't plan on getting a house/mortgage anytime soon. I had one (a 4 bedroom house), hated mowing the lawn, payng for repairs and upkeep, and property tax. I now rent. Costs the same, and I never have to worry if the A/C goes out, or the roof needs repaired. Of course I'll never own it, but I am ok with that. |
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NOCMan
Verizon Fios User
Premium
join:2004-09-30
Flower Mound, TX
| You'll never own it and the guy's mortgage you're paying off is happy as can be. At least if you build equity in your own house it's yours when you sell it or if you retired and had a shortage of money could at least reverse mortgage it.
A house is an important asset in some cases.
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Mac Chatter
»www.macchatter.net |
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Corona
It's cool, I'm takin it back
Premium
join:2000-03-14
Aubrey, TX
| reply to phattieg
said by phattieg :Well, since the phone was in my ex-girlfriends name, and she's my EX, I don't have to worry about that now, do I?... Then in that case, if it was in her name, you don't owe Verizon jack shit.
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Corona "No, make no mistake. It's not revenge he's after; it's a reckoning."
Check out the band 1000 Miles From Home |
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phattieg
join:2001-04-29
Winter Park, FL
·Verizon Wireless B..
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
| reply to NOCMan
said by NOCMan :You'll never own it and the guy's mortgage you're paying off is happy as can be. At least if you build equity in your own house it's yours when you sell it or if you retired and had a shortage of money could at least reverse mortgage it. A house is an important asset in some cases. I agree that it's an important asset, no doubt. But I don't want the headache that comes with it. A house is more expensive in the end when you count in the fact they use more electricity to cool (Florida, give me a break), and have many more "hidden fees" that bite you in the @$$. I won't debate this though, because we're talking about a Verizon bill, but that is just my view, and everyone is entitled to it. I don't need a "last word" battle either, I can be happy in my apartment, and home owners can be happy in their home, it's just not for me. 
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SIPPhone/Gizmo # 17476200648 / PIMPNET Chatline / Ran by Asterisk & Slackware 10.1. |
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xlimitx
join:2001-12-31
Wilkes Barre, PA
·ProLog
| reply to Cabal
said by Cabal :And all you had to trade for it was your ability to get a significant loan in the near future. Where can I sign up for your newsletter? That was almost one of those "milk coming out of my nose" kind of comments. |
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RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
 ·AT&T Midwest
| reply to ISurfTooMuch
Naw. He just screwed his ex-girlfriend one last time... 
However, once she figures out what happened, and comes after him, you might be right. Unpaid judgments are nasty things to have on your credit report, too.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. |
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Fluker
join:2005-04-07
West Lafayette, IN | reply to Corona
With this caliber of customer in mind, it's no wonder AMP'd was stiffed into bankruptcy.
Zen for her - If you loan somebody twenty dollars and never see them again, then perhaps it was worth it. |
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Fluker
join:2005-04-07
West Lafayette, IN | reply to phattieg
Given that in many cases a mortgage requires an equal pile of cash in interest as the property you plan to own, your isnt an entirely bad opinion.
Similar things can be said about leasing vs buying a car. |
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PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to Camelot One
Folks, Chapter 11 is *reorganization*...the company likely stays in business, but changes their business model, or gets bought by the senior creditor (VZW, in this case). Now if they had said Chapter *7*, I'd say you had a reason to come off with the jokes. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if AMP'd gets swallowed by VZW, and INpulse gets folded into it, and AMP'd basically becomes a prepaid-only brand of VZW (especially since they use the same phones). I'm a former VZW INpulse customer, and I never had a problem with the service (the reason I dropped them wasn't even VZW's fault, but a case of *family miscommunication*); in fact, not long after I got the phone, I took it on a four-day (actually, five day and four-night) trip to Las Vegas. My calls were entiirely to other VZW customers (all such calls are always free) or, on the weekend, to other wireless customers (INpulse customers all get unlimited night/weekend minutes), and the same America's Choice National Calling Area (the Extended Service Areas are often where VZW is either denied or extorted on tower permitting, thus forcing VZW to set up a roaming agreement with another carrier; I never needed to roam, even in Vegas). The large no-roaming calling area is why I chose INpulse, and still recommend INpulse over all prepaid plans. |
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Murray McMansion
@sonnet.com | reply to phattieg
Re: Whoa yeah
Don't get hung up on a house; you're lucky you sold and rent now. Everyone else is going to be losing equity on their homes for the next five years as the housing market crashes and the mortgages all go bad. |
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raderator
join:2003-07-22
Conklin, NY
·PHONE POWER
| reply to PGHammer
Re: Ouch
said by PGHammer : The large no-roaming calling area is why I chose INpulse, and still recommend INpulse over all prepaid plans. Amp'd has the same coverage area as Inpulse but I think you have to double-dial when roaming (I've never roamed). This could be a real PITA in some plains states where you would be roaming all the time. As I said, check the baby-poop color on the Broadband (not Inpulse) map.
If you are in native Verizon territory (which 90% of Americans are) and don't need "In", it's hard to beat Page Plus for cost. It's hard to beat Amp'd for cost and features. Just be aware that Amp'd CS is going to be in chaos for a while. Get your phone at Bestbuy. |
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toadlife
Premium
join:2004-05-03
Lemoore, CA
·AT&T Yahoo
| reply to Murray McMansion
Re: Whoa yeah
While the market does suck right now, prices never go down too much. I bought a house right at start of the real estate boom a couple of years ago, and even though prices have gone down a bit in the last few months, I've still gain a TON of equity in my house.
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Hate your enemies. Save your friends. Find your place. Speak the truth. |
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