naillady4jm Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 It`s almost time for my cell phone contract with Altell to end. I have never shopped for different service. I have been with them for 17 years. I`m thinking of checking for a new carrier maybe verizon does anyone have a ideal how to get a good deal when switching or how to get Altell to give a better deal if I don`t take my business else where. I need two phones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowjeepster Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I have been with Verizon 12 yrs. and have never tried anyone else. I haven't had any major problems w/them and they have always fixed billing errors quickly w/no problems. I have noticed though that they offer better deals and offers to new customers on phones than their own customers. I don't appreciate that they kind of dismiss their own clients in that matter. Otherwise I have been happy w/their service and hardly any dropped calls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbrly Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Stay away from Sprint is the only advice I can offer. They suck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shopLlama Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 The best information I found last time I was shopping for a plan was at these web sites / forums - howardforums.com, phonescoop.com, and the forums at wirelessadvisor.com. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia39 Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 alltell should give you a better deal if you threaten to cancel. call and see what happens. otherwise, porting your phone number to another carrier should be easy. i've been with verizon for years now, and i'm not leaving, even if i do pay more than most people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xfeg Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 when you call to cancel they will usually give you a better deal if that is the reason you are canceling. Sprint has this Sero thing thats a really good deal at $30 but i wouldnt switch to sprint. Ive always had tmobile and theyre pretty awesome. i use the internet on my phone and often connect it to my laptop and use the internet from my cell phone and tmobile has the best rates for that. Id really recommend talking to their cancellations department. it doesnt have to be a final call. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valuemaster Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Stay away from Sprint is the only advice I can offer. They suck!!This morning on NBC's "The Today Show", they used a recent Consumer Report study of customer satisfaction with their carriers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22314794/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrabbler Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 For me, it has always depended on the coverage area offered where I need it. For that reason alone is why I stay with the provider I have. Unfortunately some of the providers in my area still have more dead zones or more roaming zones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akdillard Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 I agree, stay away from Sprint! I switched from Cingular, and so regret it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
booga12345 Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 T-Mobile has been great, good customer service and reasonable rates. I have also has Verizon and I think they are a bit pricey. imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kselzer Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I have Verizon and love it!! Their customer service is amazingly helpful (unheard of for other companies IMO). I would stay away from Sprint and Cingular/AT&T or whatever they are calling themselves now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokanm Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I have Verizon they have been great...good coverage, no billing problems etc We had Cingular in the past...stay away..they were a nightmare, espcially with billing issues I have a friend who has T-Mobile and her purse was recently stolen, they replaced her phone in less than 24 hours and were awesome and even tracked the phone for her and the police. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexac Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I have Cingular (at&t now) and they are wonderful for me. I had Verizon, HORRIBLE customer service, always getting charged overages. I have never been charged a single overage with Cingular. I actually paid $$ to get out of my contract with Verizon and it was the best thing I ever did with my cell services. The person that I cancelled with over the phone told me that they didn't really care where I went when I asked them about keeping their customers. I cancelled my Verizon land line that day too. They get no money from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazolover Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I agree with the above posters regarding Sprint/Nextel. My contract FINALLY ends next month and I will be doing the cha cha as I leave them! I plan to go to Verizon, but will check out the forums listed above as well as the Consumer Report listed above. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallydiver Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 The Sprint Sero plan looks excellent if you know how to work the deal. Especially if you need multiple uses out of your cell phone as in internet, unlimited text messaging, no roaming charges. However in order to qualify for the Sero plan you have to jump through some hoops and it's reportedly only suppose to be for Sprint Employees!! I've had Verizon for 5 years now. Had to sign 3-2 year contract agreements for my basic plan of $45.00/month for 1000 anytime minutes with 0 rollover minutes, no out of state long distance and roaming charges as soon as you hit out of state. They also had a tendency to charge roaming charges as soon as you hit near the border of your state line. I've had to call them multiple times about this. I don't really know if this is a good deal or not. I've heard from everyone that it's pricey for what you get. However this coming December I will be shopping for the best provider that gives phone coverage and internet coverage in the same plan. I can't wait to pick up that Blackberry. I don't know how many times I've needed it only to have to run back to work/home to get online for something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maaj Posted January 5, 2008 Share Posted January 5, 2008 I doubt you have it in your area, but I am with a plan called Cellular South (they may have other divisions in other parts of the US). They are AWESOME. We have 2 phones both with unlimited minutes ~~ that is right, NEVER have to think about minutes ~~ and we pay $120/month -- that is $60 a month per phone. The customer service is great, well I say great, I have not really had to use them that much because I have NEVER had any problems. The coverage service is the best out of any other that I have used and I live in the second largest city in Alabama. I have used Cingular/AT&T, T-Mobile (they would be my second choice) and Verizon (my last choice). I can not give enough praises about this company. I constantly wonder why everyone else is not with them if they are available to them, but I think because they are more of a "no name" company people are scared. I love Cellular South!!!! You need to check to see if they have any sub companies in your area! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellowjeepster Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I've had Verizon for 5 years now. Had to sign 3-2 year contract agreements for my basic plan of $45.00/month for 1000 anytime minutes with 0 rollover minutes, no out of state long distance and roaming charges as soon as you hit out of state. They also had a tendency to charge roaming charges as soon as you hit near the border of your state line. I've had to call them multiple times about this. I don't really know if this is a good deal or not. I've heard from everyone that it's pricey for what you get./QUOTE] I thought all Verizon plans had no roaming or long distance charges. I have the America's Choice plan. 450 anytime min., unlimited night and weekends and unlimited In calling. for $39.99/mo. I signed a 2 yr. contract again recently and got an extra 2000 min. until end of contract. No roaming or long distance charges either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia39 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 The Sprint Sero plan looks excellent if you know how to work the deal. Especially if you need multiple uses out of your cell phone as in internet, unlimited text messaging, no roaming charges. However in order to qualify for the Sero plan you have to jump through some hoops and it's reportedly only suppose to be for Sprint Employees!! I've had Verizon for 5 years now. Had to sign 3-2 year contract agreements for my basic plan of $45.00/month for 1000 anytime minutes with 0 rollover minutes, no out of state long distance and roaming charges as soon as you hit out of state. They also had a tendency to charge roaming charges as soon as you hit near the border of your state line. I've had to call them multiple times about this. I don't really know if this is a good deal or not. I've heard from everyone that it's pricey for what you get. However this coming December I will be shopping for the best provider that gives phone coverage and internet coverage in the same plan. I can't wait to pick up that Blackberry. I don't know how many times I've needed it only to have to run back to work/home to get online for something.do you have one of their regional plans? you should really get one their america's choice plans if you move around the state a lot. or... just in general. my america's choice has no roaming or long distance charges but as long as you stay on the network. you really have to be in the middle of nowhere to be roaming, and i think i set my phone to not let me make any calls if i'm roaming, because i am NOT paying that charge unless i absolutely have to. anyways, what you get is the verizon network. you get what you pay for. my brother and sister just switched to the sprint sero plan. my brother got a moto q, my sister got a LG rumor. my sister is a notorious texter/IMer/random online access user, so she needed the plan pretty bad, and couldn't get another sidekick that she liked from t-mobile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amberleigh2 Posted January 6, 2008 Share Posted January 6, 2008 I've been w/verizon for umm maybe 2 year now & I love it, in the past I was w/AT&T ( before the merge) & T~mobile! T~mobile was awful for me, I was a mailcarrier & I would be in a neighborhood & lose signal, I was in Indy not like I was in the boondocks or anything!! So for me that was'nt good, they may have improved since then it's been a few years. I don't really remember too much about AT&T so they must have been o.k., nothing sticks out, I prolly just switched for a better price. Were on the family plan thru Verizon, 3 phones, unlimited text/pics, & 700 min, we pay right @ $100 a month, that's w/ a post office discount but it's not much off. We just added my ds12 to the plan last month but up til then we've never had overage charges, all of our friends & family are "in" too so we talk to them free! I think most company's have that so if I was you I might take that into consideration of who you talk to most & try to get the same as them, it saves us big time & we never get even close to our 700 min. limit. Now I just hope it stays that way since we added ds:eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTZDUDE90 Posted January 7, 2008 Share Posted January 7, 2008 I highly recommend www.sprint.com/seroYou can use email [email protected] to log into the site. The $30 plan includes:500 Any Time MinutesUnlimited Night and Weekend Minutes at 7pmNationwide Long DistanceRoaming IncludedUnlimited Internet from your phoneUnlimited Text MessagingUnlimited Mobile to Mobile The plan is hard to beat but do check the coverage in your area. I recommend that if you do decide to go with Sprint you call by telephone so you can be placed on the old billing platform. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naillady4jm Posted January 13, 2008 Author Share Posted January 13, 2008 This morning on NBC's "The Today Show", they used a recent Consumer Report study of customer satisfaction with their carriers. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22314794/ thank you for the link. It was helpful. I have till next month before contract is over. I hope to land a good deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmbrly Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I highly recommend www.sprint.com/seroYou can use email [email protected] to log into the site. The $30 plan includes:500 Any Time MinutesUnlimited Night and Weekend Minutes at 7pmNationwide Long DistanceRoaming IncludedUnlimited Internet from your phoneUnlimited Text MessagingUnlimited Mobile to Mobile The plan is hard to beat but do check the coverage in your area. I recommend that if you do decide to go with Sprint you call by telephone so you can be placed on the old billing platform.I'm glad someone is having good luck with Sprint. I sure haven't. This handy dandy new plan they offered me for $40 that included 1000 Anytime shared minutes (it's a family plan with 2 phones) along with everything else you mentioned, has come back to bite me. Which with my experience with Sprint, I'm not sure why that would suprise me. (The previous plan was 550 shared for $59.95, Vision on one line for $20, Vision plus on the other for $25, and $5 text messaging) The first bill I got after the change they charged me for both plans, because they put the new plan on the 2nd added line, they left the main phone on the original plan. So I got that changed. Then next bill had a $75 charge on it for data overages. Had to call and get that fixed. More promises that everything was correct now. 2 days later I try to use my vision plus, all I get are error messages. I call again and I'm now told that vision or vision plus is not offered with this plan. (uhmm, yet the vision still works on my sister's phone--- so now I have to watch for another overage I'm sure). I hope you have continued good luck with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lynn53 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I don't know if you have Cricket in your area, but they just have a single plan--$45/month for unlimited minutes and unlimited texting. My son and daughter both have Cricket plans and love it. I, myself, have T-Mobile, and am mostly happy with them. DO NOT get Sprint. I live near KC, Mo where the Sprint Headquarters campus is. Sprint has the worst service in the KC and surrounding areas. And when you call for customer service, you stand a great chance of speaking with someone in India. Very difficult to understand. Just my experience and two cents talking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naillady4jm Posted January 15, 2008 Author Share Posted January 15, 2008 I narrowed it down to verizon or stay with altell and hope altell awards me for being a customer for 18 years. And yea I still believe in Santa.lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emptynest-2 Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I have has Alltel for 13 years now no problems, but they all have their querks. Definately check coverage. My plan is Family National Freedom 1000. Primary phone $75, 2nd phone -0-, each addl'l 9.99. We share our minutes. I've be very pleased w/my service and we have mountains here that causes bad cell areas. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellsandbabies Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 I have Verizon and LOVE it! I have worked for Suncom/Cingular and Sprint and Verizon so I know all of the companies positives and negatives. Stay far away from Sprint/Nextel. The coverage is terrible and customer service even worse. Also, leave Alltel. I have only heard bad things about their billing and customer service. Suncom/Cingular would be my second choice because thier coverage is really good. But Verizon is #1 for me, no doubt! I have never had any problems with signal/ coverage. Customer service is always great! Now, as far as "deals" go, all of the companies will have the "Free" or "really cheap" phone to offer you to get you in the door. The salespeople are working on commission so YOUR best interest is rarely their priority. Their priority is to get you to switch companies and bring on as many phones as possible and get you on the highest plan possible and the longest contract possible. That is where THEY make their bonuses! So, my advice: 1. Make sure that you shop around and look at the coverage maps and even ask people in your area what the best service is. Every area is different so your best alli are the people around your area. 2. You DONT have to sign a contract!!! Most people dont know this. You may have to pay full price for a phone, but you decide what it is worth to you. Also, you can always opt for a 1 year contract and will still get some discount off the phone. OR, buy one off Ebay or a friend!!! This will save you tons of money and you wont have to sign a contract! 3. Stand firm on what you want. Dont let them persuade you. They go through Hours and Hours of training on ways to persuade customers! 4. Figure out how many min you need before you go in. Look at your usage over the past few months. Dont let them upsell you. Also, make sure that you get enough min because overage charges can really hurt! 5. Get Insurance!!! I could not tell you how many phones I saw in a day that were damaged and the customer had no Insrance. They would either end up buying another phone at FULL price ($150+++) or having to sign another contract to get one discounted. I hope this helps you out. If you have any questions, just let me know. Also, if I think of anything else, I will add it :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naillady4jm Posted January 17, 2008 Author Share Posted January 17, 2008 BELLSANDSBABIES, thank you for your input. We now have the family national freedom plan. We need a plan that allows us no roaming charge when we travel. We do alot of nascar races. I guess I have been lucky. In 18 years with altel never had a phone break. I don`t need a phone to text.It`s something I haven`t learn to do. I have a camera phone and hardly ever used that. I`m excited to get a new phone tho. Wouldn`t you think if I told altel after 18 years I`m thinking of taking my service to Verizon that bargain alittle?? Or would verizon do a little better if I left alltel after all these years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bellsandbabies Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Verizon is nationwide and allows you to roam if you need to. That is a GOOD thing. You see, if a company says NO ROAMING ever then what you are getting is the ability to only use your phone where they have towers. If something happens and you are not in their area, you need to have the option to roam and they wont let you. Most people dont like the idea of roaming but if you get the right carrier, then you wont have to worry about it. From my experience working at Verizon, their coverage is all over the US and definately in the major cities. And for races, they bring in a COW (a portable tower) for extra coverage and to handle the large amount of calls being made in one area. They have always been rated #1 in Consumer Reports. They usually are not the first to come out with the latest and greatest and coolest new things, but instead they choose to wait it out and let the other companies find and figure out the problems so when Verizon launches new products, they are ready for market. As far as negotiating a better plan or phone, Alltel will more than likely offer you a free phone if you sign a 2 year contract with them. I dont think they have any other bargaining power. Same with changing to Verizon, they dont have bargaining power either. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heatherreed87 Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 i have had TMobile and Cingular and i hate them both. I have 3 phones on my contract with Cingular and mine is up in May, the others in December and January so i want to go to Verizon, my parents have them and never seem to have a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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