Live Your Life for Half the Price by Mary Hunt

Author:Mary Hunt [Hunt, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BUS050000, Personal finances
ISBN: 9781441223470
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2015-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

Wireless

Big bills, lousy coverage, poor customer service. If that sums up your relationship with your wireless service provider, you may be looking to switch companies—especially now that you can take your number with you. But hold the phone! There’s a lot to know before you make the big switcheroo to a new contract.

Staying connected with your friends, family, and the world is not cheap. In fact, it costs more than ever if you have a twelveor twenty-four-month contract. The problem with a contract is that you’re locked in. You lose your ability to shop for a better deal. You don’t have to sign a two-year exclusive contract with your supermarket, drugstore, dry cleaner, or hair salon. So why do we keep agreeing to sign a contract for telephone services, locking ourselves into high rates and horrific early termination fees if for some reason we need to break the contract?

To remind you just how ridiculous those early termination fees can be, AT&T’s regular $150 termination fee soars to $325 if your deal includes a smartphone or tablet. Verizon recently boosted its $175 early termination fee to $350 for advanced devices.

Reasonable Rates without a Contract

A number of mobile service providers use the same networks as the big boys but with cheaper rates and no contracts. They’re known as MVNOs, mobile virtual network operators. Think of them as buying mobile minutes in bulk at wholesale rates, then reselling them to individuals like you and me under their own brand names and at rates that are much cheaper than say AT&T or Verizon.

Here are a few of the more well-known MVNOs and the networks they use:

Page Plus Cellular (uses Verizon network)

Straight Talk (uses AT&T network)

PlatinumTel (uses T-Mobile network)

Boost Mobile (uses Sprint network)

Not all MVNOs sell phones and mobile devices. You can assume that those that do not will accept any device that is network compatible.

The cost of a plan with an MVNO is typically half the price of a traditional contract with one of the big service providers. While these companies provide a great service, keep in mind they’re small and they are doing all they can to keep their prices low. You won’t get the same kind of customer service or technical help as you might with AT&T or Verizon. But what is it worth for you to cut the cost of your cell phone service and data plans by 50 percent?

Unless you are close to or past your termination date, getting out of your contract is not as easy as just saying bye-bye. Your choices are to pay the termination fee (might be worth it if you can cut your monthly costs by half) or find someone to take over your contract. All of the major companies will allow you to transfer your contract to another person. Finding that someone may not be as difficult as you might think. A friend or neighbor who needs service might be willing, or you can list your contract for sale on CellTradeUSA.com for a $19.99 registration fee.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.