Cell Phone Question

[Shann]

Can your cell phone provider extend your contract if you change your phone number w/o informing you of the extension?

And what cell phone provider(s) and phone(s) would you all recomend and why?

TIA

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[YankeeMary]

My opinion would be yes. Cell phone companies do not always play above the board. By changing your number you would automatically be renewing your contract also some companies renew your contract if you go over your alotted minutes. Thats why they give you their rules and regulations in tiny print. I do NOT recommend Nextel, nor AT&T. AT&T wouldn't allow us to up our minutes without renewing our contract.

[delSol]

I really think it depends on where you live - I used to have AT&T (before the merger with Cingular) and it was great for a year and a half, then the phone just stopped working in my house. I called and called and they were like "tuff noogies" and most of the time downright rude to me. ALL cellphone providers have a statement in the contract that says they do not guarantee the phone will work indoors. I have had Cingular now for about 2 years and even added my teen daughter, they have always been a pleasure to work with and I rarely have no sognal. btw, I live in south florida.

[joni1269]

Yes, if it is in the contract. I used to have Cingulair, and every time you call to add minutes or change anything - they automatically start another one year contract. Nextel was the same way. I would NOT recommend Cingulair - they have horrible customer service, and in my opinion overcharge for their barely adequate service. (I could n't get a signal in LOADS of places, and would be on roaming 20 miles from my house.) I used Nextel for two years, and absolutely loved them. The customer service is great, and the service is impeccable. They are expensive, however. Now I have T-Mobile. The price is great, and the customer service is very helpful and kind, but I have signal problems at times. Like Nextel, they have NO roaming - and I love that! Lastly, my son carries a Trac Fone. He gets a great signal, but the refill cards are high. We keep him with Trac Fone to avoid getting a big "oops" bill, ya know what I mean?

It really depends on where you live, which provider is best. Hopefully someone that lives close by can give you a heads up!

[flute]

I wouldn't recommend Cingular either. They bought out sis' company & decided to change her contract. (illegal) but she had to live with it, she couldn't afford a lawyer to fight 'em..

[Willow]

I don't have any advice but I was wondering if the Nextel phones are the ones where everyone can hear what the person on the other end of the phone is saying. Why would anyone want a phone like that? When I'm talking to someone on the phone I don't want everyone around me to be able to hear what the person I'm talking to is saying. Those phones are so annoying.

[cSoReNSoN]

I have had TMobile since it was Voicestream. I believe it's been 6-7 years. TMobile has never extended my contract without asking first. I have found customer service helpful and the price is great! For two lines (my mom and I) the price is $59.99. We get:
425 anytime minutes
free nights (9pm-6:59 or 7:59am the next morning)
free weekends (Friday-Sunday)
free roaming
free nationwide long distance
calling waiting
caller id callwaiting
call forwarding
voicemail
free mobile to mobile minutes (i.e free to talk to any Tmobile subscriber)

I ahve never had a problem with my signal, but my mom ahd trouble in Alaska. haha It was supposed to work in Alaska, but didn't. It did work in Vancouver, BC, which of course was roaming charges. She simply called TMobile and the charges were dropped. My mom didn't realize it was roaming and international charges. TMobile has also refunded us when the voicemail server went nuts. That has happened once to each of us. Other than those small issues, TMobile has been excellent!!

[YankeeMary]

I don't have any advice but I was wondering if the Nextel phones are the ones where everyone can hear what the person on the other end of the phone is saying. Why would anyone want a phone like that? When I'm talking to someone on the phone I don't want everyone around me to be able to hear what the person I'm talking to is saying. Those phones are so annoying.

Thanks friend..lol..thats what we have..hehe...it is annoying. We wanted them because we figured we would use the "walkie talkie" part of it all the time...since it is so annoying we NEVER use it..lol...I do use the speaker phone of it to talk when I am driving.

[Willow]

Thanks friend..lol..thats what we have..hehe...it is annoying. We wanted them because we figured we would use the "walkie talkie" part of it all the time...since it is so annoying we NEVER use it..lol...I do use the speaker phone of it to talk when I am driving.

Oh really, I didn't even know that. I guess it wouldn't be so bad but there are just certain conversations you don't want to overhear. Like the one I overheard the other day between two lesbians. Is there a way to fix it so that only you get to hear what the person on the other end is saying?

[freebielover]

I work for a Verizon retailer so I HIGHLY recommend Verizon for phone service, but it depends on where you live. If you don't get service its not much help. For $60 a month my fiance and I get unlimited In network calling, to talk to anyone on the Verizon network, which is everyone we know, 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited Pix & Text messaging, Voice mail, national access, free nights & weekends all that junk. I've never had a problem with customer service like I have with Cingular and I've never had an issue with dropped signals.

Also, I agree the PTT are so irritating, I don't mind it when people chat on the cell phone but to hear the STUPID alert (on the nextels) and then hear someone screaming on the other end, it pisses me off to no end lol.

[Shann]

I work for a Verizon retailer so I HIGHLY recommend Verizon for phone service, but it depends on where you live. If you don't get service its not much help. For $60 a month my fiance and I get unlimited In network calling, to talk to anyone on the Verizon network, which is everyone we know, 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited Pix & Text messaging, Voice mail, national access, free nights & weekends all that junk. I've never had a problem with customer service like I have with Cingular and I've never had an issue with dropped signals.

Also, I agree the PTT are so irritating, I don't mind it when people chat on the cell phone but to hear the STUPID alert (on the nextels) and then hear someone screaming on the other end, it pisses me off to no end lol.

My plan is actually w/ Verizon and I HATE HATE HATE HATE them. They were absolutely rude to me right after I got my phone b/c their product messed it up. They even told me that they had to pull that product off the shelves b/c so many ppl were having problems with it then two minutes later another employee came out and said that it was my fault. I ended up getting another phone, a refurbished one and mine wasn't even two months old and it works like crap. I seem to get analog ALL the time and then my phone doesn't work. I get dropped calls like no other. Funny thing is that my friends have it and they have no problems.

But since you work for them, do you know, do they extend your contract if you switch your phone number? We were upfront and they knew I was moving west when I got the phone and everyone we talked to never mentioned that it would extend my contract.. do you know? I'm about ready to take my practically non working phone and shove it up the butt of the head of Verizon...

I also got a nice little suprise from them yesterday, my voice mail needed to be reset. I went to check my messages and found that it was no longer working so I lost my saved message. Did I mention I hate Verizon? I really think I don't even want a cell phone after this whole fiasco.. I def don't want no two year contract.