| What I have learned about Mobal World Phones
My daughter recently left for a 6 week study abroad program in Australia. In researching for a cell phone to use, we knew about the recommendation to purchase a prepaid plan abroad, or take an unlocked phone and purchase a sim card. She was not comfortable with either of these options, I think because she was experiencing some anxiety about being alone in a foreign country.
So she found the Mobal World Phone, purchased from a company in New York. It sounded perfect, especially since she could use it in Europe next summer as well.
However, when she tested it, her phone could send texts to our iphones, but could not receive texts from our iphones. Needless to say, this caused anxiety on my part, having to depend fully on communication from her, and not being able to respond.
We tried troubleshooting on the Mobal website. We called their 24/7 customer service number, which ended up being a 9-5 customer service number. Yes, you can call it anytime, but if you want an answer, call between 9 and 5. They attempted to blame it on AT&T, but we had already verified with them that everything was in working order. Their website was difficult to navigate, but the further we dug, we found a link that said they do not guarantee text messages. It was very well hidden and we would have never thought to go looking for it before purchasing, because the website made the phone sound perfect. Finally they admitted that there was nothing they could do.
We purchased this phone for the sole purpose of exchanging text messages. Our plan was to text to set up a time to Skype.
Upon arrival in Australia, she purchased a a local phone and we are now texting.
We will be returning the Mobal World Phone since they honor a 60 day return policy, or so they say. It will be interesting to see how that goes. So far I have spent a week just trying to get the return address, which is not printed on their invoice.
Hopefully you can learn from our mistakes.
| 
