Well, I did it. I should have checked in with CCers for their experiences before cutting the cord, but I’d had it. We’ve been Verizon for more years than I can remember - and overpaid for the entire period. I dropped one line and changed plans earlier this year, but after months, Verizon still couldn’t get me on the plan I wanted. Different phone contact each time and more sales pitch than help.
I tried out T-mobile on a new phone for the last 6 months and haven’t found any coverage gaps in the areas I live and have visited. So, we are now totally T-mobile. I figure if I visit an area with only Verizon coverage and need a phone, I’ll do a month pre-paid Verizon - I bought an unlocked Iphone at full price from Apple so I can easily put in any SIM without contacting anyone. At least that’s been my experience in Asia and Europe so far this year, I assume US coverage is the same?
So, dumb move??? Any other ways to beat the system?
We had TMobile for years, switched to Verizon about 3 years ago to get an iPhone, and switched back to Tmobile after a year. Verizon’s service was a bit better in our area–enough that we noticed the difference when we switched-- but the cost was higher and we couldn’t justify the minor differences in coverage for the large differences in cost. No regrets. I don’t think any of the carriers can be trusted to not give you terrible customer service in their stores and on the phone, however.
We have Verizon and have had it for years too. Until they switched all the plans in August we were over paying however in our area it’s gets the best reception. Now that the plans are switched the prices are a whole lot cheaper for us. However we don’t use a lot of data so your prices may vary…
We have Verizon, and I recently decided that I will NEVER again go to the Verizon store to get a new phone. It was much more painless to do it at Best Buy.
We’ve been with Verizon since long before it was Verizon. Stayed with them because they were the only reliable service provider in DD university area.
I put cell phone, internet and cable TV service in the same category. It’s the 'you got to call and fight with them every few months category.
I was livid earlier this year when I found out we’d been overpaying Verizon, We qualified not only for a larger data allowance but also for a lower per month line cost on 3 out of our 4 phones. It took some tenacity and patience but I did get them to refund the majority of our overpayment.
It’s like many relationships, once the original dinner and dancing phase passes, all the grunge and nasty habits become visible. Not sure if any other company is better and it’s a PITA to change.
I’ll put in a plug for T-mobile. I have 5 lines right now. The coverage could be a little better, but the price is right for our usage level. What I really like is the ease of understanding the costs. With T-mobile it is very clear - want a phone? then its $X, more data? a few more bucks. Second line? $Y, and so on. Last time I dealt with ATT it was more like - want a phone? $Y, you want to call someone? $X, Data too? Z$, oh an iPhone? $Q, and so on. It was mind numbing.
I have had Tmobile for over a year now, and have been completely happy. We switched from ATT which we had for many years. Tmobile was offering 4 lines for $100/month (Do they still offer that?) which fit us perfectly (wife + 2 sons, I don’t mind paying $25/month for my grown sons). Possibly the best feature is the ability to make cell phone calls over our wireless network. Cell phone reception in our home is terrible, so with ATT we could barely use our cell phones at home. Now with Tmobile they work well, even though the cell phone reception in home remains spotty.
We got Verizon for my Mom since it is the best choice for her remote location. I think it $94 a month all in…grrrr. She keeps it in her pocket when she mows the grass or walks to the mailbox so it eliminates her fear of falling and not being able to call for help.
I don’t use the word “hate” very often, but I HATE having to deal with phone, computer, Sirrius or cable problems. It is not the technology issues that bother me. It is insane way they handle customer service. First it is impossible to get through to someone (online or in person), then they do not have the ability to speak in layman’s term and the worst is when I am beyond frustrated and I get a soft spoken person with a very heavy accent. After 40 minutes on hold, I am not about to hang up and try for a different person so I tend to press the phone really hard against my ear so I can understand what they are saying. The pressure on my ear just seems to add o my frustration. Thanks for listening…I feel better now.
We’ve been Tmobile users for over a decade. While Verizon does offer better coverage in our area, they also cost significantly more (and I don’t mean a few bucks a month more). My husband runs a business with this Tmobile phone and it works well enough for this. He has dealt with Verizon on behalf of his clients so he can actually compare Verizon to Tmobile in that arena and it’s one of the reasons we will stay with Tmobile.
For those who like Verizon’s coverage, but not their pricing, Google “verizon mvno”. There are several and I don’t really want to advocate for any particular one.
ETA – If you are one who contacts customer support frequently, this is probably not for you. Money needs to be saved somewhere and the savings are in the support department.
My husband and I are VERY late to the smartphone party.
Have had “family” verizon plans for about 10 years with 2 and then 4 lines when kids were added on.
All dumbphones. Tooooo cheap to even consider anything else. Never more than $90/month.
Adult son finally was frustrated enough in grad school to buy his own separate plan, yes, more expensive than keeping him on our family plan but oh well, free tuition was all we could manage!
Husband and I treated ourselves to samsung s5s for Christmas, 3GB DATA, disabled daughter on flip phone since it fits her abilities just fine. Running us about $140 including the phone purchases in the monthly cost.
Having fun and learning slot. Especially from the 20 something rep in the verizon store conveniently located right in my small town. Very helpful, no charge fixes for software glitches and own stupidity.
Agree, the online or phone support is disastrous.
If we want to upgrade phone after 2 yr payments are made (doubt it), we`'ll buy online and activate ourselves.
Consider this our introductory period, willing to pay a bit for hand holding.
I despise verizon too, unfortunately t-mobile didn’t work in either Vermont or NH places we go regularly. The weird thing is it used to work barely, but then it stopped working at all. I don’t know why they can’t get coverage everywhere. It makes me miss landlines.
I returned to T-Mobile four years ago (but I’m not a former Verizon customer). I had heard too many stories about frustration and high pricing at Verizon. Yes, T-Mobile’s coverage is not the equal of Verizon, or AT&T for that matter, when you leave metropolitan areas. But for me the lapses have been rare. To avoid a drop in service while traveling to remote areas (I’ve got relatives who live 20 miles from the nearest Interstate Highway), I purchased a SIM and cheap service from an AT&T MVNO at ten bucks a month (actually less). My smartphone is a dual SIM phone.
I just dumped my landline a couple weeks ago. I had been keeping it even though we have cell phones because I thought if I called 911 they would then know where I was calling from… When we had a dryer fire a few months back and called 911 on the landline and the operator asked me for my address and nearest cross street. so I decided that was no reason to keep paying $61 a month for the landline!
$61 for a landline is a highway robbery!!! Ours is $30 with all taxes included, and we keep it for power outages (yup, in the boonies) and for DSL. However, I have been mad at Frontier lately. They blocked our EarthLink modem and refused to deal with me when I called Frontier to inquire - because I was not their Internet customer, just a phone customer. EarthLink could not do much on their end unless the line would be released. I think Frontier wanted us to get DSL through them - no way after this mess. The Frontier tech rep was as dumb as a sack of rocks - could not understand what the deal was at all. I call it “customer disservice.” The EarthLink guy went out of his way trying to help me. He was able to work up the chain in Frontier CS and get the issue fixed.
