I shot the cellphone

Yesterday I finally did what I should have done a long time ago.
Over a year ago I bought a cellphone which was intended to be used for
the whole family, and intended to be used mostly for emergencies. For
example, when my wife goes out in a snowstorm to shop, she would be
able to contact me if there was a flat tire or car problem. The kids
were to take it to school if one of them was sick, or weather was bad,
and take it along on the weekends when one of them, usually the oldest
one went out with friends.

Instead this phone becane as toy for the kids. It rang constantly,
and when my wife went out in bad weather we could not even find it
because the kids had it. The bills on that damn thing were
outrageous. One month as much as $268. After that, I told the kids it
could no longer leave the house except with their mother, and they
could no longer do the text messages which seemed to be what was
running the bill so high. So, the phone stayed her, and they kids
still ran up huge bills.

Yesterday it all ended. I had a few friends over and we had a half
barrel and my wife made a nice dinner. We're watching the Superbowl
and that damn phone kept ringing. I shout it off, but 10 minutes
later one of the kids is yacking on it and the next thing it's ringing
again.

That did it. I loaded my hunting rifle, took that goddamn phone
outside on the lawn and fired 3 shells into it. Needless to say, it's
no more.... It will not be replaced either.

I am posting this because I spent a couple hours today trying to get
the goddamn thing disconnected. It took me over an hour to figure out
who to call, finally called them, was on hold for a half hour, finally
got someone, and was referred to another number. Start over....
Once again I am on hold, finally get someone who tells me I have a
contract with them until August 31 2006. Excuse me. I do not recall
signing any contract. I told them that, but they insist. I explained
the phone has been destroyed and I DO NOT want service any longer.
They told me I still must pay until it expires. By this time I was
boiling mad and told them exactly what I did with the phone, and and
after I pay the current bill they damn well better disconnect my
service or I will show up at their office with my rifle. They hung up
on me.

How the **** can this company make me pay until August when I have not
signed anything since I first got service from them, which I believe
was August of 2004, and the phone is destroyed? This really has me
pissed off. I'll be goddamned if I am going to spend a lot of money
to get a lawyer after them, and I REFUSE to pay another bill as soon
as I pay the last bill for service that was actually used. As of
todays date, there is no longer any service being used, and I refuse
to pay after this date.

Tom

---

› See More: I shot the cellphone

who do you have service with? tell them that you want a copy of the contract you "alegidly" signed. Sometimes (i know verizon does this)
they will auto extend your contract for 1-2 year without having you sign anything, as a "convinence". most people never really pay attention to this because they continue to pay the same rates as before.. and it only changes when they want a new phone ect. if you truely never signed a contract, then they should be able to turn off your phone for you no questions asked. if they insist you have signed one, then just tell them to fax you a copy of that contract, take the persons name you speak to and their employee number (tell them you are recording the convo at the begining of it if you have a handheld recorder) and that you will be taking this problem to your lawyer. you can also throw in that your sure your not the only one who has had this issue, so look out for a class action law suit. if they have no paperwork to back anything up, they should break and let you cancel without a problem (and dont let them charge you the ETF, this is a way to screw you outta money when they know you have no contract.) hope it all works out for you. next time, just get a pay as you go phone with 10 minutes on it. for emergencies, and most old phones will dial 911 without a service plan

Originally Posted by [email protected]

Yesterday I finally did what I should have done a long time ago.
Over a year ago I bought a cellphone which was intended to be used for
the whole family, and intended to be used mostly for emergencies. For
example, when my wife goes out in a snowstorm to shop, she would be
able to contact me if there was a flat tire or car problem. The kids
were to take it to school if one of them was sick, or weather was bad,
and take it along on the weekends when one of them, usually the oldest
one went out with friends.

Instead this phone becane as toy for the kids. It rang constantly,
and when my wife went out in bad weather we could not even find it
because the kids had it. The bills on that damn thing were
outrageous. One month as much as $268. After that, I told the kids it
could no longer leave the house except with their mother, and they
could no longer do the text messages which seemed to be what was
running the bill so high. So, the phone stayed her, and they kids
still ran up huge bills.

Yesterday it all ended. I had a few friends over and we had a half
barrel and my wife made a nice dinner. We're watching the Superbowl
and that damn phone kept ringing. I shout it off, but 10 minutes
later one of the kids is yacking on it and the next thing it's ringing
again.

That did it. I loaded my hunting rifle, took that goddamn phone
outside on the lawn and fired 3 shells into it. Needless to say, it's
no more.... It will not be replaced either.

I am posting this because I spent a couple hours today trying to get
the goddamn thing disconnected. It took me over an hour to figure out
who to call, finally called them, was on hold for a half hour, finally
got someone, and was referred to another number. Start over....
Once again I am on hold, finally get someone who tells me I have a
contract with them until August 31 2006. Excuse me. I do not recall
signing any contract. I told them that, but they insist. I explained
the phone has been destroyed and I DO NOT want service any longer.
They told me I still must pay until it expires. By this time I was
boiling mad and told them exactly what I did with the phone, and and
after I pay the current bill they damn well better disconnect my
service or I will show up at their office with my rifle. They hung up
on me.

How the **** can this company make me pay until August when I have not
signed anything since I first got service from them, which I believe
was August of 2004, and the phone is destroyed? This really has me
pissed off. I'll be goddamned if I am going to spend a lot of money
to get a lawyer after them, and I REFUSE to pay another bill as soon
as I pay the last bill for service that was actually used. As of
todays date, there is no longer any service being used, and I refuse
to pay after this date.

Tom

I think your threat certainly helped the situation.

Thanks for the advice. I did as you said and told them to send me
proof. I also did some checking and found out that I signed up for
one year, in Aug of 2004. That expired in Aug of 2005. I never
signed anything since then. So I guess that's their "convinence", or
should I say pain in the butt....
My lawyer said they really cant do much, since I never signed for
another year, but said they will certainly try to harass me. He said
to get the info from them and send back a certified letter telling
them to disconnect, and state that I did not sign anything for another
year, and assumed it was monthly. He said he could handle the case
but it would cost me more than to just pay till August, but also told
me to refuse payment, and tell my credit card company to refuse
payment to them if they try to withdraw the funds without my approval.
I may even have my CC company change the card number and that takes
care of that. I will send my final payment (that I actually owe) by
money order.

I'm glad that phone is gone. Ahhhh peace and quiet, except when the
kids whine about it, and I already told them they can earn their own
money and get their own cellphone. Otherwise we have a phone on the
wall in the house, and a computer for sending text messages.

Damnit, I got to admit, I had fun blasting that phone on Sunday !!!
I'm just glad there were no cops around, because I was drunk on my ass
and using a firearm in the city limits, but it was fun !!!
My buddies have been laughing about it all week too !!!
Great way to relieve stress !

I wonder how much I could sell all the pieces for on Ebay <lol>.
I put all the pieces in a box and when the kids started whining I
handed them the bos and said "Here ya go"...

I should have stayed single



On Tue, 7 Feb 2006 06:33:42 -0600, navywendy00
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>who do you have service with? tell them that you want a copy of the
>contract you "alegidly" signed. Sometimes (i know verizon does this)
>they will auto extend your contract for 1-2 year without having you
>sign anything, as a "convinence". most people never really pay
>attention to this because they continue to pay the same rates as
>before.. and it only changes when they want a new phone ect. if you
>truely never signed a contract, then they should be able to turn off
>your phone for you no questions asked. if they insist you have signed
>one, then just tell them to fax you a copy of that contract, take the
>persons name you speak to and their employee number (tell them you are
>recording the convo at the begining of it if you have a handheld
>recorder) and that you will be taking this problem to your lawyer. you
>can also throw in that your sure your not the only one who has had this
>issue, so look out for a class action law suit. if they have no
>paperwork to back anything up, they should break and let you cancel
>without a problem (and dont let them charge you the ETF, this is a way
>to screw you outta money when they know you have no contract.) hope it
>all works out for you. next time, just get a pay as you go phone with
>10 minutes on it. for emergencies, and most old phones will dial 911
>without a service plan
>
>
>[email protected] Wrote:
>> Yesterday I finally did what I should have done a long time ago.
>> Over a year ago I bought a cellphone which was intended to be used for
>> the whole family, and intended to be used mostly for emergencies. For
>> example, when my wife goes out in a snowstorm to shop, she would be
>> able to contact me if there was a flat tire or car problem. The kids
>> were to take it to school if one of them was sick, or weather was bad,
>> and take it along on the weekends when one of them, usually the oldest
>> one went out with friends.
>>
>> Instead this phone becane as toy for the kids. It rang constantly,
>> and when my wife went out in bad weather we could not even find it
>> because the kids had it. The bills on that damn thing were
>> outrageous. One month as much as $268. After that, I told the kids it
>> could no longer leave the house except with their mother, and they
>> could no longer do the text messages which seemed to be what was
>> running the bill so high. So, the phone stayed her, and they kids
>> still ran up huge bills.
>>
>> Yesterday it all ended. I had a few friends over and we had a half
>> barrel and my wife made a nice dinner. We're watching the Superbowl
>> and that damn phone kept ringing. I shout it off, but 10 minutes
>> later one of the kids is yacking on it and the next thing it's ringing
>> again.
>>
>> That did it. I loaded my hunting rifle, took that goddamn phone
>> outside on the lawn and fired 3 shells into it. Needless to say, it's
>> no more.... It will not be replaced either.
>>
>> I am posting this because I spent a couple hours today trying to get
>> the goddamn thing disconnected. It took me over an hour to figure out
>> who to call, finally called them, was on hold for a half hour, finally
>> got someone, and was referred to another number. Start over....
>> Once again I am on hold, finally get someone who tells me I have a
>> contract with them until August 31 2006. Excuse me. I do not recall
>> signing any contract. I told them that, but they insist. I explained
>> the phone has been destroyed and I DO NOT want service any longer.
>> They told me I still must pay until it expires. By this time I was
>> boiling mad and told them exactly what I did with the phone, and and
>> after I pay the current bill they damn well better disconnect my
>> service or I will show up at their office with my rifle. They hung up
>> on me.
>>
>> How the **** can this company make me pay until August when I have not
>> signed anything since I first got service from them, which I believe
>> was August of 2004, and the phone is destroyed? This really has me
>> pissed off. I'll be goddamned if I am going to spend a lot of money
>> to get a lawyer after them, and I REFUSE to pay another bill as soon
>> as I pay the last bill for service that was actually used. As of
>> todays date, there is no longer any service being used, and I refuse
>> to pay after this date.
>>
>> Tom

Somewhere around Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:21:23 -0600, while reading
alt.cellular, I think I thought I saw this post from
[email protected]:

I hate to say this, but I think the phone was not your problem. I can see
many solutions to the problems you had, none of which involve shooting the
phone. And doing it drunk especially points out deeper problems than the
phone.

I've never heard of a cell phone company that automatically adds a new term
without your knowledge. Must be a real fly-by-night arrangement, certainly
not one of the "real" cell phone carriers. But whoever they are, I would
think there would be a clause for paying a penalty for leaving early rather
than keeping the plan.

>I should have stayed single
>
Definitely agree there, or at least, that you shouldn't have kids. Seems
that you have no control over them. Allowing yourself to get so angry at
them that you get drunk and destroy the symbol of your anger is scary. If I
knew your family, I think I'd advise them to get away fast before you shoot
one of them in your next fit of drunken anger.

I think you need some counseling.

But it was an entertaining story; I'm just glad I don't know you personally.

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:

1) call your credit card company and deny future charges to this company
immediately from the last month that you used the phone. In fairness, if
you shot the phone in the middle of a billing period I think you are
stuck for that whole month since with a credit card dispute its either a
pay/no pay situation.

2) TracFones, available from Walmart and other large retailers and some
small ones too are pay as you go. You burn up you text messages and you
are done, finished, finito. If they want minutes beyond their allowance
they can mow lawns, babysit, or get a job and earn the value of money.

I suggest you give each of your kids a TracFone, TracFone.com with a
certain amount of minutes as an allowance and tell them that that is
what they get for that time period, period. Text messages are charged at
..3 minutes per message outgoing and 0.0 minutes incoming. Regular calls
are charged in tenths of minutes and only if the call goes through.

3) All the monthly fees are built into the charges so you never see them.

4) The bottom of the line is the Nokia 1100 is still a good phone.
That's what we have. Going to that from a regular cell phone saves us
hundreds a year. While we used to use the cell phone for long distance
calling we have found it cheaper to call 10 10 297 which comes out to
about 9-10 cents a minute I think after the first 20 or 30 cent minute.
Might be lower.

5) TracFone has better phones at different price levels, right now they
have a refurbished Motorola Flip Fone with a bunch of minutes sale for
cheap. I will probably get one soon because I know that that is a
superior model of phone, even though refurbished.

The kids can make do with the Nokias.

Hope this helps.

Next time you might want to just cut them off at the credit card and
ebay your phone. Although Crushing it with a Can Crusher might be more
satisfying. Of course you will only pay what you want to with these pay
as you go phones. So this is unlikely. Oh, you can ebay them if you like
since they are not tied to anyone in specific they have a special
privacy advantage.

Peter, The Peter Files Blog of Comedy, Satire and Commentary
This would be the Commentary Part which I hope is helpful

Http://thepeterfiles.blogspot.com

Be alert, America Needs Lerts.


How do you get 4 popes in a Yugo?














Make them take off their hats.....

--
My favorite blog today is:
http://thepeterfiles.blogspot.com

"Anon E Mouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:zC2Zf.64936

> While we used to use the cell phone for long distance
> calling we have found it cheaper to call 10 10 297 which comes out to
> about 9-10 cents a minute I think after the first 20 or 30 cent minute.
>

There might be an even cheaper way . . .

The other day, I tried out a "Free" Cellular Directory Assistance service.
The deal is that they give you the number in exchange for your listening to
a commercial. In my case, it was a 15-second pitch for a car rental
company. So, for taking up 15 seconds of my time, I got the number without
paying Sprint the $1.40 Directory Assistance fee.

But, there was something else: the free Directory Assistance service
connected my call for free. I did not have to hang up and dial it myself.
Isn't that interesting . . .

So, suppose I want to call my Uncle Louie in Cincinnati . . .

I dial up the free Directory Assistance number and ask for his listing. (I'm
assuming that he has a listed number, of course).

I listen to the 15-second pitch for National Car Rental, or whatever. Then
the service reads me his number AND CONNECTS ME while I'm still on the
original call to them.

My carrier bills me whatever I'd be charged for an 800 call. I talk to my
Uncle Louie via the Directory Assistance's connection. National Car Rental
picks up the tab, and I don't even drive!

Try it.1-800-411-6387.

You don't have to pay 9-10 CPM for log distance.

One Suite has incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as
USA-Canada 1.9CPM! Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for
calls from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at
https://www.OneSuite.com/ No monthly fee or minimum. Use
Promotion/SuiteTreat Code:
"FREEoffer23" for FREE time.
Altho from USA payphones there is a surcharge, there is NONE from
Canadian payphones.

Somewhere around 6 Apr 2006 07:30:03 -0700, while reading alt.cellular, I
think I thought I saw this post from [email protected]:

>You don't have to pay 9-10 CPM for log distance.
>
>One Suite has incredibly low long distance phone rates. As low as
>USA-Canada 1.9CPM! Works as prepaid phone card. PIN not needed for
>calls from home or cell phone. Compare the rates at
>https://www.OneSuite.com/ No monthly fee or minimum. Use
>Promotion/SuiteTreat Code:
>"FREEoffer23" for FREE time.
>Altho from USA payphones there is a surcharge, there is NONE from
>Canadian payphones.
I've been using them for years, and like the service and the prices. No
surprises (no fees, taxes, etc). I pay 2.2 cents/minute for calls to China,
anytime. Only downside (never affected me) is the card expires 6 months
after the last recharge, so if you don't use it, it can expire. Minimum
charge/recharge is $10, so you probably won't lose much.

--
Marty - public.forums (at) gmail (dot) com
"Those are my principles, and if you don't like them...
well, I have others." - Groucho Marx