reply to discussion
Like Tree1Likes
  • 1 Post By roberts1953
Results 1 to 7 of 7
  1. #1
    thenewglenaxp
    thenewglenaxp is offline
    Newbie

    Location
    Ventura, CA
    Posts
    3 - liked 1 times
    OMG I FINALLY GOT HERE! Wow.
    OK I have been using cell phones under contract accounts for roughly 5 years. I have now broken contracts with every major providor for one reason or another. I asuume the only option left to me is prepaid. Will any prepaid providor that i owe money to from a previous contract account give me service? If so which ones? Which providor is the best? Is Tracphone any good? Do any providors offer free nights and weekends? Is cingular the only one who offers free mobile to mobile? Where is the best place to get a phone? In the past I have always just goen to the providor store and gotten whatever phone was free. I just need to make calls and if I can get a camera phone for under $100 maybe take pics. I dont need bluetooth, IM, email, internet access, super duper high speed dialing or whatever else. Thanks for the help.
    Glen


    See More: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid




  2. #2
    Brad729
    Brad729 is offline
    Phone Expert
    Brad729's Avatar

    Location
    Jacksonville, FL
    Posts
    2,317 - liked 117 times

    Re: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid

    Okay, I'm not familiar with the West Coast service provider hierarchy, is there a "dominant" service provider in your area, one you think just has better reeption than the rest? If so, the first two places I'd look if I were you would be (a) do they sell their own prepaid service, or (b) use google to find out if that provider has any MVNO resellers and check their rates.

    Also, tell us how you use your phone, and how often. Do you use it only as a phone, or do you text, email, or browse the web with it too? How many minutes per month did you average with the plans you've tried? That'll help anyone here give you better suggestions on what will be right for you.



  3. #3
    thenewglenaxp
    thenewglenaxp is offline
    Newbie

    Location
    Ventura, CA
    Posts
    3 - liked 1 times

    Re: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid

    sorry thought I had said I dont use email, text messaging or web access.

    I am homless so i would be using the phone as my main line. I seem to recall (its been a few months since I had service) never going over my minutes and when I had cingular I rolled over about 200 minutes a month. But then again I was using the pohne after hours mianly so if no prepaid carrier offers free mights and weekends that would make a difference. My main question is will for example Cingualr sell me prepid service if I still owe them money on a past contract account.
    Thanks Brad.



  4. #4
    Brad729
    Brad729 is offline
    Phone Expert
    Brad729's Avatar

    Location
    Jacksonville, FL
    Posts
    2,317 - liked 117 times

    Re: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid

    Hmm... I am looking into this for you, give me some time to check around. If you want free nights & weekends on a prepaid phone, you might need a credit card to register. If you don't already have a credit card, you can get a prepaid credit card to pay for your phone charges, but keep in mind the prepaid credit cards come with their own services fees, about $4/month.

    If Cingular won't sell you a go-phone direct, you should be able to walk into a Cingular retailer and buy one without so much as giving them your name. Check their rates and fees, let me know if you still want me to check into some other suggestions.



  5. #5
    thenewglenaxp
    thenewglenaxp is offline
    Newbie

    Location
    Ventura, CA
    Posts
    3 - liked 1 times

    Re: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid

    so i just walk in buy the phone and then how does it get activated? i have a cc just dont want to get another contract or sign up for any autopay type thing where they charge my card every month



  6. #6
    REparsed
    REparsed is offline
    Junior Member

    Location
    NE Ohio
    Posts
    7 - liked 1 times

    Re: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid

    I have experience with PagePlus and T-Mobile prepaid. I’ve also looked into Verizon’s inPulse prepaid.

    PagePlus is nationwide (they use Verizion’s network) and they have refill cards as low as .10 a minute. You can find them at corner stores and online at: :: Page Plus Cellular: Nationwide Prepaid Cellular :: . I’ve used PagePlus for several years now.

    Verizon’s inPulse was very tempting. They charge a buck a day for access to the network plus .10 a minute for primetime calls. The tempting part is you have free nights and weekends plus you can call other Verizion phones for free anytime. If you only use your phone for non-primetime, an “in network” calls it’s just 30 bucks a month.

    I’m new to T-Mobile ToGo but so far I’m liking it. The coverage in my area is great plus you get free incoming SMS and you have limited (very limited) free web. I think it’s limited to CNN, ABC News, and ESPN. They also have rates as low as .10 per minute.

    In my area Walmart and other big stores carry Verizion inPulse and T-Mobile prepaid phones. Just buy the phone off the shelf and follow the enclosed instructions for activation. They also have the refill cards in different minute values. Just buy the card and follow the instruction on the back to add the minutes to your phone.

    When I got my PagePlus service all I gave the store clerk was cash, no name, no address, no credit card. When I signed up for T-Mobile all I gave them was my name and city (for a local number).



  7. #7
    roberts1953
    roberts1953 is offline
    Phone Addict

    Posts
    405 - liked 14 times

    Re: Former Contract user wants info on prepaid

    I agree with REparsed. Both Tmobile and Page Plus are excellent choices in prepaid. Most providers will have a camera phone for a decent price. If you want you can also look on ebay. There you can browse phones by which service provider the phone will be compatable with. My recommendation if getting a CDMA phone is getting the ESN from the seller before you buy, then call up the service provider to make sure they will activate for you. If you want a GSM phone make sure it runs on both 850 and 1900 frequencies for the most coverage, and that it is either "branded" by your service provider or unlocked.

    A great place to go for prepaid info is here. http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm The gentleman who maintains this site updates this chart frequently and is the most comprehensive and accurate list of prepaid services. In general, if it isn't on the list then they are either very new, kind of flaky, no longer offer new activations, or arn't a very good deal.

    Because you are asking about included n/w I assume you will be talking a moderate amount on the phone (more than just an emergency/casual/glovebox phone). Tracfone wouldn't be good for your usage because they charge too much per minute. Unless you want to invest a whole bunch of time doing self referrals and reselling phones. Not really my style but it works for some.

    For you, you have 2 plans of attack.
    1. Find something with a reasonable rate with nights and weekends.
    Inpulse is $1/day even on days you don't use the phone. Plus that ONLY includes M2M and unlimited NIGHTS at 9pm. Not unlimited weekends! So unless you will only call others on Verizon, or only after 9pm then you could do a lot better.
    One of the most reasonable prepaid companies with a good deal on n/w plans is http://venturemobile.com/ . You are charged $.60/day or $18/month for unlimited n/w. Peak calls are billed at $.15/min. You buy cards in $10, 20, and $50 denominations. All cards expire after 30 days. They run on Sprint's native network, so you would probably have to buy a phone through them. I haven't done business with these people so I can't tell you all the ins and outs. But basically $20/month for n/w and some peak minutes isn't bad.

    Option 2.
    Find the absolute cheapest per minute rate you can find with no daily fees.
    If the coverage works for you tmobile is the best for rates, and great expirations. If you have an unlocked GSM phone (if you could unlock your cingular phone) or have a "tmobile" phone you can get a Tmobile SIM off ebay, and refill with a $100 card. I explained this recently in another post in the General Provider Discussion. $102 gets you a SIM, 1300 minutes and a 1 year expiration for 7.8 cents/minute. It doesn't get much better then that. If you need a tmobile phone, then go to walmart or target and get a $40 nokia 6010.
    Page Plus is also a great deal. Get a $30 Inpulse phone from walmart, then a $10 activation kit from a store or ebay and activate that phone on page plus. Rates from 10-14 cents/min and all cards expire after 120 days. Even the $10 card. Of course they use Verizon's native network. They do have a $.50/month fee, which is nothing.

    You should be able to walk into most stores or buy on ebay annonymously with these companies.

    My last suggestion would be Pay-Per-Day: U Prepaid Wireless Service from Alltel
    They have several prepaid plans. The Pay-per-day and Pay-per-Minute are the best deals they offer.

    The PPM is 15 cents/min with no daily fees. What is really nice about this plan is that the minutes and balance NEVER EXPIRE, as long as you make a call every 30 days. Meaning that if you wanted to, a $10 balance could last for years. This is great if there are times you wont be using the phone much for long periods of time and just want to go into maintenance mode. And 15 cents/min isn't a bad rate. There are very few plans that can boast a $.15/month minimum cost and unlimited expirations!

    The PPD plan is $.75/day, or $22.50/month.
    For that you get your choice of 2 of the 4 things.
    1. Unlimited N/W
    2. Unlimited calling to your "Favorite Number"
    3. Unlimited Test Messaging
    4. Unlimited Mobile to Mobile
    If you want to add the other options they are $.25/day each.

    The bad: Startup costs. $35 activation + $15 phone + minimum $20 startup time + tax (a few bucks). They are CDMA co you can't bring your own phone. I'm pretty sure you must tive in their area, and maybe give out personal info to get started.

    The good: The longest prepaid expirations available, the largest prepaid native coverage area, the cheapest prepaid minimum monthly cost, entry level phone is only $15. Here comes the cool part, Flexibility. You are able to switch between PPD and PPM plans, so if there are times where you'll be talking more do the PPD. If you need to save $$$ and drop into mainenence mode switch to the PPM.

    Off topic: If you can get past the $65-ish starter costs, Alltel U's PPM plan is about the best thing going for a casual/emergency/glovebox phone. Largest coverage, no expirations (with 1 call every 30 days), good rate, roaming at $.60/min which is cheaper then page plus at $.99/min, yearly mainenance cost of $1.80/year.
    Last edited by roberts1953; 06-08-2006 at 06:04 PM.
    Brad729 likes this.



  • Similar Threads







  • Quick Reply Quick Reply

    If you are already a member, please login above.