Guess how much my cell phone bill was this month? (hint: I'm crying)

[WindRavenX]

See, this is why semester break sucks- a month away from one's SO can lead to devestating cell phone bills x( x( x(
Base is 49.99$/mt w/ unlimited nights and weekends starting at 7 PM; 300 anytime minutes.
Answer to be revealed later- after I stop crying.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

1. Yikes..you should both get Verizon w a national plan then cell to cell

is free

[miss_kitty]

2. get 'working assets' if you can

Sorry your phone bill is so high you're crying. I've had those bills before

[thinkingwoman]

3. that's why my family is strictly pre-pay

no calling plans. No surprises. NO BILLS.

Our phones accounts are set up with our credit card so that we can add minutes with a few clicks of a button from where ever we are at that moment. And our minutes cost the same no matter what the time of day.

Every time I hear of someone shocked by their bill I laugh. It's nice to be free from all that.

[WindRavenX]

4. that sounds smart

I'm a dumbass. Ugh. I watch my usage like a HAWK- I can't believe this! :cry:

[thinkingwoman]

21. hey, you live and learn

how do you think I found out this was the way to go? ;-)

[ima_sinnic]

14. yes, same here--Cingular pre-paid

so the time on my cell phone is under MY control. I use my VISA debit card to put $20 on at a time--when I'm broke I go without. But I do also have a land line, need for dial-up internet.

[celestia671]

18. Prepaid works for me!

$20 will usually get me thru a month and the coverage area is pretty large.

[thinkingwoman]

22. it's so great

we had cingular for awhile. Now we're virgin mobile. Love those ringtone options!

[SOteric]

15. Meeeee tooooo.

It's a wonderful thing.

[LDS Jock]

5. WindRavenX.. what carrier do you use?

I might have some ideas for you to get it down.

[WindRavenX]

7. AT&T

The bill said I was on the GSM network- and I'm not. That might be an error, and if it is, that could lower the bill by a lot.

[LDS Jock]

10. bingo.. lemme PM you

I work for them and might be able to help you.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

11. LDS - can you PM me and help me fix my mMode??

[LDS Jock]

12. maybe.. I'll PM you and see what can be done

[Floogeldy]

20. Hey LDS,

Can you go pick up my dry cleaning?

[WindRavenX]

13. thank you very much!

You rock.

[LDS Jock]

16. I hope those options help

Lemme know if there is anything else I can help with.

[jmm]

17. I regularly got $500+ bills when I had AT&T

For the first six months of my contract they billed me wrong so I got to spend hours every month being put on hold and arguing with people. Every time it there was thunder or lightening roaming would flash on it even if I was still in a local area and the phone was sitting still on my counter. Once a conversation switches to another network or area, even if it was for a few seconds, the entire conversation was billed at the most expensive rate. Also I had free nights and weekends plus 400 anytime minutes only they would bill me as if I had no anytime minutes. For example if I only used 300 anytime minutes I was charged $.35 X 300 plus extra charges if I was on the first floor at the mall in Cambridge, if it was raining, etc.

I'll spare you the rest of the details but my problems weren't solved until I called the store I bought the phone at. I had bought it at an AT&T store and remembered the name of the man who sold it to me. I was told he didn't work there anymore so I spoke to the manager and told him that I was promised good service by his former employee so as the manager I was holding him accountable. I stated that from now on when I had a bill problem I instead of wasting my time on the phone I would go into his store and loudly complain until they solved my problem. He apologized and promised me he'd look into t he matter. Twenty minutes later he called and said that he had fixed my bill for that month and I'd get a $25 rebate towards the next month. I never did have any problems after that but as soon as my contract was up I switched to Voicestream (now T-Mobile).

[eyesroll]

6. Can you get on the same cell carrier he has?

Cingular/AT&T, Sprint and Verizon all offer unlimited mobile-to-mobile minutes within their own networks.

I have such a plan with Cingular -- $39.99/month includes 450 anytime (unused minutes roll over, too), 5000 night/weekend (starts at 9), unlimited mobile-to-mobile. I'm in a new relationship with someone who lives 90 minutes away (i.e. we're on the phone a lot) -- and he has Cingular, too, which helps tremendously. And I don't have a land line, so this is my only phone -- and I've never come close to using 450 day/5000 night minutes.

[WindRavenX]

8. I can't

Im still under contract- which has a 500 dollar termination fee.
Fuck.

[CO Liberal]

9. Mine is Around $70 Every Month

The Princess adn I are on T-Mobile's Family Plan. We share 800 minutes a month, and calls between our phones (and all long distance calls) are free). And no roaming charges - we used our phones when we were down in Texas and it was just the same as being at home.

[Placebo]

19. Who you be talkin' to fo' all dat time, GURRRRRRRL?

Cell phone bills are a bitch, indeed.

[Floogeldy]

23. I just got a T-Mobile prepaid deal last night!

I got a good phone and 125 minutes for $50. Minutes are fifteen cents until I have purchased $250 worth of minutes, and from then until the end of the year my minutes will be ten cents.

I'm not going to sign a contract with ANY fucking phone company. On principle.

[Sgent]

24. Cigular

Has their Nationwide calling plan -- starting about $90, and $140 for 1500 minutes + 3500 nights & weekends.

No roaming anywhere in the continintal US. Analog or Digital, it doesn't matter.

[Floogeldy]

25. No roaming for T-Mobile either.

That's a good deal.

[Sgent]

26. Maybe I'm wrong

But both T-Mobile & Sprint have "nationwide" calling, but only on their networks. The Cigular plan also works with the T-Mobile network as well as 100's of local analog networks around the country.

This may not be a big issue for people in urban areas or who stick to interstates, but can be a big one in rural areas.

[Floogeldy]

28. Maybe I'm wrong

You mean Cingular works with the T-Mobile network, but the T-Mobile network does not work with the Cingular network?

It's not fair. :cry:

[MidwestMomma]

27. Sorry about your big bill

Hopefully you can get something worked out.

Unbelievable how quickly those dollars rack up once you use up your 'free minutes'.

Been there, done that. :hug:

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

29. I use a service called Cricket .

And I pay $50 dollars and some change a month for unlimited local , unlimited long distance , and unlimited text messaging . Its not prepaid and I did not have to sign any contracts . I got it just for now , thought about switching to Cingular later on but I am sticking with this service . With other companies you have to sign contracts and I just don't think that is fair .

[WindRavenX]

30. drumroll..the answer:

400 dollars.
How did it get there?
10 hours of extra minutes x( x( x( x(

[miss_kitty]

31. land line

don't leave home w/o it-oops. I hope LDS Jock can help you. $400 is too much for a student to have to pay. Good Luck.

[WindRavenX]

32. Its ok

I was taking a student loan out anyway x(