…How long has that scam been going on?
Short version: I got six months left on my phone before it’s paid off. I figured that I could go into the store, pay what was left (about $60), trade in the phone that-was-now-mine for credit, then go get a phone that was advertised as being $20/month to pay off instead of the $10/month I’m paying now. Simple enough, right?
What they offered to do instead was to let me pay them $60 for the privilege of turning in my phone, no store credit, and that $20/month phone’s strictly online. There was only one cheap-ass $27/month phone available, but they’d be able to upsell me a $30/month one. I looked at the guy, and asked “If I came back in September after the phone was paid off, would I be able to trade it in for credit?” He said yes. So I asked myself, “Moe, what would King T’Challa say?”
Well, when he’s right, he’s right.
Moe Lane
PS: I’m not even mad, exactly. I’m just glad I didn’t actually need that phone. Although I may be flipping to T-Mobile, after this phone actually is paid off.
Cell phones and plans are my personal hobby horse, so I occasionally volunteer ideas unsolicited. The following is presented in a cheerful, helpful manner.
Depending on what you’re looking for/coming from, you may find that buying the phone outside of the carrier is a better long-term deal. Assuming you’ve got the money up front. Both Motorola and Nokia have some decent options in the mid-range. And if you’re considering changing to T-Mobile, you should look at Google’s Fi service (https://fi.google.com/about/phones/).
Nah, that’s cool. Somebody from AT&T’s Twitter account is DMing me now trying to do damage control.
I got tired of the carrier dance a while ago, and it’s unlocked phones all the way for me. Right now I’m using a Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S–basically the same specs as a Galaxy S9–but I paid $430, shipping included, ordering it from China. HALF the price. Plus, it gets updates a bit faster than Samsung tends to.
Oh, and get this–fully carrier unlocked and supports all 4 major carriers’ LTE bands. Yep, I am using it on Verizon.
Definitely buy the phone outside of the carrier. If it is an iPhone, your best bet is to buy it straight from Apple.
Verizon, baby.
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Yeah, they are *not* the cheapest or the best on customer service, but .. they’re good *enough* on both for my purposes .. and they really, truly do have better coverage in rural areas.
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For a city cat, you’d think this doesn’t matter .. until you’re on a road trip, somewhere between Rushmore and Crazy Horse and Mrs. Cat’s mom needs to talk to Mrs. Cat about Mrs. Cats’ fathers’ health RIGHT NOW..
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Mew