Rant for the Day (keep it clean)

[sonya123]

here is how your phone company rips you off: read this if you have Verizon

your cell phone stops working. Of course it cannot be fixed ( they make it so you have to replace it every x amount of years, even if you are very careful with it , eventually it will stop working , like the battery will not stay charged)
So you go to your Verizon store and they tell you " there is a promotion , you can get a brand new Iphone for $60. So that is what I did. Now I find out, the .28 cents that our bill increased was actually for this new phone I got. I didn't notice the .28 cents since fees and taxes change all the time and I only call them when it is at least a few $.
It turns out I don't actually OWN this new $60 phone, I have to pay .28 a month for 3 years to own it. It only adds up to around $10, no big deal right? BUT, now I find out if we cancelled our phone plan ( we do not have a contract, it expired many years ago) , I would have to pay the full amount of the cell phone and the "promotion" would go away! So it's not really a $60 phone, but a $60 phone attached to a 3 year contract with Verizon....( phone would have cost around $350 otherwise)

We found out because of this: husband's phone stopped working right before my trip. We went to the Verizon store and asked if he too could get a $60 Iphone, he was told, no since he had a Samsumg previously. But she tells us , he can get a $300 one with the "discount" . So he says ok. He really hated the Samsumg. The sales lady tells him the discount will be applied to the next phone bill. Ok. Phone bill this month was $48 more on his phone than before. He called them up and it turns out the phone was $600 and the discount was never applied and since he just now figured this out there is nothing we can do about it.

So, next time we need a new phone we are going to just buy one and cancel our phone plan and find a new one that lets you bring your own phone.

 

[d_marsh]

@sonya123 This is why I use a secondary carrier and buy my own phones. It seems like everyone is out to screw you nowadays.

 

[sonya123]

@sonya123 This is why I use a secondary carrier and buy my own phones. It seems like everyone is out to screw you nowadays.

what secondary carrier do you have if you don't mind me asking and what does it cost per month and what do you get for it?
We were paying around $100 a month for 2 cell phones. According to Verizon, that is their cheapest plan

edit: oh and this brings on another rant!! I tried researching online for cheaper plans and you get NOTHING useful on google . They all want to sell you crap you don't want or need ( like internet or extra data and stuff)

 

[d_marsh]

what secondary carrier do you have if you don't mind me asking and what does it cost per month and what do you get for it?
We were paying around $100 a month for 2 cell phones. According to Verizon, that is their cheapest plan

I have Visible. It's a Verizon company just with no stores, no in-person customer service, etc. You have to online chat if you need support. They are picky about what phone you use, but all iPhones work with them as do all of the Google phones. Cost is $25 a month per phone for unlimited everything but internet is slower than actual Verizon if you are out in the country. I have had it for 2 years now and haven't had any issues.

 

[sonya123]

I have Visible. It's a Verizon company just with no stores, no in-person customer service, etc. You have to online chat if you need support. They are picky about what phone you use, but all iPhones work with them as do all of the Google phones. Cost is $25 a month per phone for unlimited everything but internet is slower than actual Verizon if you are out in the country. I have had it for 2 years now and haven't had any issues.

thanks! I will check into that. We just need the phone to work. Internet is not important on the phone. The only internet I ever use on it is google maps, or maybe looking up a tow truck or something if the truck breaks down. I don't even have my email attached to it.
Does it work everywhere? We live in the middle of nowhere , some phone companies don't work here

 

[d_marsh]

thanks! I will check into that. We just need the phone to work. Internet is not important on the phone. The only internet I ever use on it is google maps, or maybe looking up a tow truck or something if the truck breaks down. I don't even have my email attached to it.
Does it work everywhere? We live in the middle of nowhere , some phone companies don't work here

If Verizon works, Visible works. Same towers, same network.

 

[sonya123]

If Verizon works, Visible works. Same towers, same network.

I am thinking that even if I have to pay the entire amount for my phone ( and we have to pay husband's anyway) , we would save $50 s month
that's $600 a year which will pay for his phone
I wonder if Verizon will try to screw us and not unlock our phone , you can't trust these people. It would not surprise me if we tried to pay off the phones and they didn't unlock them

 

[Snowman]

I am thinking that even if I have to pay the entire amount for my phone ( and we have to pay husband's anyway) , we would save $50 s month
that's $600 a year which will pay for his phone
I wonder if Verizon will try to screw us and not unlock our phone , you can't trust these people. It would not surprise me if we tried to pay off the phones and they didn't unlock them

https://www.consumercellular.com/

another good link : https://www.verizon.com/business/support/equipment-devices-services/wireless-devices/unlock-device/

 

[joel]

here is how your phone company rips you off: read this if you have Verizon

your cell phone stops working. Of course it cannot be fixed ( they make it so you have to replace it every x amount of years, even if you are very careful with it , eventually it will stop working , like the battery will not stay charged)
So you go to your Verizon store and they tell you " there is a promotion , you can get a brand new Iphone for $60. So that is what I did. Now I find out, the .28 cents that our bill increased was actually for this new phone I got. I didn't notice the .28 cents since fees and taxes change all the time and I only call them when it is at least a few $.
It turns out I don't actually OWN this new $60 phone, I have to pay .28 a month for 3 years to own it. It only adds up to around $10, no big deal right? BUT, now I find out if we cancelled our phone plan ( we do not have a contract, it expired many years ago) , I would have to pay the full amount of the cell phone and the "promotion" would go away! So it's not really a $60 phone, but a $60 phone attached to a 3 year contract with Verizon....( phone would have cost around $350 otherwise)

We found out because of this: husband's phone stopped working right before my trip. We went to the Verizon store and asked if he too could get a $60 Iphone, he was told, no since he had a Samsumg previously. But she tells us , he can get a $300 one with the "discount" . So he says ok. He really hated the Samsumg. The sales lady tells him the discount will be applied to the next phone bill. Ok. Phone bill this month was $48 more on his phone than before. He called them up and it turns out the phone was $600 and the discount was never applied and since he just now figured this out there is nothing we can do about it.

So, next time we need a new phone we are going to just buy one and cancel our phone plan and find a new one that lets you bring your own phone.

Verizon is still around???

 

[sonya123]

If Verizon works, Visible works. Same towers, same network.

well no good after all. You have to buy a more expensive plan to be able to make and receive calls from and to Europe. I talk to my relatives at least once a month. Verizon charges me very little , I call for like half a minute and they call me back ( free for them , my brother works for the phone company) and it just costs me a few $
So for the plan I would want it would be $45 , which would only save us a little bit then...

 

[d_marsh]

well no good after all. You have to buy a more expensive plan to be able to make and receive calls from and to Europe. I talk to my relatives at least once a month. Verizon charges me very little , I call for like half a minute and they call me back ( free for them , my brother works for the phone company) and it just costs me a few $
So for the plan I would want it would be $45 , which would only save us a little bit then...

That stinks. Maybe check out Mint mobile.

 

[sonya123]

That stinks. Maybe check out Mint mobile.

we are thinking about switching over husbands phone and see how it works
I call my relatives about once a month, and that is included with the plan . Problem would be making and getting a call in an emergency. I will have to think about it. I think we might still save money. We don't use the phone for internet hardly ever so slow internet on it is not an issue

lol maybe I will have to get that ham radio my brother has been trying to talk me into for years after all....

 

[Snowman]

can't You call, let it ring 3-5 times then hang up so they will know it was you and then they call you back...?!?

 

[Patchouli]

I use Cricket but I don’t have any answers. I like it, it’s cheap enough for Four lines.

 

[sonya123]

Ok, one more problem: you can't pay your bill through the mail....everything is on some app. I don't want my bank info in some phone app

 

[sonya123]

can't You call, let it ring 3-5 times then hang up so they will know it was you and then they call you back...?!?

I don't think the calls would go through at all from the sound of it. AI is really horrible at answering questions too

 

[angie_nrs]

I'm in almost the same boat as you sonya. Verizon sucks, as does their 'customer service' who are all overseas with the typical Indian accent. Hellloo....my name is Sam. LOL! Yeah, sure it is. I believe I have a rant about Verizon somewhere deep in this very thread.

I need to break free from Verizon too. I have it on my To-Do list, but I never seem to get it done. I been meaning to call Patriot Mobile, but not having a brick and mortar store to go to if needed makes me hesitant. I too, like to pay my bills via the mail and Verizon still allows that.

If Verizon works, Visible works. Same towers, same network.

I have never heard of Visible. How much is your plan?

I use Cricket but I don’t have any answers. I like it, it’s cheap enough for Four lines.

Would you share how much that costs? I have a few lines as well and have been considering just moving one line to whichever carrier I decide to go with and see how it goes for a month or two before changing all the lines over. Hopefully the phones will transfer over since we paid for all of them out of pocket. But none of them are very expensive b/c I refuse to pay a lot for a phone that is likely to get broken anyways.

 

[Patchouli]

I think I pay $92 or $98 a month and there are four different numbers on the plan, my daughters and I. They front me money on it. They don’t all live with me either. @angie_nrs

 

[Patchouli]

Hey this is the rant thread!!

 

[OldSchool]

Got my water bill today. A quarterly bill. In the last 7 years it’s gone from $40 to $90.

Time to get the old water well, that’s still here and accessible, functioning again. ?

 

[Haertig]

So it's not really a $60 phone, but a $60 phone attached to a 3 year contract with Verizon....

That's what they've done for as long as I can remember - decades. All carriers. They make their money on your contract/service-agreement with them, not by selling you the phone. It's just like ink jet printers. They don't make their money selling you the printer, they get paid by selling you overpriced ink for years and years to feed the thing.

Note that many carriers will let you "bring your own phone". You purchase an "unlocked" phone at Best Buy or some other place and then go to your carrier to get a SIM card for it. But watch out! You may lose features by bringing your own phone. In my case it was "WiFi Calling". In my house, cellphone signal is weak. So I wanted to enable calls over my WiFi connection, which is strong. My smart phone hardware supports WiFi calling. AT&T (my carrier) supports WiFi calling. But it is only supported on phones that you buy from AT&T! A "bring your own phone" cannot have WiFi calling enabled on it. At least that was the case the last time I checked into this a few years ago. Things may have changed by now, but you do have to watch out for the gotcha's when you "bring your own phone".

You cannot outsmart these companies. They have herds of people whose sole job is to extract as much money from you as they can. They overlook nothing. Their contracts, the fine print in any agreements, the features available in various service plans, the internal settings for what their onboarding software can and cannot do - that is all pre-planned in exquisite detail to maximize their profits. Like buying a seat on an airplane. They probably have dozens of computers across the country working in tandem trying to come up with the optimal fare to quote you at any given second of any given day.

Every move we make to save ourselves a penny has had a counter-strategy in place for years. We're not outsmarting anybody!

 

[OldSchool]

I bought my house with a brand new high efficiency furnace.

Yes it’s a rant because the house had the original coal burner upgraded to natural gas, and worked great without electricity - didn’t have or need a blower motor. The sellers, two sisters that grew up here, had to replace the old furnace to meet codes. Their mom didn’t want it replaced because it worked without electricity. Smart old lady.

 

[sonya123]

Hey this is the rant thread!!

I wonder if it would be worth it to make a thread to compare phone plans. You can't compare them online, google or other AI just tries to get you to buy something....
I think I will and maybe it will help someone ( besides me)

 

[sonya123]

You cannot outsmart these companies. They have herds of people whose sole job is to extract as much money from you as they can. They overlook nothing.

I posted a thread for just this. Maybe we can outsmart them if we make a good list of what is available and what they do

 

[Patchouli]

And they can change it just as quick too! > RANT<

 

[zannej]

@Amish Heart it's so frustrating dealing with insurance. I wish I could call them up and get them to approve the MRI for you. Unfortunately, you have to keep calling them and pestering them to get things covered-- or get the doctor to do it for you. I remember a doctor who posts on Youtube talking about how he spent 45min on the phone with insurance arguing with them on why his patient needed an MRI and they didn't want to budge. Eventually he convinced them and the MRI showed something important that was life-threatening and they caught it in time, but a lot of doctors don't have the time or energy to do that. It should not be so difficult to get things approved. I hate that you are in pain and hope you can get more relief.

@Haertig, I'm glad you got it figured out and got it working. We've had a few store bought PCs that were brand new that didn't work without some fix/change.

@Patchouli, Ugh. That sucks! Nothing like that feeling of finding out people you trusted are not trustworthy. Sending you hugs and hoping things will get better.

Felt cruddy again yesterday and finally got to sleep and was in dream sleep. I was dreaming that my dad was helping me look in the attic and that the attic ceilings were taller, it was better lit, and we had plywood on the floor to walk on -- then Mom woke me up because the dog was barking. She was less than 5ft from the door and all she had to do was get up and open the door to let the dog out of the room. Then she said something about being hungry and was all "But I guess I'm not going to get anything to eat!" in a melodramatic huffy tone. My initial thought was to say "Not with *that* attitude" and hang up, but I took a deep breath and asked her if she could eat the steak fried rice and she said "I suppose", still slightly huff. The dog stopped barking when she heard my voice, but I still let her out of the room and got Mom's food. I said something to her about her attitude and asked why she was being like that and she said something about how it was because I was eating cherries. I told her that made no sense. Like 3 hours earlier I'd been eating some cherries and she didn't want any when I offered them to her. I don't know how her brain works sometimes. But I do know her blood sugar was high because apparently the canula didn't go in right or it had come loose and she wouldn't let me change it out last night. I finally convinced her to let me check it and it had come off completely and the sticker was stuck to her breast. I hope the new one will stay on and work.

My truck is making worse noises now. When I back up the truck while the wheel is turned it makes a thumping noise.

Saw another truck for sale but the screen for the backup camera/gps looks like it might be damaged and the dealership has absolutely terrible reviews. We're talking illegal stuff like scheduling an appointment to view a vehicle and then not actually having that vehicle or refusing to show it and trying to upsell. Nonstop harassing phonecalls-- calling people 20x a day even after being told to cease and desist. May just have to suck it up and take it to Navarre Honda in Lake Charles and see if they can fix the current truck.

 

[d_marsh]

I have never heard of Visible. How much is your plan?

25 ******* dollars per month for unlimited everything. Was trying to make that sound ranty.

 

[Amish Heart]

Well Zannej,
Insurance says I have to complete 6 weeks of PT. PT called and my first week is Aug 6th. After six weeks, doc can request MRI. So if I'm very lucky, maybe an MRI before Christmas.
Now I'm trying to see if Walmart (instead of Walgreens) got my RX request, because Walgreens wants $200 more for the cream for my back and leg using GoodRX. I don't want to use my insurance because they want more authorizations because it's unusual cream. I don't mind paying $49. I do mind paying $249 (Walgreens).

 

[dademoss]

After a month, my Mossberg 500 finally shipped the FFL dealer. I suppose I shouldn't rant, I still don't have a "back in stock/available to order" from any other local dealer.

 

[d_marsh]

After a month, my Mossberg 500 finally shipped the FFL dealer. I suppose I shouldn't rant, I still don't have a "back in stock/available to order" from any other local dealer.

That's nuts. Used to be a Mossy on every shelf of every general store and gun store in America.