Straightalk rips you off

@cranky1950 Yes I could (and that is what I am going to do in the future). My complaint is that they do not disclose this.

@jbartus there is also mention of some program they have where you can queue plan cards to automatically get used when the old one runs out

@jbartus Yes and that is what I did with this new card. I put it in reserve and instead of waiting until the end of the day (which their definition of day is midnight eastern per them), it was activated within minutes of putting it in reserve rather than waiting until my current one actually ran out. When I called to complain they then amended that they don’t wait until the end of day 30, rather “the system” will transfer it to your phone sometime on day 30 up to and including the technical end of day 30. They did admit it could be transferred one second into day 30. Thus this is not a full, 24 hour day, 30 day card. This “slippery” definition of a day means they are forcing people to buy cards for service times that are effectively giving you 59 days in a 60 day person instead of 60; thus you are having to pay for 12 extra days in a 360 day time period. Sneaky way to rip people off.

Meant to say 60 day period not person… and when I called about the email I got and then found this out and so then complained, they tried to convince me that 29 days and 1 second actually really does = 30 full 24 hour days and that switching me over at 7:48pm central is no different than switching me over after midnight. I said then so Day 1 starts on September 23rd? tomorrow. They said, no Day 1 is today (the 22nd). We went round and round that this then did make a difference as now my card is out one calendar day earlier. I guess in the parallel universe they are in the fact that full days have 24 hours and a few seconds in them is not something that holds true on a daily basis. Probably the laws of physics are optional for them too - you know like maybe the laws of gravity only works when you want it to and not all the time. I’d sure like that when it comes to carrying boxes up a flight of stairs. Or tripping over something. Or having a collective 80 pounds of 2 preschoolers want me to pick them up hold them at once while standing. Sigh.

@jbartus PS but they kept insisting the disclaimer was on the back of the actual card. The only “disclaimer” there that the card is not refundable.

@Kidsandliz do they ever explicitly define ‘day’ as a 24 hour period? You keep referencing 24 hour periods but I didn’t see anywhere on their terms defining it as such. If they are defining them as calendar days and are consistent about it then arguably they’re giving everything they’re supposed to. If they’re wishy washy about it it’s a different matter.

@Kidsandliz is this a bad time to mention that you only have yourself to blame?

@jbartus Several employees and a manager said I should get 60, not 59 days with 2 cards. When I pointed out I was getting 59 they claimed that was impossible, then went on to contradict themselves with the day 30 business.

@jbartus Yes.

@Kidsandliz 59 calendar days or 59 24 hour periods?

@jbartus Calendar days. Day 30 of the first card and day 1 of the second are the same day. More than one of the customer service people and a manager told me a day ends at midnight eastern time.

@tightwad My husband and I used Republic for a few years before switching to Fi. Both of our kids have the no data plan through Republic Wireless now. No major issues with them, but I’m not sure they’re really as competitive as they used to be.

@PurplePawprints What is Fi? I agree they aren’t as good as they once were. They did comp my sister in law, in Houston, a months bill with extra data due to the Hurricane.

@tightwad It’s Google’s version of Republic Wireless. Project Fi isn’t super great as supported devices are limited. BUT, if you aren’t a heavy data user it is good. You get account credit each month for unused data so the bill for our two phone lines is rarely over $50. We are very careful with data usage though. The thing that keeps us with them is very responsive CS and that they contract with three different providers for tower usage (Sprint, Tmobile, and US Cellular) so we’re covered pretty much every where we travel. There are other benefits with extra sim cards and stuff, but we haven’t taken advantage of those so I can’t really comment on them.
Twenty dollar referral code if you decide to check them out. https://g.co/fi/r/V2V1R0

@tightwad Too bad. Mine is an older iphone someone gave me locked to AT&T

@PurplePawprints Me, too. I switched because I could only get 3g on Republic and Fi offered 4g for a pretty similar cost. I was tired of tearing my hair out trying unsuccessfully to access coupons and relevant info via 3g. I loved my Republic Moto X, and I’ve had some real issues with my Fi Pixel (many addressed via updates) but whenever I’m tempted to go back to Republic I remember planning to use a Groupon for dinner or a coupon at Hobby Lobby and paying full price because the pages would time out again and again and never open on 3g.

@moondrake I was a Republic Wireless user until they switched to T-Mobile.
Anyone know if they still use T-Mobile’s network?

@caffeine_dude Never mind, still uses T-Mobile. I am kind of glad I did not stay, they said the lack of coverage was temporary.

@f00l Sounds good but I have a locked to AT&T older iphone that someone gave me. Not buying a new phone until this one breaks. I will keep this in mind for the future.

@Kidsandliz Can you unlock the phone?

https://www.att.com/esupport/article.html#!/wireless/KM1008728

@sligett Not sure. The person who gave it to me never transferred ownership to me with AT&T. I’ll have to read up on this when I have more time. Thanks for the info.

@Kidsandliz i
if you can pickup a fewyear old sprint phone from swappa or Craigslist or eBay or if you can get someone to give you such a phone as a castoff, you can sign up for RingPlus.

I don’t know if they port phones numbers or not.

Once you have phone wait for them to offer any amazing deal and pay the activation (was mine around $50?)

Then no more charges EVER. Plus plenty free data per month if you do audio and video on wifi and all you can do on wifi.

Just keep any eyes your for a decent free or decent under $100 sprint phone.

Then read up on Ringplus big-time. Then wait for a RingPlus promotion once you have the phone. Sigh up

Could make a great backup you what you currently use. Since once you are setup, no monthly cost.

@f00l after a quick search, all signs point to ringplus being dead…

@not2bforgotten Well buying 6 months at once would reduce their ability to cheat you on the last day to twice a year instead of once every 30 days. I have no complaints with the phone service itself, rather what else goes on. Maybe I will try email if there is a next time I need help. I only contacted them this time as both the walmart clerk (trust level low) and the customer service person I contacted said you can’t switch to the $35 plan just by doing what I usually do which is go online to add my minutes, you have to call in and let them know you are changing your plan. So I did. And then was told both the previous folks gave me wrong information.

So I called back and asked again (trying to triangulate to figure out who was right) and got the no you don’t have to call in, just enter your pin, do you want me to do it for you while I have you on the phone. I said sure, she told me it was now in my reserve, later confirmed it was in my reserve when I called back after getting a confusing email about needing to turn my phone on and off. But that email didn’t say before or after the new minutes were active (me still thinking it was in reserve).

So I called to ask and was told nothing was in reserve. My first thought was I had lost those minutes and my $35 (since this crap is non-refundable) and it wasn’t supposed to be used until tomorrow since I was still on day 30. Nope they said that it was in reserve and was, within, seconds, switched out and activated by the “system”; this can happen any time on day 30…

@blaineg Thanks. When this phone breaks I’ll put that on my list to look into as well.

@ekw do you have a phone at all?

@ekw but how do you waste your life away or endanger other drivers!?

Seriously, the texting and driving thing is a real problem.

@Kidsandliz yes, I have a few cordless phones (and one old corded phone!) in my house.

@capguncowboy indeed. the texting is even worse than when people were just distracted by dialing an yammering on their phone.
tell me - does everyone have a “commute buddy” that they call (or get called by) for their drive in & out of work?
it seems like most of the people in my garage have their call started before they even start the car.
maybe there’s some kind of ignition interlock?

@ekw That is all I had - wired and battery - (and it cost then more for service than my cell does now) until I lost my job over 2 cancers in one year and had to couch surf for 19 months. Then all I had was the cheap flip cell which I had gotten two years earlier for $30 for 2 months and 300 minutes. I got it when I couldn’t make personal calls on my work phone (and I needed to with the cancers) coupled with being stranded repeatedly when the ghetto van broke down (it died at 25 years and 3 months old). I have kept the cell now because there is a convenience factor and because someone gave me their old iphone (I had been planning to drop having one when the flip phone bit the dust). I do like how with non-cells you don’t have to worry about charging anything, forgetting where you set it down, you have service in bad weather except in extreme conditions, you can use the fax function on your printer…

@Kidsandliz I like the idea of having a computer in my pocket all the time.
but under no circumstances do I want a phone in my pocket.
I don’t want people calling me, or having the expectation of me calling them.

@ekw So don’t let anyone know you have a cell, turn the volume off, tell it to block all numbers but your home phone number so you can call it when you have forgotten where you set it down…

@Kidsandliz or - I could just be content with saving hundreds of dollars a year and countless hours wasted fiddle-farting around on the internet when I am away from my “real” computer.

@trisk how much does the sim card cost - do you happen to know? Since I am locked to AT&T that might be my best choice right now at $30.

@Kidsandliz The SIM cards are $6 on Amazon and $2 on eBay right now. I picked up a couple for $1 on a promo they do occasionally.

However, they also send them with the free (or almost free) burner phones you get for setting up a new line or prepaying for additional months. I use a couple as home security cameras.

Always activate the card online, they charge $25 in store.

@trisk thanks for the info and tips!
How do you use them as home security cameras?

@Kidsandliz Mount them on a wall or other surface, connect to Wi-Fi and install an app like Alfred for Android.

@binaryhermit69 who? straightalk?

@caffeine_dude that’s what I discovered with straight talk’s customer service too - no one can do anything, supervisors can’t do anything… if it costs you money no one can refund you anything, no one cares…

@dhaver1 thanks