You know how everybody is tired of big kahuna wireless bills and most people are sick of being locked in a contract? There’s an old saying that that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
The fact is the big wireless companies are scamming folks and sucking their wallets dry, month after month.
You probably already know that you’re paying too much in monthly fees. But did you know that AT&T charges a whopping 25% in taxes and fees, confirmed by an online AT&T Sales Agent. Not only are you paying mandatory local and federal taxes, you’re also paying for fees to cover for expenses that AT&T may have generated themselves, even BEFORE you were their customer!
The ripoff doesn’t just stop there. Additionally, there are sneaky terms that limit supposedly “unlimited data”, or dollop on extra charges for “unlimited data.” Family plans are a scam as well. Sometimes families incur unexpected overages, even when family members limit their calls to sparse minutes.
The bait and switch advertising, which confuses even the savviest of consumers imprisons people in an additional one to two year contract. Often they will offer you a free or heavily discounted latest and greatest mega super galactic handset, IF you sign a contract (or give supposed verbal consent over the phone), only to have increased your fees.
Another scam: “cell phone insurance.” Sure, the big bully carriers will happily get you a new handset. But did you know you may have a deductible, as well. Of course, you can sometimes waive that deductible if you lock yourself into another straight jacket of a contract.
Why all these taxes, fees, foggy contracts, and suspicious strategies? AT&T spent $11.7 million on funding their lobbyists in the first part of 2011, and still got slapped with a Department of Justice Inquiry. So they’re using your hard-earned money to pay for their lobbyists, lawyers, and the like! Also, how else could they pay for the billion they spend on advertising annually?
What about the best, fastest network? According to PC Magazine, Verizon’s 4G network is so efficiently speedy that you can zip through your 5GB monthly allotment in 32 minutes. Who only uses that dinky amount of data minutes per month? Maybe someone who doesn’t want the internet, texting, or email on the phone.
Then one of the discount carriers would be a solid option, but only if you don’t want any of the features, don’t want service outside of your driveway, you like personally dealing with the hassle of going into said carrier’s store and adding roaming for another fee. Or you like being charged per text message. One woman I spoke to using her handset from a discount carrier had such bad service that the call dropped 3 times when I was talking to her, and I heard only about every other word.
Are you sick of being bullied by your provider? What do you feel is the most evil tactic used by wireless carriers?
Some people have found a way out from cell phone hell. Contact me to find out how.
