sweetpeasmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,592
Jun 27, 2014 14:04:01 GMT
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Post by sweetpeasmom on Aug 11, 2015 1:02:28 GMT
Did you find out if the new plan includes the minutes/texting? Voice and texting are unlimited on all plans. Only the data amounts vary. Yes but on my plan w/the Edge option, I pay X amount for the actual mins.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Aug 11, 2015 11:48:53 GMT
If I understand it a phone purchase is no longer discounted. A user would pay full price for the phone. I don't know if everything drops after the phone is paid for....ugh....I was holding out for the iPhone 7. FYI--no they haven't announced that at all. I just don't need a phone and figure the 7 would be a good time to switch.
Yeesh....this has to be better for Verizon in some way, shape or form as why would they do something good for us???
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Aug 11, 2015 12:31:29 GMT
I have Edge now, with 10 gbs for 2 phones and unlimited talk/text. Verizon is one of the most expensive out there, but they are the only one that I have ever gotten consistent coverage with, particularly in some remote areas I've been to. I think I have another 6 months left, and we just got DH's phone in March. Truth be told, I don't want to upgrade to the Galaxy S6, mostly because they've taken away the ability to expand the memory. I want to keep my S5 as long as possible, even with the tiny crack I have on it.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Aug 11, 2015 12:51:59 GMT
If I understand it a phone purchase is no longer discounted. A user would pay full price for the phone. I don't know if everything drops after the phone is paid for....ugh....I was holding out for the iPhone 7. FYI--no they haven't announced that at all. I just don't need a phone and figure the 7 would be a good time to switch. Yeesh....this has to be better for Verizon in some way, shape or form as why would they do something good for us??? I feel like there has to be a catch. I have a hard time believing that Verizon would make changes that would save customers a ton of money. I am not with Verizon, but was thinking about switching at some point. We are with Sprint. When DH and I upgraded our phones (not sure which month, but when the iphone 6 came out) I went in to upgrade. I was planning to keep our old plan and get the discounted phone, but the salesperson insisted it would be about $10 less for us to do it the new way, which sounds similar to what you are describing Verizon moving to. Well, that has not been the case. We have been paying about $75 more month. We have gone in to talk with them about it, with no change. It is really frustrating.
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Post by SnowWhite on Aug 11, 2015 14:27:44 GMT
If I understand it a phone purchase is no longer discounted. A user would pay full price for the phone. I don't know if everything drops after the phone is paid for....ugh....I was holding out for the iPhone 7. FYI--no they haven't announced that at all. I just don't need a phone and figure the 7 would be a good time to switch. Yeesh....this has to be better for Verizon in some way, shape or form as why would they do something good for us??? I feel like there has to be a catch. I have a hard time believing that Verizon would make changes that would save customers a ton of money. I thought I heard on the news yesterday morning these new plans are only available to new customers and not to existing customers.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
Jun 26, 2014 12:56:40 GMT
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Post by CeeScraps on Aug 11, 2015 16:01:39 GMT
I feel like there has to be a catch. I have a hard time believing that Verizon would make changes that would save customers a ton of money. I thought I heard on the news yesterday morning these new plans are only available to new customers and not to existing customers. I hope this is only new customers, however, what will happen when us oldies upgrade? Are we then put on the new contract? I suppose there isn't a choice, unless by then there is such an uproar to all of this.
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Post by dnkmmw on Aug 11, 2015 16:09:39 GMT
I feel like there has to be a catch. I have a hard time believing that Verizon would make changes that would save customers a ton of money. I am not with Verizon, but was thinking about switching at some point. We are with Sprint. When DH and I upgraded our phones (not sure which month, but when the iphone 6 came out) I went in to upgrade. I was planning to keep our old plan and get the discounted phone, but the salesperson insisted it would be about $10 less for us to do it the new way, which sounds similar to what you are describing Verizon moving to. Well, that has not been the case. We have been paying about $75 more month. We have gone in to talk with them about it, with no change. It is really frustrating. This was us too. We had been with Sprint for about 10 years. We did add a Verizon hot spot about two years ago. When traveling, we found we often had service on the hot spot, but no cell service. My DH's phone suddenly died about a year ago. We went into Sprint wanting to keep our same plan, but they insisted we should switch to the new plan. They were really aggressive about it. So, we did change our plan - we moved our phones to Verizon as well. We pay about $75 less a month having the phones and hot spot combined and we have much better coverage. That said, we do have the old Verizon plan. Dawn
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Post by coaliesquirrel on Aug 12, 2015 19:28:58 GMT
Just FYI, here's a CNet (reliable source on technology issues) story on the Verizon changes: CNet Story
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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 12, 2015 19:51:38 GMT
Just FYI, here's a CNet (reliable source on technology issues) story on the Verizon changes: CNet StoryThat cleared up a lot of questions. Thanks for the link!
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Post by templatequeen on Aug 13, 2015 0:20:51 GMT
Yes thanks for the link. It looks like my old grandfathered Altell unlimited data plan stays!!!
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gottapeanow
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,752
Jun 25, 2014 20:56:09 GMT
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Post by gottapeanow on Aug 13, 2015 0:32:14 GMT
coaliesquirrel, much clearer and oh so helpful. Thanks for the link. Lisa
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 14, 2015 3:15:38 GMT
I'm checking in this tomorrow. We've got Verizon and it'd be great if our rate went down. My phone is eligible for an upgrade, too. (No one else's on the plan is, though, so I don't know how that works.) Fingers crossed this works to our advantage. Will you update on what you find out? I am not due for an upgrade until Dec. but I have received an early upgrade if I use the edge program so I am wondering if I need to do that or see what happens after the changes. I have my sons old 4s and it will not last much longer otherwise I would just wait it out and let them work out the issues with the changes. Here's my update. This is per month for two smart phones (one in contract, one out).
My old plan: 8G data (6Gs are from some loyalty plan and 2Gs are from a promo that goes at least until Jan2016). Cost is $135 INCLUDING taxes & fees. Unlimited talk & text. Details of this plan are convoluted due to various promos and grandfathered in stuff. (I can definitely see why they're streamlining the plan choices.) Details of new plans: $40 line charge for the contract phone, $20 line charge for the out of contract phone. These prices are fixed and everyone pays a line charge of either $40 or $20. Data plans (add one of these costs to your line charge(s): Small: 1G = $30 Medium: 3G = $45 Large: 6G = $60 XL: 12G =$80 Penalty for overage: $5/G. Two CS agents confirmed this even though I keep seeing things online that say it's still $15/G. All plans are unlimited talk & text. There are just the four plans, but there will be occasional promos. To keep my 8G, I'd have to pay $140 plus taxes & fees (~$155). To stay in the $135 ballpark, and estimating ~$10 t&f, I'd have to drop to 6G. I could do that and pay the penalty the month(s) I may go over. I could probably even go to 3G/mo (~$115/mo incl t&f) and pay the penalty once in a while and still come out ahead. I know I'm going to use a ton of data for two weeks in September (vacation where everyone tethers to my phone for wifi), so I didn't make any changes right now. Upgrading from a Note 2 to a Note 4 before the new plans: The Note 4 was $300 even though I was due for an upgrade. I'm very happy with my Note 2, so I didn't cave. ETA Upgrading would also have put me back on contract, so my monthly line charge under the new plan would be $40 for each phone, not $40 and $20. Re the new phone "deals," CS tried to interest me in a Note 4 for $26/mo for 24 mo = $624. No more discounted phones. They're all going to be full price, but you can pay for them monthly with no finance/interest fee. You will have to stay with Verizon the whole two years, though. I didn't ask any more questions about buying phones because I'm not in the market for one right now. ETA I think you can buy the phones outright and not make payments. Then you wouldn't be under any sort of obligation to stay the two years. i know this is too late because today is the day the new plans start, but here ya go.
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 14, 2015 3:17:49 GMT
I feel like there has to be a catch. I have a hard time believing that Verizon would make changes that would save customers a ton of money. I thought I heard on the news yesterday morning these new plans are only available to new customers and not to existing customers. I'm an old customer and was offered the option to stay with my old plan or take one of the new ones. The catch is that if you change, you cannot go back to your old plan if you find that it was better for you.
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crazyrn
Full Member
Posts: 129
Jun 30, 2014 3:56:41 GMT
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Post by crazyrn on Aug 14, 2015 3:45:35 GMT
I just added a phone line for my DD last week and switched to the out of contract plan. I purchased her phone at costco. The poor guy, I had him explain everything to me and write stuff down for over an hour. Going through everything with a fine tooth comb! He was probably so happy when I left!
We have my parents on our plan so in total I have 4 smart phones and my dad his an old flip phone. We switched to 10GB data shared with all 5 phones for $80 per month, that includes unlimited texting and minutes. It's $40 per contracted smart phone. $20 for my dad's flip phone (it would be the same for contracted or noncontracted). $15 per noncontracted smartphone. Plus my daughter's new phone is an additional $27 per month (add that to the $15 line fee for her noncontracted smart phone).
It pretty much evens out with the new phone since with a contract it was $40/month plus the cost of the phone (which in my case would have been $179). Now it's $42 per month for her phone ($15 line fee + $27 phone fee). Plus I got a $70 rebate for her phone and a $200 rebate for adding a new line.
I sat with the guy and added everything together and I will almost be even with my old bill and this bill will have an additional phone.
I hate switching plans/phones. I always feel like the guy is a used car salesman trying to screw me over. I will say the guys at Costco were much nicer than the Verizon store.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 10:20:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2015 3:53:35 GMT
We're sticking with our current plan. Switching to the new plans with our same amount of data would actually cost us $10/mo more.
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Post by JustKim on Aug 14, 2015 15:04:13 GMT
Will you update on what you find out? I am not due for an upgrade until Dec. but I have received an early upgrade if I use the edge program so I am wondering if I need to do that or see what happens after the changes. I have my sons old 4s and it will not last much longer otherwise I would just wait it out and let them work out the issues with the changes. Here's my update. This is per month for two smart phones (one in contract, one out).
My old plan: 8G data (6Gs are from some loyalty plan and 2Gs are from a promo that goes at least until Jan2016). Cost is $135 INCLUDING taxes & fees. Unlimited talk & text. Details of this plan are convoluted due to various promos and grandfathered in stuff. (I can definitely see why they're streamlining the plan choices.) Details of new plans: $40 line charge for the contract phone, $20 line charge for the out of contract phone. These prices are fixed and everyone pays a line charge of either $40 or $20. Data plans (add one of these costs to your line charge(s): Small: 1G = $30 Medium: 3G = $45 Large: 6G = $60 XL: 12G =$80 Penalty for overage: $5/G. Two CS agents confirmed this even though I keep seeing things online that say it's still $15/G. All plans are unlimited talk & text. There are just the four plans, but there will be occasional promos. To keep my 8G, I'd have to pay $140 plus taxes & fees (~$155). To stay in the $135 ballpark, and estimating ~$10 t&f, I'd have to drop to 6G. I could do that and pay the penalty the month(s) I may go over. I could probably even go to 3G/mo (~$115/mo incl t&f) and pay the penalty once in a while and still come out ahead. I know I'm going to use a ton of data for two weeks in September (vacation where everyone tethers to my phone for wifi), so I didn't make any changes right now. Upgrading from a Note 2 to a Note 4 before the new plans: The Note 4 was $300 even though I was due for an upgrade. I'm very happy with my Note 2, so I didn't cave. ETA Upgrading would also have put me back on contract, so my monthly line charge under the new plan would be $40 for each phone, not $40 and $20. Re the new phone "deals," CS tried to interest me in a Note 4 for $26/mo for 24 mo = $624. No more discounted phones. They're all going to be full price, but you can pay for them monthly with no finance/interest fee. You will have to stay with Verizon the whole two years, though. I didn't ask any more questions about buying phones because I'm not in the market for one right now. ETA I think you can buy the phones outright and not make payments. Then you wouldn't be under any sort of obligation to stay the two years. i know this is too late because today is the day the new plans start, but here ya go. Thanks for the update. I went in and talked to them. I didn't like the fact that they really had no idea what was going to happen after the change other than the $20 phone line drop for those out of contract and paying outright for the phone. I decided to wait and not make any changes. We have four lines and 15gb. We have come close to using the whole amount so I do not want to lose the amount I am getting. Thanks for the update
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 14, 2015 15:09:31 GMT
Next year I need to add two teenagers to my account, and that will hurt. Not just the phone costs and line charges, but the fact that they'll probably use MUCH more data than I do.
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Post by lovetodigi on Aug 14, 2015 15:56:48 GMT
According to Clark Howard, (he does a financial piece on news) the Verizon plans are now more expensive than the same plans or better plans with other companies. I am glad that we are not with Verizon. I did pay cash for my iPhone 6 Plus so, on AT&T, adding my phone to my husbands account just cost $15 a month. We share 20gb of data, unlimited calls/texts and have my mothers phone on there for another $15 a month. If there is no contract and the phone is fully paid for, at least customers will have the option to switch to a better plan with another company, if their phone is compatible.
Having to pay full price for phones will probably hurt new phone sales. Many people are not going to want to turn around and sell their phones back for a couple of hundred dollars after paying full price for it. With the contracts, it runs a couple of hundred, so it appeared to come out as a good deal. I paid over $900 for mine when it came out. I am not likely to let it go for a small amount when the new ones come out. I wonder if the other companies will follow suit and switch to no contract?
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 14, 2015 16:08:57 GMT
Unfortunately, cost isn't the deciding factor for us. Verizon has the best/most reliable signal in our area and the areas to which we travel most. We're kind of stuck with them.
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Post by christine58 on Aug 14, 2015 18:25:08 GMT
So my 80 year old very smart dad went in to see about this plan...he got very confused (which is not like him at all---) So here's my question and I'm thinking you all have a better/clearer answer. Let's say he can upgrade (Was up in April) and he wants an iPhone 6....does he have to get this "new"plan or can he just get the 'discounted' phone and sign up for two more years??
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 14, 2015 18:46:07 GMT
There are no more discounts on phones, even if you were eligible for an upgrade prior to the rollout of the new plans (yesterday).
Your dad can buy his phone outright (from Verizon or someone else) or he can buy one through Verizon and pay it off monthly (no finance/interest charge) for two years.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 14, 2015 18:50:27 GMT
There are no more discounts on phones, even if you were eligible for an upgrade prior to the rollout of the new plans (yesterday). Your dad can buy his phone outright (from Verizon or someone else) or he can buy one through Verizon and pay it off monthly (no finance/interest charge) for two years. Our son bought a new Samsung Note a month or so ago. We did the math and it made more sense for him to pay for the phone monthly than outright.
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Post by christine58 on Aug 14, 2015 21:13:39 GMT
There are no more discounts on phones, even if you were eligible for an upgrade prior to the rollout of the new plans (yesterday). Your dad can buy his phone outright (from Verizon or someone else) or he can buy one through Verizon and pay it off monthly (no finance/interest charge) for two years. Thanks....
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Post by keknj on Aug 14, 2015 23:28:54 GMT
I just added a phone line for my DD last week and switched to the out of contract plan. I purchased her phone at costco. The poor guy, I had him explain everything to me and write stuff down for over an hour. Going through everything with a fine tooth comb! He was probably so happy when I left! We have my parents on our plan so in total I have 4 smart phones and my dad his an old flip phone. We switched to 10GB data shared with all 5 phones for $80 per month, that includes unlimited texting and minutes. It's $40 per contracted smart phone. $20 for my dad's flip phone (it would be the same for contracted or noncontracted). $15 per noncontracted smartphone. Plus my daughter's new phone is an additional $27 per month (add that to the $15 line fee for her noncontracted smart phone). It pretty much evens out with the new phone since with a contract it was $40/month plus the cost of the phone (which in my case would have been $179). Now it's $42 per month for her phone ($15 line fee + $27 phone fee). Plus I got a $70 rebate for her phone and a $200 rebate for adding a new line. I sat with the guy and added everything together and I will almost be even with my old bill and this bill will have an additional phone. I hate switching plans/phones. I always feel like the guy is a used car salesman trying to screw me over. I will say the guys at Costco were much nicer than the Verizon store.
I just read the cnet article, and it states that the smartphone fee is $20/month, why are you having to pay $40/month? It's getting confusing!! Thanks.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 20, 2024 10:20:20 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2015 23:34:17 GMT
I just added a phone line for my DD last week and switched to the out of contract plan. I purchased her phone at costco. The poor guy, I had him explain everything to me and write stuff down for over an hour. Going through everything with a fine tooth comb! He was probably so happy when I left! We have my parents on our plan so in total I have 4 smart phones and my dad his an old flip phone. We switched to 10GB data shared with all 5 phones for $80 per month, that includes unlimited texting and minutes. It's $40 per contracted smart phone. $20 for my dad's flip phone (it would be the same for contracted or noncontracted). $15 per noncontracted smartphone. Plus my daughter's new phone is an additional $27 per month (add that to the $15 line fee for her noncontracted smart phone). It pretty much evens out with the new phone since with a contract it was $40/month plus the cost of the phone (which in my case would have been $179). Now it's $42 per month for her phone ($15 line fee + $27 phone fee). Plus I got a $70 rebate for her phone and a $200 rebate for adding a new line. I sat with the guy and added everything together and I will almost be even with my old bill and this bill will have an additional phone. I hate switching plans/phones. I always feel like the guy is a used car salesman trying to screw me over. I will say the guys at Costco were much nicer than the Verizon store.
I just read the cnet article, and it states that the smartphone fee is $20/month, why are you having to pay $40/month? It's getting confusing!! Thanks.
That pricing sounds like before the new plans.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Aug 14, 2015 23:40:18 GMT
I just added a phone line for my DD last week and switched to the out of contract plan. I purchased her phone at costco. The poor guy, I had him explain everything to me and write stuff down for over an hour. Going through everything with a fine tooth comb! He was probably so happy when I left! We have my parents on our plan so in total I have 4 smart phones and my dad his an old flip phone. We switched to 10GB data shared with all 5 phones for $80 per month, that includes unlimited texting and minutes. It's $40 per contracted smart phone. $20 for my dad's flip phone (it would be the same for contracted or noncontracted). $15 per noncontracted smartphone. Plus my daughter's new phone is an additional $27 per month (add that to the $15 line fee for her noncontracted smart phone). It pretty much evens out with the new phone since with a contract it was $40/month plus the cost of the phone (which in my case would have been $179). Now it's $42 per month for her phone ($15 line fee + $27 phone fee). Plus I got a $70 rebate for her phone and a $200 rebate for adding a new line. I sat with the guy and added everything together and I will almost be even with my old bill and this bill will have an additional phone. I hate switching plans/phones. I always feel like the guy is a used car salesman trying to screw me over. I will say the guys at Costco were much nicer than the Verizon store.
I just read the cnet article, and it states that the smartphone fee is $20/month, why are you having to pay $40/month? It's getting confusing!! Thanks.
When my son bought his phone it was going to be $40 if he paid for the phone outright, $20 if he paid monthly. I think. It's all a blur.
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 15, 2015 0:17:12 GMT
$40 for phones on contract, $20 for phones out of contract. This is fixed and doesn't change no matter which data plan (S, M, L, XL) you choose.
ETA The monthly cost is:
Line charge ($20 or $40) per phone
+ one data package (S, M, L, or XL)
+ Monthly payment toward phone **if you purchase a phone through Verizon and make monthly payments** (this amount is $0 if you keep your current phone, bring in your own phone, or buy a phone outright, not via the payment plan, from Verizon)
+ taxes & federal fees
That's it -- unless there's a promo going on. This is what two customer service agents (store and phone) told me.
ETA2 There's a $5/G penalty for going over your data plan that month. It used to be $15/G, so this is quite a reduction. The $15/G figure is still mentioned in some articles, but CS assured me it's now $5/G.
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Post by keknj on Aug 15, 2015 1:03:05 GMT
Thank you for the explanation. That was perfectly understandable. I've looked at that article three times and it says $20 monthly access fee in two places. One it specifically says that it is a discount from the $40/month. I guess my reading comprehension could be lacking today.
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TheOtherMeg
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,541
Jun 25, 2014 20:58:14 GMT
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Post by TheOtherMeg on Aug 15, 2015 4:14:18 GMT
I had a CS agent give me incorrect figures yesterday, so it's not just customers who are confused! When we were double-checking the figures and monthly totals to compare them, it wasn't adding up right. She put me on hold to check with someone and, sure enough, it was the $20 vs $40 line fee issue that messed things up. I have one of each and not, unfortunately, two out of contract. Putting $20 back into my estimate made switching to a new plan not as desirable right now.
The whole point of the new price structure is to make it easy to compare numbers and pick a plan, but I'd definitely nail any figure down before switching. I imagine the whole $20 vs $40 line charge thing is the most confusing part. The rest is pretty straightforward -- pick a data plan and then either buy a phone from Verizon (at once or via payments for 24 months) or keep/bring your own. Add taxes & fees and that's it.
Of course, it seems straightforward to me *after* spending an afternoon at the local Verizon place and on the phone with CS.
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Post by k8smom on Aug 15, 2015 4:16:42 GMT
I upgraded and got my new iphone yesterday with a two year contract. Looks like I skidded in under the wire!
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