Selling Your Soul for a Cell Phone

The mobile phone industry has undoubtedly boomed over the past ten years. Grade-schoolers are now allowed to carry phones on school property. Children know more about them than grown adults, and it seems like just about everybody has one. In fact, it is hard to imagine not having cell phones. The problem is at what cost did you get yours?

Even though there are plenty of pre-pay phones out there that give the bad credit consumers the opportunity, most of us prefer to have the convenience of a monthly plan. What is unexplainable is the fact that land-phone companies, cable companies, and internet companies do not require a binding contract for a year or more commitment, yet a cell phone company forces you to sign away your life in order to have a monthly plan. Fees range from $175 to $300 for early termination. Any other product or service in the world that does not satisfy the consumer is given refunds or cancellation abilities. It is unbelievable that these companies are able to get away with this kind of business.

It was only because the government making the law that phone numbers must be able to be transferred between companies. Otherwise, the feeling that one would need to stay with their company would be even worse. It is going to take another government ruling to for phone service companies to allow early termination.

Even if you decide that the actual service of your cell phone is good, you are going to run into problems with the actual phone itself. Cell phones are made to break. The reason it isn't made a bigger issue is because, currently, technology is changing so fast that no one wants to keep his or her phone for more than two years anyway. The best phones only have battery problems. Personally, I have never had a cell phone battery keep full efficiency for more than 6 months. My personal cycle is to use a phone until the battery doesn't last for an entire day, and then I head off to the store to pick out the new phone. Luckily, in this circumstance, Verizon offers a new phone every two years at the new customer price. What is ridiculous is the fact that new customers get the good deals and current customers are force to pay up to six times more for a phone if it has not reached your qualification time.

This brings us to the next issue. Due to the number of possible mishaps when cell phones, it is pretty much imperative to have insurance for the phone. The monthly fee is "conveniently" added to your service bill. This fee means that when your drop or phone or destroy in a similar way, it will only cost you the $50 deductible. So, if you need to replace your phone once in your two-year contract, you have paid $170 for the second phone. This price is much better than the $300 full price for a new phone. However, most of the phones are offered to new customers for less than $100. So, unless you are using a PDA phone it may not even be worth it to get insurance. There are plenty of used phones you can get online, especially on Ebay. Especially since the insurance company terms state that your replacement phone may be refurbished and not actually new.

There have already been lawsuits against cell phone insurance companies such as Asurion, and I am sure that there should be many more. You are required to file a claim by phone. They say you can do it over the Internet, but most the time the claims are ignored or cannot be completed without a phone call. Since more and more people use their cell phone and do not have access to landlines, this can be a serious problem. Currently, I have had serious issues with Asurion avoiding me. It is convenient for Verizon that the insurance company is a separate company, as it would strongly hurt the company name.

It is important to keep in mind the cost of the phone you are purchasing. You can threaten to cancel your service to get good pricing on your phone. Paying the $175 termination fee and getting a free phone for starting a new plan with another company would cost the same amount. Also, if you have less than six months left on your plan, you can take off all your features and choose the cheapest plan, then switch companies. It may seem like more hassle, but it is what you need to do to fight back against the big companies. If nothing else, they will do better to accommodate you if they know your intentions on leaving.

Basically, cell phones are a huge rip-off. Like gas and oil, we have formed a dependency on them that allow large powerful companies to control quality and price. The negotiation possibilities are much more reasonable with cell phones. It is important that you avoid being taken advantage of. A general cell phone plan ranges from $360 to $1444 a year. That means you have no reason to feel guilty for insisting that the company give you better service or better phones without having to pay extraordinary prices. It is amazing when I realize that in the past year I have spent more on my cell phone than I have on my car! Hopefully, you will find a company that satisfies your needs and does not burn your wallet.