Posted: 10/1/2008 11:52:20 AM EDT
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I know they just converted us to T-mobile, but just prior to that, say... since July... had anyone had problems with them? Specifically, I noticed that I was 'roaming' an awful lot. Heck, my house in the middle of town was sometimes a roaming spot. This was of course reflected on my bill. I spent an extra $200 on roaming charges just prior to the switch. I wonder if they intentionally switched the towers (or something) to nail the customer. I am wondering if anyone else noticed this. |
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It is possible that your home market code got somehow switched in the billing system. That would mean you were roaming at home (and wouldn't be roaming if you were wherever you got switched to). I would have called if I were you. Cell phone companies don't have to screw you. Customers are lining up to spend extra money on doodads, applications, and ringtones. I bet it was some kind of error. I'm not saying they never screw people over - there's a bad apple in every lot. For the record, I have never heard of Suncom. Where was this service located? ETA: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SunCom Wow, they had service in the Caribbean? Neat. |
Most wireless companies haven't charged for roaming in years. When I moved to Waycross before we tuned up our market here, my personal phone roamed on Alltel until we got our cellsites up and running. Not a penny more. My company phone did too but I never see that bill. For a long time in the Savannah area, Suncom was affiliated with AT&T (the old one) and basically provided service for AT&T customers in that area. When I was working for Nortel, I had an AT&T number that was an Atlanta number, but I was based out of Savannah, which meant I was on Suncom. We got our bills and submitted them to our company for payment. No roaming charges at all. I kept that number when Nortel did their massive layoffs in 2001 and it was AT&T for over a year after that with no roaming charges. I then ported it to VZW when I went to work for them. |
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We switched from Verizon and Nextel to Alltel when we moved from the Metro Atl area. Alltel coverage and customer service make Nextel look competent. My wife traveled to Mississippi to visit her folks and she got clobbered for over $100.00 in roaming. The last time I was charged with roaming my cell phone weighed about five pounds prior to my Wife's trip. I won't even got into detail regarding Alltel's CS or lack there of. I heard that Verizon purchased or merged with Alltel and it can't be completed soon enough. Regardless, it can only be an improvement. I've often considered communicating with smoke signals as opposed to Altell. I think it would be more reliable and many times cheaper. I'm ready to start, but my wife has a difficult time deciphering smoke signals. TD |
Haha! The Verizon/Allel deal is running into problems, currently. It seems no one is set to purchase the divested markets that the FCC is requiring them to dump. They can't have a monopoly in some markets that only Alltel and Verizon work in, so they have to sell those to another company. I have heard that the one company (other than AT&T) that possibly would want them can't get credit to buy them because of our credit crisis. Doh!  www.telecomweb.com/international/261580.html <- other reasons the deal isn't just in the bag I was told that if the deal doesn't go through before the next administration, it may be in more jeopardy. Emperor Obama won't like a new biggest cell company (Verizon + Alltel = market leader w/most network and most subscribers). Plus, TPG Capital/Goldman Sachs who own Alltel will take a big hit on capital gains if it takes until Obama's tax hike takes effect. I'm still betting that it's going to go through, but it isn't as slam-dunk as it looked to start with. There's a non-negligible chance Alltel won't be bought by Verizon at all. If I were you, treedawg, I'd not wait for a merger if I wanted Verizon service. |
| Same thing was happening to my Tmobile phone last month. It kept switching to Suncom. I must have had to switch it back to T mobile a half dozen time at least. When I got my bill there was no roaming charges though. Yes my plan is so old it has roaming on it. 7 cents a minute first minute free. My monthly bill is less than ten dollars some months. |
Verizon doesn't really have presence where I live otherwise we would have been with them from day one. Their coverage is spotty at best. When we moved here we asked several of the locals who to use and 95% of them recommended Alltel and the other 5% suggested smoke signals. I liked the smoke signal idea but the Boss Lady wouldn't even consider it. TD |
Where do you live? |
I'm in the bustling metropolis known as Dublin... TD |
Hmmm, I would have sworn we have coverage there. Will find out. |
I live about 10 miles outside of the City Limits between Dexter and Cadwell. The coverage is OK, but dropped calls are the norm. The coverage is far from superb and I can live with it, but their customer service and support are the worst I've ever tried to deal with. They might as well have a monopoly around here and they do NOTHING for their customers and they still charge roaming. I pay my bill in a timely fashion so their CS shortcomming have nothing to do with my ability or lask there of to pay the bill. I know most people who are unhappy with CS DON'T pay their bill but that has nothing to do with my issues with Altel. The display on my phone went out in the 1st 30 days of ownership. It was not dropped or otherwise abused but they refused to do anything about it. Electronics typically go out in the 1st 90 days otherwise they normally last for a long time. I'm still using the crappy phone W/O a display. Altel does not have phones that use a SIM card so you can't change the phone out yourself. I guess that another way they lock you in and tighten the screw. TD |
Actually, Verizon doesn't have that either. It's CDMA technology. SIM cards are for GSM (like AT&T uses) - different technology that isn't compatible. The same technology is why Verizon was going to be able to buy Alltel and make a profit from it. No need to reengineer anything - just eliminate the overlaps and merge them in. LARRYG works for Verizon, not Alltel, by the way, so he was saying he thought Verizon had coverage there. |