Comments on: Verizon Wireless Going Contract-Free?

By: senior phone

senior phone — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:36:29 +0000

I like the idea on contract free, but frankly there phones are still to complicated to use.

By: WyWren

WyWren — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 20:42:29 +0000

When you sign up with Verizon, be sure to keep a copy of any and all signatures you give them.

When I worked in a Verizon store, I was asked to sign customers’ names to things they never got copies of or even saw. It is especially heinous when the bogus signature goes on new or upgrade contracts. Lots of people have no idea that the employee they trusted just legally locked them in for contract terms they otherwise could contest.
I urge everyone to check out their signature history with Verizon. I’ll be you’ll find at least one signature you don’t recognize, and it usually looks like a seismographic ripple.

One guy a couple of months ago yelled and screamed he did not sign a contract with Verizon and the employees showed him where his upgrade was signed 2 months prior. He insisted it was not his signature, they told him he was obligated to fulfill the contract, pay the contract-cessation fees or have his credit ruined. He left very angry and I did nothing to defend him because I needed the job. I’m ashamed of it now but perhaps this testimonial will help others.

By: drew

drew — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 07:12:45 +0000

I think that going month to month is a wonderful addition ther are plenty of times customers want to add a line to a share plan and get stuck with the contract for there child that either turns 18 and goes there own route during the contract sticking the parents with the line, or is younger and loses/breaks the equipment and leaves the parents with out equipment to use on a line they either have to pay for monthly or pay the etf. Now parents who want to provide there children with a phone have the option to do so with far less risk to them, and being as if your on a share plan the fact that another company offered month to month previously dosen’t particularly help them so all in all I feel this is wonderful news. In addition I don’t understand the issue of the full retail price concern, most people take advantage of there upgrades and have an old piece of equipment that still functions perfectly well lying around or no somebody that does. That being said the bottom line is that most of the people who dislike month to month aren’t who it was designed for and the ones that love have a legitimate need for this type of servcie (phones for children, elderly parents etc…)

By: C-Man

C-Man — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:28:56 +0000

C’mon people.

This is huge.

What this REALLY means is the beginning of carriers in the U.S. transitioning to service-only companies i.e. they don’t sell you phones, you buy them from boutique stores and bring them in to be activated (or with a SIM card). With LTE in the near future, companies world-wide will be changing their focus from wireless voice-based technologies to incorporate a broad range of products from recently acquired 10mbps wireless 700mhz spectrum cell towers. So now you can ditch Comcast or TimeWarner and buy your TV/Cell/Internet exclusively from ATT/Verizon/Vodafone/China Mobile etc. As these communications firms gain market share, they will undoubtedly become major conglomorates with vast influx of marketing dollars (hence Google’s interest all of a sudden in wireless communications).

Soooo…no contracts a joke? Please, read into it people. Get ready for the future.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:08:20 +0000

@ Duh

Or maybe they don’t care because all you need to do to change phones on AT&T and T-Mobile is swap your SIM to whatever new device you have purchased.

Try to stick with the facts and not make it personal.

By: Jason

Jason — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:04:48 +0000

@ Bryan

LTE is the evolution path for GSM, not the EV-DO that VZW is currently using. So, in a sense, they ARE moving toward the GSM side of things. LTE will be a more direct upgrade path for AT&T as they are already GSM.

FWIW, only in North America is CDMA in the majority. Something like 60% CDMA to 40% GSM. In the world-wide perspective, 90% of mobile phones are of the GSM variety and CDMA is 10% minority. This speaks to the higher saturation of mobile technology in other countries where AT&T isn’t even the incumbent carrier.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 04:30:32 +0000

Likeabite – Verizon is not moving to GSM! They have announced that the 4G network will be LTE. The interesting part is that AT&T and T-Mobile are using HSUPA which is also known as WCDMA. Although they would never market their data networks as that now would they?!

By: Judy Loyd

Judy Loyd — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:35:10 +0000

Ed, thanks. Good thoughts. I am glad I happened on this discussion!

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 23:24:41 +0000

I would like to point out, Verizon had this same plan in the year 2002-2004. They dropped it because of lack of participation…then AT&T came out with their Pick Your Plan service, which is similar.

AT&T actually played catch up. But nowadays, customers really are looking for ways without contracts.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 22:46:26 +0000

@Judy
The most economical solution for you if you only burn through 50 minutes a month is to have your kid put you on their family plan for $10 a month. I did that for my Mom. If that is not a viable option, I would go with Verizon (contract, no contract, prepay, postpay…doesnt really matter when you only make 50 minutes a month; the money difference is less then $10 a month). We use Verizon in Southern California and I have never heard my Mom, who doesn’t care to know anything about mobile phone but making calls with it, complain about their service or call quality.

By: Judy Loyd

Judy Loyd — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:14:48 +0000

Ok. I read all these. I am old and decrepit and my Verizon 2yr is up soon. Thinking about that flex stuff..pay ahead. Looking at ATT and Verizon. (Never a dropped call. 4 years) I may use 50 minutes a month…no other services…camera. I can get my messages if my 12 yr old grandson is here. If I were your Mom or GM, what would you tell me?

By: bayportbob

bayportbob — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:39:22 +0000

yeah – unless there is a upside reason for me to buy my own phone and opt into the no contract plan i would have no interest in this – there has to be some upside for me to want to do that

By: Pom

Pom — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:18:34 +0000

The only thing a no-contract line does for you is allows you to switch to another carrier without paying early termination fees.

You’re not going to get a discount if you don’t take a contract. A contract says that over 2 years, we’ll get enough money out of you to pay for the phone.

Now, what SHOULD be done is discounted plans because you’re not paying for a phone if you paid outright for it.

By: Frank

Frank — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:28:32 +0000

its a sham that you work for att and have no clue about GSM and CDMA… GSM is not better than CDMA or the other way around. both technologies offer some advantages and disadvantages. Verizon is not number one because of the CDMA technology they have, but because they spend big chunk of their budget keeping up with their network. CDMA can hold more calls per tower but the signal can not travel as far and therefore, requires more towers VS GSM towers hold less calls but can travel a longer distance than CDMA. for both to meet more load on their network they both need more towers. if you put enough towers on GSM then your expanding your call capacity and if you put more towers on CDMA then you expand your coverage. look at Europe they are saturated way more than the US but their GSM network doesn’t suffer from any call quality issues because they use more towers in one area than we do. I hope you are not just referring to JD power findings in the last survey they are pure idiots and their conclusion is pure SH*t….

By: HiC

HiC — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 06:00:57 +0000

Does this mean that I can cancel my plan even though I have a two year contract?

By: Brandon From Cleveland GO LEBRON

Brandon From Cleveland GO LEBRON — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:19:59 +0000

Tmobile for life!!! Lol. 4yrs str8t goin on 5 lames!!!

By: Jeremiah

Jeremiah — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 02:11:27 +0000

Honestly, I don’t understand the beef with contracts. People need to get it through their heads that that’s how you get phones at so cheap a price! People forget that these are expensive little gadgets, and yet they still want to be contract-free.

Since when do most people switch carriers that often anyway? In the grand scheme of things, people stick to their carriers because they’re too lazy to switch, so while we might whine and moan about contracts, the general ignorant public could care less.

By: Alice

Alice — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:35:50 +0000

@ J:

It’s not a scam just because another carrier has had a similar rate plan available for some time. Enough will all the small town conspiracist theories.

VZW is just offering it as an option. Of course they’ll advertise it like it’s something new. AT&T advertised that they had the fewest dropped calls all over the place even though we all know that was a lie. And who the heck advertises a bad thing such as dropped calls as if even a couple are a good thing?

Usually, the only bad comments you read here about AT&T above and beyond what is normal are due to its network performance and reliability/consistency issues. Other than that, they suck just as bad as the rest of them.

By: nope

nope — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:15:50 +0000

Wow you really dont know how the cell phone business works…..carriers make very little off the phones….only the service….. of course they are going to charge fees its how they make money to make your phones network work.

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:50:13 +0000

Wow Ry, you nailed that one. Not lowering the monthly calling plan fee for the people on the MTM when Verizon is not subsidizing the cost of phone is where the numbers don’t compute. In U.S., mobile phone companies recover their phone subsidies by locking us in a contract with artificially inflated monthly fee to recover the cost of free phone or phone discounts. So let’s say the average subsidy is $200 per phone, and the phone company recovers that in a 24 month contract. Shouldn’t phone company lower the monthly MTM calling plan fee $8.33 ($200 / 24) per month for people who brought their own phone?

By: Ry

Ry — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 00:25:00 +0000

So.. will these plans be cheaper monthly since you Verizon is not subsidizing the price of a device?

By: Duh

Duh — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:46:58 +0000

You realize you can change your phones for FREE online right? Or did you not know that because you have ATT and don’t know what you’re talking about…?

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:34:48 +0000

Yes, do the math.
Even if you pay the full termination fee, that’s only $175. Of course that goes down over time, and you may or may not decide to cancel and have to pay it. A lot of these devices are going to have at least a $200 subsidy for the contract price. So if you decide to pay full retail just to avoid the “shackles” of a contract, you are simply deciding to pay your cancellation fee (probably even more) up-front whether or not you even cancel. I think peoples’ issues with contracts are more mental than anything.

By: J

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:14:12 +0000

the scam is actually how VZW puts this stuff out there and manages to get people to think that they are doing something new, great, and groundbreaking when companies like AT&T (who, for the most part, is hated by the posters around here) has been doing this forever…

By: Adam

Adam — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:13:45 +0000

Re: flexpay
That is mostly accurate, however all customers have a choice to go with Flexpay regardless of how good their credit is. The reason some do is that there is no way to incur overages. It is true that most people are on Flexpay because that is what they qualified for, but there are many more who chose it for its benefits. So Flexpay is much more than standard prepaid. It doesn’t charge any activation fee and many have the choice between contract or no-contract.

BG, T-Mobile does offer stardard postpaid contract-free. It is very recent though that they began this.

By: likeabite

likeabite — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:07:08 +0000

thanks NOTHTCkid…and yea I think it is a part of the “Any Apps, Any Device” initiative. I hope they also extend it more devices than available now.

Verizon already announced that it will move to GSM in the coming years but I just hope it can retain its quality and service.

By: ATT Rep

ATT Rep — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:06:07 +0000

Oh god. Why do people not understand anything they read. Of course you’re gonna have to pay full price for a phone. Your dumbass isn’t getting a contract so you DO NOT qualify for a discount on the handset you are purchasing. Its only in this country that people want everything free. If you want something free get the damn contract, it doesn’t hurt. No one likes to be in a commitment but eventually you do at some point in life. The only reason why no one goes cdma as much is because you cannot switch phones as often like gsm. But you people forget that cdma phones and technology is far more superior than gsm in general. Why do you think Verizon is always number 1 in call quality and coverage and ATT and T-NoNo aren’t? You’ll see real soon that once more cdma phones are being made you will be able to switch as you please like a gsm phone. But anyways, this is a great marketing stratagy for Big Red. People can join contract free and BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) as soon as the any app any device “program” begins. It’ll be great. I’m joining when the Storm launches. I might work for Att but its just a job, and their coverage is getting worse by the day! Dropped calls. Excuses about the network failing due to Hurricane Gustav when that took place in the south and people were getting dropped calls up here in nyc and the rest of the Northeast makes no sense at all. And supposedly if your “number 1″ , your service is supposed to work but i know its hard work trying to withstand that power from the hurricane and all, but T-Mobile didn’t let that stop them and they’re number 4 in the country, NUMBER 4! Come on something must be right on their side if they didn’t get affected. But thats just me, you might have a diff opinion.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:58:01 +0000

Good old Verizon. I’d be curious to know how many this would attract given that many people are lured by the free / discounted phones. Speaking of which, I recently went to get my “new every two” free phone from a local Verizon store and was told that I could only get the free phone is I ordered via phone or online. I think this is a bad policy and the cell phone provider who will win is the ones who takes care of their customers needs the best.

Not to mention the threat of the new and cost effective satellite phones – I am waiting for mine!

~ Anthony
What are you doing today to make a difference in your tomorrow?

By: Johnny Umphress

Johnny Umphress — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:50:01 +0000

I will stick with my Verizon contract. Same bill each month with no suprises. On a MTM they can change the rules as you go without asking. As for changing phones, I change mine quite often. Just go on the Verizon web and enter your new ESN and Verizon’s computers switch you over at no cost, no hassle.

By: NotHTCkid

NotHTCkid — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:28:03 +0000

Everyone missed what Kelly said…

with the “any apps, any device” stuff coming down the pipe, you will see why this becomes more and more prevalent…and who knows, maybe BGR will be the one to break the approved device list

and how can you guys honestly be sitting here bitching just over a month ago that you always have to have a contract, and now that verizon offers it, you get all uppity about how you have to pay full price for a phone with no contract.

you walk in with you own verizon device
pay 35 bucks
walk out with an active phone, and no contract

people have been clamoring for this for years, but now that it comes tot he reality of having to actually pay retail for that no contract freedom…oh wait slow down…I want it all, for free, and no contract. I know this is America, and personal responsibility isn’t big here, but lets try some out, and think things though a bit shall we?

*checks Email again*