complain about your phone here!
- Thread starter Penn
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you have a phone? :O
ancona
Praying Mantis
I prefer Morse Code myself.
Penn
Yellow Jacket
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Yes- I have a landline- which is needed to have DSL.
I have the cheapest plan there is- which mean no features at all and every call is billed. There is a program called lifeline that issues a credit for those low income- usually the DSL runs me $19.99- and a separate bill for the landline- with the program is $7.47. For that amount I can make 3 calls a day- I figure. I use google voice for long distance- I could use it for local calls.. but most people have caller ID and want to see a local number. A few times I did run up a bill- tho it was still under $10. Some people seem to have to make 10-12 calls a day. I make 1-3 a day.
http://www.fcc.gov/lifeline
Got it paid- there will be no silver purchases this month.
I have the cheapest plan there is- which mean no features at all and every call is billed. There is a program called lifeline that issues a credit for those low income- usually the DSL runs me $19.99- and a separate bill for the landline- with the program is $7.47. For that amount I can make 3 calls a day- I figure. I use google voice for long distance- I could use it for local calls.. but most people have caller ID and want to see a local number. A few times I did run up a bill- tho it was still under $10. Some people seem to have to make 10-12 calls a day. I make 1-3 a day.
http://www.fcc.gov/lifeline
Got it paid- there will be no silver purchases this month.
DCFusor
Yellow Jacket
I may do that here, I've got a predatory monopoply phone co. My internet (fastest they offer as DSL, 400kbyte down, 125 up) is billed at $14 a month. Limited everything else brings the cost to $80+ a month before I call long distance, or worse, the next town over (far closer). When I complained about 25c/minute to call 40 miles, they insisted they were't ripping me off - just charging the max inter-lata fee allowed by law. It's cheaper to call India or Alaska for crying out loud.
I may go whine, but in a good-old-boy town, what's likely to happen if I insist on internet only for say $20 - they'll call their relatives over at the courthouse and remind them I'm not paying as much PP taxes as I might, or something like that.
These things must be done delicately. (Yes, that's the OZ reference)
To add:
Back in the day (way back, the early 70's) I cancelled some credit cards, enough of that crap. Well, I get a bill for like $1.20 from one. So I send them $1.20. They add a dime and say I owe them a dime, plus fees - about 35c. So I write them a check for 35c. Then...it kept on and on and on - this was right when they wanted membership fees on top of their already-ridiculous fees. I finally sent them another dollar. They refused the check, then added interest and fees to the 35c, and on and on and on. I told them to go screw, wipe my credit if they want - I didn't want credit, that was the entire point.
They did, I now have a "no credit rating at all". They never did get that last 35c though. Did you guys know that no credit rating is worse than a bad one if you do need credit? Found that one out too. I had to put up 50,000 worth of land as collateral to borrow 10k @ 6%. I prepaid. They didn't like that, so nothing still on the rating.
They offered to help me. Say I borrowed 10k, using my savings account there as collateral, and just paid the 6-7% for 3 years (minimum). Then I'd have a credit rating. I asked if I couldn't just give them the $6-700 (or even 3x that) right now and have the rating. No go. It's a racket. I refuse to participate in it anymore.
I may go whine, but in a good-old-boy town, what's likely to happen if I insist on internet only for say $20 - they'll call their relatives over at the courthouse and remind them I'm not paying as much PP taxes as I might, or something like that.
These things must be done delicately. (Yes, that's the OZ reference)
To add:
Back in the day (way back, the early 70's) I cancelled some credit cards, enough of that crap. Well, I get a bill for like $1.20 from one. So I send them $1.20. They add a dime and say I owe them a dime, plus fees - about 35c. So I write them a check for 35c. Then...it kept on and on and on - this was right when they wanted membership fees on top of their already-ridiculous fees. I finally sent them another dollar. They refused the check, then added interest and fees to the 35c, and on and on and on. I told them to go screw, wipe my credit if they want - I didn't want credit, that was the entire point.
They did, I now have a "no credit rating at all". They never did get that last 35c though. Did you guys know that no credit rating is worse than a bad one if you do need credit? Found that one out too. I had to put up 50,000 worth of land as collateral to borrow 10k @ 6%. I prepaid. They didn't like that, so nothing still on the rating.
They offered to help me. Say I borrowed 10k, using my savings account there as collateral, and just paid the 6-7% for 3 years (minimum). Then I'd have a credit rating. I asked if I couldn't just give them the $6-700 (or even 3x that) right now and have the rating. No go. It's a racket. I refuse to participate in it anymore.
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that sucks. what provider do you have? i have centurylink down around these parts.
May I suggest you try using smoke signals?
It's free and you could do your cooking at the same time.
DCF, I have a land line for DSL, (Verizon. 19.95 a month). Bing makes a lot of international calls (Philippines, Qatar, Saudi, etc.) so we use StarTec as our carrier, 3 cents a minute, anywhere in the world. However, they consider Marble Falls, 13 miles south of here, long distance, so one month when my 16 year olds girlfriend lived there I got a 60.00 long distance bill.
Solved that problem by saying I won't pay for any more phone bills; my 28 year old promptly put them all on his cell phone plan and everyone got a phone (except me). I think it costs him something like 200. a month. :rotflmbo:
we tried carrier pigeons but the wife kept cooking them....
DCFusor
Yellow Jacket
I could be completely happy with internet-only and something like Skype or Magic Jack. It's only offered in theory here - I know one guy who managed to get it (and a static IP on top for a couple extra bucks - which you need if you want to run your own www server). He was a more persistent PITA than I am with nothing else to lose, though.