Job Discussion Forums

[Shaman]

Has anyone had to cancel a mobile phone subscription midway through their contract? I know there's always the possibility of transferring it to another person. I'm just curious as to any experiences out there.

Thanks in advance.

Shaman

[fat_chris]

To piggyback off of this, what cell phone providers do you all use when in the States? What have you found to be the advantages and disadvantages of the major providers? I have heard that Verizon is good. I absolutely refuse to work with Sprint for personal reasons.

I will be moving to NYC next month and buying my first cell phone in America. I don't know how to approach this major purchase yet.

[juzstylin]

Chris,

I can maybe shed some light on your question.
I came to NYC two years ago and made getting a cell phone one of my top priorities. I'll tell you right now, not being a local or a US citizen is going to make your life difficult. For one, since you do not have a Social Security Number, it will be next to impossible to sign up for any plans. Therefore, you are left with pre-paid phone plans.

In terms of cell-phone providers, Verizon has the best coverage in NYC, but the knock on them is there out of date phones. If you are looking for top knotch phones, you might want to go with AT&T.

[Gordon]

Shaman,
I had a contract with Fido and had to try and cancel it before I came to Japan. I had 2 choices: pay the entire amount of the contract in full or transfer it to someone else. I gave my sister $100 to take it off my hands. It was a pain in the @ss.

[Shaman]

Thanks Gordon. I'm on contract with (Ma) Bell. Hopefully, they will prove a little more flexible about the contract. Yeah - who am I kidding?

Shaman

[juzstylin]

...you might want to consider is downgrading your service plan.

I'm going to face the same problem when I leave this September. Basically, I was told I can downgrade to the cheapest service plan, or completely take everything off except voice mail.

In most cases, this is a cheaper alternative to paying the surcharge for breaking a contract

[Gordon]

I thought of that, but my cheapest option was still about $40/month when you include the $15 or so in taxes you pay. What kind of a system is it when the taxes amount to about 30% of the cost?

[Shaman]

Conversely, there is always the possibilty of negotiation. Upon stating that one is leaving the country for reasons of employment, some leniency may be afforded. Ummm - yeah, right.

Otherwise:

"Would you like some money out of this situation or none whatsoever? The choice is yours. I'm not coming back."

A gamble to be sure, yet worth considering. I'll let you know soon.

Shaman

[Gordon]

[Shaman]

A salient point, Gordon. However, one can always add an addendum to one's own credit history (a rebuttal, if you will). In any case, when the time comes I'll probably end up transferring it to another person. That option would quite likely prove the lesser of the two headaches.

Shaman

[Lynn]

I signed up with T-mobile in NYC. That was over 2 years ago and I've since left NYC but keep the same number/provider. I haven't had any trouble with T-mobile, but it doesn't get good reception out here in the woods in my mom's house in WA state. IT's fine if I'm in town, but in the house, I get nothing.

[senor boogie woogie]

Hola!

Can someone explain what a contract is to get a working cell phone in the USA? You need a service provider? I hear that you need "good credit" to get a phone. I have "no credit". Credit is bull s h i t anyway. People like me who never seek credit are punished, while idiots who have before they pay get the perks.

In China, you buy the phone, then you buy a phone card, scratch off the secret code, insert code into phone, and "viola!" the phone is operational. So simple. Why can't they do this in the United States?

Senor

[JosephP]

It's kinda like the US tax code Senor BW, incomprehensible...