Marvin the Gallant
Miriam, the cell phone Goofus, has a hero for the day: Marvin the Gallant.
The other night I got a call on my cell phone. The electronic voice informed me that my cell phone bill was overdue in the amount of five. hundred. sixty. dollars. and ninety. seven. cents. With my mouth hanging open, I pressed the "end" button and went in search of my last bill. My first rifle through the bills basket skipped over the envelope with blue snowflakes on the outside and the cheerful admonition to "Share the Spirit." Then I saw it was the unopened Alltel bill.
Taking a deep breath, I ripped it open. No joking. There was the record of the payment for the previous month: $24.71. And then the current charges: $560.97. The detail for the billing included records of 1 3/4 pages worth of calls, all placed between Nov. 28 and Dec. 2, and all made or received in Wichita, KS. They were all subject to roaming charges and long distance charges. One call was over $20.00 for about the same number of minutes.
I promptly told Hiromi what I had just discovered. Can you believe he did not even remonstrate with me about it? He acted like things like this aren't anything to worry about. Of course, he does have this annoying habit at other times of speaking of our financial status in very sober tones, usually with worried noises lurking near the surface.
I interrupt this broadcast to say that I have always been a reluctant cell phone user. I don't initiate many phone contacts. Period. For sure not when I have to figure out all over every time I use the phone how it's supposed to work. On my old phone I had gotten beyond making and receiving calls and had actually learned how to retrieve messages, and add to and access my directory. Then I got a new phone and still haven't figured out any of that, even after Victor gave me his user's manual for his identical phone. "It's pretty intuitive," he told me when he explained that he didn't need it anymore. Right.
Hiromi has never paid a lick of attention to cell phones. When I added him to my plan, he hardly ever carried the phone, and usually was not pleased to be called on it. So when my first contract expired, I decided to get rid of the service and the $70+ a month bills and go to a prepaid plan for myself only. I thought that made sense since I'm usually near a phone here at home or at school, and I need a phone mostly when I'm in town or elsewhere away from home. I had gotten the phone after my boys prevailed on me so they could contact me during farmer's market days or shopping trips. I liked the convenience of having it in case of vehicle problems away from home.
The agent I talked to when I called to cancel offered me a plan for $19.95 a month. I could keep the same number and have a lot more flexibility than I would have had with a pre-paid plan. I decided to go for it. By November I had clearly forgotten a few key details of the new plan. It was a local plan--not a national plan. It was also limited to 50 anytime minutes instead of the 200 that I had in mind. Still, at the time I signed up, all that seemed reasonable, given my cell phone usage patterns.
Things changed dramatically when my Mom went to the hospital in Wichita. I enjoyed the convenience of my cell phone during that time, and even loaned it out to other family members who didn't have one. I knew that my own calls were still well under the 200 minute ceiling, and wasn't worried. I didn't take into account that incoming calls were being charged as well as calls I initiated, and that all were subject to roaming charges. I know. Silly me.
After I inspected the bill, I did what any posting-prone member of the DLMfamily Yahoo group would do. I asked if anyone else had had a similar experience and if anyone had advice for me.
My brother-in-law, Marvin, did. "Don't pay it," he said. "You should be able to negotiate it down. I'll help you if you want me to." Did I ever! . . .
Long story short--Marvin called Alltel and they agreed to sign me up for a 750-minute national plan retroactive to November, for $49.95. All the charges I accumulated for the month of November are covered with that amount. My savings amounts to $488.93. I'm sure the December bill, which I haven't seen yet, will stack up similarly, if not worse/better. I can go back to a cheaper plan after everything's cleared up if I so choose.
I am immensely relieved. Humbled and grateful too. A little wiser, but still not very smart about cell phone plans and usage, I'm afraid. When this contract expires, I think I'll just piggy-back on one of the boys' plans. That's what I should have done in the first place.
I'm glad both Marvin and Alltel saw fit to "Share the Spirit."
The other night I got a call on my cell phone. The electronic voice informed me that my cell phone bill was overdue in the amount of five. hundred. sixty. dollars. and ninety. seven. cents. With my mouth hanging open, I pressed the "end" button and went in search of my last bill. My first rifle through the bills basket skipped over the envelope with blue snowflakes on the outside and the cheerful admonition to "Share the Spirit." Then I saw it was the unopened Alltel bill.
Taking a deep breath, I ripped it open. No joking. There was the record of the payment for the previous month: $24.71. And then the current charges: $560.97. The detail for the billing included records of 1 3/4 pages worth of calls, all placed between Nov. 28 and Dec. 2, and all made or received in Wichita, KS. They were all subject to roaming charges and long distance charges. One call was over $20.00 for about the same number of minutes.
I promptly told Hiromi what I had just discovered. Can you believe he did not even remonstrate with me about it? He acted like things like this aren't anything to worry about. Of course, he does have this annoying habit at other times of speaking of our financial status in very sober tones, usually with worried noises lurking near the surface.
I interrupt this broadcast to say that I have always been a reluctant cell phone user. I don't initiate many phone contacts. Period. For sure not when I have to figure out all over every time I use the phone how it's supposed to work. On my old phone I had gotten beyond making and receiving calls and had actually learned how to retrieve messages, and add to and access my directory. Then I got a new phone and still haven't figured out any of that, even after Victor gave me his user's manual for his identical phone. "It's pretty intuitive," he told me when he explained that he didn't need it anymore. Right.
Hiromi has never paid a lick of attention to cell phones. When I added him to my plan, he hardly ever carried the phone, and usually was not pleased to be called on it. So when my first contract expired, I decided to get rid of the service and the $70+ a month bills and go to a prepaid plan for myself only. I thought that made sense since I'm usually near a phone here at home or at school, and I need a phone mostly when I'm in town or elsewhere away from home. I had gotten the phone after my boys prevailed on me so they could contact me during farmer's market days or shopping trips. I liked the convenience of having it in case of vehicle problems away from home.
The agent I talked to when I called to cancel offered me a plan for $19.95 a month. I could keep the same number and have a lot more flexibility than I would have had with a pre-paid plan. I decided to go for it. By November I had clearly forgotten a few key details of the new plan. It was a local plan--not a national plan. It was also limited to 50 anytime minutes instead of the 200 that I had in mind. Still, at the time I signed up, all that seemed reasonable, given my cell phone usage patterns.
Things changed dramatically when my Mom went to the hospital in Wichita. I enjoyed the convenience of my cell phone during that time, and even loaned it out to other family members who didn't have one. I knew that my own calls were still well under the 200 minute ceiling, and wasn't worried. I didn't take into account that incoming calls were being charged as well as calls I initiated, and that all were subject to roaming charges. I know. Silly me.
After I inspected the bill, I did what any posting-prone member of the DLMfamily Yahoo group would do. I asked if anyone else had had a similar experience and if anyone had advice for me.
My brother-in-law, Marvin, did. "Don't pay it," he said. "You should be able to negotiate it down. I'll help you if you want me to." Did I ever! . . .
Long story short--Marvin called Alltel and they agreed to sign me up for a 750-minute national plan retroactive to November, for $49.95. All the charges I accumulated for the month of November are covered with that amount. My savings amounts to $488.93. I'm sure the December bill, which I haven't seen yet, will stack up similarly, if not worse/better. I can go back to a cheaper plan after everything's cleared up if I so choose.
I am immensely relieved. Humbled and grateful too. A little wiser, but still not very smart about cell phone plans and usage, I'm afraid. When this contract expires, I think I'll just piggy-back on one of the boys' plans. That's what I should have done in the first place.
I'm glad both Marvin and Alltel saw fit to "Share the Spirit."
posted by Mrs. I at
6:17 AM
1 Comments:
Hurrah!
By
Anonymous, at 1/14/2009
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