Cell Phone Companies Rip Off Boomers and Seniors

 

Speak Out to Save Money

Ok, all you cell phone users!!! listen up to what the Seniors Coalition is telling us. Boomers and olders are getting ripped off by the billing methods of cell companies. If you want to save big money, let's get on board with the organization's campaign to have Congress investigate cell companies billing methods and scare tactics. This could mean savings of hundreds of dollars. And we all need every penny we can get, right? So read on below the information sent to me by the Srs Coalition.

 

THE SENIORS COALITION:  CELL PHONE BILLS SHOULD UNDERGO THE SAME KIND OF TOUGH CRACKDOWN AS CREDIT CARDS

  Widespread Uncertainty and Industry-Fostered Confusion Mean That Consumers

 Pay Much More Than Is Necessary; Why So-Called “Unlimited” Plans Don’t Solve Problem of Wasted Cell Phone Minutes, High Cell Phone Bills.

 WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 28, 2009 –  It’s time for cell phone companies and their poor disclosures to U.S. seniors and other consumers to get the same

 kind of tough going-over that Congress just gave to credit cards, according to The Seniors Coalition. 

 Knowing that Congress was going to take a hard look at credit card companies and their billing practices, The Seniors Coalition commissioned a March 2-5, 2009 survey by Opinion Research Corporation (ORC).   The scientific poll of 1,595 Americans with cell phones found the following:

 * An astonishing two out of five Americans (40 percent) do not know what  penalty they would pay if they canceled their cell phone service.  While

 this confusion extends to 60 percent of consumers aged 65 or older, it

 also includes 46 percent of those aged 45-54 and 49 percent of those aged

 55-64.   

 

"Granda" Green Charges Cell Companies with OVER CHARGING Seniors

 The Seniors Coalition National Spokesperson “Grandma” Green said:  “This statistic clearly shows why millions of Americans pay more for their cell phone service than they need to:  They worry about getting clobbered with

 a penalty if they change services.    The cell phone industry has been told for years that this uncertainty in the marketplace is a problem and they have done far too little to remedy it.  This is just simply unconscionable in terms of the treatment of U.S. seniors and other consumers.”

 * The ORC survey found that nearly half (48 percent) of cell phone

 consumers either already are at the end of their penalty period (7

 percent) or in its last 12 months (41 percent).    Depending on the cellphone company

they are patronizing, many consumers can come out ahead if

 they switch to a better cell phone deal now and pay a small penalty for

 breaking a contract that has not yet expired.

 

* More than half of consumers (54 percent) say they use fewer minutes than they pay for every single month.   Seven out of 10 Americans say they go under on their minutes every month or “nearly every month.”

 Green said:   “There are two reasons why these wasted minutes add up into the millions of hours and dollars every month for American consumers.

 First, it’s because too many cell phone plans are pegged to excessively high-minute levels, so the options consumers have for plans that actually meet their needs are limited.   This threatens to get worse with the advent of ‘unlimited’ plans that are really just a way in some cases of charging more and hiding the number of wasted minutes under an ‘all you can eat’ arrangement.  But the reality is that wasted minutes are money down the drain no matter how they are marketed.”

 Green added:  “The second factor that is fueling wasted cell phone minutes is the fact that cell phone companies scare consumers with the threat of outrageously costly ‘overage’ minutes in the 40-50 cent range – even though their actual costs for those minutes are a tiny fraction of that. 

 The reason for the sky-high overtime charge is simple:  It frightens

 consumers into buying more minutes than they need and allows the cell phone companies to profit handsomely as a result of the fear they

 manufacture in the market place.”

 * Cell phone company disclosures to consumers are so bad that consumers underestimate their minutes used by about half, and are therefore much more susceptible to being charged high overages for minutes they didn’t

 know they had used.  When consumers were asked to estimate their minutes used each month, the mean was 228 minutes, including 252.5 minutes for contract-based phone users and 117.7 minutes per month for prepaid

 users.   According to one leading industry source, the amount of cell phone air time actually used by U.S. consumers averages a bit less than 550 minutes per month.

 “Of course, consumers need to have a good handle on how many cell phone

 minutes they use each month.  But who can really blame them for having

 trouble keeping track of this when they get the gobbledygook bills

 provided by most cell phone companies,” Green said.  “Again, the

 industry’s agenda here seems simple:  Confuse consumers by making it as

 hard as possible for them to get a clear handle on how many minutes they

 are actually using.   Once again, cell phone companies are being allowed

 to enrich themselves at the expense of befuddled consumers.”

Majority of Boomers Use Cell Phones

The ORC survey for The Seniors Coalition also found that cell phones are now nearly as ubiquitous as credit cards, with 80 percent of American adults using cell phones, including 65 percent of those aged 65 and older. Of all adults with cell phones with cell phones, 84 percent have contract-based phone service and 17 percent have prepaid phones. (The small overlap is accounted for here by people who have both types of cell phones.) The complete survey findings are available upon request.

ABOUT THE SENIORS COALITION

The Seniors Coalition is the nation’s leading free-market senior education and advocacy organization with a membership of more than 4 million seniors. The mission of The Seniors Coalition (TSC) is to protect the quality of life and economic well-being that older Americans have earned while supporting common sense solutions to the challenges of the future. The Seniors Coalition is a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(4) that represents the interests and concerns of America’s senior citizens at both the state and federal levels.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, for TSC, (703) 276-3266 or pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com

Senior Coalition:  http://www.Senior.org

Comments

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[Cell phone tracker]

I do not like my carrier, it overcharges me, and does not give a reason, to be honest, I hate it.

[Pat Yoe]

I have Straight Talk. I previously had Verizon then switched to AT&T but the bills were CRAZY!.

When I heard about Straight Talk I couldn’t believe it but have had it now for 2 months and it is just sick! I’d heard that it was on Verizon and the coverage is rock steady, so yeah.

[Virginia]

Jason, Wow! I never knew that Verizon had such high charges. thanks for cluing us in! Virginia

[Jason McAllister]

Actually you want a real kick in the pants? Considering the Big 4 services in the US there are things you have to look out for. For Verizon the basic customer that does not have great credit has to pay $400 for a deposit. Not counting a $35 activation fee, and whatever price the sales person might sell it to you at (they make as much as they can if their straight commission). Now they have times where they don't have activation fees and what not but who wants to pay for their activation, phone (pay all this and its not free), deposit.

Tracphone is a good alternative. Other areas such as south Texas has a provider like Pocket Communications. Plus there are ones like Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile that both run off the Sprint network so they have a wide range and its no contract. Add to that Virgin Mobile you can change your plan every month if you wish, their prepaid actually roles over for minutes not used (up to 5000 minutes). I'm with one of the big 4 now only because I have a while yet to go for my contract, once I'm out I will be with a no contract provider. I suggest everyone do the same.

[Happygirl]

Another prepaid service that I recently found out about is Tracfone. they have this new plan called Straight Talk. As a college student, I don't have enough money to pay the pricy cell phone bill that I have been paying for the past few months. My friend told me at the beginning of the month of a company called TracFone. They are a prepaid cell phone company -- which means, I only pay for the minutes that I need. The best part is that you don't need to spend a lot of money on contract phones. I had NO IDEA what "Straight Talk" was until I did some research. Here's what it is: you pay 30 dollars a month and it includes 1000 anytime minutes (nation wide), 1000 text messages, 30 MB of data and no overage charges! You can get them at Wal-Mart stores for very cheap. It's great for college students, elderly, children, and people who do not use their phones too frequently.

[Virginia Cornue]

Ok, I have to investigate these different phones to see if I can get coverage in the wilds of the Keweenaw Pen.

[Genny James]

I was fortunate to have inquired about my contracts expiry date at the right time because I was able to cancel without having to pay the cancellation fee. I recommend to contract customers to find out when your contracts expire because if you don't cancel on time they just renew the contract and you end up being tied in for another two years without realizing. I have now bought a simple Tracfone and it's saving me so much because I am only paying for the minutes I use and no more. I can also make long distance and some international calls for the same price as a local call.

[Virginia]

Good solution Marigold. I think I have to research all the options and do apost on them.

[Marigold]

For years my mom (who is 84) was part of my sister's contract family plan with AT&T, but found herself holding off from making calls because she did not want the "plan" to go over the alotted minutes and have my sister pay extra. So, having a cell was useless for her. I decided it was best for her to own her own plan and switched her to prepaid. She chose NET10 since calls are only .10 each and she lives off her pension. Bought the phone at WalMart for $20 which came with 300 minutes - enough to last her 60 days. I can now be in touch with her whenever she wants without having to worry about someone else's minutes, contracts or cancellation fees. Both she and I feel much safer since she now calls me whenever she wants or needs to.

[Virginia]

Ok, folks, I almost forgot---make sure you sign up with the Coalition to get a congressional inquiry into these billing practices.

[Virginia]

Now I feel stupid. I have t-moblie and the costs are outrageous, but I have service in the Keewanah Peninsula of Mich where I go in the summer. It is way the h*** up therethe thumb that sticks off the UP, MIch and when I had verizon, I had no service. Anybody have any suggestions. I think for folks who are in remote areas, service is an issue. And for those of us who go back and forth like I do, from NJ to way the heck up there in MICH it is a problem. Also, I have to have service up there in the KP, because my partners and our small publishing company, www.thimbleberrypress.com is there. But I live with my kid fulltime in NJ.

Suggestions Please....

Many folks may have this same problem.

[Nancy Mehegan]

Prepaid cell phone time: I use AT&T GoPhone which I suspect is more expensive than Tracfone or NET10. The basic plan is .25 per minute -- gulp. Need to assess which service is the best.

[CharlesT]

About time. Cell phone bills make anyone feel stupid. The average bill has so much jargon and obscure costs added to it, you get the feeling you are being ripped off but you can't prove it. Well, no more. I switched to the NET10 prepaid service and it is a pleasure to deal with a service where the costs are exactly what they say it is - 10c per minute. No roaming charges, no long distance, no time-of-day differentiation. Just 10c a minute. Real simple. And I only pay for what I use, no left-over minutes being wasted.

[bocachica]

I agree. Credit cards are pernicious and so are cell phones. I hate the fact that you're in complete suspense when you open your bill!

I solved the dilemma by getting a prepaid phone. TracFone lets me control my expenses by ensuring I pay only for the minutes I use! Yay!