Does anyone understand cell phone billing?

[Will Choy]

Does anyone know what any of the surcharges and fees on their bill are? I noticed mine were higher this month, only about 20 cents, but it made me realize I have no idea what any of them mean. I dropped Verizon a note and a representative called me to follow up; she had no idea what they were or why they were raised. She told me I could call their Tax department in Georgia.

I'm debating if I will.

 

[VarietyUndrgrnd]

Some of them are government-mandated. Others are not. Sprint helpfully indicates which are which. There's not much point in asking about them, you're stuck with whatever fees your provider chooses to stick you with. (And you're stuck with the governmental fees no matter who your provider is.)

If you would switch service due to the fees imposed by your specific carrier, it's worth asking. If not, it's not.

 

[benjamincanfly]

I've heard that providers will sometimes reduce your bill if you complain and talk about switching. Also, remember to curse. http://www.wikihow.com/Talk-to-a-Human-when-Calling-a-Business

 

[Will Choy]

Some of them are government-mandated. Others are not. Sprint helpfully indicates which are which. There's not much point in asking about them, you're stuck with whatever fees your provider chooses to stick you with. (And you're stuck with the governmental fees no matter who your provider is.)

If you would switch service due to the fees imposed by your specific carrier, it's worth asking. If not, it's not.

I figure I'm stuck whoever I switch to; I'd just like to know.

 

[rixtyseven]

I use Tracfone prepaid wireless. You just buy cards at Rite aid, CVS, Radio Shack, HESS stations, Target, or Eckerd whenever you need to add minutes. You can also purchase more minutes online. I spend about 20 dollars a month on wireless. There's no contract, you don't even have to give them your real name if you want. The only draw back is the phone selection is pretty lame, but the receptions good and if I lose my phone, I can have a new one as soon as I find the nearest drug store or Target. www.tracfone.com

 

[zohar]

How many minutes/mo do you use for only $20?

 

[noeld]

I do some work on telecom billing databases for companies. Basically you put in your inventory and plans and usage and it tells you how much your bill should be. As a rule you can not get the system to predict taxes in the US because there are so many unlabeled and constantly changing surcharges and taxes here. In some cases it is actually illegal for the telecom company to break down what the charges are. Anywhere else in the world you can put in all of your inventory and plans and usage and it figures your bill including taxes down to the nickle if your data is correct. And I'm talking about massive companies with 100,000 employees and the like. But not in the US.

Just a sign of how corrupt the relationship between telcos and our government is.

Trivia - Did you know there is a charge on your phone bill to fund the Spanish American war? There is.

 

[Will Choy]

Didn't they roll that tax back? I remember a big deal about it in the news.

 

[rixtyseven]

How many minutes/mo do you use for only $20?

You know, until I saw this I hadn't really thought about it, but I guess since I got this cell phone I've called people a lot less. I think it's because it says how many minutes I have left right on the front of the phone. I definitely contact more people through email and facebook. Because of this I use only about 120 minutes a month. It's basically 17 cents a minute. The difference is that tracfone gives you the whole minute. If you talk for only 2 1/3 minutes. It will only subtract 2.33 minutes from your airtime. Where as when I was with sprint and Verizon they charged me a whole minute for every minute I went into. If I talked for 2 1/3 minutes I was charged for 3 minutes. You don't think it adds up, but it does.
Also, if you do have long conversations and you're really looking to save money, save the long conversations for home where you can use a magic jack for 20 dollars a year

http://www.magicjack.com/

The best thing about prepaid is that you never have to worry about going over your minutes. The reason I save money with my phone is that It makes it easy to be concious of how much time I spend on the phone.

Obviously if your job requires you to use over 240 minutes a month you would be spending more money for those minutes with Tracfone than you probably would if you went with a plan, but at least you would never have to worry about going over your minutes.