Quote:
Originally Posted by brijar
The first hidden/not advertised fee that hit me was the $10 SIM card.
They required a credit check, which I wasn't expecting. I asked if it was mandatory and the lady said it was. I seem to have "passed" the credit check, though.
There seemed to be some kind of promotion that waived the $35/line activation fee.
I was then told that I could have up to 3 lines without a deposit. I asked how I could get 5 lines and she said that lines 4 and 5 would each require a $50 deposit. What she didn't tell me was that in order to get those deposits back, you had to have an active account in good standing for at least 12 months. That has CONTRACT written all over it. Basically an early termination fee in disguise.
Cellular taxes ~20%
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I take it you haven't had a contracted plan in a while?
The new plans are no contract. Yes, they run credit. Every major company runs credit, its a service and the company is taking a risk by signing a person and letting them make payments on a phone or give them a discounted device. It's business and technically you're placing items on credit. Thus, your credit is run. You should also note they don't charge you interest.
As for your deposit - that's based on your credit class. You have decent credit and therefore didn't have a deposit on your first 3 lines but in order for T-Mobile to give you full access on 5 lines they wanted a little assurance that you'll continue to pay your bill. It is NOT a contract.
If you're wondering why other carriers may not do that, it's because they'll charge you a lot more and get their money back much more quickly. Think about it - 2 phones, with payments, unlimited talk, text AND 4G web, with insurance, is $176 plus tax. Wanna know how much it is at Verizon? Go shopping, you'll see its near $300. I know this because I used to sell all four major carriers, like I said earlier.
The problem with the market right now is people want a great phone for free and they want an unlimited plan for $25 a month without a contract. Not gonna happen.
By the way, cellular taxes are from the state and federal government. They'll get their hands on the prepaid stuff eventually but for now the state has us paying sales tax on every prepaid transaction.
There are no more activation fees, the $10 sim charge is for replacement sim cards for the life of that phone line. Would you rather keep paying the $35/line activation fees on the bill or $10 right there in the store?
But, alas, no matter how hard we try to please our customers there's always one that doesn't appreciate the deals we give them and is a cellular detective, able to insert clear and precise insight into our business with Google search as backup.
