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What's a good phone company?
Posted: Mar 9, 2010
I live in eastern PA and have been with Verizon for over 35 years. I have been late in paying the bill lately because of my work situation.
Today, my son emailed me and told me my phone was disconnected. Huh? I set up electronic payments 2 weeks ago to automatically come out yesterday and this Thursday with a live person. So I called. The aggravation of having to go through those 'answering machines' to get to a live person was enough to make me flip. THEN, the person I talked to told me they don't take electronic payments. Huh? I must have misunderstood...no, I didn't. My son pays that way. She then told me I had to make phone payments through another number and it would cost me $3.95. That, in itself, infuriated me even more. Then, after I FINALLY get through to them (another 'answering machine') punching all kinds of numbers (about 5 minutes worth), it did not recognize my phone number and hung up on me. After 20 minutes, I finally got it to accept my phone number.
I've been wanting to go through another company for quite a while now, but this was totally the last straw with Verizon. It costs me almost $60 a month (taxes included) without long distance and it's just not worth it anymore, but don't want to give up my land line.
Any info out there? Thanks
;
with a landline you will not get cheaper than that - tel comp
[ In Reply To ..]nm
How often do you use your landline? - Happy MT Robin
[ In Reply To ..]Years ago when I still had a landline and not much $$, they had an option to be billed just for outgoing minutes used. I had no other bells and whistles and I think the bill was $17 or $20 a month. It was only for outgoing calls, so I'd call my mom and we'd hang up and then she'd call me back if we were going to chat for a while. This was 15 years ago or so and I don't even know if the companies even offer that kind of option any more, but it's worth looking into.
Who is your internet provider? Comcast has a pretty decent phone system from what I understand and I have used Vonage in the past and never had any problems. Those are both VoIP lines and not technically "land lines."
Try your cable provider... - lexluther
[ In Reply To ..]I pay about 30/month through my cable company that provides my internet service, and that includes unlimited FREE long distance, caller ID, call waiting, and an unlisted number. Try whichever cable company you have in the area, or check them all if you are lucky enough to have more than one in your area. Also, you might want to check if they have any deals that will provide you television, internet, and phone bundles. Most cable providers seem to be doing that lately and you get all 3 for 100/month for the first year or so. Good luck.
Also in eastern PA with Verizon - Stella-JRG
[ In Reply To ..]I pay roughly $43 a month for my phone AND DSL combined without long distance.
Have you checked your bill? Verizon is notorious for putting stuff on without you asking for it and only take it off when you raise a fuss and of course you don't get your money back. I had some kind of e-mail charge for $9.95/month tacked onto my bill and when I called they said my son did it. I know he didn't because he's not authorized to make changes to the account.
Have you checked small phone companies in your area? - Mine is great
[ In Reply To ..]Since I do not know what City in Pennsylvania you are in, this may not be available to you, but I have a land line with long distance and caller ID with TDS Telecom (there is also a TDS Metrocom which is NOT the phone branch). They are pretty small so their City/State coverage is limited. (In Pennsylvania, there are only 11 Cities listed, but if your City is not listed, it may be that they just have not updated their site. I would still call and ask about your City.)
I have been with them for ages, so not sure if this plan is still available (in fact, the rate has not increased in over 15 years).
It is called “Clear Value Plus PKG4” and it costs $33.85 a month (total with taxes and fees is $46.72 per month). This includes a land line, caller ID, and 250 minutes of long distance (after 250 minutes, I think it is 10 cents per minute, but I am not sure since I have never gone over the 250 minutes per month ).
They are actually a great little phone company. Every time I have called in, I get an AMERICAN Customer Service agent, with maybe 2 minutes wait time and only a couple of menus to maneuver through. When I had no dial tone last year, I called them at 2 pm and they had a tech out by 5 pm the same day. A squirrel had eaten through a phone cable down the road. The problem was fixed the next day. They even called to let me know the phone was working again and to be sure the sound quality was good.
When I lost my job and fell behind on all my bills, they actually split my overdue bill over 4 months (without even asking why) and worked with me as far as pay dates, etc.
There are not many companies that will work with their customers anymore – especially my cable company. They would not budge even a day. On a Wednesday, I told my cable company I would pay them on Friday morning at their office, and I even asked if that would be okay. Their Customer Service agent said “sure.” Well, come Friday morning, my cable and internet had been disconnect (before their office even opened). For that reason, I would never have a phone line connected to my cable company.
Here is the website, in case you want to check them out.
Here is a map of the City/States they service:
http://www.tdstelecom.com/LocationPicker.aspx
Hope you are able to get a good deal with someone. Check out the smaller phone companies in your area before going with the big nationals, cable companies, or VOIPs. In my opinion, big companies have crappy Customer Service.
Good luck.
Those towns are so close to me but not available - Backwards Typist
[ In Reply To ..]It's so hard because Verizon really has a tight hold on this area, advertise Fios yet not available in this area. Comcast it the only one that does offer service in this area yet with the problems with Comcast, I would never sign up for their phone service.
In my area, we have the choice of Comcast and/or Verizon for internet and phone service, which is a pain. Comcast raises the payments every ytear and Verizon is not available. Evidently I'm stuck unless I want to use my cell phone for all calls, which I don't want to do because they aren't that reliable and I can't really see the buttons on my phone to call. I need the big buttons to see but can't afford a new cell phone.
phone service - geegee
[ In Reply To ..]I am curious as to what you hear is wrong about the cable provider, Comcast, being a problem. I have all of their services (phone, internet, tv) and have no problems, better than anything I've ever had in speed of internet (I'm in another area), but my daughter lives in eastern PA, also has everything from Comcast, also has no problems. They usually have a start-up offer for 6 or 12 months at a reduced rate, and, of course, after that it will go up some after that price expires, but you can't beat the bundled price for all. When I visit her several times a year and work from there, I use her long-distance for dial-in dictation, the internet is fine.
I have also learned that if you have ANY issue, deal straight with the local Comcast office, NOT their call center, as it is usually located in another location (at least in the US, not a foreign country), and communication between them and the technicians can be delayed or miscommunicated.
Thanks everyone for replying. - Backwards Typist
[ In Reply To ..]I really appreciate it. MTs are helpful hwhen information is needed. Too bad I'm 'up tje creek without a paddle."
The yight 'fist' that these conglomerates have has to be changed. I thought it was against the law for a telephone company/cable company to monopolize, but guess I was wrong. Ah, well, that's another subject. LOL
Windstream - anon
[ In Reply To ..]I have Windstream as my land line and high-spead internet provider. The bill is $52/month. If I call out on my phone, it is 10 cents per minute but no charge if someone calls me. So I would do like the other person said - if I want to talk to someone, call them, then have them call me right back.
That's baloney....I have Verizon in VA and I make - sm -
[ In Reply To ..]electronic payments. I was going in every month and making my payment but every now and then I forget and am a day late. So last month I signed up for auto pay. They automatically take the money out of my checking account every month 10 days before it is due, Feb. was my first month it did it automatically. I pay $60 a month but that included unlimited LD. You are getting reamed. I had a second line for a while at $30 with no LD. So in theory you should only be paying about $30 or so. I would go over your bill with a fine tooth comb and see what the problem is. I used to live in SE PA and had Verizon and never paid that much for my line. Nuts.
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