Lets Talk: Free Cell Phone Company Not So "free"

[Shooting Star Haven 0]

I just recently got a Motorola V3 RAZR cell phone from http://www.letstalk.com/. The price tag said, "Free." Let me warn you, it really wasn't free. You have to pay for the phone and then they give you rebates and stuff, which then equals free. But by signing up for a free cell phone from that company, it constitutes agreement in paying for a yearly contract for your cell phone to be able to call people. So I scored a deal, they get paid by the phone distributor, the phone company (mine's T-Mobile) gets the money, everyone wins! One thing though, their customer support isn't that great. Let me rephrase that, it's like America Online. After getting the phones, I ordered Bluetooth and haven't gotten it since. Complaining to the support line didn't help, they just gave me the cold shoulder. Anyway, at least I got a free phone. My service rating is -5/10. However, my overall rating is 7/10. I'm quite generous.

Edited December 31, 2005 by miCRoSCoPiC^eaRthLinG (see edit history)

[Houdini 0]

Those kind of deals have been around for awhile, there is the buy one and get another one free, or get one for 1 cent, or of course the get the phone free (actually you pay for it then wait for a rebate, which might not ever come).No matter how any phone that you purchase or get at a reduced price or even free you have to have a service provider, and the better the deal the longer the terms of the service plan, which if broken could be rather expensive, just ask my ex-wife about the $250 plus bill that she got for breaking the terms of the service from a provider, if you don't pay it then they report you to the credit bureau.Phones and the quality of them have increased greatly since 1995 when I had one of those phones in a bag that was analog and unreliable. Oh well at least you got a free phone just watch the minute usage and you should be just fine.

[organicbmx 0]

its really interesting, and i hope someone might be able to tell me, why i have read about rebates [mostly on internet guides] in america but here in enland no companies offer rebates, no one does it. ive seen cashback on cars but that is like £200 back from a £5500 car.what is the point of rebates, why dont you just take it off the inital price. are they designed so they can get lost in the post, which is mostly what i read the happens

[Shooting Star Haven 0]

Rebates are there rather than them taking off from the original price initially because they won't lose the profits. You have to take the box, send it to the phone company, and then the phone company you have the contract with gives you the rebate. If they take the price off from the beginning, they aren't the ones reaping the profit. That's pretty much the reason behind rebates and cash-back.These companies like Lets Talk are kind of shady, in my opinion. On their site, they have some really good phones with television and music and instant messenger priced, "Too low to show (click here for the price tag)." I mean, too low to show? How about not selling it. Honestly, just display the price or forget about it. Yeesh, what are they thinking? Probably hoping the customer will see an opportunity to score a good deal and buy it. Also, they aren't very clear on their intention for providing free cell phones, leaving some customers thinking in the dark. When I first browsed their page, I originally thought it was like those, "Free iPod" deals. But it really isn't.And no, I haven't gotten my rebates yet. Hoping to soon, maybe.

[iGuest 3]

Pyramid scams, email scams, they're everywhere >_< So annoying I swear. They seem so legit and all, but if you take the time to inspect on it, you'll notice what kind of system they're running, and that you're just another victim in those schemes. I really don't like how they make each one usually so positive when it's really not. Like those playstation portable ones, they seem very legit and easy to get, but thing is, it's just too easy to get. I rather go into some contest that lets you win it on a circumstance of a contest rule that costs nothing, than these pyramid schemes.

[fiercesnowboardx 0]

I just recently got a Motorola V3 RAZR cell phone from http://www.letstalk.com/. The price tag said, "Free." Let me warn you, it really wasn't free. You have to pay for the phone and then they give you rebates and stuff, which then equals free. But by signing up for a free cell phone from that company, it constitutes agreement in paying for a yearly contract for your cell phone to be able to call people. So I scored a deal, they get paid by the phone distributor, the phone company (mine's T-Mobile) gets the money, everyone wins! One thing though, their customer support isn't that great. Let me rephrase that, it's like America Online. After getting the phones, I ordered Bluetooth and haven't gotten it since. Complaining to the support line didn't help, they just gave me the cold shoulder. Anyway, at least I got a free phone. My service rating is -5/10. However, my overall rating is 7/10. I'm quite generous.

1064334373[/snapback]

If you like the razr as well as I do then switch from t-mobile to cingular. I used to have t-mobile and they suck. So, i left t-mobile and got my phone unlocked by a friend that i know and used the razr on the cingular network. I have had cingular for 8 months now and no complaints. not to mention my mother had them when they where called bellsouth.

[Logan Deathbringer 0]

for the most part the rebates are set up so that you get a free, or reduced price, item and that way the item maker can post a profit on the sale of the item, so can the retailer. Then later on the manufacturer posts a slight loss in the next quarter. It works this way to bolster profit postings to the stockmarket and to bypass some market regulations put in by the government.As for wireless service providers, cigular is currently the best one out there, for america, but depending on where you live, others might be better for coverage and whatnot. Although I must say that Verizon is startging to come back and have a good strong network as well, and they are really opening up the bandwidth for wireless internet through their cell system.

[bash18 0]

I just recently got a Motorola V3 RAZR cell phone from http://www.letstalk.com/. The price tag said, "Free." Let me warn you, it really wasn't free. You have to pay for the phone and then they give you rebates and stuff, which then equals free. But by signing up for a free cell phone from that company, it constitutes agreement in paying for a yearly contract for your cell phone to be able to call people. So I scored a deal, they get paid by the phone distributor, the phone company (mine's T-Mobile) gets the money, everyone wins! One thing though, their customer support isn't that great. Let me rephrase that, it's like America Online. After getting the phones, I ordered Bluetooth and haven't gotten it since. Complaining to the support line didn't help, they just gave me the cold shoulder. Anyway, at least I got a free phone. My service rating is -5/10. However, my overall rating is 7/10. I'm quite generous.

1064334373[/snapback]

I bought My 6230i a while ago... trust me im not gonna make the same mistake again...

 

I bought it on Orange - UK. From local shop on cashback deal(pay monthly)...

The deal was i get My Nokia 6230i free (£30 monthly)& and nother fone completely free -

 

But from My bank They Were Taking(orange) £150 - so i foned them up ........

 

they replied i go back to the shop every month and get my cash back ...

 

2 problems - i dont have much spare time

& the shop is 8 miles away - (i moved houses),

 

After 4 months i cancled my direct debit and still now i get letters.lol

(IM NOT INCOURAGING U TO DO THAT!!)IT'S WRONG - I cant afford it so i had to.

 

NOTE: I talked to orange and took time - they agreed to let me settle in new home then pay after few months (VIA COURT)...

 

BASH18

 

MY MESSAGE IS STICK TO THE NORMAL TARRiFS Dont FALL 4 Cash Back Deals or U might be paying Over Double like Me ... lol

 

bash18

[shnilz 0]

Yep! i know the problem...they always say it's free but it isn't i live in the netherlands, and we got loooots of those "free cell phones" wich aren't that free. they always come with a abbonoment on something.. so dont stink in

[Sarah81 0]

Well ... seeing as the Razr's a $200 phone retail (at least around here) ... I wouldn't expect the sucker to be free without some sort of catch like a frustrating and lengthy rebate-submitting process.Cell phone services will have to understand that we can sell our contracts (there are sites online that will help you do just that) and move on to try a different cell-phone company. When they figure out that we can jump ship when customer service turns to poop, they might treat people a little better. Or they'll just keep dumping on people and we'll keep complaining *grins*

[evion 0]

I'm using T-Mobile because of its "Family plan" service that allows the family to share minutes every month. I don't really mind it as i don't make calls all that much. (Prefer using AIM os MSN ). So far, its been fairly OK. I won't say it's any good because the signal suddenly drops for no apparent reason sometimes and it doesn't work when you're in a deep and old neighborhood. (Deep as in deep within a forest of some sort) My cousin got Cingular and he thinks its great in South Carolina where he used to work. He still keeps the plan though, as he thinks the service is really good. Back on topic: Why you get free phones so much these days? It's almost always usually because of the catch which is pointed out using a 8 point font asterix symbol (*) right by the offer in, say a newspaper ad. You would barely be able to make out the small print right by the bottom right hand corner of the ad: To obtain this free phone, please sign up for a 5 year 100 minutes per month plan. What a rip off . What makes it worse is when companies like AOL gives you trials for their internet service and when you decide to stop it at the end of the month and you try to call them, they will give you really bad service and when you couldn't get through and the month is up, they will charge you. It's horrible, and has happened to me before, which is why i never like trial offers that much anymore.

[demolaynyc 0]

If you like the razr as well as I do then switch from t-mobile to cingular. I used to have t-mobile and they suck. So, i left t-mobile and got my phone unlocked by a friend that i know and used the razr on the cingular network. I have had cingular for 8 months now and no complaints. not to mention my mother had them when they where called bellsouth.

Finally! Someone who knows a good phone company. In my opinion T-Mobile is one of the worst cellphone companies. People are moving from T-Mobile to something better like cingular and verizon wireless. I think those two are the best so far, I don't know the truth but those two have great services. Don't be foooled by all the cool phones T-Mobile offers! What can you do with it if you have "no" service? I got a pretty good phone Nokia 6102 from Cingular online and it was free because of the INSTANT discount online. I also got the LGC2600 and both are free and great. So if you want a razr just get it from Cingular not T-Mobile.

[iGuest 3]

Extra Charges - Let

Lets Talk: Free Cell Phone Company Not So "free"

 

Let's Talk's customer service is horrible. My mother bought a family plan through them on Walmart.Com. The price quoted for a Blackberry Curve was $100. Put in the credit card and paid. Next, we get a confirmation email from Walmart that also says $100. Well, Let's Talk next email showed a charge of $149. After she called them and they said they would fix it, they never did fix it. I called and their customer service rep Tony was a complete jerk. I called the number for Lets Talk posted by the BBBOnline and it was out of service. End result, my mom is calling to cancel her order and then calling her credit card to tell them about the fraudulent charges.

[iGuest 3]

I was looking at the Let's Talk website and all the phones they offer, and it seems to good to be true. They say some of the phones (like the LG Neon) are $0.99 with contract extensions, and the reason they're so cheap is that they have an "Let's Talk instant discount". Is this true, or is it a scam that will come back to hunt me later? And about the plans, I'm already on a family plan with 3 other lines. Would I have to get a whole new plan for everyone, or would it just renew the plan for me? Thanks for your help.

-reply by Rena Johnson

 

[iGuest 3]

letstalk.comLets Talk: Free Cell Phone Company Not So "free"

we ordered are t-mobile phones from them and everything went smoothly, good phones brand new. We just returned to letstalk.Com because are t-mobile service just ended so we signed up with verizon, and we just put in our order. The only complaint I would have is that the customer rep was very rude.

-reply by hawaiiangirl_0416