| Traditional
cell plans can be confining | | |
|
"When you now call to complain about a service
problem -- and are persistent in your efforts and call customer
service often enough -- you will find that you'll be told, 'OK,
we'll fix that or upgrade you, but only if you extend another two
years -- or you can pay the penalty,'" says Mierzwinski.
Hobson's choice
Sometimes the cell-phone company, rather than the customer, initiates
the process that ultimately necessitates that Hobson's choice.
Cell phone companies can, by fiat, change the terms
of agreement midstream and place a customer in an unfair, no-win
situation that is ultimately enforced by the presence of the early
termination fee. For example, should your cell service suddenly
increase its fee for text messaging, midterm, and you don't want
to pay that higher price, you have the choice of either entering
into a new one- or two-year plan, paying more for all your text
messages until your contract lapses or paying an expensive early
termination fee and starting over from scratch with a different
carrier.
Mierzwinski says the Federal Communications Commission
has failed to enact the most basic of consumer protection regulations,
instead relying almost exclusively on competition and market forces
to protect wireless subscribers. These, unfortunately, have proven
inadequate.
Cell phone consumers need strong, truth-in-billing
rights and they need to be rid of the early termination fee burden,
he says. Consequently, U.S.PIRG is calling on both state and federal
lawmakers and regulators to adopt measures that would protect consumers
and do away with the current anticompetitive practices, fees and
coercive policies, common among cellular providers.
No one, though, can say for certain whether
such efforts will ultimately be successful.
"And that's why consumers should examine their
options carefully before they make any long-term commitments with
a cell-phone company," says Mierzwinski. "If you value
your freedom and the right to make your own choices when and how
you see fit, you might want to consider prepaid cellular as an option.
It's definitely not for everyone ... but it's a choice that doesn't
hold you captive."
Fewer
bells and whistles; fewer hassles
Prepaid cellular's main appeal is
its no contract/no commitment approach to business with consumers. A pay-as-you-go
plan allows consumers to control how much they pay and when, says Lewis Ward,
senior research analyst for wireless and mobile communications at research firm
IDC.
| 
