4 Reasons to Utterly Despise Your Current Mobile Carrier

iphone-android-appTalking to a phone company is surely in your top 10 list of least favorite ways to spend an hour. Most wireless company employees either give you the runaround or don’t seem to know what they’re talking about.

There are tons of reasons to despise your phone carrier. But there are a few specific explanations for why they really suck. It’s time to call out all the mobile carriers. Read on for four reasons to make the switch and what options you have instead.

Outrageous Plan Prices

With the advent of smartphones, it’s become more and more impossible to get away with paying a monthly wireless phone bill that’s under $100. Data and texting fees alone contribute to almost half of the average wireless bill.

Digital Trends notes, “If you’re in America, you can choose between any of the Big Four and pay anywhere from $80 a month (T-Mobile and Sprint) to $100 a month (AT&T and Verizon) depending on your carrier of preference and the number of minutes you want. Verizon is the most expensive, and is even forcing users into new “Share Everything” plans that force them to pay for unlimited minutes and texts.”

The plan prices are appalling considering how ubiquitous mobile technology is. There’s hardly a competitive amount on the market.

Fees, Fees, and More Fees

Perhaps the worst part about the outrageous plan prices is that the charges don’t end there. Here’s a list of just a few of the average additional fees associated with mobile carriers:

  • Early Termination Fees
  • Overage fees, including minutes and text messaging
  • Admin Fees
  • Care Coverage Fees (for the phone you’re committed to for the duration of the plan)
  • Miscellaneous Fees
  • Whatever the company feels like per your contract

CNET refers to these fees as “below the line” charges that can increase your wireless bill by dozens of dollars depending on your contract.

Difficult to Decipher Consumer Contracts

This brings up another important point. All this telephone trickery just wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t actually written into the contract that you already signed away two years of your life to. Wired.com rants, “[…] it’s hard to downplay the lunacy of the one-sided “agreements” customers must sign to play ball in the status quo. These are several pages long, packed with legal vagaries, and unilaterally editable at will (but not, of course, by you).”

That’s right: even when you think you’ve completely decoded your contract, your mobile carrier might actually be able to change it any time. Certain companies actually write this clause into the fine print. It’s the sort of sweet afterthought that lets you know that your wireless company still cares – about completely stabbing you in the back. And the icing on the cake cut by the knife that stabbed you? Early termination fees.

Early Termination Fees

If all the previous tactics didn’t make you absolutely hate your mobile company, enter: the early termination fee. Yeah, so what, you signed a contract that clearly stated you’ll have to pay to leave before it’s up. The least your mobile carrier could do is apologize for all the fine print and fees by letting you go free when you’ve had enough.

Let’s face it: most bad relationships don’t last more than a year. Yet wireless carriers coax you into 2-year commitments – and they don’t even buy you dinner. If you just can’t stand your mobile company any longer, there’s still an answer.

According to CNET, if you’re done with your mobile carrier, then you can switch to a so-called Uncarrier such as T-Mobile. One of the major steps in the Uncarrier movement, CNET reports, is, “T-Mobile will ease a major pain point for cell phone owners: it will pay early-termination fees for those who jump from another carrier.” This makes it a lot easier to tell your mobile company: “it’s not you, it’s…no, actually, it’s definitely you.”

What’s your least favorite quality of your mobile carrier? What could it do to improve? Do you also despise your current mobile carrier? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Image via Flickr by IntelFreePress