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Sign this petition to Abolish Overages

by DURABLEOILCOM
14 replies
  • OFF TOPIC
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"In 2013, more than 20 million Americans were hit with punitive overage charges by U.S. wireless companies, and all Americans have known the fear of wireless bill shock. Overage penalties from AT&T, Verizon and Sprint take more than an incredible $1 billion out of consumers' pockets every year. It's time to show these companies that we're not going to take these outrageous fees lying down anymore.

Traditional wireless plans start with a low monthly fee for a fixed amount of domestic minutes, texts or data. Once consumers go over those limits - even by a little - they're hit with dramatically higher rates and extreme penalties. These plans seem purpose-built to drive customers over that invisible line into massive overage charges.

This is just plain wrong, and it must end. I'm laying down the challenge to AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to follow T-Mobile's lead and abolish these overages once and for all. "

https://www.change.org/p/wireless-ca...ess-and-sprint
  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    Traditional wireless plans start with a low monthly fee for a fixed amount of domestic minutes,
    If you consistently "go over" your limit - you need to pay for a higher limit, don't you? What if they abolish limits and simply triple the fee....that would work. You don't have to "take" the fees - you can disconnect.

    I think the "petition" business is a bit out of hand but something has to keep that website going...
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    • Profile picture of the author kindsvater
      Who wants to sign a petition requiring AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to stop charging for wireless phone and Internet access?

      You look at someone using their phone and these big corporations are charging for literally plucking data out of the air. No wires. Nothing. Shouldn't the air be free? It's outrageous. Free the air!

      .
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Mobley
      May I recommend that you change carriers.

      Unlimited minutes.
      Unlimited text messages.
      2.5gig LTE speed data.
      Use phone as HotSpot.
      Etc.

      $40.00 per month. <- Period.

      Joe Mobley
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    You know what the problem about this is?

    It is like WALMART has 1000000 liters of alcohol, and ONLY WALMART provides alcohol, and EVERYONE wants a mandate that they get a liter of alcohol, for FREE!

    I mean having ALCOHOL should be a CIVIL RIGHT! RIGHT? I mean THINK about it! ALCOHOL is THE go to antiseptic, cleaner, and water displacer! When corps have hand cleaner to prevent disease, what is THE active ingredient used in like 99% of places? ALCOHOL When hospitals need to sterilize a spot for a shot, what do they use? ALCOHOL! For WINDOWS, what was one of the best cleaners? ALCOHOL! Of course SOME use vinegar. It is interesting because vinegar is "sour wine", and eventually, it becomes alcohol.

    HEY, FANTASTIC, HUH! I mean 1000000 liters is a LOT! It is one BILLION ccs of alcohol! WOW! And the first 1000000 may be VERY happy! But what about the OTHER 329million, and GROWING!

    Aren't we glad that it ISN'T free, so people produce SO much, and people limit their purchases?
    And YEAH, I HATE paying so much for cell phones, etc.... But I wish people would realize what happens!

    1. CELL PHONES are really NOT phones at all. They are really nothing more than tweaked walky talkies. There is a limited range, and they can NOT generally talk to one another. So we have to have stations ALL OVER!

    2. In the 1980s, in the US, the FCC had a big lottery. As the manager of frequencies, it is illegal to use a band without the FCCs approval. The FCC charged like $10,000 JUST FOR CONSIDERATION. People hadto submit plans, and get them approved, etc... And each winner only got 2 markets, that they were OBLIGATED to support. A large one, and a small one, because everyone wanted the large lucrative ones. ANYWAY, THIS is why we have ROAMING CHARGES in the US!

    You can imagine how much it costs. And cell phones, and minutes, used to cost a LOT!!!!!!! BELIEVE ME, BOTH are cheaper now! Cell phones dropped in price because of technology and outsourcing, but are STILL way too expensive! To cover this cost, they raised monthly fees, and added termination costs. And THAT is why you can now get a cell phone for FREE. You didn't really think they were free, did you? Of course, they lowered the price for connections by raising the monthly price, and giving some free minutes.

    And should cell phones be a civil right? When they were created, there were payphones on nearly every block, and they were a time saver and a way to stay in safe areas and make a call. It is ludicrous, for example, for a poor person confined at home most of the time with no job to get a cell phone. So they are to get a phone that requires more resources, and has to be charged all the time, so they don't have to go into the next room!

    As for the cost of things? I wish there were something that would constrain them. Then again, the BIGGEST culprit is the US government.

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author yukon
    Banned
    AT&T sucks.

    The road in front of my house was repaved last winter, the road crew cut some phone lines. I called AT&T, they sent out a repairman. This guy strings about 50 yards of phone line from the side of my house towards the street, runs the phone line up a tree (a freakin tree) to a power pole & across the street to a neighborhood phone box.

    I still have 50 yards of phone cable stretched across my front yard today. It's been about 5 months now.
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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by yukon View Post

      AT&T sucks.

      The road in front of my house was repaved last winter, the road crew cut some phone lines. I called AT&T, they sent out a repairman. This guy strings about 50 yards of phone line from the side of my house towards the street, runs the phone line up a tree (a freakin tree) to a power pole & across the street to a neighborhood phone box.

      I still have 50 yards of phone cable stretched across my front yard today. It's been about 5 months now.
      The ironic thing is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to cut phone lines by repaving the road! A LOT of roads are "repaved" because they rip up part of the street to ADD RESOURCES, like telephone connections! And it is THEN possible to cut lines. But YEAH! AT&T is a mere shadow of what it was.

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author yukon
        Banned
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        The ironic thing is that it is IMPOSSIBLE to cut phone lines by repaving the road! A LOT of roads are "repaved" because they rip up part of the street to ADD RESOURCES, like telephone connections! And it is THEN possible to cut lines. But YEAH! AT&T is a mere shadow of what it was.

        Steve
        The road crew took it all the way down to the dirt in a few areas, they also dug out the drainage ditch on both sides of the road (while cutting phone lines). The street is about 2 miles long.

        They cut phone lines up & down the whole length of the street. My brother inlaw lives at the other end of the street, his land line phone didn't work for about a week. My phone was working after a couple of days but it was a redneck hack job done by AT&T.

        If it wasn't for the DSL I would run over the cable in my yard with the lawnmower. Spring/Summer isn't over...
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        • Profile picture of the author seasoned
          Originally Posted by yukon View Post

          The road crew took it all the way down to the dirt in a few areas, they also dug out the drainage ditch on both sides of the road (while cutting phone lines). The street is about 2 miles long.

          They cut phone lines up & down the whole length of the street. My brother inlaw lives at the other end of the street, his land line phone didn't work for about a week. My phone was working after a couple of days but it was a redneck hack job done by AT&T.

          If it wasn't for the DSL I would run over the cable in my yard with the lawnmower. Spring/Summer isn't over...
          I wasn't calling you a liar, I was merely saying that the paving may simply have been done to repair the damage done by adding those resources, as you just indicated.

          I don't know what the punishment is but in several states, and perhaps the ENTIRE US, it is ILLEGAL for the average citizen to dig outside of designated zones more than about 6". If you want to do so, you have to call a special number. WHY? So THEY can tell you how to dig! WHY? So you don't start affecting such resources left and right! About 811 & Common Ground Alliance | Call 811 - Know what's below

          If they do this with citizens, they should certainly have similar things with all involved companies!

          Steve
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          • Profile picture of the author lanfear63
            I hardly use cellphones (just a Tracfone) but observing it all I can see a day where the fees will be negligible. We are still transitioning from the novelty of it all to the mundane, it's a utility like the landlines. Will be a while yet.

            As for landlines, I use Vonage connected to my router and can phone anywhere in the world for a fixed monthly fee, very cheap. They have an app that you can put on any cellphone so you can call via your Vonage service, You have to have a cellphone with any minimum contract but thats all.

            The only thing on cellphone plans, even the cheap ones, I hate is where it says unlimited, talk, text and data for a low fee. Except, the data is only a couple of gigs, watch a few video's and it's gone.

            Pitiful, they need to address that

            I would like to see them just say, $60.00 a month (or whatever), all in, no restrictions, all fees and taxes included. They would make a profit and get a hell of a lot of signups.

            In the UK, the tax is included in the price of consumer goods, what you see on the price tag is what you pay. So easy.

            .
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            • Profile picture of the author seasoned
              Originally Posted by lanfear63 View Post

              I hardly use cellphones (just a Tracfone) but observing it all I can see a day where the fees will be negligible. We are still transitioning from the novelty of it all to the mundane, it's a utility like the landlines. Will be a while yet.

              As for landlines, I use Vonage connected to my router and can phone anywhere in the world for a fixed monthly fee, very cheap. They have an app that you can put on any cellphone so you can call via your Vonage service, You have to have a cellphone with any minimum contract but thats all.

              The only thing on cellphone plans, even the cheap ones, I hate is where it says unlimited, talk, text and data for a low fee. Except, the data is only a couple of gigs, watch a few video's and it's gone.

              Pitiful, they need to address that

              I would like to see them just say, $60.00 a month (or whatever), all in, no restrictions, all fees and taxes included. They would make a profit and get a hell of a lot of signups.

              In the UK, the tax is included in the price of consumer goods, what you see on the price tag is what you pay. So easy.

              .
              Yeah, SPRINT, on some new plans, is saying $60/month for unlimited. I figured out how they do it, if they do. THEY THROTTLE! THEY CLAIM, and their PHONE CLAIMS, that they have LTE3! It is supposed to be faster than the service I had with Verizon, which predates LTE3. It seems noticeably SLOWER!

              As for the idea of showing tax in the price? DUMB IDEA! In the US, we have that in a LOT of places! GAS, SHIPPING, PHONES, WAGES! All it does is cause people to think government is more the SOLUTION, than the problem! And companies can't do it unless they clearly beat everyone else hands down, because people WILL buy based on price!

              ANOTHER thing, what if taxes aren't exact TO THE PENNY? If you include them in the price, you end up paying MORE!

              FOR THE RECORD, I thought showing the tax was a good idea when I was a little kid. TODAY, I have seen SO MANY argue about the real tax and all that I PINE for it to be shown EVERYWHERE! Did YOU know, for example, that they added .5% to some sales tax in California, as a TEMPORARY tax? Last I heard, like a decade later, it was STILL THERE! And they still call it STATE SALES TAX! It ISN'T state sales tax! It is state sales tax+county sales tax+(possibly city sales tax)+Special sales tax! Back when the "state sales tax", in LA, was 8%, the state sales tax was only about 6%, IIRC. HECK, look at all the different "state sales taxes" for ONE state! http://www.boe.ca.gov/pdf/boe95.pdf

              BTW the BOE is the one that will sue you and give you grief if you don't remit the right tax, so they are the authority here in CA.

              Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Petitions. LMAO. Mad cow stampede by the truly uniformed when they finally figure out that we're up Shytecreek and aren't with it enough to quite "get" the depth of the situation. The stampede's been a political phenomenon for a few years now.....the fact that people are recognizing the nature of gov/corp and now petitioning corporations, too, is pretty interesting.

    Will I sign a petition to a corporation? Absolutely not. Especially not this one. WiFi is scarily health erosive, So is cellular. Number one - I don't like living in a microwave grid. At all. The only thing that makes sense to me is to drop cellular and WiFi and get off the grid completely.

    Here's a clue, though - you're dealing with a corporation. You don't "petition" them - you boycott them. When enough others get in line with your distaste for what that corp is doing and you'll hit them in the only place corporations give a rat about...........their wallets.

    If you're so disgusted with this company..............freaking don't deal with it. I don't listen to slobbering about "wah they're the only one" -- well, that's called a monopoly and is supposedly illegal. Take it to court - there's where your petition comes in.........or just have everyone drop them off and put them out of business in your region. Can't use cell phone without them? So get a landline. We don't need people on the road chatting and texting anyhow.

    Good grief - people have become so consumerized that it just gobsmacks me.
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    Sal
    When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
    Beyond the Path

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    • Profile picture of the author seasoned
      Originally Posted by HeySal View Post

      Here's a clue, though - you're dealing with a corporation. You don't "petition" them - you boycott them. When enough others get in line with your distaste for what that corp is doing and you'll hit them in the only place corporations give a rat about...........their wallets. .
      BTW you CAN'T really boycott them much! There are a few ILECS. Most CLECS can probably be boycotted to some degree, and likely are, but with an ILEC, GOOD LUCK! I actually worked at a well established company that bragged that until recently they had NO customers! OH, they made a FORTUNE, but NO customers! What they did was buy up all the small market towers. If a guy strayed into a small market, with a cell phone, they roamed, and the company got paid. Somebody ALWAYS pays the roaming charge, even if "roaming is free".

      Companies like AT&T and Verizon are the same way. Others have to use their resources and pay for them. And there is a myth that the internet will kill the phone companies. The phone companies love the internet. They get paid on that also.

      But GEE, if you can BOYCOTT an industry, I guess you don't need it. Phones were NOT always around. When I was a kid, you generally had to scan around for a payphone, and use it. A cell phone cost a fortune, and you were LUCKY if you could get a minute for less than $0.45USD And I DON'T think they had discounts on long distance calls!

      Steve
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      • Profile picture of the author HeySal
        Originally Posted by seasoned View Post

        BTW you CAN'T really boycott them much! There are a few ILECS. Most CLECS can probably be boycotted to some degree, and likely are, but with an ILEC, GOOD LUCK! I actually worked at a well established company that bragged that until recently they had NO customers! OH, they made a FORTUNE, but NO customers! What they did was buy up all the small market towers. If a guy strayed into a small market, with a cell phone, they roamed, and the company got paid. Somebody ALWAYS pays the roaming charge, even if "roaming is free".

        Companies like AT&T and Verizon are the same way. Others have to use their resources and pay for them. And there is a myth that the internet will kill the phone companies. The phone companies love the internet. They get paid on that also.

        But GEE, if you can BOYCOTT an industry, I guess you don't need it. Phones were NOT always around. When I was a kid, you generally had to scan around for a payphone, and use it. A cell phone cost a fortune, and you were LUCKY if you could get a minute for less than $0.45USD And I DON'T think they had discounts on long distance calls!

        Steve
        You can boycott anything corporate. You're not saying "can't" - you're saying won't. We all know that they can inflict anything they want on us because we'll just die if we don't have access to Ipads and cell phones, right?

        Exactly what do you think would happen to an ILEC if everyone in a region decided that they wanted no more of the company's crap and put down any device run via their source?

        I'm saying we need to drop off wireless entirely - but when your population is so bovine stupid consumer indoctrinated that they will kill themselves walking out in front of moving traffic, or even while driving because they're so programmed to 24/7 connection, it's not going to happen. It just pisses me off because I don't like having to be soaked in a microwave grid just because someone else has to be connected. OU - what if there's an emergency? Right - they're going to be 10 miles from home max and they have to worry about not being able to get back if something happens? Really? FML - I have no hope for humans anymore. When they put living soaked in microwave and being "connected" right up there with air and water, there's nothing left of them to bother caring about.

        If the companies handling the service are abusing their livestock (since they don't think of them as customers because they're trapped - that is exactly what they are), then the livestock either has to STFU and put up, or it can stampede and drop their abusers off. There are no other choices.

        It's absolutely ludicrous to me to watch what people think of as "being free people". This is just bizarre from every angle.

        </rant>
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        Sal
        When the Roads and Paths end, learn to guide yourself through the wilderness
        Beyond the Path

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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Well, I suffer from underuse. I never come close to using all of my minutes and get only a small charge for additional texts. I have unlimited bandwidth for data, so I'm perfectly happy with my Verizon plan. I hate talking on the telephone and don't do it much.
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