Was not happy with Verizon.

[safeinOhio]

Checked out the Spectrum $45 unlimited data plan. Just got new cell phones from Apple store because I knew I might change and wanted unlocked phones.
Went to Verizon to pay my phone bill and see if I had a contract to get out of. I was good except for the $10/Hum charge, owed $175 to get out of it.
Told the guy at Verizon and told him about the Spectrum deal and they have the exact same coverage for service. The guy goes away for a few minutes and then, low and behold, they just came up with a new deal, $40/month plus $10 for my Hum. Imagine that, they have a deal they don't tell you about unless you want to change carriers.

Also, if you buy your phone from the Apple store you get an extra year on warranty and a unlocked phone.

[Lochloosa]

1. Cricket. 40 bucks no contact. Great service. Unlimited.

Your phone and number. You don't get to many deals with their phones.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. What is 'hum?' never mind...googled ...

[mwooldri]

3. Unlocked phones IMO are the way to go.

You get carrier freedom that way. And yeah the major carriers have ways to try and keep you.

Sprint messed us around a while back, so we switched to a Sprint MVNO (Ting) but then we had a need for a "lot" of data and Sprint had a good deal, so back to them we went.

[Sherman A1]

4. I have 2 lines on T-mobile

For $60/month total using their Senior plan.

[lpbk2713]

5. I paid Verizon $68 a month for one line on an LG flip phone.

Went to Cricket. Pay a guaranteed $35 a month and got a Samsung Note 5.
Coverage is excellent. Same coverage area as AT&T.

[D2020]

7. How is your coverage?

I travel some for my work, and have had quite a bit of trouble with Tmobile, and some with Sprint. Are they a separate provider or are they just using spare bandwidth from a major provider?

[MurrayDelph]

9. Coverage is my question, too

Ten years ago, I worked in L.A. and lived smack-dab in the middle of the San Fernando Valley (Roscoe and the 405). During my working career down there, I had company phones from Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. I lost count of how many times I would have to go outside to try to get a signal.

[Hotler]

6. And if you call up Comcast and tell them

you are cutting back on the cable package they pull a rabbit out of a hat and low and behold they'll give you a lower rate to to keep what you have plus give you more for a couple of years.

[quickesst]

8. I pay Verizon $45 a month....

..... for unlimited talk and text Plus 2 Gs of data. If I want out, I just stop paying them. No harm no foul.

[forgotmylogin]

10. Charter Spectrum did this to me.

I had phone, internet, and TV that started at $99/mo which then ratcheted up to $124 and then $183 after my "contract" was over and they announced a "price hike" for all continuing customers. I called to ask if they could at least get my bill below $150 since they were continuously sending me mail about "sign up for Charter Spectrum" even though I am a current customer, they should know this, offering the same service I had for $100 and they were like "nah, dude, that's for new customers only." I asked, "what about continuing, loyal customers who've never missed a payment?"

I switched to AT&T Uverse (just internet and TV) for $125/mo and after it was all done a guy from Charter Spectrum "customer retention" calls me up to say "You're only on TV and internet now via U-Verse, what if we offer you that for just $85/mo for two years, no contract, and we'll pay to get you out of AT&T's contract?" My response was "What if you'd have offered me that two months ago? I've already been through the hassle of changing my service once, so no thanks."

They still litter my mailbox twice a week with promos now for sub-$100 service. Screw them.

[Hoyt]

11. Yep, ticks me off too when you gotta threaten to leave to get better deal. Just business, I guess.

[csziggy]

12. Every single service provider will try to retain customers by matching deals

They learned long ago that people are not going to stay when they can get a better deal somewhere else.

Some of the companies have been slow to learn this, though, and will only offer a competing bid once you try to cancel your arrangement with them. I had that happen with DirecTV decades ago - I needed to move my dish and wanted updated equipment. DirecTV said it would cost me over $150 to do that - DISH had a new customer deal with free installation, multiple receivers, and a DVR. I called back DirecTV to see if they would match this - nope, nothing, nada. So I made the deal with DISH. They installed the new dish, put a receiver on each TV, set up my DVR, and my monthly bill was going to be lower, even after all the free trial periods. When I called DirecTV back to cancel, they gave me all sorts of offers to "keep me as a valued customer." It was too late. I had a contract with DISH, my new equipment was installed, the DirecTV stuff was in a box ready to be shipped back to them.

Since then I've played the two companies off against each other when I wanted an upgrade or when I moved. I saved a lot of money each time. I will not be loyal to companies that only want my money.