Goodbye Verizon, Hello Ting, and other Phone Follies

Goodbye, Verizon
Joan's relationship with Verizon, using a prepaid cellphone plan, began well enough.

For example, there was a large incentive to add $100 at a time. A $50 payment would live for only 90 days before it expired and Verizon confiscated any balance, unless you added even more, but for $100 the payment would live for a year. Unfortunately there were no $100 Verizon "gift cards" available where we shop for such things, a grocery where we can accumulate gasoline points.

The first time, Joan added two $50 cards to her account back-to-back, which Verizon's online system refused to apply as a $100 payment. However, the agent on Verizon's help line was cheerful, commiserated over the simple-mindedness of computer systems, and fixed the problem. She also suggested that Joan just call anytime this problem occurred. The second time, a year later, Joan received equally courteous treatment.

But then there was Canada. Or, rather, there wasn't. One criterion we used when selecting a carrier was service in Canada, which the Verizon web site clearly showed. The first time she tried to use her phone in Canada, it showed several bars of signal and her current balance, but when she placed a call, all that happened was a fast busy. Consulting customer service on her arrival back home, she was told to dial a particular code before leaving for Canada.

A few months later, it was time to call customer service to rectify the two-times $50 issue again. The agent paused, and consultation with a supervisor ensued. The bottom line: we'll do it this time, but don't ever ask us to do it again. At the end of the call, Verizon provided an option to take a satisfaction survey, which Joan took and indicated her displeasure.

A supervisor called back. No budging on the refill issue. Joan then asked to confirm the information she'd been given about the steps to take to enable service in Canada for her prepaid phone. There are no prepaid towers in Canada. Huh? A tower is a tower, dear heart, and doesn't participate in billing or authorization, afaik. Our website clearly shows there is no prepaid service in Canada. Let me show you. Joan went to the Verizon website while on the phone, using the supervisor's directions, and found no such indication. The supervisor's tone made it clear that she considered Joan mentally deficient.

The next year we tried the code, and it didn't work. Joan turned on her phone to call Hertz and received two text messages welcoming her to Telus, a Canadian wireless carrier, but she couldn't place a call out. She could call customer service, but that connected her to Telus, not Verizon. All other calls yielded a fast busy signal. I could call her from my T-Mobile prepaid phone, roaming with Rogers Wireless, but she couldn't call out. 

It was time to ditch Verizon, once the current balance expired.

Hello, Ting!
For a while I'd been considering getting a "smart" phone, but my light and erratic usage patterns couldn't justify paying the invariant monthly fee that even the less expensive MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) would charge. Then I stumbled across Ting, where you pay only for the usage levels that you reach in a month. This looked attractive. I could get a smart phone, and Joan was willing to take my proven-in-Canada T-Mobile prepaid phone.

I had to choose a Sprint-compatible phone, either through Ting or a third party. Sprint is based on the CDMA telephony standard. Partway through my phone shopping, I learned that Canadian phone companies are dropping CDMA support, and by July 2015 most of Alberta and British Columbia, the areas I was most interested in, would lose that coverage in favor of GSM, the standard used in much of the world. Sigh. Still, Joan's T-Mobile phone uses GSM, and would continue to work ... and I really wanted a Nexus 5:

• no manufacturer bloatware (pre-installed apps) between me and Android, and,
• the Nexus 5 has the virtue of being able to operate as either a CDMA or as a GSM phone, just by using a different SIM card.

Unfortunately, most of the time the Nexus 5 was out of stock on Google Play, and Ting advised that Sprint might not unlock a phone purchased from a retailer or third party for international travel. I had just about settled on an HTC One E8 when, suddenly, in early December 2014, the Nexus 5 was back in stock at Google Play.

It was time to swing into action!

Google Play Fiasco
First, I dashed to the grocery store where we receive gasoline points, to buy enough Google Play gift cards to pay for the phone.

Then I logged into Google Play, added all the cards to my account, and began ordering a Nexus 5. What?! Gift cards are not accepted for devices on Google Play. I was astonished. You can buy damn near anything on Amazon with Amazon gift cards ... why should Google Play be different? Still, I desperately wanted that Nexus 5, so I paid by credit card. And fumed. I now had hundreds of dollars of Google Play credit that I would never use.

I was still hot when Joan returned home and suggested calling Google Play. I called the number on the back of my gazillion Google Play gift cards. The call was picked up right away by Chad, who spoke perfect English. He understood what had happened, but he had to check with his supervisor, and then the Google Wallet team. I fell into the category of "remorse purchase," and to shorten the story, as a "one-time courtesy," my gift-card balance was refunded within a couple of weeks. Whew.

Ting Results
When I tried to activate my phone, it wouldn't, so I placed a support call to Ting, which solved the problem quickly.

I soon discovered that the new phone number had obviously belonged to someone else very recently. I was receiving voice mails and texts intended for the prior owner, especially in the first six weeks. These have tapered off but not completely stopped yet. Lately I've been deleting voice mails from an automated call-placement system located at a correctional facility in the 740 area code.

Last month, with fewer than 101 minutes, no texts, and no cellular data (I stuck to WiFi), my total bill including fees and taxes was $10.77. If I had 1 to 100 texts, it would be about $3 more. I'm still learning about Android, but am happy with the Nexus 5 and Ting's billing plan. If you're thinking of going with Ting, use this referral link before buying a device from or activating a device on Ting, and you'll get a $25 credit. Full disclosure: so will I.

GSM
In February 2015 Ting announced that it would be launching GSM support, giving Ting customers the option of using either the Sprint network for CDMA phones, or the T-Mobile network for GSM phones.  I haven't decided what I'm going to do, but it's great to have options, and a phone that can work with either system.