Friday, September 5, 2008

Roving Rant!!

Hello Dear Readers,

I would like to share the latest scam that I have encountered with Sprint Cellular Phones...roaming charges! I have never had a roaming charge in the nearly 10 years I have been with Sprint. The reason is that whenever I went into a roaming area my phone would alert me and being the cheapskate that I am, I would end the call.

Enter the era of the hands free law. My cell phone is now safely tucked in my cupholder and I no longer see the screen. For the past two months I have been getting more than $25 in roaming charges. BRINNNNG! Faster than fast I got those Sprint people on the phone.

Two things- Used to be roaming was for rural areas. I would have to use roam when I went to my grandparents in rural Spencer, NY. Not so anymore. Roaming happens now in big cities too. Even though I live in LA and there are cell towers on every corner (leading to future cancer clusters I have no doubt) they are not all owned by Sprint. So whenever I turn the corner and enter a non Sprint cell tower area, I am charged for roaming.

How do I know? Besides the big bill? Well, my phone used to have a message that asked if I wanted to roam. Today I was told by Sprint that at the top of my screen I should see a "tiny r or a tiny triangle."

Friends, the ticket in CA for using a cell phone while driving is over $200. I don't hold my phone close enough to my eyes (and thus in view of a cop or a traffic camera) to see a "tiny r or a tiny triangle." It's a racket I tell you!! Strangely, this never happened when I was holding my phone-even though my daily commute was exactly the same.

Do they know I am using hands free? Are they taking advantage? I have to wonder.

I did end up getting the charges taken off and have switched to a plan that includes roaming to protect myself. Of course, that new plan was a bit more money. GRRR!

Deep breaths. Let's look at the adorable little car I picked up for $5 at a garage sale last week shall we?

This is the stock photo from the Target site where they sell this car for $64! The one I got is slightly less glossy and the horn has been removed. Someday, I think I will appreciate that fact. In the meantime, it looks really cute in the corner of our red and white living room.

1 comment:

jodi said...

That car is cute.

I have parts of my house which is not covered by carrier and I have to dial 1 in front of the number. Namely the diningroom. So I usually call from the front steps. Gets kind of cold in the winter :-).