View Full Version : TRAC FONE
Silver Dollar
10-07-2004, 02:23
Bought one of these last week at Walmart and was horrified to learn that I have to pay for calls which are 1. not answered at the other end (left ringing), 2. calls made TO me?!
I had $10 free credit and I bought another $40 in a week. I think I spoke for about 10 minutes overall....what a con! It's like double minutes if someone is outside Disney (calls by and TO me!) and I can't ring home on it.
It's my own fault for not buying something in England which was tri-band. Honestly, it's been a waste of money as far as I'm concerned.
Silver Dollar
Thanks for the info, this is what we were going to buy when we were over, but will now
take our tri-band instead
TonyBlenk
10-07-2004, 02:38
I also had my fingers burnt buying a similar phone - but be aware of the charges when using your Tri-Band, it can be a nasty shock when you return home.
p.s. don't forget to check with your phone provider that it's set up to work in the States as they sometimes need to 'flick the switch'.
Tony
We will only need the phone in an emergency, IE: car breaks down and the odd call back to the
villa to check on my mum as she isnt coming out with us everyday. Have spoken to Virgin and
the switch has been done
Nearly all American cell phones work in this way - that you're charged for calls made to you as well as those you make yourself. I know it's not the UK way but that's how it works there.
We keep ours for emergencies and the odd calls to friends, etc and I have trouble using up my $15 card in two weeks but just about managed it in four weeks!
We used over 400 minutes on our Trac Phone in April (while waiting for our villa phone to be connected). It's not cheap, but very convenient. Going forward, it will just be there for emergencies.
Lesley
Tracfone are still offering the Motorola with 100mins for $29.99 which is under £17 for the phone AND 100 minutes airtime. so only 17p a minute and a free phone, doesn't sound too bad to me :)
http://www.tracfone-orders.com/direct/tr/phonelist.jsp?tech=CO
I purchased a Nokia for $100 and got $50 mail in rebate. Calls are 25 cents a minute with free local area calls. Saved me a bomb on using and recieving calls on my Tri band
I made some enquiries when in FL last month, spoke with a guy in the phone shop in one of the mall's. He said bring an unlocked tri-band phone with you and purchase a pay as you go card just for being in the states, you can then just use the card when you are there, the minutes never run out.
Should still work out cheaper than using a UK sim on the US network and being screwed for all those extra costs.
tezz7628
10-07-2004, 15:41
had same conversation last october
Hi Silver Dollar,
I bought an AT & T "go" phone about two years ago in FL. It cost about $89 and you can get top ups (either cards or direct credit from AT&T shops) from $19.99 upwards. The minutes do run out if you don't use them and the sim card runs out after 45 days but each time I go I just take the phone to an AT&T shop and they replace the sim for free and I just pay the top up charge. I also took my UK quad band (unlocked)last time and transferred the AT&T sim to my tri band.This worked fine for most things but some of the facilities like GPS were not available. The charges on cellphones are different to here as you appear to pay a percentage of received calls as well as dialled calls.
I got quite interested in the Trac phones, but after examining their website, it was going to cost about $100 per year to keep the sim active (paid by either lump sum or monthly)so it was not going to be much cheaper than the Go phone. (At least with that it doesn't cost me all year round. Plus the specials on trac phones (eg $29.99 for phone with free calls ) are recond. Nokias only available from website and deliverable to US address.
Not sure if any companies do "pay as you go" sim cards to buy and fit into unlocked tribands/ quadbands. I asked several companies but most only seem to supply sims for contract phones.
I do find my Go phone invaluable for keeping in touch with my relatives who live there, but I think that if I visited Florida less than we do I could probably survive without it. The villa phones are pretty good now and usually free for local calls(also UK on some) The cell phone system is expensive to run in US and UK triband is too if you want to ring UK.
Kevin T.
tezz7628
11-07-2004, 00:07
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Silver Dollar
Bought one of these last week at Walmart and was horrified to learn that I have to pay for calls which are 1. not answered at the other end (left ringing), 2. calls made TO me?!
I had $10 free credit and I bought another $40 in a week. I think I spoke for about 10 minutes overall....what a con! It's like double minutes if someone is outside Disney (calls by and TO me!) and I can't ring home on it.
It's my own fault for not buying something in England which was tri-band. Honestly, it's been a waste of money as far as I'm concerned.
[/quote]
have used payphones while over there and the "land lines" will charge you if you leave the phone ringing to long
they dont seem to like them to ring more than about 5 or 6 times before you will get charged even though you haven't been connected
yet if you ring the same number from uk obviously you won't be charged if you can't get through
can the forum advice
i think your also charged to receive text messages on a mobile
Silver Dollar
13-07-2004, 22:32
Problem is even if I buy top up credit, it's only to keep the phone online for the next, say, three months or so. What after that? The phone would be useless if I came back in 6, 12 months? Pfftt.....I think its a bunch of *&%$@ to expect people to pay for calls not answered. It especially annoyed me when I had to make out of area calls and paid DOUBLE minutes for calls not answered. Then to find the person may call me back in an hour and then pay DOUBLE minutes again because I answered my own call. That's nuts. What I want to know is, if I pay for the calls I MAKE and then pay for the calls I answer too....this must mean that telephone companies charge twice for the same call, right?
You buy top up cards when you return the next time and reactivate the phone so it's not useless the next time you go back! If you want to keep the same phone number, just buy an annual top up card.
hi Blott,
If you buy a yearly service top up card with Tracphone is that not the one that costs just under $100 ? I know with my AT &T Go phone I can reactivate for free but I get a new sim ( hence new number)each time I go. Do you know if you can just buy a Cingular "pay as you go" sim for tri band UK phone and how much that costs and does the service run out after so long if you don't keep topping up. The US cellphone system seems very inflexible compared to our pay as you go where the minutes don't run out.
KevinT.
Sorry Kewin, I'm only an 'expert' on Tracfone!
Yes, Tracfone are currently doing a promotion for one year with 300 minutes for $149 or the same thing with 150 minutes for $94.99. Check out their website at www.tracfone.com They also have a recon phone for $29.99.
The annual card means that you keep the same number for a year. All the other Tracfone top up cards last 60 days.
We get a 60 day one, let the number lapse and then reactivate it when we go to Florida the next time (which you can do on the internet or on the landline phone free of charge).
As far as I know, all US mobile (cell) phones charge to both make and receive calls - it's not the same as the UK at all.
Well we sorted ours out today, arranged a direct debit for the tri band so we are all
set and ready to go. Dont think we will actually make that many calls so the cost wont
matter that much
If the phone doesnt work when we get there, off to Walmart for a tracfone then we are
sorted :D
andipoll
17-07-2004, 00:07
If it's only the ability to ring back home you want, then a Walmart AT&T card is unbeatable value and the minutes never expire. Bought a 500 min one for $25, 3 trips ago and I still have 240 mins or so left, despite making loads of local and international calls. Cos it's 1-800 number, calls via hotel phones cost you nothing other than the minutes you use off the card.
Don't know anything about mobiles in the 'States, I'm just glad to leave mine behind when I'm on holiday!
Out again in August - yee hah!!!!
armagedon
18-07-2004, 04:35
hi, dont forget chrisj you get charged for calls made to your mobile as well as making them, i am with t mobile its 90p per min to make a call well in the states and 70p per min to recieve one, and also 30p to send a text message well i was over in april it cost me £90 for the 2 weeks for calls didnt use it much when i was over 2 weeks ago but i expect it'll be bout £50. Dont tell anyone you are taking your mobile as its them ringing you that puts the cost up.
Mark