I am getting ready to abandon Trac Fone

[moopups]

I purchase their air time added minutes, I try to follow their instructions completely, from their web site. English is my first language. I get 'invalid pin number' or 'system is too busy - try again later', then I phone them and get some one from India or Pakistan whom thinks English is spoke at 386.9786543 words per minute. Yes, they can answer if the question is 'do you want fries with that', but they have no ability to speak within the parameters of common words here.

I am looking for an English speaking support system for my wireless phone useage, do you have any reccomendations?

[AngieM2]

When I did pre-paid, I liked powertel which is now T-mobile. Bought the phone and then had a variety of cards to buy for minutes. Did not have the 100 and 7 numbers to put in to make it work. Worked just like a plan phone sound and coverage wise.

Also, all the major companies seem to have a prepay plan. I'm on Verizon now and I know they have one - look into one of those. Then you can go to a store and let them load the minutes for you the first time or two.

Angie

[doohap]

Originally Posted by moopups

... and get some one from India or Pakistan whom thinks English is spoke at 386.9786543 words per minute. ...

moopups, I know it's just an oversight on your part or perhaps a typo, but shouldn't that read:

and get someone from India or Pakistan who thinks English is spoken at ....

Sorry, I know typos happen, but when we're talking about "good" English, well ...

[FiddleKat]

moopups....we also have a TracFone and you can redeem your airtime minutes directly through the phone itself without calling.

If you hit Prepaid then the dot button in upper left corner, you should come up with a list of choices. Scroll down to "Redeem Airtime" and hit the upper left corner button again. It will ask you to enter the PIN # and I think you then have to hit the # button.
This is how I do it, and usually it only takes a couple of minutes to do. And afterwards I shut the phone off, and then turn it back on and it should display your new airtime minutes.

[HermitJohn]

Friend has one of these. He just takes it to Walmart and has the young clerk at electronics counter add the minutes for him. He is 86 so can get away with it. Ever once in a while he asks me to remind him how to work the thing. Well, not having one, I have to go read the literature. My only comment is they try to make a candy bar size doohicky do too many things. Be best if they had a version that you just punch on/off and dial in your number and it should be bigger and have keyboard size buttons. He could remember that and so could I.

[FiddleKat]

Not to thread drift here, so Ill keep it brief.
Hermit John I saw at Walgreens giant remote control, clock and something else. Just can't remember what it was. But the remote control was about a foot high and a foot wide with HUGH buttons on it about the size of half dollars!! They were like $10. I thought those would be perfect for someone who has difficult vision or can't punch tiny buttons. Like my dad who's 72.

[danoon]

Cingular has prepaid, I used it a couple of years ago and had no problem with it.

[moopups]

FK, I have tried that many past occasions, apparently the population here is too dense for it to work immediantly, too many users at any given time for their system to work.

I am going to try to find another source to a wireless phone, period.

[sancraft]

Not to drift, but I triedVonage internet phone a while back and cancelled for that very reason. I the Indian customer service could not understand me nor I them. They kept mispelling my name and email address which made me unable to us the internet support to manage my account. And once they signed you up, they must have had 2 agents working in the complaints department. I literally stayed on hold for over 6 hours in one stretch trying to cancel. Finally, I faxed and mailed a certified letter to their corporate office and notified them that I was cancelling and why. I mailed them back their equipment and that was that. They are now calling me saying they never received the equipment and want me to pay $100.00. I told her to hold, sat the phone down and the girls and I got in the truck and headed to town to check the mail and run errands. Hmmm, I wonder how long they held on.

[FiddleKat]

oh sancraft that is funny!!
We had telemarkets called before and we did that. Put the phone down and then sat at the table to finish eating dinner.

But I agree alot of companies now have people who speak broken English and they get MAD AT YOU for not understanding!! I had one woman who kept calling and she would get my answering machine. And preceed to say, "if this is not (person's name), please hang up now. If you continue to listen to this message, we will assume that it is (person's name) and ........." Well DUH! Talk about being a moron, if your talking to an answering machine obviously.

[FiddleKat]

moopups sometimes it takes ten minutes before they airtime minutes appear. But like Hermit John said, most times the clerk where you buy the minutes can call them in for you. My dad (72) usually does this with his TracFone, before we got ours. Now he usually just hands me his phone and pin number for me to put it in for him.

[mightybooboo]

I do VirginMobile online,charge my minutes to my bank,its simple simple simple.
Service has been very good here too.Free phone,gotta love it.

BooBoo

[A'sta at Hofstead]

I have had the same tracfone for years. I add minutes online with my cc and have never had any problem, the minutes don't expire (like with boost mobile which ds had - rip off!) I have never had to call any one either.

[suzfromWi]

I have a tracfone also and if you enter the right pin number, you shouldnt have any problems.

[moopups]

The problem here is the density of population, their equipment cannot handle such volume, its looking like a lost cause.

[Ozark-Dew]

when it takes so long ask for higher up (and they will be eastern indian too, most likely) but anyhow complain about your day being wasted and they will give you additional minutes for your troubles.

[freegal]

I, too have TracFone. I have been pleased with it because there are no hidden fees. You buy 60 units, you get 60 units. But this year they called and left a message that my phone technology is expiring sometime this year. I can't find anything on their website about that and it is very frustrating. I usually buy a yearly card but didn't because of that. I like the phone that I have, I don't like the new, itty bitty ones either. It used to be when you called for some reason I would get a Northern European person - them I could understand and carry on a conversation with. Not so with the ones answering now.

[electronrider]

Verizon wireless. 39 bucks for 500 minutes, free night and weekend. I have no understanding why all of you people continually fight with these clowns at trackphone, and the other pay as you go people. I understand an aversion to a 2 year contract, but to me it is worth not having to deal with the quikie mart tech support.

[CraftyDiva]

Virgin Mobile................ they use Sprint towers so no problems with density. Customer service is right here in the good old USA (English speaking). Free phone with purchase of $20 air time. You can "Top off" on the phone, online, or buy time at most stores (they have sales 2 for 1 every now and then).


.

[Audrey]

I have been using Net10 for awhile and have been happy. I pay online with cc and have never had to talk to anyone. I got the phone and first 300 mins. at Walmart for it seems around 56.00.

Audrey