We are getting unwanted calls (bill collectors for two childern and one of their friends who briefly lived with us) and we want to save $ and get rid of our land line. We don't want to leave the traditional message that gives out a new number, because then the bill collectors will call my cell. Would it be possible to buy a trac phone and port my land line into it, and the set up the voice mail on the trac instructing them leave a message. If I check the messages from another phone, I won't burn trac minutes, and I don't think that leaving a message will burn trac minutes. If I but a trac from the VA, then I will get 14 months and 20 minutes. Setting up VM might take six minutes, so I will have an active line with 14 minutes that I can check messages on for over a year? Does this sound reasonable, or is my logic flawed somewhere?
We are getting unwanted calls (bill collectors for two childern and one of their friends who briefly lived with us) and we want to save $ and get rid of our land line. We don't want to leave the traditional message that gives out a new number, because then the bill collectors will call my cell. Would it be possible to buy a trac phone and port my land line into it, and the set up the voice mail on the trac instructing them leave a message. If I check the messages from another phone, I won't burn trac minutes, and I don't think that leaving a message will burn trac minutes. If I but a trac from the VA, then I will get 14 months and 20 minutes. Setting up VM might take six minutes, so I will have an active line with 14 minutes that I can check messages on for over a year? Does this sound reasonable, or is my logic flawed somewhere?
I guarantee you will need more than 14 minutes to do what you plan. If you can live with 50 or 100 minutes a month ($9.99 a month for 100 minutes with a DMFL phone) then your plan will work. This plan renews your service date as well so you don't have to hunt down a VA facility to buy at. Tracfone.com usually has a good deal on a DMFL (Double Minutes) phone.
1) Are minutes used if the phone is turned off and someone calls it?
2) Are minutes used if the phone is turned off and someone leaves a voice mail?
3) Are minutes used if I check the voice mail from a phone other than the trac phone?
If the answer is yes to any of nthe above, then I can see that more minutes would be needed, but if the answer is no to all of the above, then why would I need more minutes on the phone?
1) Are minutes used if the phone is turned off and someone calls it?
2) Are minutes used if the phone is turned off and someone leaves a voice mail?
3) Are minutes used if I check the voice mail from a phone other than the trac phone?
If the answer is yes to any of nthe above, then I can see that more minutes would be needed, but if the answer is no to all of the above, then why would I need more minutes on the phone?
1. no
2. no
3. no
From my experience, your plan should work just fine with whatever phone you get without having to add any airtime.
Your plan is fine as long as you make a call every so often. They can deactivate a phone if it seems dead (incoming calls don't count). Supposedly, there has to be a call at least once every twelve months, but that is just a theory because Tracfone can change the rules at any time. So I would call out now and then, maybe once a month. Just my two cents.
Also, you can set up the voicemail using a landline. Just press *, or whatever the key is, during the greeting even though the robot says there is no VM account. I always do this. Then you won't waste any minutes.
Seems to me Google Voice is a better way to go. With GV, you will get an e-mail after someone leave you a voice mail. Also, after the landline is terminated, how do you plan to check VM on your TF? From work? With Google Voice, you can listen to your VM anywhere as long as you have your PC with internet connection.
There are other ways to make bill collectors stop calling, especially when it isn't even your bill, but that's beyond the scope of this forum. If you don't want to mess with that I'd suggest put an answering machine on your landline and tell friends to call the cellphone. When you see them on caller ID call back on the landline or this "other phone" that you have handy.
I don't see how google voice will help the problem, the people are still going to call the landline number. Then it will never route through GV. (People don't have my home number, only my GV number, so I can screen from there).
I'm only writing because you may want to skip researching this. Unless I've misunderstood Newtoy and Tracfancier--
I don't see how google voice will help the problem, the people are still going to call the landline number. Then it will never route through GV. (People don't have my home number, only my GV number, so I can screen from there).
I'm only writing because you may want to skip researching this. Unless I've misunderstood Newtoy and Tracfancier--
My idea was to cut the landline and use GV to screen call. GV will do the screening without any cost and no need to worry about service days.
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Originally Posted by gshafer1
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