Walmart Family Mobile Information Thread

[gregsmith59]

Communications taxes are huge here, also. But, the SimpleMobile site says that all federal, state, local taxes and regulatory (i.e. their own fees to cover their overhead for tax collection) fees are passed on to the consumer, additive to the $80 charges. I would love to hear I am wrong. Can you give me a citation of where they say the $80 is net?

No way are they additive. I've been paying exactly $40 for a long time now on SM, here in the SF Bay Area.

In general prepaid services do not charge extra for taxes. That's why PagePlus, MetroPCS, etc. all quote in round numbers and MetroPCS even has advertised no extra taxes.

This is a clever money earner for Walmart (by raising the effective price from say $36 to $40).

[CA]

Could it be that because there are no mandated taxes and fees on that type of wireless is the reason for the lack of tax/fee being collected? It may just be a disclaimer so they can when and if the law changes.

Or not.

[CAL7]

No way are they additive. I've been paying exactly $40 for a long time now on SM, here in the SF Bay Area.

In general prepaid services do not charge extra for taxes. That's why PagePlus, MetroPCS, etc. all quote in round numbers and MetroPCS even has advertised no extra taxes.

This is a clever money earner for Walmart (by raising the effective price from say $36 to $40).

I am glad to hear from somebody paying an actual bill. For reference, here is what I was looking at:

Excerpted from this page: http://www.mysimplemobile.com/Simple...ms-Of-Use.aspx

The prices for equipment quoted on this Site do not include taxes. 
Simple Mobile charges all applicable federal, state, local, and other taxes on all equipment.

And, from this page: http://www.mysimplemobile.com/Simple...onditions.aspx

10. Taxes and Fees. Unless otherwise specified in a rate plan, you agree to pay all taxes, fees, and 
surcharges ("Taxes & Fees") imposed by the government. We may not always give advance 
notice of changes to these items. To determine Taxes & Fees, we will use the street address 
you identified as your Place of Primary Use ("PPU"). The PPU for Puerto Rico customers 
must be in Puerto Rico. If you did not identify the correct PPU, or provided us with an address 
(such as a PO box) that is not a recognized street address, does not identify the applicable 
taxing jurisdictions or does not reflect the Service area associated with your telephone number, you 
may be assigned a default PPU.

Unless otherwise specified in a rate plan, you agree to pay all other charges we assess to 
recover or defray governmental charges or costs we incur in connection with the services 
we provide, such as Federal Universal Service, regulatory and administrative charges, or gross 
receipts taxes, without regard to whether these governmental charges or costs fund programs 
that provide benefits to you or in your location. These charges are not taxes or regulatory 
fees imposed directly on you, nor required by law to be billed to you, may be kept by us in whole 
or in part, and the amounts and what is included in these charges are subject to change without 
notice.

[silentjudge]

Taxes on Prepaid is kind of odd from what I've seen. I've seen a lot of people refill on Callingmart to avoid taxes. In the state of California, I don't pay taxes on prepaid refill cards from physical stores; I can buy Virgin Mobile, T-Mobile, AT&T, etc Prepaid refills for face cost. However, Straight Talk (Tracfone) will charge me taxes/fees (911 and something else) if I refill online. But if I go to Walmart.com or Walmart B&M, I can buy the refill card without any taxes/fees at all. It may just be ST is trying to get some money from online refills. I have bought refills directly from AT&T GoPhone and T-Mobile Prepaid's respective web sites without being charged taxes/fees.

But as gregsmith59 said, in general taxes are included on prepaid.

[CAL7]

Maybe this is quibbling, but I don't consider WalMart Family Mobile to be prepaid. I have to establish an account and pay each month. I initially paid $25/line for activation, but did not pay my first monthly bill until 45 days later (end of month plus a billing period). I continue to pay each month after the month ends.

Is Simple Mobile prepaid?

[silentjudge]

Maybe this is quibbling, but I don't consider WalMart Family Mobile to be prepaid. I have to establish an account and pay each month. I initially paid $25/line for activation, but did not pay my first monthly bill until 45 days later (end of month plus a billing period). I continue to pay each month after the month ends.

Is Simple Mobile prepaid?

Walmart Family Mobile isn't really prepaid as you said.

Your Family Mobile account is a postpaid account, meaning you are billed for usage after it occurs

https://www.myfamilymobile.com/Suppo...ralFAQ-Answer1

Simple Mobile is indeed prepaid.

[gregsmith59]

I am glad to hear from somebody paying an actual bill. For reference, here is what I was looking at:

Excerpted from this page:

Here's the thing. Check out their PINs. They sell them for the exact price of the monthly plan, $40, and up, or for the value of add-ons like international calling.

I have no idea why the wording is there about taxes, but it might be legalistic logic.

[ajaxmonkey]

Yeah FM is pretty much like a no-contract contract lol. They work with you, and everything. Well they do with us. Like my mom gets paid a day or two after our bill is due, sometimes, and they let us go until that day.

[GSMRocks]

sounds like your mom needs to manage money better. if she knew she had a bill due before the next paycheck

[RawhideYeeehaw]

Does this new Family Mobile Plan work on any TMobile smart phone? Or just the TMobile pre-paid phones?

Basically, can I just order the Sim Card, toss it in the TMobile HTC Sensation, and have full service? And does the phone need to be unlocked or is locked to TMobile good enough?

[tmotk]

With the new $45 "unlimited" plan, will those who sign up early get to keep the 5 gb full speed data allowance, when the 250mb throttle starts?

And what will become of the $30 5gb plans? Will those stay 5 gb? Will that plan remain available to newcomers?

[silentjudge]

Does this new Family Mobile Plan work on any TMobile smart phone? Or just the TMobile pre-paid phones?

Basically, can I just order the Sim Card, toss it in the TMobile HTC Sensation, and have full service? And does the phone need to be unlocked or is locked to TMobile good enough?

Yes, any phone that works on T-Mobile. Sensation, SGS2 Tmobile version, Amaze 4G, etc.

[efredmi]

Looks like if you signup until March 16 then you'll be able to keep 5gig after march 31... http://androidandme.com/2012/01/news...ry-low-prices/

If you’re willing to live without 4G data speeds, you might want to hurry and get this plan soon. Those who sign up before March 16 will be able to enjoy 5 GB of 3G data per month, while those who sign up after said date will have to make due with 250 MB. After reaching the data limit, users will be throttled to lower speeds

. I hope that this is true.... If this case it's really good deal!!!

[GSMRocks]

Wait? A slowdown after 250mb? What if I buy a webpak? I'm entitled to the same 3.5G speeds prepaid users get.

[wpj20]

To clarify, the current 5GB/line high-speed access is a promotion that runs through 3/31/12. After that, the $45/$35 plan includes Unlimited Web access with the first 250MB high-speed access per month included. For those who want additional high-speed access, there will be an option to add more. Details/pricing on the optional high-speed features have not yet been released, but it won't be offered through the WebPak - it will be a monthly feature that gets charged on the bill.