My Aunt is on a really old plan, she started with a bag phone back before Alltel was around and was on a plan where she payed $12/mo and $.60/minute. She had her bag phone until Alltel turned off the analogue service, then was forced to upgrade to a flip phone but somehow kept her old bag phone plan. I think the phone was a Hue? Anyhow she has always babied that phone and kept it wrapped up in her purse, still almost looks like new, not a scratch or scuff to be found on it.
Anyhow the phone is starting to have problems with a couple keys and she's crying because she was told it can't be repaired. This is someone who has only had 2 phones since 1996, and she only got the second one because Alltel told her she had to or she would still be using her bag phone.
Now she really wanted to go to Radio Shack because that's where she got her Alltel phone, but they said she would no longer be able to keep her old plan if she upgraded because the plan was so old. I think this plan was discontinued late 90's. They offered her a 65+ plan, but that would make her bill go up. Some place along the line, Alltel gave her unlimited M2M for being a customer for all those years and I think she gets 100 anytime minutes, which is what she says all she really needs.
She's 90 years old and she wants a basic flip like what she had, but Radio shack didn't have anything she liked, so I was wondering what her options really are. Does anyone know if she could keep this plan with a Verizon phone? I thought about ordering something from eBay so she wouldn't have another contract. It's kind of crazy because she doesn't have any calling features, no voicemail, text, caller ID, call waiting, etc, but she says she doesn't want any of that crap, just wants to keep it simple. She still gets out of the house and wants to be independent, but feels safer if she has a phone with her also with m2m she can call several of us no matter where we are and it doesn't cost her anything.
She isn't sure about prepaid because she doesn't like the idea of buying a card and applying the PIN to her line. She doesn't want to learn to use a computer, so we did think about going with a Verizon prepaid daily plan, cards can be purchased at the local convenience store 2 blocks away, but she would rather just send in a monthly check. What a shock for me to learn they still printed paper checks..........
Anyhow in her case would it be better just to order a Verizon branded phone without a contract and try to put it on her account or would it be better to take her to a Corp store? Would it be better to switch, her to prepaid?
Try to find a Verizon authorized agent that used to be an Alltel authorized agent. They still have access to some systems that "might" allow a simple ESN change to a Verizon phone without messing with her plan. You will probably have to buy a used phone without a contract to do this. The second best bet would be a Corp store that used to be an Alltel Corp store. You will get nowhere with Radio Shack or the big box stores. If neither of these work, perhaps you have a plan that still allows added lines for $9.99. You could buy a phone off of eBay and add a no contract line to your plan for her.
I was just looking over the 65+ plan and it looks like her bill would go up to $29.95 she would have 200 anytime minutes but loose her unlimited m2m. At that rate, the $12 250/250 plan on Page Plus looks like a better deal but somehow we would have to get her talked into letting us do it. She really doesn't want to loose her m2m. It might be a toss up between the $29.95 plan on Page Plus and $30 cards for Verizon prepaid and the .99 daily plan. We are still trying to explain prepaid to her and she isn't quite getting it, so we will be trying the Verizon store tomorrow. I know she wouldn't be happy on the 65+ plan so I hope she gets to keep her old plan, but if she doesn't we'll be forced to seriously look at something else.
Sounds like most of her calls are M2M so staying in some sort of postpaid plan makes sense. The $0.99 daily on VZ Prepaid will add up if she's making calls every day.
See if you can find a used Alltel phone. Then it should be a simple swap and keep her old plan.
Although like the other guy said, if you have a suitable plan now, adding her to your family plan would be $10.00 per month, unlimited M2M and shared minutes. She could mail you a check for $10.00 every month.
The Share Everything $40 for 1 basic phone plan MAY be a good fit for her.
700 anytime mins, unlimited M2M.
Still be able to write a paper check and mail it in. Also get her the Samsung Gusto 2, its very senior and limited eyesight friendly.
And before anyone blasts me about mentioning the dreaded Share Everything plan, remember the to the customer in question, the ability to write a paper check and M2M are dealbreakers.
One way to approach this might be to pick up a used Verizon phone and just go in and ask them to swap it onto the account. As long as you aren't playing with a subsidy for a new phone on a contract, your odds are pretty good. It does have to be a Verizon phone. As ak1sdr correctly points out, you cannot activate an Alltel phone anymore.
Did some poking around on the Verizon FAQ section. The Nationwide 65 does include M2M.
I am an long time Alltel customer (since 1988) caught on Verizon. My wife and I have Motorola Alltel E815's and mine is broken. I tried to activate a spare E815 (exact model) earlier this week with a *228, on line and over the phone and failed. Verizon told they could no longer add new ESN numbers on Alltel. They tried to justify this action with a whole lot of BS. This is their best yet chance to bully us into an up grade.
Buy a used Verizon branded flip phone off of ebay and try switching the ESN to that. That should allow to you keep you existing rateplan that way and satify the 'we dont like alltel' requirement. Samsung Knack is a decent phone.
If they force you to the new 'share everything' worst deal of all time plan, then consider switching to a Verizon virtual carrier like Page Plus. I think they can still use Alltel phones.
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Originally Posted by HF305
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