DYI Ain’t Pie In The Sky

(a precautionary tale)

One of my very good friends who knows that I am helping people save money on Cellular, Internet and Television bills called me the other day to tell me he was switching cell providers. He had been with the same company pretty much going back to the days when the only thing a phone could do was to make a phone call. Imagine that Millennials! He had recently seen a TV commercial, advertising a price that was much better than his current "deal”. So, he called the new provider and was given what he (and I for that matter) looked like a very good price on both his cell and home internet service. He was truly about to save a lot of money and I congratulated him on doing the research.

He did the entire transaction over the phone. I could tell that he was very proud that he was able to pull the whole thing off without having to leave his home. The good news was that not only did he save a lot of money each month, but he was able to get a new phone and a few other perks for making the provider switch, including a $200 gift card. He also saved the $35 in activation fee for both of the two new lines that he ordered. So, that was a $70 DIY savings. It was at this point that things started to go off the rails.

Let’s back-up for a moment. I’ve had an issue with phone company activation fees. Especially when you are switching to a new provider. You would think that they would pay me to make the change. I can recall when activation fees were $15 a line, but if you protested enough, they would often waive those fees. However, those costs have been creeping-up over the past few years and nowadays, they are very difficult to get removed. That's especially true if you do your business in a brick-and-mortar store with one of the "Big Three” (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon). Those companies are known as MNOs (Multiple Network Operators). There are a bunch of other cell phone businesses such as Consumer Cellular and Mint Mobile that are known as MVNOs (Multiple Virtual Network Operators). If you want to learn more about the differences between MNOs and MVNOs check out my blog titled "The Hell in Cell – MNOS Vs. MVNOs" https://www.lowertechbills.com/post/the-hellular-of-cellular.

One of those differences is that while MVNOs generally (but not always) offer a lower price than MNOs, "customer service" is done either over the phone or online. And no, neither Ted Danson nor Ryan Reynolds will come to your home and help you set the phone up. That's on you. For that lack of service, you will not get an activation fee charge. So, my friend made his new deal on the phone and the company (which rhymes with "sir try gin") activation fee was waived.

A couple of days later, the fun began. A SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card about the size of an amoeba showed-up at his door with a bunch of instructions on how to insert said SIM card as well as how to change the settings on the new phone in order for it to work. If you’ve never had the pleasure of changing a SIM card before, it can be a daunting task. Not because it’s that hard to do but because you either need small fingers (not gonna go there) or a surgical tool tray to get the old one out and the new one in. Mind you, there are things called eSIM (“e” stands for Embedded) cards, but that’s a whole other issue often involving QR codes, phone settings and Internet fore and after-play. As someone who has previously installed a SIM card for a new provider, my advice is be prepared to crawl on the floor looking for the damn thing as it fell out of my hands several times.

Once my friend got the SIM cards installed into the new phones, he turned one on and, of course, it did not work. After looking at the instructions, he realized that there were several settings on the new phone that had to be adjusted. Once done, things would be just fine. He checked his voicemail. It was not working. He needed to set that up. Once that was done, he found out that he had lost all of his previously saved voicemail message. But finally, it was all good. Nope. In order to get texts, he had to turn his SMS (Short Message Service) back on and his saved texts were lost in the cellular ether. The good news is that his pictures and music were in the cloud, so those did get transferred. They did have to be reorganized, but at least they were there.

In the end, he got it all going and he will be saving quite a lot of money every single month - well over $1,000 a year. Plus, he has new phones and that $200 gift card as a perk. The question is with all of what he went through, would he do it again to incur those savings? In fact, that's a question that I get when I speak with people about changing providers. Is it worth the savings?

That answer should be a resounding "Yes". Obviously, I would not be doing this if I didn’t think it was worth it. This is where that pesky $35 activation fee comes back into play and why I have changed my mind on it. Yes, you can use a Mint, Consumer Cellular or one of the other MVNOs out there and perhaps save some monthly dollars. You can also do what my friend did and call one of the big three and make the change over the phone. In both instances, you will save the $35 activation fee per line. But there is something that I call the "Aggravation Fee”, That’s the cost of trying to get something new to work without the help of someone who knows what the heck they are doing. That’s why, unless you are a very tech-savvy person or have one at your disposal, I always recommend going to the store and having a person who works there set everything up for you. That's $35 per line well-spent. It also helps pay the salary of that person. One caveat, before you leave the store, make sure that everything is working in the place where you expect it to be. A big part of the job of the people who work at the store is to make sure that you are a satisfied customer before you leave.

This brings me to the final part of this post and one more acronym – FOC (Fear Of Change). Here is a link to a recent post that I made on that subject called "What The FOC". https://www.lowertechbills.com/post/what-the-foc.

When I talk to people about saving thousands of dollars per year, one of the things I hear is that it’s just too hard to make the change or that they would rather spend more money to keep things the same. That’s why my service will guide you through every step of the process from going with you to a cell phone store should you wish that and coming to your home to make sure that you are comfortable using your new streaming box or a video service. In other words, my work is not done until your FOC is gone, and your FDIC has grown.

Since I retired from Radio, I've saved households from hundreds to even thousands of dollars a year on their Cellular, Television and Internet costs with many savings ongoing. I’ve researched the providers and found the best options. For a free look at your bills and to discuss your alternatives, email hmwellsradio@gmail.com or visit lowertechbills.com because you may not have the time to do all the research, but I do.