It’s no secret that mobile phones are big business. With competition for mobile phone customers getting stiffer by the minute, mobile phone companies are constantly seeking new ways to attract customers. On one hand, this trend in the mobile phone market is beneficial because it give the average person more service plan options and cheap mobile phones. But the new cut throat mobile phone market isn’t all sweetness and light. Many mobile phone networks are looking for ways to make up the money sacrificed in an attractive package deal. One of the ways mobile phone networks do this is by including hidden fees and small print. That perfect mobile phone deal may not be exactly what you think it is. Beware these common mobile phone network tactics designed to cost you money.
Unlimited Calling
It used to be that mobile phone providers drew in customers with the lowest price per minute, but as mobile phones grow in use, “unlimited” calling plans are becoming more and more popular. Supposedly an unlimited calling plan allows you to talk as long as you want each month for a flat fee. However, there are often loopholes. Usually the “unlimited” calling is restricted to your home network only, meaning you be charged hefty additional fees for calling long distance or calling outside your coverage area.
The word “unlimited” is also often used in conjunction with certain types of calls, like mobile to mobile calls or calls made on nights or weekends. Read the fine print carefully before assuming that you can talk as long as you want when making calls in these special circumstances. Mobile to mobile calls may only include phones within the same network or even a few specific mobile phone numbers. Night and weekend calls usually have specific hours they are valid. For example, Night calls may not become unlimited until after 9PM or even later. If you have a plan with a certain amount of minutes and you’ve used them all for the month, don’t assume that you can make calls during the unlimited hours without incurring fees. Some plans won’t subtract calls made during unlimited nights or weekends from your monthly total, but they will charge you for them if all your monthly minutes have been used.
Early Cancelation
One of the biggest money makers in the mobile phone industry is early cancelation fees. Once you sign a 12 or 18 month contract, you are often better off paying the monthly tariff than trying to cancel early, even if you aren’t using your mobile phone anymore. Early cancelation fees can be especially distressing if you find yourself in a sudden financial crisis. You can call a network representative and try to work out a deal, but often networks simply won’t budge when it comes to ending a mobile phone plan early. If your finances vary from month to month, or if you just aren’t sure you can afford a mobile phone over the long term, you may want to look into a pay as you go plan that allows you to add mobile phone minutes at will.
Roaming
If you plan on using your mobile phone to make long-distance calls, check to see how large your mobile phone’s calling area will be. If you plan to make a lot of mobile phone calls outside your local area, it’s far more sensible to purchase a more expensive plan with free long distance or nation-wide roaming than to pay the extra fees associated with long distance calling. If you need to make international calls on your mobile phone, make sure there isn’t an extra fee associated with enabling this feature. Some networks require you to call and request international calling. Once international calling is enable, you may be charged a monthly fee to use it, so make sure to call an cancel if you only need it one month.
Free Trials
Free trials are a sneaky way that mobile phone networks get you to pay for services you think are included with your mobile phone plan. For example, your mobile phone may come with “complimentary phone insurance.” The problem is, the insurance is usually just a trail offer that expires in three months. If you don’t call to cancel the insurance, your mobile phone network will start charging you for it once the trail period expires.
Some mobile phones come pre-loaded with offers for free music, ringtone, or game downloads. While you may not be charged for the items themselves, you will have to pay extra for any time your mobile phone spends connected to the internet. If you take advantage of all those “free” downloads, you’ll spend a significant amount of time connected to the internet and pay a lot in extra fees.
Network Connection
Virtually all new mobile phones feature the ability to connect to the internet, and few mobile phone plans offer any sort of monthly minute allowance for time spent online with your mobile phone. Network connection fees can sometimes be more expensive than making long distance calls on your mobile, so don’t bother using the internet on your mobile phone unless you are prepared to pay.
Some mobile plans do feature “data plans” that allow you to surf the web on your mobile phone without extra fees. These types of plans are really only useful for phones that are meant to be used as portable internet devices like blackberries and iphones. Even data plans that claim to be unlimited may charge you extra fees for going over your monthly allotment of data usage.
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