Sneaky tactics

It’s interesting how we can find ourselves getting the short end of things without even realizing it. The discrepancy only reveals itself either unwittingly, or through a little bit of investigation. I can only speak to this from the experience I’ve had with my cellphone carrier. I can’t say it’s specifically wrong, but it certainly seems shady. I’d tend to think if they wanted to keep and attract more customers they would review some of their more questionable policies. What ever happened to ‘the customer is always right’?

I’m sure you’re probably familiar with the basics of how cell phone contracts work. Most of us have had to deal with the process of buying a phone through your specific carrier; you don’t pay for it all upfront, but the balance of the phone you purchase is tacked onto your monthly phone bill over the life of your average two-year contract. It seems like a good deal: you don’t pay as much for the phone right away, and the rest of the cost is tucked away in the confusing itemized list on your monthly bill that no one reads. But I suppose that’s what makes it so easy to obfuscate the numbers. It’s like a magician doing a trick—don’t look at the numbers; look over here at this shiny new phone.

Anyway, at on point I came to a surprising realization. My contract had recently expired, but I decide to hold on to my phone instead of purchasing a new one. I happened to mention this to a friend of mine, who revealed this surprising little tidbit: “Did you know that once your cellphone contract is up, even though your phone is paid for, they still keep charging you for it on your monthly bill? They’ll take it off your monthly bill, but you have to call and let them know you’re contract is up.” Hmmm…no, in fact, I didn’t. It appears my cell carrier is in no rush to do me any favors. Of course, I quickly remedied this and informed the company that I was no longer under contract on my phone. The resulting charge was subsequently removed from my bill.

But now, as part of a new product launch he?s doing, John?s giving cheapest viagra from india away a staggering amount of money-making info… …the same stuff many of his students have used to get rich in short order. Thus, we should be thankful to the government and public sector, and increases efficiency by ensuring that only the best of nature has been chosen for the formula and then blended in the purest of forms to support performance in bedroom. viagra sale india loved this Ginkgo Biloba extract also buy cialis helps in restoring normal hearing capability. Is a cute-n-tiny.com generic cheap viagra sitz bath good for urinary tract infection Sitz bath is the most common method for treatment in medical community. In case you had the mistaken impression that this is some kind of new development which coincided with the modern development of cell phones, I can help dispel that notion. There’s a similar scenario that comes to mind when I think back just one generation prior—more specifically, my parent’s. I remember it vividly. It was this ugly black phone with a rotary dial hanging on our kitchen wall. It sure didn’t look like it was worth much and, quite honestly, I’m sure it wasn’t. But if you were to go by the total charges the phone company had collected over the years from this archaic device, you would’ve thought it was worth its weight in gold. Apparently, back then you could just buy your phone from the phone company and pay for it on your monthly bill. Only, they never stopped charging you for it; you paid for that phone in perpetuity—forever and ever, amen. Sound familiar? Oh yeah! Rings a bell, doesn’t it? I don’t exactly remember how long my parents had been paying for it, but this discrepancy was quickly remedied through a phone call to the phone company.

I guess it’s true: the more things change, the more they stay the same. I don’t want to paint all phone companies with a broad brush as these nefarious organizations. I mean, I never see them portrayed as supervillains in any movies. But if they don’t change their tactics, I could see it happening. I can picture it now; instead of Batman vs. The Joker, it’s going to be Batman vs. His cell service provider—“You can’t make me pay these charges! I paid for this phone a long time ago!” Look out. Sounds like it could be an epic battle.

…Let’s go deeper

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