Trail Period question

Cingular is your provider yes???? It is a period where you get to test out thier service.........if you like it you keep them............if you dont..well you chunk them and go with Verizon lol. It is also a trial period for thier phone too. If you like the phone....ya keep..............and if not ya dont.

 

you dont have to know anyone to use the trial period for a company.

from what I know verizon and sprint offer 14-day trials with no penalty.

voicestream i think 72 hours.

goto all the websites for the carriers and see what the policy is.

what market are you in by the way?

 

"Market" refers to the area in which you live. I actually live in Tracy, CA but I am in the "Stockton" market which is major city around the area. Over the Altamont Pass, in the TriValley area (Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon), is considered the San Francisco market.

ATT offers a 30-day trial period.

<u>How the trial period works</u>:
Walk in, choose a phone and start service. Your credit card will be charged the agreed price of the phone. Use the phone anywhere you want. (I suggest you actually make an effort to travel to the areas you will frequent the most.") What's next?.....

I like it, I want to keep it: You do just that and you will start receiving your regular monthly bills.

I don't like it, get me outta here!: Before the end of the trial period, you walk back into the store you bought it from, turn in the phone in its original packing with all the accessories. Your credit card will be credited the cost of the phone. In a while, you will receive a bill for your pro-rated useage of the service plan you chose. If you incurred any roaming, long-distance, internet or 411 costs, those will show on the bill also. Pay it and you are done.

That simple.

 

The simplest way to put it is: The account is treated as if you plan on keeping the phone, regardless of whether you do or don't. It is just a regular account on a regular billing cycle.

If you decide not to, the day you turn in your phone, (actually/probably the next "business" day) billing finds out and cuts a statement. If your minutes are within the prorated time, and you didn't incur any other additional charges, your bill will be the prorated amount of the rate plan.

If you decide to keep the phone past the trial period, the account is NOT reset to zero. Again, I defer to the first sentence in this post.

____
There is one more caveat that wasn't mentioned: If your trial period overlaps the billing-cycle, you may get two bills. Again, this is because the account is not managed any different than normal.

Here is an example:
The billing cycle cuts off on the 15th of each month.
You go to ATT and start service on the 13th of the month. Two days later, the billing cycle ends, and you receive your normal (prorated) billing probably within 5 days. Pay it.
On the 12th of the following month (after nearly 30 days), you decide: "I don't want this." So you walk in and turn in the phone and cancel your service. You will receive a second bill for the last 28 days of your service.

 

All carriers offer trial periods whereby you can return your phone within that period and not continue with service. But I believe that none of the carriers allow you to walk away scott-free. You are only responsible to pay for the small bundle of minutes you utilized on your trial period. Then there is also the $25-$35 activation fee that carriers charge. I *believe* that with most carriers you cannot get this activation fee refunded.

 

Kenny,

Cingular (California) does not have a trial period.

 

Ok I should have said "All carriers that offer trial periods ..."

 

Kevin, when I looked at the web portals that Cingular offers,for their trial time periods it is 3days and less than 30 mins.

 

Dukedog,

Unless it changed recently, I called a non-public number for Cingular's headquarters and spoke to someone that manages the plans. In California, as of no more than two months ago, there was no trial period.

Kev

 

Kevin, I will be posting about my trial period for AT&T in a sec but I just wanted to say that at least here in PA. These are the trial periods I have availed myself of so far. Verizon has a worry free guarantee. The period is 15 days if you don't like the service you drop it you are not billed for the airtime minutes you used you will only be billed for any roaming or LD charges. Cingular (at least here in PA) has a 14 day or 30 mins of actual airtime usage trial period. AT&T which I am currently trying is 30 days or the airtime of the plan you choose. If I walk away all I get billed is the activation fee for the account. Mebe it doesn't work that way in CA but here in PA this is what I have been going through trying to find another carrier.

 

ATT's trial period seems to be pretty consistent across the nation. It is the same here in Calif.

Verizon likewise is (so far as I can determine) consistent across the nation.

Cingular seems to be the one odd-ball here. I think it may be the difference between regional markets and may also be dictated by whether a subscriber is in the SBC/Cingular or BellSouth/Cingular markets.

We'll see if Voicestream coming to town has any effect on Cingular's rates. I just learned last night that one of the new salesmen for Voicestream (Calif) is currently carrying around a Cingular phone. That makes sense.

 

nextel does not have a trial period per say that do have a 30 day no questions asked return. Basically a trial period nut they dont call it that

Jack

 

Opps, almost forgot. In California, the state law supercedes any lack on the carriers' parts. You have 3 days to bow out, even with Cingular.