Would U pay ETF for free phone w/new carrier?

Currently w/T-Mobile under contract for another year and a half. Family and friends mostly on Verizon now. Was with Verizon 3-4 years ago...so I walked into the VZW store recently and asked as a former VZW customer who's still under contract with another carrier, could they help me out a bit with the purchase of a new phone since I have to pay a $200 ETF with T-Mobile. Verizon offered me a free Blackberry Pearl, Palm Centro, or Blitz to come back. Good deal? Just wondering cost wise if you think it balances out.

Main reason for this is 81 year old Aunt currently on VZW (no landline) and Cousin (who helps take care of her, also VZW customer, no landline)...I would like to keep in more contact with them during the day due to Aunt's health, but they are always concerned about their peak minute usage since I'm calling them from a T-Mobile phone. While I have them on "My Faves", that doesn't help them. Always feel calls are cut short due to them worrying about going over. Used to call Aunt after 9pm on weekday's, but now she goes to bed earlier. Yes, they could up their monthly minutes, but that would be at a cost to my Aunt. So for that, thinking of switching back to Verizon...added with more friends and family recently jumping on to VZW.

So, would you do it? Basically happy with T-Mobile and their customer service. Had some customer service issues prior with Verizon...but that was 3-4 years ago. Hope I'm not making a mistake by going back.

Thanks in advance.

Chris

 

Verizon's coverage here in the Bay Area of CA is fine...my roommate has Verizon and his coverage is good here. I left a few years ago due to cost and customer service issues at the time. I'll have to compare the 2 plans side by side to see if it's much of a difference now and affordable.

Thanks again!
Chris

 

Now I know why they call it "CrackBerry"...

...because I'm hooked!! :loony: I really like this thing! It has one of the best calendar set up and reminders that I've had on a phone, which is important to me. Plus I like the e-mail push.

I'm going to try it for 3-weeks and put my contract & T-Mobile phone (which I'll give someone for free if they'll take over the contract) on Craigslist to see if someone will take over the remaining year and a half. If not, then I'll either give the BlackBerry back to Verizon, cancel the contract and go back to T-Mobile...or bite the bullet and pay the ETF with T-Mobile. Even if I go back to T-Mobile, I'll have to get another BlackBerry! Or maybe that "Google" Android phone?

The only thing my roommate was reminding me of is that I would lose my "world roaming", but then I only go to Europe once a year.

OH WELL...what to do! :headscrat

 

Thanks fb. I'll look into #1, but would mean extra money out of pocket. #2 & #3 out of the question, for Aunt/Cousin like Verizon and T-Mobile doesn't have a strong footprint in their area of CA. But thanks for suggesting it!

Chris