Why is Verizon Wireless SOOO Expensive?!

Back in March, I qualified for a Verizon Wireless cell phone...my first non-prepaid phone of my adult life.  So far, I have been pleased with the service.  My wireless coverage always works when and where it is supposed to, and the one time there was a problem with my phone, a representative at the Verizon Wireless store promptly replaced my phone and fixed the problem.

Just about everything is better with Verizon than Virgin Mobile, my previous prepaid cell phone provider.  The one thing that is definitely NOT better is the price, though.  With Virgin Mobile, I was paying about $45 per month for all the data and voice minutes I need.  With Verizon, to get the same amount of data, I am paying $100 per month just for my cell phone service.

I don't know about you, but paying $100/month for my cell phone just seems absolutely outrageous to me.  And the way the Verizon Wireless plans are set up, they penalize people who only have one phone by charging them the most per line.   My guess is this applies to the majority of Verizon subscribers.

I was able to get a 10% discount on my Verizon bill because I am an employee for Darden restaurants....but this has lowered my bill to a still-high $90.  Verizon....I love your service, but I sure do hate your prices.  I still have another 18 months in my Verizon contract....I'm hoping that at the end of my cell phone term I'll be able to shop around a bit and find a better price.

New Phone, New Post

Those of you who know me personally know I have had a lot of phones over the past several years.  Between bad service and breaking a couple of phones, I've ended up switching devices like 10 times in 4 years.

The most recent round of this was last week when my prepaid wireless provider decided to disconnect my service for "excessive data use"....which was actually like 600mb in a month and not at all excessive, but I digress.  After that happened, I decided that I was pretty much fed up with the whole prepaid cell phone thing.  I know they "run on the same networks", but the customer service is shitty....I just want a phone that works all the time, and a knowledgeable, easy-to-understand customer service rep to help me out when there's a problem.

With all that in mind, I decided I would try to get a new cell phone account with one of the "big four" carriers.  I had been previously rejected for a cell phone account thru Verizon Wireless due to my credit, but since my credit score has been improving, I decided it was worth a shot to put in another application.  This time, I was approved instantly for a Verizon Wireless account with no security deposit needed!

I was thrilled.  Previously, I had been somewhat limited in my phone choices, since prepaid cell phone carriers tend not to have the best and latest devices available.  I looked through Verizon's selection of phones with two criteria in mind....it had to be an Android phone, and it had to have a physical keyboard.  That pretty much limited my selection to two choices: the Motorola Droid 4 or the Samsung Stratosphere II.  I liked the specs on the Samsung phone better, so I picked that one. 

Better still, Verizon was selling the phone for $100, but I discovered wirefly.com was offering the same phone for free, so I placed my order through them.  My out of pocket cost for a brand new, kick ass phone was literally zero dollars!

So I'm excited.  I got a real, "grown-up" phone. And I love it.  The phone is awesome and the service works great.  It is definitely more expensive than the Straight Talk wireless service I had before, but the service is so much better and its so much less hassle that I feel the extra money is worth it.  I'm glad my credit improved enough to get a cell phone from Verizon.  Now I just have to improve it enough to get a car loan.