Cell phone hell - advice sought!

[StellaBlue]

I have a Sprint plan that is supposed to cost me $45 a month, but then they always add a $15 "service fee" (WTF?!), and I end up paying for the incoming calls and texts and whatnot (I have no landline) and my bill is always at LEAST $95, if not more like $150.

I cannot afford this.

Sprint sucks. They make you sign up for a TWO-YEAR contract. Every time you change anything about your plan (basic plan, get a new phone, ANYTHING!), they start the clock all over. My cat recently turned a glass of water over on my old, perfectly good phone, and I had to rush to the mall to the Sprint kiosk to buy a new one on a Sunday. I had to spend $100 (I got a $75 credit because I have been with Sprint over a year).

The penalty for cancelling service is $250.

Meanwhile, both my parents have Spring phones, and we can make free calls to each other. This was the original reason I got the phone. They live 400 miles away. They will be very unhappy if I cancel that service.

I have a rotary phone from 1960 (aqua!) and it works, but I have no reason for a land line while I have the cell, as I am at work all day. Also, I would need a whole day to sit around and wait for the phone company to come hook it up, and I cannot take time off work until next June (seriously). Also, the cheapets service I can get around here is like $25 a month, plus long distance.

Any ideas? I cannot afford to keep spending over $100 a month on phone service. It's ridiculous, and I resent Sprint for their crappy service and customer-gouging and do not want to give them my money.

[NMDemDist2]

1. can you switch to a Pay as you go" plan? My Sprint service has

a set price for every 100 minutes I go over my basic plan

I'd call em and see what they say or get a land line for $25 a month

or go with VOIP plan like Vonage

I'd be checking alternatives for sure though.....

[ancient_nomad]

2. Check out Net 10

It is a prepaid cell phone. 10 cents a minute flat rate in US. Minutes carryover. Haven't heard anything bad about it.

Here is the link:

http://www.net10.com/home_page.jsp?b=i&flash=YES&p=W&task=home_page

Hope this helps you out.