Save Money With Your Cellphone By Following A Few Easy Steps

Save hundreds of dollars and more

I used to work in the cellphone industry. I am well aware of the reasons why people call in: huge bills, roaming charges, data charges, and the list goes on.

It’s an industry where I didn’t face a lot of happy customers. Face it, if you work in a call center, people do not call in to just wish you a “Good day.” They call in when they have a problem. Here are a few tips:

1. Review your bill. That’s right. Pull up your bill online and go through the charges. Find out why you have additional text message charges. Perhaps your plan does not include international text messages.
2. Understand your rate plan. If your plan is just $35 a month, make sure you understand what you get. If you do not wish to have extra charges on your bill, make sure your data is blocked on your phone or have your provider block data (the internet) on your phone or tablet.

I have had several calls during my years working at the company in which some customers got enormous data charges on their bills. We are talking about thousands of dollars over a few months. Don’t panic. If your bill is high and you feel that you were not fully explained what your plan involved, be sure to call in to dispute your bill. That’s right. Ask for a credit. Go high. Ask for the entire charges to be credited. The best that that can happen to you is that you can get the whole charges reversed, or part of it.

It happened to me once. I ended up having a bill for Internet charges for a service that I never received. The charges were on the other side of the bill, which I never looked at for almost one year. I disputed because the company never installed the service, and the company agreed to waive all the charges.

3. Call in once a year to get your plan reviewed. If you have been with the company for a long time, or just over several years, inquire if you can get a discount. Some cell providers have a loyalty department that can give you free features — all you have to do is ask. If you shop around, you can use that as leverage to get a better deal with your current provider.

4. Before you get a new cell phone on a contract, confirm if your plan will change. Often if you get a new phone, your plan will change and it will often be higher. Call the renewals department to see if you can get a better plan or keep the same one. Often times it may be cheaper if you buy the phone in full and just pay for a monthly plan.

5. Ensure if you really need all those extras, such as device insurance. Understand what it includes. Many customers pay a monthly fee for a service that they will probably never use. I personally do not have any extra phone coverage on your plan. I don’t even have a cellphone case. If you lose your phone, most plans do not have lost/stolen coverage. Of course, every family is different. If your child plays sports and drops the phone, it could be very costly to fix it. Having a device insurance plan gives you peace of mind. During my career, I have had my share of calls in which phones get damaged by being dropped accidentally.

6. International calls. Ensure that your plan provides you with international phone coverage. Many customers have called in to dispute that they were charged even though they used an app to make those calls. Sometimes the app could fail and you could be charged for those calls to Egypt, or other international places. Make sure that your wi-fi connection is working when calls are made using apps.

7. Data charges. If you plan on using Google Maps, make sure that your phone gives you sufficient data plan to use apps. Many people use Google Maps for their jobs or personal travel and it is important that you understand what your data plan includes.

8. Explore different programs. If you work for a corporation or the government, see if you qualify for any special discounts. If you work for the military, you may get a discount, as well. The same applies to family or student discounts. Call in to inquire with your cellphone provider to see if they have any seniors discounts or promotional plans for new customers.

9. Don’t speak English? Don’t worry, you can have a family member or friend make the call on your behalf.

One more thing: the best time to call a phone company is in the morning. You will get customer reps who have been perked up with their coffee and are raring to work. If you call in the evening or after 6 pm, the agents may be tired and you may have to explain yourself twice to get your points across. Then again, most reps are working from home now due to COVID-19, so your customer service experience may be better now compared to pre-Covid-19.

That’s all I have for you today. Just be aware that you can start saving on your cellphone bill today by just reviewing your phone bill and doing some research. Better yet, if you need an employee discount, you may want to work for your phone carrier, yourself!

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