There’s good reason why we dislike our wireless carriers. They are constantly trying to scam us with promotions that are not what they seem. It must be in their DNA, beginning years ago when they increased our monthly charge whenever we made a small change to our account.
With Black Friday sales coming up, they’re at it again. Be wary and don’t fall for their new deceptions.
One of their favorite tricks is to offer us a new product at a very low cost, but one that comes with monthly fees and a long commitment. All three major providers do it, as they constantly copy one another.
AT&T is promoting a free iPhone 16 Pro, an Apple Watch and an iPad for $1 per month each. However, the iPad requires a connection charge of $21 per month and a three-year service agreement, bringing the total cost to $792. That same iPad without a cellular connection costs as little as $299. Similarly, you need to buy the Apple Watch with a cellular connection and pay $11 per month.
T-Mobile is offering the same iPad or a Samsung tablet for “free,” but they require a $20 per month tablet data plan, a $35 activation fee, and a two-year service commitment, for a total of $515 for the Samsung tablet and $614 for the iPad. Verizon’s offering is a $20 per month tablet data plan and a 3-year commitment, totaling $720.
If you try to cancel any of these offerings within the 3 year term, you’ll have to pay off the remaining balance. That creates an obstacle to moving to another carrier, which for them is a benefit. Note too that most iPad users can connect it to their phone’s hot spot rather than requring a dedicated cellular radio in their iPad.
The other scam I experienced last year was when I changed my cell plan on Verizon and was offered a free six-month trial of a Walt Disney streaming bundle. While I don’t recall agreeing to it, it was added to my account, but I never used it. A year later I questioned an odd charge of $6.99 per month for 6 months labeled as “subscriptions.” Yes, it was for Disney, which I failed to cancel and continued to be billed for. They refused to remove the charges. So check your bills regularly and question what you don’t understand. If you do sign up for a trial, create an event on your calendar a week before it expires, reminding you to cancel.
As a yearly reminder, I recommend taking the time to review your wireless plan, and call your carrier to see if there are savings available. Plans change several times a year to attract new subscribers, but existing subscribers are rarely notified, and need to ask for discounts. In the case of Verizon at least, the phone support agents do try to please to get good ratings, and they can often find ways to save you money. While everyone’s plan is different, I am paying about $260 per month for 7 phone lines and connections for two connected Apple watches.