I am the recent victor of a grueling battle to defend what is rightly mine. I’m not talking about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness here.
No – I am talking about rollover minutes.
Alright, so perhaps the title leans a little on the dramatic side. But it was a fight, nonetheless. You see, I have been over-paying my cellphone bill for well over 3 years. When I was preparing for a cross-country move, I needed a new wireless provider. My phone at the time was through a local company, and I basked in the glory of unlimited calling, text messaging, three way calling! all for under $30 a month. It’s hard to recognize what you have until it’s gone. I was dismayed to find most national carriers wanted a LOT more of my money to keep me connected, and I was faced with the arduous task of estimating the minutes I would need.
It’s not as easy as one would expect. My former provider was unable to give me any insight about my previous usage. I planned to sign up with the same carrier as many of my close friends and family members, and those calls would be unlimited. And, truthfully, I expected to be lonely and in frequent need of familiar voices back home. So I signed up for two years with Cingular (now ATT), choosing a plan with 600 anytime minutes, with rollover, unlimited nights and weekends, and unlimited mobile to mobile. My free phone arrived in the mail only days later, and I excitedly began chatting with zeal. Then my very first bill came.
I stared, stupefied, at the little digits on the page. How could this be?! Immediately, I dialed up Cingular customer support, begging for resolution. When the operator asked how she could be of assistance, I struggled to pull in a deep breath.
“I just received my first bill…and, um…well, I think I’ve miscalculated the number of minutes I will need,” I sighed. The woman on the other end began to tell me about overage fees, and the exorbitant cost of using more minutes than my plan allowed. She went on to explain the many plan options they offer to accommodate loquacious folks like me.
Confused, I had to interrupt her. “More minutes? I don’t think you understand – I used less than half of the minutes on my plan. It needs to be changed to a plan with fewer anytime minutes!” Her demeanor noticeably changed, and she informed me that I was already signed up for the minimum plan available, while still qualifying for rollover. I believed her – until I misplaced my phone and went to visit one of the stores to get a new one. There, the helpful salesman said I can get a plan for 450 minutes, with rollover. The catch? I would lose any rollover minutes I had accrued up to that point. Well, I didn’t like that one bit. So I thanked him for his time, and left – without a new phone, or a new plan. Good thing, because my phone later turned up under the seat of a friend’s car.
That was 2 years ago, and this would be the end of the story were it not for a most helpful post by the Village Idiot outlining several ways to trim the cost of your cell phone bill.
I found myself back on the phone, but this time with ATT. Not sure why they changed their name back, but beyond my scope of concern. When I told them I wanted to reduce my number of anytime minutes, the gentleman on the other end began to launch into the whole spiel about losing rollover minutes. After he finished, I did something crazy:
I requested to change my plan to fewer minutes, as well as keep my rollover minutes. And the strangest thing happened – he agreed!
As I prepared to pay my lower bill this month, and gazed upon my large cushion of rollover minutes, I began thinking. Maybe all I need to do in order to save money is simply ask. Fear not, I am not becoming a panhandler. Rather, I am becoming an opportunist – without the negative implications. I am simply recognizing opportunities to ask.
The other day, I needed to get my oil changed. As I pulled into the drive, the service technician was outlining all of the services they provide. One of these services was a check of break lights, headlights, turn signals, etc. If needed, they would replace the exhausted bulb. As it happened, my tail light needed to be replaced (I had, months ago, attempted to replace it myself – but it’s harder than it looks on the type of car I had!). With my new-found confidence, I asked him to throw in the tail light at no cost.
He agreed.
