Life with my Virgin Mobile cell phone service was pretty good. The phone has been very reliable and easy to set up the way I liked it. It was the least expensive prepaid plan I could find but the service area was spotty and did not include a couple of places very important to me. So, since the phone's battery wasn't holding a charge as long as it used to and replacement batteries cost as much as a new phone (if you can find them), I decided to look around.
Comparing plans and service areas I settled on Alltel: not as cheap as Virgin Mobile, but the service area promised to be excellent. I picked up the new phone, a nifty LG AX275, at our Target store and after charging the battery, activated it. All went well during activation but I soon discovered that, while Virgin Mobile treats its prepay customers well and with respect, Alltel considers us second-class "citizens" in several important ways.
After thrashing around in Alltel's very unhelpful Web site I found that, while logged into my account last night, clicking on [Help] produced an empty page –no help– and there was no information on how to contact them — they didn't want to help or talk to no-account folks like me. Likewise there was no Search capability to look for an answer to my One Big Question: How can I get my Virgin Mobile phone number assigned to my new Alltel phone? {Telephone Number Portability} After two calls, and several hand-offs between departments, it turns out Alltel won't do that for you if you don't have a Contract. Funny (not ha-ha): Virgin Mobile ported over my Verizon Wireless number –one prepaid account to another– the way they should and for less cash than Alltel will be gaining from me. Is Alltel antiquated, stupid, or stingy? I don't study these things but I thought telephone number portability was federally mandated. In any event it looks like I may be out of luck there and will have to inform everyone of my new cell phone number. Next step: a formal complaint to the FCC.
I also found that the new phone has only one wallpaper and only one ringtone –music– which I don't like. We prepay bums can't download ringtones from the Alltel Web site, only via cell phone Web access which multiplies the cost and reduces the choices dramatically. All I want is a beeping sound or a synthetic ring, not a freakin' concert!
On the "up" side, I now have very good service coverage in the area most important to me: the observatory! Now if I go there I only have to tell folks to call me at my cell phone number and don't have to provide a list of numbers, a schedule, and instructions.
Still, thanks to Alltel's policy and practice of screwing non-contract users, I'm not a happy new customer.
PhotonStopper 