Phone Service

I have recently purchased a phone and service through this company http://www.ting.com. Do some research on the company as I did and you might be interested. I got the refurbished LG Marquee.
Now, this would mean that no more weekends and nights free, no mobile to mobile free. It is on the Sprint network but roams on Verizon network as well although there is no additional charge for roaming in the U.S. I also understand that it roams on other networks but have seen no list. One user mentioned it roams on U. S. Cellular.
So far I am pleased with the phone although battery life isn't that great. There are ways to reduce battery consumption and, if necessary I can buy an extended battery (fatter battery) which, of course, will make the phone thicker. At this point it is about 1/3 inch thick which is pretty small. Screen resolution is excellent.

Customer service is the best I have ever come across, bar none. Of course, given the level of customer service for cell phone companies that isn’t saying much. So I should say that it is substantially better. For example, I ended up having to make several calls to them. They were answered in 30 seconds or less by someone on the North American continent and that person dealt with my question without being re-routed. Cost per minute is cheaper than what we are paying now. I opted for the plan that is $0 per month. They simply charge you based on your use per the plan. There is a $6 access fee charge per month per phone. No set up fee just the cost of the phone.
One thing to be aware of is that it does not roam for data use. So, if always having data is critical you may not want this. You can, of course, use wifi for data. I most wanted phone service and figure that 3G data is gravy when I have it as I do now. They sell 4G capable phones but you will need to research that for yourself to see how it works. Again, I wasn’t looking for 4G and didn’t want to spend a fortune for a phone. This is technically a pre-paid plan but given that I chose $0 on voice, text and data the only up front charge I had was the $6.00 plus tax on that amount and only after it was activated. The other charges will be determined based on usage month to month and there is no contract.
You can bring your own device but you need to look at that as there aren’t that many on the list currently but they are working on expanding the list.
We have ordered a second Marquee for Gayle although they are backordered. We will end up porting our current VZ number to the second phone when we get it. You will see a Samsung Ultra as a refurb also which is a slider with a keyboard. You can buy newer phones up to the Samsung Galaxy SIII but they do not offer the iphone.
Here is a link to a site that mentions a code. http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/hot-deals/1192359/ I used that code and got a $50 credit on service. They will apply the credit to a new phone instead but not a refurb phone. I have read that this code will not work after January 15 but did not read it on the Ting site. Their customer service is out of Canada but their corporate office is in Mississippi. The company that owns this owned the Tucows website if you are familiar with that.
The following link will provide you with a $25 credit or discount. https://zc2cpq1aj1.ting.com/ In the interest of full disclosure if you use that link it gets us a $25 credit as well so if the other link works by all means use it.

Jim