SPARTANBURG, SC – A recent survey by Consumer Reports shows that up to 70% of Americans are overpaying for their cell phone plans.
It says with the 4 big-name carriers, you shouldn’t be paying more than $50 a month for the average 2G plans, and if you’re willing to switch to pre-paid plans, you can save even more.
7 News talked with Robby Liner, from Pauline, who was a loyal Verizon user for 15 years, but who switched to the off-brand Page Plus Cellular.
“My contract with Verizon was right around $150 every month, and that was for unlimited talk and text and 4G of data, and I get the same through prepaid for $65 a month.” said Liner.
We asked Liner if he could still use the same towers with his new plan, and he said “Yes, the same towers, same kind of phones, Android or iPhones and it works perfectly fine.”
Nowadays, there are almost 30 pre-paid carriers to choose from.
We talked with the manager of Wireless Warehaus, Harold McCarter, who said “You can keep the same number 9 times out of 10 and just switch to the pre-paid carrier that uses your towers that you’re already on, and I mean, they’re just shocked to find they can pay 30 dollars less per line.”
Consumer Reports found that only 6% of the 90,000 people it surveyed had switched providers, but most of those who did ended up saving $240 a year.
For Liner, it was closer to $1,000.
“If I had to do it again, I would do it again. It’s definitely worth it. I mean, it cut my phone bill completely in half.” Liner said.
Even if you don’t want to switch providers, it’s wise to call every 3 or 4 months to see if they have new promotions that can help you save money.
Remember, carriers won’t call to tell you about the offers that save you money. You have to ask.
Some tools that can help you choose the best and cheapest plan include WhistleOutand Wirefly.
These online tools compare different plans and let you decide which works best for you.
