$6 a month for cell phone service?! Too good to be true?

[LiekOMG]

I just got an ad in a local newspaper here in NYC, and one of the B&M stores near me is offering cell phone service for $5.99 a month for one year. The plan seems to offer
60 anytime minutes, 500 weekend minutes, free long distance, free roaming, free caller ID and voice mail. This would be perfect for me as I would only use the phone very rarely for quick conversations. But the price seems to be too good to be true. The cheapest plan I can find directly from a provider is $20 a month from Voicestream. So how is this price possible?

I'm going to call the store tomorrow and inquire about the offer. I checked all the small print on the page and the deal doesn't seem to involve any strange rebates or anything like that. Any questions I should ask them about, specifically something I missed that they might try to rip me off with? Thanks for any help.

 

[Hammer]

I suppose its possible. They're hoping to nail you on the anytime minutes obviously.

 

[diskop]

That's crazy. What provider is the service on? Maybe it's some no name one that doesn't have very good coverage

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: diskop
That's crazy. What provider is the service on? Maybe it's some no name one that doesn't have very good coverage

I have no clue what provider it is. I guess thats a good question to ask them.

 

[bmacd]

60 minutes is VERY easy to burn. What's their over-limit/per minute charge... $5.00/minute? That's a great deal for an emergency phone. I wonder if they have national coverage...er...coverage in my area (metro detroit).

-=bmacd=-

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: bmacd
60 minutes is VERY easy to burn. What's their over-limit/per minute charge... $5.00/minute? That's a great deal for an emergency phone. I wonder if they have national coverage...er...coverage in my area (metro detroit).

-=bmacd=-

I have no clue what the price is if you go over the limit. Another good question to ask. And I know that companies round up by the minute, so even if you only talk for 20 seconds, they still count it as a minute. But like you said, its good for emergencies. I just need to find out what provider it is.

 

[diskop]

Originally posted by: DOACleric

Originally posted by: bmacd
60 minutes is VERY easy to burn. What's their over-limit/per minute charge... $5.00/minute? That's a great deal for an emergency phone. I wonder if they have national coverage...er...coverage in my area (metro detroit).

-=bmacd=-

I have no clue what the price is if you go over the limit. Another good question to ask. And I know that companies round up by the minute, so even if you only talk for 20 seconds, they still count it as a minute. But like you said, its good for emergencies. I just need to find out what provider it is.

I think the providers are obligated to let you dial 911 even if you don't have a active plan? Not 100% sure, but I remember hearing this somewhere.

 

[LiekOMG]

Yeah its true. But when i say emergencies i don't mean 911. I mean like quick calls to home and stuff.