Straight Talk Phones

[GoofyGolferGirl]

Has anyone used these phones/service they are at Walmart, it is $45.00 a month for unlimited everything phone, text and internet with no contract in our area they are suppose to use verizon towers. I am seriously thinking of switching it would save me a little over a $100.00 a month The few people I talked to have loved it and they have had it for several months.

 

[JB2K]

I've heard it's a pretty straightforward service, in terms of pricing, which is always a good thing.

As for the equipment, keep in mind you are limited to the small handful of models which are sold only at Walmart (in other words, you can't use a Verizon-branded phone for this service), but they seem to have phones that would be of interest to many.

And, yes, they do use Verizon's nationwide network, meaning if you have good reception with VZW, you'll have good reception with Straight Talk, as well...

 

[Muushka]

I have had Straight Talk since March of this year. I got the $39.99 LG flip kind of phone.
Not the best phone, but I just use it for calls, so it suits me just fine.

I got the plan with the intention of eliminating our land line. Which I did. I thought I would need to go to the $45 unlimited plan but I have not needed to. The minutes roll over! So for $30 a month I get 1000 anytime minutes and 1000 texts.

I have yet to drop a call or have difficulty connecting. I am more than pleased with Straight Talk.

 

[Kies99]

Virgin Mobile has similar for $25 a month. Only differences are you only get 300 minutes of anytime talk (additional minutes are 20 cents??) and it uses Sprint towers. I've been using it for 2 months now and it's great.

 

[Chesire]

I have their blackberry type model and its nice, but the internet is horribly slow (not worth using). I started with the $30 a month plan and have never come close to using up minutes.
My husband has had nothing but problems with them though. He had a slider phone and purchased a ring tone. The slider phone would not access the internet (it was suppose to be able to) so they agreed to refund the ring tone change. They never did (this was 2 months ago). Then he signed up for auto refill and they never added it to his account. So he had no refund, no ring tone and no service, even though he was paying for it. Their customer service was AWFUL (if you could understand them!). We finally had to go to our credit card company to try and get it straightened out.
For us, I have had a great experience, but have never had to use their customer service. He has had nothing but problems.

**edited to add, my husband now uses Virgin mobile and is much happier

 

[Muushka]

We have Virgin for my husband's phone. $5 a month for emergency phone calls (and with that he maybe uses 5 minutes a month). Those minutes roll over also. So if we need to use it more, we have the minutes stacking up. The $5 buys about 28 minutes a month for the plan we have.

I think the Straight Talk is a much better deal if you use your phone a lot.

 

[Muushka]

I agree, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I had trouble signing up on the internet (for the auto-refill). What would take a normal business one call to fix, it went on for several weeks. But now that it is straightened out, I cannot complain.

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

I had Straight Talk for a few months. I had a Motorola flip phone; I forget the exact model.

As PPs have said, the price is straightforward and the minutes do roll over.
ETA: The internet is very slow, as a PP mentioned, and I never was able to use it. It is not the full internet access like you would get on a smart phone.

Also, the phones are not discounted and you can only use the ones they offer. They don't offer the best phones or free ones because their service is where the discounts are. When I signed up, only 3 phones were available. They have a few more now; some look pretty cool.

ETA: I also had mine on auto-pay. I did not have the customer service troubles that the PP had; nor did I have troubles when I canceled the auto-pay to end my service. Their website was not useful for doing either of those things, however.

I would have kept it, but I really wanted a phone that did more than just make phone calls and texts. I wanted a computer in my pocket. I now have an iPhone 3gs and I love it.

But I do terribly miss the phone bill I had with Straight Talk. This AT&T bill is

 

[poutytink]

I have Straight Talk...love the price for the 1000 minutes ,33.38 a month!! I use my phone as a phone...text occasional too...perfect for any of that. Customer service is from India or something...hard to get your point across to them..but otherwise...love them.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

Thanks I think I may give it a try!!