Cell Phones - Again

Well, I finally gave up on the cell company I was using. The phone I had for a while and actually worked, stopped working one day. The screen just gave up. They sent me a new phone, and transferred the minutes. I had to re-program the phone with numbers and such, but it actually had a camera on it and seemed like a good phone. Until it stopped working.

I called the company and they said to take out the battery and then put it back in and try the phone. It turned on. So far so good. It kept going off. I kept having to take out the battery and put it back in and turn it back on. The month turned over and I didn't get my monthly minutes, so I called them.

Strange calls started coming in when I got that new phone, too. I'd get these calls from a 503 area code all the time. I never could catch the caller, but the messages were all from some kind of sales or marketing outfit. I'd ask one to stop calling and another number would start. I reported them several times to the DoNotCall website, but they just rotated. I never had calls from these numbers before - only on this phone. I just ignored them as much as I could. They wasted minutes, though, which pissed me off.

One time, the phone was actually on because I was using it that morning, and I forgot to turn off the ringer, and it went off during class. Of course, it was that damned marketing company and by the time I actually answered it, they were gone.

Well, my last call to the cell company was a nightmare. The idiot on the phone kept me on the line for over an hour and I had to leave for the Dentist. I had an appointment, and I had to leave. He just kept saying I needed to stay on the line.

Finally, I just set the phone down and left. Screw him!

I came back, 4 hours later, and the phone was still live. He'd continued to have me holding all that time. What a creep! And I never heard back from them. They never sent me the phone replacement I requested, never a call back to see how things were going, nothing!

So, after another month of dealing with it, I charged the phone late last week. I unplugged the charger and set the phone on the table. The next morning, same thing - no signal, no nothing. The phone was turned off and would not turn on. I took out the battery, put it all in a box and sent it back to the company.

I enclosed a letter telling them to cancel the service. I'd either do without a phone or find another carrier.

This is why I NEVER give out my cell number. I can't keep a phone more than 6 months. Why bother? When someone needs to call, either they will get my answering machine or the cell. That's just the way it is. I forward my home phone to my cell when I'm out overnight.

Well, for a few days I'll be without a cell. No biggie. I've been without one before. I'm shopping the services. Who has roll-over minutes? How much is the service for what I need? What services are available for how much? Stuff like that.

I don't want ANY advertisers, I don't want junk text messages. I don't want to talk to anyone about who I want for President, or what I think about some political issue. Just leave me alone. I won't tell you anyway.

Do. Not. Call. My. Cellphone!