Video:Tips for Avoiding Fines on a Cell Phone Plan
with Michael WatkinsCell phones come with so many different types of plans offering different features at different price points, but every cell plan comes with overage fees. Watch this About.com video to learn ways to avoid fines on your cell phone plan.See Transcript
Transcript:Tips for Avoiding Fines on a Cell Phone Plan
Hi, I’m Mike Watkins for About.com, and today were going to give you tips for avoiding fines on your cell phone plan.
Monitor Your Cell Phone Use
You should always monitor your usage on your cell phone. Whether its your minutes, your data plan or your text message allotment, always make sure you keep a running tab on how many minutes or data or text messages you’ve sent for that month. That’ll make sure that you don’t go over, and if you’re close to going over, you can regulate how much you use from this point going forward.
Consider Changing Your Cell Phone Plan
Another option to consider if you consistently go over your minutes is adjusting your plan. It might be more cost effective for you to move up in plan, and spend an extra five or 10 dollars and get more minutes versus spending an overage fee of 20 dollars that might cost you a lot more than if you went up in plans, as far as what they offer from your carrier.
Many of the major cell phone carriers have usage alerts. You can have an email sent to your address, or you can have a text message sent directly to your phone notifying you that you’re about to go aver your limit. This is a great way to make sure that you don’t incur any additional usage charges.
Use WiFi Instead of 3G
Many of the newer smart phones require a data plan for you to surf online and to access the Internet. Whenever possible, try to use a WiFi connection. This will eliminate the overages charges that go with excessive use of your data plan.
Contact Your Cell Provider
If for some reason you incur an unexpected fee, you can call your cell phone carrier and ask them for a one time courtesy removal of that fee. A lot of cell phone carriers are willing to work with their clients and customers to go ahead and remove a fee if it was unexpected or if it was something that was a one-time thing. Don’t hesitate to ask politely and explain what the circumstances were involved with the fee that you were not expecting.
For more information, visit us online at cellphones.about.com