[snowbird22154]

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with.

Wonder how long people will continue to pay full price for the I phone as maybe I need to go back to the cheap "flip phone" but then I wouldn't have all the Internet, weather, navigation, I cloud and other "apps"

Think I'll try to get on Welfare and "then"..... get a Free One !!

[joldnol]

change carrier....."Obama Phones" by the way are not i-phones and started under W's admin

[Xcuse]

I understand that Verizon has changed their policies and rates. You could use joldno's suggestion and try different carriers.

[yesi3putt2]

I highly recommend Republic Wireless..everything U want..no contract.inexpensive Motorola android phones

[The Buckeyes]

Originally Posted by joldnol

change carrier....."Obama Phones" by the way are not i-phones and started under W's admin

Obama phones or w phones...doesn't matter! The taxpayers in this country have to pay for their phones and contracts for themselves, why do they need to pay for someone else?

[jnieman]

I think many times those deals are available when a new Iphone comes out and they are trying to clear inventory on the previous Iphones. Possibly when a new Iphone comes out, try again. You can also buy refurbished phones sometimes on the ATT website.

[RickeyD]

These subsidies are coming to an end. Market penetration is approaching 90%, now that they have you hooked they don't have to help out anymore. I ain't falling for it though. I lived without one for 50 years, I can do without.

[Chatbrat]

For giggles I got a free phone(Obama phone) from the American Legion-no means test, no asset test, big shame-

[The Buckeyes]

Originally Posted by RickeyD

These subsidies are coming to an end. Market penetration is approaching 90%, now that they have you hooked they don't have to help out anymore. I ain't falling for it though. I lived without one for 50 years, I can do without.

I might be a little confused with your answer. Have you lived without a phone for 50 years? If that avatar belongs to you.....you can afford it.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by joldnol

change carrier....."Obama Phones" by the way are not i-phones and started under W's admin

Thank you.

[RickeyD]

Originally Posted by The Buckeyes

I might be a little confused with your answer. Have you lived without a phone for 50 years? If that avatar belongs to you.....you can afford it.

A cell phone I don't need. I'm cheap, my company pays for my smart phone. In two years I'm outta here, ain't gonna need it.

[KeepingItReal]

Originally Posted by Chatbrat

For giggles I got a free phone(Obama phone) from the American Legion-no means test, no asset test, big shame-

Might want to rethink that.....apparently a lot of other people wanted some giggles too...but it doesn't end well.

From another thread...from Rick Nugent

Dear Friends,

There isn’t a whole lot of news to report this week that you all don’t already know about. I did want to make you aware of one thing that’s been a growing issue here recently. As many of you know, a portion of your monthly cell phone bill goes toward the so-called “Universal Service Fund”. That fund, among other things, provides cell phones to low-income families. When people talk about “Obamaphones”, that’s specifically what they are referring to.

To make a long story short, we’ve had a growing issue with the vendors who sell / provide these phones targeting veterans with a very misleading pitch. Outside one of our local VA outpatient clinics, a vendor sets up a booth. As veterans come in for appointments, they get roped into to signing up for what they think is a free phone for veterans. To be clear – there is no free phone for veterans program. In order for a veteran to qualify, he or she must be below the income threshold like everybody else.

So after these vets hand over their personal information and numbers, etc. they get a phone. Three months later, they get something in the mail saying they need to verify their income eligibility. The veteran tells the company, “but I make more than that” and the company says, “well you’ll have to pay up in that case or we’re going to disconnect your phone.”

When this happens, either the veteran has gotten used to this new phone and gotten rid of an old one, in which case they’ve been duped into purchasing a new phone. Or more likely, the phone is simply disconnected and discarded. The company who is compensated by the Universal Service Fund is making money coming and going. At least that’s our strong suspicion. Some company in the industry ran a very misleading campaign last year urging veterans (many of whose information they probably got at booths like the one I just described) to call and urge their representatives not to cut phone service for veterans. Our immediate reaction was, there is no such program. Low income veterans may well qualify for this program, but it’s very misleading to suggest to people this is a veteran-specific thing.

Over the next week, I’m going to be digging into this quite a bit and I will be reaching out to some of my colleagues to try to get a number of us working on a solution. The bottom line is, if you know any local veterans, please give them a heads up that this is happening. It ends up being a situation where some slick talking sales person misleads them into turning over important personal information for what ends up being nothing.

In any case, I don’t want to take up any more of your time this morning. I should have some more specifics to report on in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, if you have a minute, please feel free to drop me a line and let me know what’s on your mind.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,
Rich Nugent
Member of Congress

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by snowbird22154

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with.

Wonder how long people will continue to pay full price for the I phone as maybe I need to go back to the cheap "flip phone" but then I wouldn't have all the Internet, weather, navigation, I cloud and other "apps"

Think I'll try to get on Welfare and "then"..... get a Free One !!

Verizon just announced the end of their two year contracts with new customers. you will now pay full price for an IPhone and then select a plan for usage the more usage the higher the price

[Rango]

Try AT&T

[champion6]

Originally Posted by snowbird22154

Just went to try to get a newer I Phone and now was told there are no more "free phones" with the 2 year renewal contracts. It appears you "now" have to pay the FULL price for the I phone $700+ as the days of "free with upgrade" are over with. <snip>

You didn't name the carrier, so it's hard to comment. BUT, I can't think of any carrier that has ever offered a current model iPhone for free. By not giving wholesale discounts to carriers, Apple has managed to protect its margins and profits.