A few months ago I bought a straight talk phone as it was economical for me to use due to my income at the time. You have a choice of buying a $30 card for 1000 minutes, 1000 texts, or unlimited everything for $45. Walmart sells the cards, and twice when I bought the cards to load, my phone was disconnected for a few hours as it didn't load in time. They do not keep your service on even one minute past that 30th day that you loaded the card. I never let it get to that point so always took the loss of a couple days of unlimited time so that wouldn't happen. 3 months ago, I chose to do the auto refill which has been a mistake from the getgo. The first time a charge showed up in my bank account it was for $49 and change. I learned that auto refill charges taxes and not a flat $45 fee. After learning that, I was mad but accepted that amount up till this past week. I finally upgraded my phone to a better one, and when I did, I had to wait on a sim card to come in the mail which my old one didn't have. Upon receiving the sim card, I called and spent almost 2 hours on the phone to learn that I now have a different number than the one I've had forever. To get my old number back, I had to wait on yet another sim card to be mailed to me along with no service till then. My auto-refill had just been paid also 4 days prior to this. They wanted to charge me yet again (after I now had a different number too), and spent almost 4 hours on the phone going from one person to another to find anyone who could understand English. They speak it—but don't understand it. They kept repeating the same things over and over, and saying: take your time, we understand, let me navigate my system. Then they would ask you the SAME thing again and keep repeating it back to you—along with saying"I understand, take your time, & let me navigate my system to check on that for you." Speaking English is different than understanding it, and I honestly believe they read from a scrypt they have in front of them and that certain words you say prompts them into what to say. After that round of over a dozen times of the same words, I did get someone that spoke & understood it a little better—or so I thought at the time. I explained that my auto refill had just been paid and that they shouldn't have to take another payment. I was told they wouldn't, and yet here I am less than a week later with $49 and change being deducted yet again. I called my bank & explained that they are taking two payments instead of one and they are investigating into fraud with them. Straight talk does not have "rollover" minutes, and if you load a card before the 30 days is over, your time starts right then. Not at the end of the 30 days of the previous payment. As I stated in the beginning, if you even buy a card and load it one minute late you will lose your service. ONE MINUTE! Their service may be cheap, but its a hassle with people who can't comprehend English, and charging taxes on auto refill versus just buying the card at Walmart adds up in time. To me its not worth it. I hope no one makes this mistake that I did. Getting a new phone will screw up your account bigtime with straighttalk, make you lose your number, and auto-refill will allow straighttalk to rip you off fast! Don't do it! It takes hours to get anyone on the phone for technical help, and you really wish you hadn't bothered to begin with once you go through this.
0 comments