Venerable prepaid MVNO TracFone has launched a new flat-rate service called Straight Talk for users that want to have a choice between unlimited voice/messaging service, or want a fixed amount of airtime and texts per month without a contract.
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For now the service is available nationwide via select Wal-Mart locations and the handset lineup currently comprises the Motorola RAZR V3a, Motorola W385, and LG200CM.
The $45 Unlimited Plan includes unlimited voice service, unlimited SMS, and 30 MB of mobile web access while the $30 plan steps down to 1000 minutes of airtime and 1000 messages with the same 30 MB of mobile web access. One other advantage touted by TracFone is the inclusion of direct 411 access at no additional cost, which other carriers routinely charging additional fees for its use.
It should be noted that unlike the GSM-based service TracFone is known for, this service operates on the Verizon Wireless network.
just got my straight talk phone on friday i ported my number myself only took 5 minutes no problems at all i was paying $105.00 a month for verizon service and it was not unlimited now i have straight talk unlimited for $45 a month and i have better service and straight talk runs off of verizons network go figure….this is the best thing i evr did when it comes to phones who cares about customer service no phone providers customer service is good anyway its half the price of any carrier and service is great i have no complaints this company is going to blow all other carriers out of the water if you are smart you would switch to straight talk otherwise you are throwing your money away i check my email with it to no problems why do you buy a phone um to make phones calls and text if you want to do other stuff like downloading apps go pay $500 for an iphone and $200 a month for service just to look cool doesnt everbody own a computer nowdays anyway?????????
Well, after 11 days of simply being told over and over “check back in 24 hours,” my phone is finally working. I just hope it continues to work ok as I never want to have to deal with ST customer service again.
As I said before, USER BEWARE! If you just need a new phone with a new number, this company is great (I actually did recommend it to a friend last night who is a case like that), anything more and you will almost certainly regret making the transition…
I like my plan with Straight Talk I get good service… But when something messes up on your phone GOOODDDD LUUUCCCKKK to you on getting ahold of customer service I have called repeatedly from my cell and house phone and CAN NOT GET AN ANSWER! It’s busy, there’s noone to take my call or all reps. are busy and can not speak with me at this time! And the Elston number doesn’t work either!
On the Straighttalk service: What is the ‘6 or 7 digit number’ you need to dial in, order to ‘turn-off or turn-on’ the recording at the beginning of each call that states ‘how much time you have’ on your account… (I received a message that gave me the code to do this but it was deleted when i paid my bill last month)…
Thanks…
T~
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!STRAIGHT TALK REP WHO CHECKS THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
my phone was turned off today and i remind you i did pay for another month, i call straight talks customer service number and i keep getting a “due to unusually high call volume we are unable to take your call right now!!!” over and over and over again!!! my husband is supposed to call me from iraq tomorrow and your stupid service turned off my phone and i can not getahold of them how can i get my phone turned o by tomorrow please write back and sooon!!! my email is k18forever@hotmail.com this goes for anyone else who has had this problem please email me.
Last month I purchased a 45.00 dollar card from Wal-Mart. “Finally,” I thought, “I have found a cell that I can live with. I think I’ll sign up for a draft or whatever from my account and keep this service.” Then, then, I was moving and failed to get a new card until 3 days late. Today, I purchased another 45.00 dollar card, did all the right processes for installing the time and at the end of the automatied activation the male voice said “45.00 has been applied to phone #,” and gave a number I have never heard of. I do not have enough money on my phone to make a call and I cannot get them to answer on any phone except once. A lady who is not very English capable told me to call *528809, (or similar) and my phone flashed a message “reprogramming.” I still have no money on my phone and no phone service. Wow! I guess this another rip-off scheme. Or can I get service from any of the “customer care” service people???? My e-mail is registered with you!
Best of luck to you Ramona… It is probably going to take weeks of frustrating calls with CS reps repeating the same BS lines over and over until someone finally fixes this for you. They might even say at some point that it can not be resolved (they told me after a week of daily calls that they lost my number, but as I pushed the issue I was able to get it back a few days later), but just keep calling and pushing and with a little perseverance (and prayer) they can probably fix things…
Straight talk is GREAT if you never have any complications, but is the most wretched lousy excuse for a company I have ever dealt with when it comes to customer service and tech support.
Once this is resolved, sign up for their auto-refill online so you don’t ever have to deal with this junk again.
Best of luck to you on getting any response. They will not contact you, you have to keep calling them over and over and over and over and over… you get the picture. I don’t miss my $120 monthly bill from AT&T, but I do really miss having a support team that was knowledgeable and who always fixed any issue I had in one single phone call.
I think they should rename the company to HateTalk because Lord know all of their customers hate having to talk to them (if you can actually get through). It amazes me that reputable companies like TrackPhone and Verizon have anything to do with this mess.
can you use other phones, and turn them into straight talk phones..maybe old verizon or sprint?
Maybe you could edit the blog name title TracFone Debuts StraightTalk Flat-Rate Service | PhoneNews.com to something more better for your blog post you write. I liked the the writing withal.
Well i have been using straighttalk for about a little over 2 months now and is not a shocking change, but i have definitly noticed some savings. Whenever me and my husband compare it to our old contract phone, the differences are noticeable. Maybe is because we both have unlimited plan for $45/month. However i will say this this not a phone for the people that love their apps and cool new super fast browsers. Keep in mind you do get what you are paying for (a little more then what you pay for haha).
I am trying to assist my father move from land line to Straight Talk Home. This has been a nightmare. First time 12/6 I called to put my replace my existing Straight Talk Home number with my home line from ATT. I gave all the info and was informed that the ST # would be removed and the ATT ported number would be installed in about 2 days or less.
Sure enought 2 days later the phone was turned off and my ST HOme line would no program to the Verizon system. I called back and was told the did a test call and the phone number was disconnected. I called ATT and the said they we still in process of disconnecting the service. I was advised by ST to cancle the order with ATT. We did so and the next day the old ATT was back on my orignal ATT land line. As requested I recalled ST and requested to port my ATT # to ST home service. I called to check on the port status on 12/10 and was told it should be active 12/11 about 1pm EDT. The Att phone line went dead and I picked up the ST Home Svc and began the phone set up.
When the phone service did turn on I fould that I had a new ST number not my ATT ported number.