Poor excuses for cell services

CUSTOMERS COME LAST Or so it seems as cellular carriers become bigger but not better.

We received e-mail in September 2005 from a reader whose newly merged cell-phone company refused to honor a rebate promised by the salesman and neglected to tell her that formerly free text messages would now cost her. "They made me so crazy, I consider the $150 cancellation fee to be money well spent. Really, it's better than getting a massage!"

Consumer Reports' September 2005 survey of more than 50,000 cell-phone users in 18 metropolitan areas across the country tells us that overall satisfaction with cell-phone service hasn't improved in the past few years. Dropped calls, static, busy circuits, and no service at all still plague users. Depending on the company, 6 to 14 percent of users had to deal with persistent billing problems.

About 40 percent of consumers who shopped for a new plan said it was hard to figure out the true cost of the service. How can you avoid that situation? Before you sign on with a carrier, make sure to figure out your bottom-line monthly cost after adding in roaming fees, overage charges, taxes, fees, and surcharges. Have the company clarify what you don't understand.

The recent AT&T/Cingular merger brought a new cache of problems. More than half of the Cingular customers in our survey were former AT&T customers, and we found that people who kept their old AT&T phones reported significantly more connection problems and substantially lower satisfaction than those who bought new Cingular phones.

But consumers who wrote to www.HearUsNow.org told us that switching to a phone that works on the Cingular system means buying a new phone and signing a new contract for a year or more. Those who opt to change to a different carrier altogether may be faced with early-termination fees of more than $100 per unit. Not a pretty picture for a family with four cell phones.

The bad experience with the AT&T/Cingular merger doesn't bode well for the recently sealed Sprint/Nextel marriage, despite assurances from the companies that it will be a "seamless transition." We'll know more next survey. Meanwhile, for information on how to cut your phone bill, Ratings of cell phones and services, the latest in new features, and tips on navigating the phone maze, see our January 2006 reports. And to learn more about communications issues and share your story, go to www.HearUsNow.org, a Consumers Union Web site.

Jim Guest President