Take a moment to THINK about...

[sweetpee_1993]

...how tied we are to our electronic devices. Like our CELL PHONES! I neeeeeever thought much about it. Just the natural way of things. I used my phone for everything. In a pinch, look it up. So, I just ran quickly into the local post office to ship off a box and in an instant...BAM! My iPhone was GONE! I looked all around for it. Emptied my purse. Ripped my car apart. Looked all around the post office again. Gone. I asked the desk clerks if anyone had turned one in. Nope. Nobody ever was near me. There may have been 4 other people inside the post office near where I was in those 5 minutes. It all happened THAT fast. When I realized the phone was gone I didn't even know what to think. Where to begin??? Call the husband. But HOW???? Thankfully, the store where my oldest son works is less than 2 blocks away. I went straight to my kid, got his phone, called my husband to have him start calling the banks, then immediately called the cell service to have the phone shut off and blocked all usage. I sat & used my son's phone to change passwords and pin numbers on a few accounts then proceeded to the nearest AT&T store. Here's the thing. I got in the car to go to the nearest AT&T store but my mind was still racing and fogged with panic. Where IS the nearest store???? I couldn't even THINK. Went to get my phone to look it up...but...NO PHONE! Holy crap! I'm so tethered by that thing!!!! Ugh!

AT&T store really iced the cake. Lemme tell ya. I have insurance on the phone. The clerk guy didn't even look that up. He pulled up our account and said, "Oh, you aren't eligible for an upgrade yet." Ya think???? "But you can enroll in this new program and for $25 a month we can fix ya up right now..." How much for a new phone? "$600 but it'd be cheaper for you today to enroll for the $25/month then in 2 years..." Wait a minute. You want me to hike my bill for $25/month or pay you $600 today? Don't I have insurance? "Yes. But for no money today and just $25/month...." How much does it cost to use the insurance I pay for? "$200. But I could save you money today..." Why would I pay you $600 today or stretched out over the next 2 years when I can get the phone replaced for $200??? This guy was seriously hot-n-heavy for me to sign up for whatever their new program was. Ugh. So he fiiiinally gave me a card with the contact info for the insurance people. Gonna be a few days without a cell phone ((HORROR!!!!!!)) but I'm not getting ripped off for $400 by some little jack-weed trying to sell me something I don't want.

I guess I must've took the little guy wrong. I already feel traumatized and victimized enough. I kinda resent feeling like I was getting taken advantage of in my already distressed state.

And why is it that when guys see chicks coming they think that's an automatic green light to talking them into stupid unnecessary crap??? OMG. Especially if it has something to do with cars. That's the worst. Dudes assume (incorrectly) that all chicks are completely stupid when it comes to cars. I have laughed in the face of maaaaany of those fine fellas. Grrrrr!!!!

Okay. Done venting.

 

[Nemo14]

Sorry about your problem today. I'm really not attached to my phone at all, but I can understand how it happens.

 

[flynnibus]

This is why people need to be careful with what they automatically store/enable on their phones. Your phone can be many more times dangerous to have in the hands of a bad guy wrt to your accounts/services. You want to have a PIN enabled, and Findmyphone... did you not have that enabled on your phone? That would have told you at least where it was last seen if someone didn't disable it.

The dweeb trying to sell you a new device vs using your insurance is pretty lame. But I guess he was trying to get you a phone 'now' vs later?

The program they were pushing is their 'Next' program - basically the old model of 'we sell you a discounted phone for agreeing to 2yrs of service plus a penalty if you cancel' is going the way of the dodo. Now, you either pay full price, or pay basically a full price over a payment plan. The good thing is, they lowered the per line costs, the bad thing is, it's not going to be cheaper overall for most people.

If you are on AT&T now, you can switch to the 'mobile share value' even if you are on old subsidized phones now.. and pay $15/line instead of $35-40 a line. But when you goto your next phone, you gotta use the Next program or pay full price (or bring your own device)

 

[MinnieM123]

Sweetpee, that's too bad about your phone. Good thing you noticed it missing rather quickly, and were able to at least take some steps to protect your information. That's what is most important for your own peace of mind. I hope your new phone works well for you, and you never have to deal with a situation like that again. (When I hear stories like yours, I'm glad I only have a little cheapo cell phone that doesn't even text, take pictures, or anything at all.)

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sorry about your problem today. I'm really not attached to my phone at all, but I can understand how it happens.

For years I refused to even have a phone. I didn't want to be tethered. I swear, today was such an epiphany!

 

[sweetpee_1993]

This is why people need to be careful with what they automatically store/enable on their phones. Your phone can be many more times dangerous to have in the hands of a bad guy wrt to your accounts/services. You want to have a PIN enabled, and Findmyphone... did you not have that enabled on your phone? That would have told you at least where it was last seen if someone didn't disable it.

The dweeb trying to sell you a new device vs using your insurance is pretty lame. But I guess he was trying to get you a phone 'now' vs later?

The program they were pushing is their 'Next' program - basically the old model of 'we sell you a discounted phone for agreeing to 2yrs of service plus a penalty if you cancel' is going the way of the dodo. Now, you either pay full price, or pay basically a full price over a payment plan. The good thing is, they lowered the per line costs, the bad thing is, it's not going to be cheaper overall for most people.

If you are on AT&T now, you can switch to the 'mobile share value' even if you are on old subsidized phones now.. and pay $15/line instead of $35-40 a line. But when you goto your next phone, you gotta use the Next program or pay full price (or bring your own device)

I think I might have had the find my iPhone but to be honest the moment I realized someone had it all I could think of was shutting it down. I wanted it off. The hubby called & talked to someone this evening at AT&T to find out if any calls were made from the phone. Nope. The last 3 outgoing calls were the 3 I made. BUT, from the approximate time it left me until the moment it shut down it was steadily eating data. This scares the crap out of me. I've been changing every password I can think of. It's nuts. I need to do more research but I pulled up an article about setting up all sorts of preventative measures ahead of something like this for future reference. One thing mentioned was using a central pass word hub thing that can control passwords at the click of a button. Also, didn't know that iCloud can obliterate a complete device remotely. Betcha that gets set up for the future. Honest, in all these many years this is the first time this has happened. Of the 4 of us in the family, I'm the worst to have it happen to since I handle all finances, info, etc. Ugh! Such a nightmare!

Yeah, that Next thing is what the kid was trying to sell me. I tease my hubby when he gets all flustered & says he wants to go back to a dumb flip phone. With the way the cell phones are going, the service BS, etc. I think I'm about ready to step back to a dumb flip phone, too. It's not enough for AT&T to get over $300/month from us. No. We recently switched to the family value thing but it does no good if you have to get sucked into this next crap. You're back to square 1 PLUS more locked down to them. They think they gotta get creative and find new ways to screw ya. Forget it. I lived a life before cell phones & it was just fine. I've been spoiled. Definitely rethinking my level of connectivity. Seriously. Wouldn't a life free of the cellular leash be incredibly liberating???

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Sweetpee, that's too bad about your phone. Good thing you noticed it missing rather quickly, and were able to at least take some steps to protect your information. That's what is most important for your own peace of mind. I hope your new phone works well for you, and you never have to deal with a situation like that again. (When I hear stories like yours, I'm glad I only have a little cheapo cell phone that doesn't even text, take pictures, or anything at all.)

I knew it was stolen within minutes. I just had to get to another phone to shut mine down. New iPhone 5s is on the way but I'm not happy about it at all. How did I get so shackled to a device??? Ugh! Definitely an eye-opener!

 

[lazyboy97o]

Definitely become familiar with Find My iPhone and the PIN/TouchID on your iPhone 5s. Those two tools can save you a lot of the trouble you are now dealing with. iOS devices can be set to automatically erase if the wrong PIN is tried 10 times. Find My iPhone can provide device location, the ability to send messages to the phone, remotely erase the data as well as prevent the phone from being activated again.

 

[Gabe1]

Two days before Christmas I went into AT&T too. I had a lady. I did have my iPhone savvy DD with me that is up on everything electronic in our household. We too got that push for their new deal. I wanted to just get a new contract for 2 phone, nothing more and pay what I had to for the phone. There was a stronger push to go the other way for the new program that as presented seemed cheaper. Ever have that gnawing feeling the speech is just too good to be true. Finally I just said can we stick to what I came into to purchase?

Sorry about your phone. My worst fear. I have found a few iPhones. Before I turn them in I call 'home' and leave a message of who I am leaving the phone with and take a picture and text it to someone like 'mom' 'dad' to make sure they get their phone back after I turn it in where I found it.

The first thing my DD put on my phone was the Find iPhone.

 

[flynnibus]

I think I might have had the find my iPhone but to be honest the moment I realized someone had it all I could think of was shutting it down. I wanted it off.

Yeah, the AT&T gut should have been focusing on that first. You are promoted to turn it on during device setup and you can do remote wipe, locate, send msgs etc. you can do it all from iCloud.com - you should still be able to do it even with the sim deactivated I think.

As lazyboy mentioned.. The punishment important given what we keep on our phones these days.

Central password tools like lastpass have security advantages in that you'll use stronger passwords, but have a little trade off in that you now have one key for all doors and some compatibility stuff. I haven't converted yet, but experts like it.

It's not enough for AT&T to get over $300/month from us. No. We recently switched to the family value thing but it does no good if you have to get sucked into this next crap. You're back to square 1 PLUS more locked down to them. They think they gotta get creative and find new ways to screw ya. Forget it.

It's actually better than the old model in a few ways....
1 - there are no early term fees or tied to AT&T anymore... You only only stuck paying for the phone for the #of months
2 - you can chose to pay less and trade... Or pay longer and keep the phone. But it does take longer to break even ((with selling the old phone) than it did prior
3 - yes you have to pay some monthy fee, but you were doing that before in your per line charge. Basically they have taken that money out of the service fee and you pay a rate based on the kind of phone you have. Before you might pay 40 per phone in service.. Now you pay 15... That 25 is what you now use to pay off a phone

I think the big unknown is how discounted phones will look going forward... For instance on my last upgrade, the device was basically $200 but I sold my old device for $200 . Now under next you have to hold the phone longer to get the value from holding.

But for right now, for existing customers you save big if you switch. 300 should be unheard of... You should be under 200 now and just keep your existing phones till you are ready and apply what you've saved since to the new devices.

Here is an breakdown I did when we discussed this with some of my ext family

----
Justification touches on a few moving parts..

The big break is they reduce your per line costs when you jump to the big data bucket.


I was paying $35/device, and $90 for 6gig (but the $90 gets a 23% discount)

New model is $15/device and $100 for 10gigs (we don’t really need the extra capacity.. but that’s where the big line cost break is. Pro is also higher cost is on plan vs device costs.. and plan is discounted, devices are not)


The catch is.. $15/device is if you are on a non-subsidized device.. either bring our own or on their new ‘Next’ plan which is pay a price per month instead of a discount up front.


But the “but wait.. theres more” catch is… they are letting EXISTING line holders (who bought subsidized phones) get the $15/line rate now. So you can capitalize on the cheaper per line rate now. The catch is when you change your device, you must use the “Next” plan or go BYOD to keep the $15/line rate. This is part of the push to people to Next plans..


So I can cash in now on the 35 vs 15/line discount.. but is ‘Next’ evil or not? Paying non-subsidized prices before was pretty insane, but with the new $20/month discount for being a non-subsidized phone.. the deal is a bit closer to break even (with the advantage of early upgrades too).


Before.. paid $200 + tax up front for phone, minus any trade-in (huge on old iphones $150+)

With next.. pay tax on full price (tax on $600+), plus $32.50 x 12 = $390. But you are paying $20 less per line.. so 20x12 = 240 less in monthly line fees. So a net ‘cost’ $150 cost for the ‘Next’ plan @12 months.


At 12m you can opt to trade phone in for a new phone (and new monthly rate)

Or if you pay for 20m.. you can keep the phone. So for an extra 8 x (32.50 – 20) = $100 you can keep the phone. Right now at least, that seems reasonable if the device is still good.. and $100 for an iPhone trade-in is readily achievable at least in today’s market. So beyond 20m… holding onto the phone for even 4 months (24m total) and you are in the black.


Right now with the per line fees being so low, it’s an easy move to capitalize on that saving (which I did tonight)… but the ‘Next’ program still looks like more money every 12-24m to me. Its’ definitely a ‘shifting of burden’ on the device costs.. but will be interesting to see where things head in the next major cycle

 

[englanddg]

...how tied we are to our electronic devices. Like our CELL PHONES! I neeeeeever thought much about it. Just the natural way of things. I used my phone for everything. In a pinch, look it up. So, I just ran quickly into the local post office to ship off a box and in an instant...BAM! My iPhone was GONE! I looked all around for it. Emptied my purse. Ripped my car apart. Looked all around the post office again. Gone. I asked the desk clerks if anyone had turned one in. Nope. Nobody ever was near me. There may have been 4 other people inside the post office near where I was in those 5 minutes. It all happened THAT fast. When I realized the phone was gone I didn't even know what to think. Where to begin??? Call the husband. But HOW???? Thankfully, the store where my oldest son works is less than 2 blocks away. I went straight to my kid, got his phone, called my husband to have him start calling the banks, then immediately called the cell service to have the phone shut off and blocked all usage. I sat & used my son's phone to change passwords and pin numbers on a few accounts then proceeded to the nearest AT&T store. Here's the thing. I got in the car to go to the nearest AT&T store but my mind was still racing and fogged with panic. Where IS the nearest store???? I couldn't even THINK. Went to get my phone to look it up...but...NO PHONE! Holy crap! I'm so tethered by that thing!!!! Ugh!

AT&T store really iced the cake. Lemme tell ya. I have insurance on the phone. The clerk guy didn't even look that up. He pulled up our account and said, "Oh, you aren't eligible for an upgrade yet." Ya think???? "But you can enroll in this new program and for $25 a month we can fix ya up right now..." How much for a new phone? "$600 but it'd be cheaper for you today to enroll for the $25/month then in 2 years..." Wait a minute. You want me to hike my bill for $25/month or pay you $600 today? Don't I have insurance? "Yes. But for no money today and just $25/month...." How much does it cost to use the insurance I pay for? "$200. But I could save you money today..." Why would I pay you $600 today or stretched out over the next 2 years when I can get the phone replaced for $200??? This guy was seriously hot-n-heavy for me to sign up for whatever their new program was. Ugh. So he fiiiinally gave me a card with the contact info for the insurance people. Gonna be a few days without a cell phone ((HORROR!!!!!!)) but I'm not getting ripped off for $400 by some little jack-weed trying to sell me something I don't want.

I guess I must've took the little guy wrong. I already feel traumatized and victimized enough. I kinda resent feeling like I was getting taken advantage of in my already distressed state.

And why is it that when guys see chicks coming they think that's an automatic green light to talking them into stupid unnecessary crap??? OMG. Especially if it has something to do with cars. That's the worst. Dudes assume (incorrectly) that all chicks are completely stupid when it comes to cars. I have laughed in the face of maaaaany of those fine fellas. Grrrrr!!!!

Okay. Done venting.

At first, I was shocked. Then I remembered...

It's AT&T.

I won't ever give them a dime of my business again if I can avoid it.

As far as LastPass is concerned, that's ok. I use the pro version of it for work applications, and @flynnibus is correct, it does have quirks and issues. Probably not worth your time and effort, honestly.

 

[flynnibus]

Having to pay tax on the full non subsidized phone price is one of the big negatives on the new next program. Probably another area where att sneaks a few percentage points in margin out of the deal

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Thanks all. It's so hard to wrap my brain around any/all of this. But thank you.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

@sweetpee_1993 I hope things have gotten better for you.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

@sweetpee_1993 I hope things have gotten better for you.

Thank you.

In the middle of all this my uncle who was badly injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday is having surgeries and yesterday my grandmother died. Having to use my very patient teenagers' phones. Got my replacement in the mail today.... minus a SIM card so I can't activate the thing. It's pouring rain out so I'm not trying to go to the store. Think I'll crawl back in bed and enjoy the silence just a bit longer. I don't really feel like talking to anyone anyway.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Thank you.

In the middle of all this my uncle who was badly injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday is having surgeries and yesterday my grandmother died. Having to use my very patient teenagers' phones. Got my replacement in the mail today.... minus a SIM card so I can't activate the thing. It's pouring rain out so I'm not trying to go to the store. Think I'll crawl back in bed and enjoy the silence just a bit longer. I don't really feel like talking to anyone anyway.

Wow- sounds like a really rough handful of days. I'm so sorry for your loss and hope for the best with your uncle and his surgeries. I'm sure today's weather didn't help- it was a total mess out there.

Not that it helps your phone headaches, but I'm happy that it was at least taken peacefully. We've noticed so many stories of late where people have been assaulted or worse for their phones.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Wow- sounds like a really rough handful of days. I'm so sorry for your loss and hope for the best with your uncle and his surgeries. I'm sure today's weather didn't help- it was a total mess out there.

Not that it helps your phone headaches, but I'm happy that it was at least taken peacefully. We've noticed so many stories of late where people have been assaulted or worse for their phones.

Thanks. My uncle, God bless him, is quite the trooper. Busted up from head to toe. Literally. He's getting a new shoulder AND two new knees! But he's funny as ever and failing miserably at selling his other Harley from his hospital bed. My Gramma was truly ready and went happily to be with my Grampa. She was home asleep warm in her bed with Mom & one of aunts there. It was the best way anyone ever imagines going, really.

I hear really scary stuff about phones & things, too. At Christmas I jammed my iPad purchase from the Apple store in Baybrook Mall into my purse and ran to my car after hearing how people coming from that store were targeted. The store clerk offered to walk me to my car all the way on the other side of the mall. That's crazy! My 19 yro nephew & 18 yro son both have instructed me not to go to any of the stores near the mall or go to the mall alone because of all the jackings in the area. We live less than 2 miles from that mall. Not feeling real safe. The hubby is looking to move us back out towards Beaumont. Where I used to fight the idea of concealed carry, I'm looking into it now. For sure we're moving further out within the next couple months.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

Thanks. My uncle, God bless him, is quite the trooper. Busted up from head to toe. Literally. He's getting a new shoulder AND two new knees! But he's funny as ever and failing miserably at selling his other Harley from his hospital bed. My Gramma was truly ready and went happily to be with my Grampa. She was home asleep warm in her bed with Mom & one of aunts there. It was the best way anyone ever imagines going, really.

I hear really scary stuff about phones & things, too. At Christmas I jammed my iPad purchase from the Apple store in Baybrook Mall into my purse and ran to my car after hearing how people coming from that store were targeted. The store clerk offered to walk me to my car all the way on the other side of the mall. That's crazy! My 19 yro nephew & 18 yro son both have instructed me not to go to any of the stores near the mall or go to the mall alone because of all the jackings in the area. We live less than 2 miles from that mall. Not feeling real safe. The hubby is looking to move us back out towards Beaumont. Where I used to fight the idea of concealed carry, I'm looking into it now. For sure we're moving further out within the next couple months.

Not that any place is truly safe, but Baybrook had some really scary stuff going on for a stretch. We popped over there around Christmas, but after a few minutes- decided to take the long drive over to Memorial City. I too have thought about concealed carry, but am just not ready to take that step. Sadly, with the way the news is going- that may change over time. We keep seeing neighborhoods change around us and are thinking what part of town might be better. We moved from our house near the Westheimer/Gessner area to the Manvel/Pearland area for this same kinds of issues. I have a feeling DH will have us looking north over the next couple of years...maybe Kingwood or Woodlands.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Not that any place is truly safe, but Baybrook had some really scary stuff going on for a stretch. We popped over there around Christmas, but after a few minutes- decided to take the long drive over to Memorial City. I too have thought about concealed carry, but am just not ready to take that step. Sadly, with the way the news is going- that may change over time. We keep seeing neighborhoods change around us and are thinking what part of town might be better. We moved from our house near the Westheimer/Gessner area to the Manvel/Pearland area for this same kinds of issues. I have a feeling DH will have us looking north over the next couple of years...maybe Kingwood or Woodlands.

I know the situation is different for you having such young girls and all. My boys have been shooting for many years & the oldest (now 18) has a few guns of his own. Safety concerns for our younguns definitely would differ. But, if you really want to do a class we could look into it together. I'd drive to Pearland. It's not that terribly far from me here in Friendswood.

Yeah, we're due to move back out towards Kemah at the end of May. He'd be commuting to Katy, tho. Hubby's got a new option that just popped up, not quite as good overall with the benefits as Katy, that would put us back in OUR house in the Nederland/Beaumont area. He'd be commuting to Bridge City....20 minutes vs. an hour+ of Houston's finest traffic. Trying to consider the boys' work/education options. It's hard. I like being near a huge city like Houston for all the conveniences but the crime & traffic really stink. Plus, I could live in MY house again. Oh how wonderful would THAT be?!

 

[HouCuseChickie]

I know the situation is different for you having such young girls and all. My boys have been shooting for many years & the oldest (now 18) has a few guns of his own. Safety concerns for our younguns definitely would differ. But, if you really want to do a class we could look into it together. I'd drive to Pearland. It's not that terribly far from me here in Friendswood.

Yeah, we're due to move back out towards Kemah at the end of May. He'd be commuting to Katy, tho. Hubby's got a new option that just popped up, not quite as good overall with the benefits as Katy, that would put us back in OUR house in the Nederland/Beaumont area. He'd be commuting to Bridge City....20 minutes vs. an hour+ of Houston's finest traffic. Trying to consider the boys' work/education options. It's hard. I like being near a huge city like Houston for all the conveniences but the crime & traffic really stink. Plus, I could live in MY house again. Oh how wonderful would THAT be?!

You've pretty much hit the nail on the head as to why I haven't acted on this. The girls are still pretty young and they lack any true sense of self preservation. I know several people who think I should get the girls BB guns just to start giving them some respect for firearms so I can feel better about concealed, but it's hard when I see them swinging around softball bats (even after plenty of warning and lecturing) and nearly taking out teammates or coaches. As a result, I'm still undecided on it...but I'll let you know if I decide to make this leap. Funny...I've been in Friendswood twice over the last week or so for softball.

Kemah to Katy is a pretty significant drive. Would you consider moving out to Katy? Traffic is just horrible here- although some areas are much worse than others. As bad as our drives are, we're thankful we stayed clear of anything involving 290. My husband's commute is 1.5hrs each way on a good day...I'm a little better off with a drive around an hour each way. Still, if you could find a way back to the Beaumont area, I'm sure you'd love to be home. Sometimes peace is better than the conveniences of a major city. I guess that's still one of the things that baffles me with the Houston area. I grew up in the NY Metro area and while things sometimes happened in the suburbs, it seemed to be so well insulated from those kinds of issues. You really have to move pretty far out to hit any havens like that. ex. our friends who live out in Waller. <- not a commute I ever want to make!