Mobile Phones

Sigh... two weeks later than they promised and they only give me two days to decide whether to give them a £75 deposit for a one year contract?! Sure, I understand the reasons for it: I have no credit here. But I'm not exactly a teenager getting her first credit card and going wild. Gripe gripe gripe, I know, but I am not going to put down a deposit for a contract that, knowing my luck, they are going to screw me on anyway. One word: AT&T (is that a word?!)

So I decided not to play this game anymore. To be honest I am tired of having to prove myself every second of every day. I was willing to pay a lot of money per month for a phone and now I will stick with my PAYG and buy a digital camera instead. £75 is still a lot of money to me right now. Maybe in 6 months when I am done paying of some US debt, then I'll think about a contract.

Hope everyone else has better luck.

Since we're on the subject of cell phones...  I already have a cell phone and will be going to London at the end of August.  I know some other students have bought cell phones overseas and then sold them to other students going overseas back in the States after they've returned.  I don't know what would be smarter or a better choice.  Would it be more cheaper/better to try and keep my cell phone but get international calling put on it or would it be cheaper/better to just buy a new cell phone in London, use it for the 4 months I'm there, and then sell it to someone heading over there later?

Not sure to be honest...you might want to go to your service provider and see that the options are..

Would it be more cheaper/better to try and keep my cell phone but get international calling put on it or would it be cheaper/better to just buy a new cell phone in London, use it for the 4 months I'm there, and then sell it to someone heading over there later?

What you should do is call your US provider and have them put your account on hold. They won't let you cancel it because you are going overseas as supposedly you can still use your US phone here if you have the correct service. But they will put your account on hold until you return. (My account has been on hold for almost a year and I've had no problems yet with phone stalkers). When you get here, buy a pay as you go phone and top up when needed. When you leave to go back to the states, either keep your phone as a momento, sell it on ebay, www.gumtree.com or even here in the classifieds section or pay £5 to unlock your phone at a dodgy offy and take it back to the states to use with your US provider's sim card.

International roaming is mucho expensive. You'll be surprised how much you text here instead of call because the rates are so expensive. I use my phone mainly for a clock these days.

Thanks...  That actually sounds like the most logical thing I could do. 

What you should do is call your US provider and have them put your account on hold. They won't let you cancel it because you are going overseas as supposedly you can still use your US phone here if you have the correct service. But they will put your account on hold until you return. (My account has been on hold for almost a year and I've had no problems yet with phone stalkers). When you get here, buy a pay as you go phone and top up when needed. When you leave to go back to the states, either keep your phone as a momento, sell it on ebay, www.gumtree.com [nofollow] or even here in the classifieds section or pay £5 to unlock your phone at a dodgy offy and take it back to the states to use with your US provider's sim card.

International roaming is mucho expensive. You'll be surprised how much you text here instead of call because the rates are so expensive. I use my phone mainly for a clock these days.