Saving Money by Canceling Home Phone
Why some people have too many phones
By CONSUMER BOB
Updated 2:17 PM PST, Mon, Nov 3, 2008
We use them every day but are we paying too much for our phones? Today most people are paying for both a cell phone and a home phone. Why not give one of them up?
Michael Shames with the consumer group UCAN said, "My estimate is about 95% of all Americans pay too much for their phone service. They rarely use all the features they pay for."
For instance, if you're using a cell phone as a main number, maybe it’s time to cancel that landline or home phone all together.
That’s a radical idea for some people but an idea that can save hundreds of dollars a year. If that's too big a step, you can keep their home phone but cancel the long distance service that’s connected to it.
Many people just use their cell phone for all their long distance calls, and at the same time pay a monthly fee on their home phone for the long distance service. Michael Shames with the consumer group UCAN said you can actually cancel that service and still use the phone.
"You don't have to use that long distance service, you can use your cell phone," Shames said. "You can use prepaid cards and you can save five dollars a month, which is what you're charged for hooking up to long distance."
If you choose this option, you can still receive long distance calls, you just can’t call out long distance on that phone. Toll free numbers will still be accessible.
A word of caution, if you use some sort of bundled package that includes cable and internet connection, you should check with your provider first and make sure you won’t be penalized before they cancel.
First Published: Oct 31, 2008 12:04 AM PST
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