anyone use CREDO mobile?

[HelperMonkey]

no, but I have been toying with the idea of switching to CREDO once my current contract is up. hope to hear from people on this thread if the service is good. I am currently with Verizon, and the service can be a little spotty in WS. Thanks, Diane!

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[Diane]

I’ve been with Verizon for many years, reception often horrible; have not been able to get any help from their tech folks

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I’m not tied to contract, so open to any plan, and want to be fairly sure before signing up with another contract

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[sam-c]

we currently have CREDO for land-line long distance, and have also been thinking about signing up for their mobile service.

=

the ads we get from them along with our long distance bill indicate they use the Sprint network, so it might also be helpful to ask if people are happy with their Sprint coverage?

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[charlabob]

We just switched to Credo (approximately 2 months ago) and so far we’ve been very happy with everything about them. They even helped us when our old provider, Verizon, wasn’t very helpful in making the transition. One noticeable difference in the service — we can both use our mobile phone everywhere in our house now. We no longer have dead zones. :-)

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[JanS]

I have used Credo Mobile for quite some time. They do use Sprint, and the service is excellent. I think there may be 2 dead zones (brief ones) in the West Seattle area…down near Angelina’s…and up around 55th and Genesee…other than that, I usually have most of my bars at home in the Adm. district by Safeway. The phone selection for smartphones is limited to Blackberry Curve and Blackberry Tour. But if that’s OK with you, Credo is great. Yes…they donate…and they ask you once a year for your input as to where to give their money.

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[Diane]

wow, thanks everyone; very helpful

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re sam-c, “they use the Sprint network, so it might also be helpful to ask if people are happy with their Sprint coverage?”

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yes, thanks; I noted that in my orig post #1

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it’s great to hear so far that Sprint works well; seems I’d heard negative about their coverage in the past

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thanks JanS; and yeh re phone selection; my phone is so ancient (Verizon will only give me new phone if I sign contract, even after 9 yrs as loyal customer, and offers me no better deal that anyone else off the street; grrr)so any “new” phone within past few years is new to me

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[sam-c]

so so sorry- I did miss that. but was also thinking that more people skimming the forum post titles would be more familiar with the Sprint ‘network’ service area vs. Credo. especially since there have been a lot of ads on tv lately for tiny cell phone companies I’ve never heard of.

It’s funny- I just got one of those emails too, listing AT & T and Verizon:

“AT&T has helped elect a number of right-wing, anti-environment politicians.

Since 2002, Verizon Wireless has steadily contributed to the Blue Dog Democrats, whose opposition has diluted the impact of many progressive reform proposals”

but the Sprint donations are 45% Democrat and 55% Republican

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sprint_Nextel

I suppose the difference is in the donations they make to non-profits.

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[Diane]

good point sam-c; I don’t know how to edit title at this point, so may start another re Sprint and refer to this; it really is 2 separate issues

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that is funny re Sprint contributions; didn’t even think to check that

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to be honest, my main concern is best phone and service for least cost; the money going to good causes is huge bonus

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[hammerhead]

I am looking into I can get a lot more and pay about 50 less a month and they would buy out my contracts. New phones to and upgrades too. We’ll see.

Thanks making me aware of this.

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[herongrrrl]

We’re considering switching to Credo and were curious about WS coverage; in doing the research I stumbled across this thread. Can anyone comment about Credo/Sprint coverage along the western shore of WS? Say, Alki/Beach Drive areas?

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[JanS]

I have used Credo mobile, and now Virgin Mobile. Both use the Sprint Network. Credo was great, just didn’t like their selection of phones, frankly.Always seemed to be refurbished phones, and no smartphones unless you want a Blackberry. Or offered last years models. The Sprint coverage was terrific. The only place I really had a problem was north of Admiral District, around 44th-45th, just north of College St. and on the top of the hill over Me-Kwa-Mooks Park on Genessee Hill – 55th and Genessee, and along Hillside Ave, where it cuts back from 55th and Genessee…I always got dropped calls there. Other than that, I have never, ever had a problem with weak signals or dropped calls. Not ever.

Map your address here:

http://coverage.sprintpcs.com/IMPACT.jsp?covType=sprint&id9=vanity:coverage

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[Diane]

so I started this thread, wow, it’s been 7 mos ago already; very helpful info from everyone; I was still a bit stumped and sat on it for awhile; then learned from JanS about Virgin Mobile in another thread about cell phones/plans; I was very excited about the VM unlimited $25, but alas, no budget for the good phone that goes with that plan; then digging deeper on the VM site, learned about the prepaid PayLo plan ($20 for 400mins) with super cheap phones ($20); I’ve been with Verizon for 10 yrs and VERY unhappy with reception, cost, and service; and very nervous about quality of switching to super cheap VM PayLo; so far it’s been fantastic, same Sprint network as Credo; perfect reception everywhere that I’ve tried so far, but it’s only been a couple weeks; most important is it works in my home; with Verizon, more than half my calls would drop or horrible reception; and I’m on top of Admiral hill; the prepaid thing is new for me, so that was biggest adjustment, along with learning how to use a new phone with very limited features, and very limited customer service; the cs folks are very nice, sometimes hard to hear or understand (they’re in Nicaragua) and only have live help from 5am to 9pm; but my biggest concern, the reception, has been no problem at all; huge relief for me to have phone/service that works well, at less than half of what Verizon charged me

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[JanS]

glad it’s working for you, Diane. I am, to say the least, cheap. SO I really like the 25 buck a month deal. I did spring for one of the pricier phones, but it was a one shot deal, and I’m saving money every month over what I had.

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[Diane]

thanks Jan; I can hardly wait to jump on same plan as you, soon as I get a job and can afford the same phone that you have

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[winterhawk]

Diane, thanks for the follow up, please tell us how you like VM in another month or so. I’d love to switch, but they have Horrible reviews online, and that worries me a bit.

Have you seen a lot of extra costs in your bill? Or is the $25 the real cost? With T-mobile a $45 plan really cost $64 after all the taxes and fees.

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[JanS]

winterhawk. $25 is $25. It is automatically deducted from my account once a month. Actually, with tax it’s $27.38 total. Can’t get around those taxes. You can also “top off” your account..add 10 bucks or so, whenever you want, in case you want to , say, buy a ringtone or whatever. They actually do not nickel and dime you to death. I have had no problems with VM..have been using them now for quite some time.

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[Diane]

winterhawk, I also read those horrible reviews, made me very nervous, mostly about customer service; so I called their customer service line at least 10 times to test what it was really like; like I said before, they’re in Nicaragua, so sometimes I could barely hear, and would call back again for better connection; and sometimes the accent was so heavy, I could not understand, so I would call back to get someone with better English; but all the reps were wonderful, so far; I will update later

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I am one of those insanely conservative buyers who investigate/research everything thoroughly, to death; even makes me crazy, but the payoff, I usually find awesome deals (ask me about computer I bought last year for $127, including tax)

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I was also nervous about reception; it’s perfect

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I was nervous about the cheap phone; it’s fine, MUCH better than what I had with Verizon

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and the cost, they only add tax, so my PayLo plan is $20 for 400mins, plus tax, no fees; so it’s $21.90; the phone was $20 plus tax at Radio Shack, $21.90; so in first month I’ve already saved; at Verizon my $39 plan for 450 mins (which I never used all or even close) with tax and fees was always close to $50/mo; and horrible reception

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I figured the worst that could happen, since VM is no contract/prepaid, is change again if it doesn’t work out; so far, VERY happy; and I will change to what JanS has as soon as I have cash to buy $150 phone

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[StringCheese]

I’ve been using VM pay-as-you-go for years. I, too, got fed up with the plans that seemed to double in price once you added on all of the fees. No so with VM. Only standard sales tax applies on purchasing minutes. Great reception with almost no dropped calls – ever. I also seem to get good reception and completed calls even when my phone “bars” are low to non-existent. In our house in Highland Park, you would have thought it a dead-zone by looking at bars but everyone (regardless of carrier) was always able to make and receive calls. I have learned not to place too much emphasis on them.

Anyway, fan of Virgin Mobile.

Please note, however, that I only use my cell when absolutely necessary and I remain a fan of the landline. I’m not downloading apps or ringtones or emailing or surfing the web. I remain of the belief that people should not be able to reach me at all times for every little thing…

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