Thank You Annette from Verizon


    I have been dreading taking on the area of cell phone service.  My large cell phone bills are really the main reason I started thinking about this whole "summer of savings" idea.
    I started from scratch, looking at all the top carriers of cell service.  Companies make this so hard, it is nearly impossible to line the benefits up side by side.  My very non scientific method came out with the result that I should be with the carrier that I am currently with, Verizon.
    I called Verizon to see if they could help me get my bill down.  One tidbit that I read somewhere, learn the persons name that is helping you and refer to them by name.  It highlights that you are both people and working on a problem together!
    Annette (my Verizon representative), did an awesome job of going over my account.  She found that one thing that I had neglected to do is take off our Canada/Mexico coverage that I put on for a trip.  There was $15 a month right there saved.  Then she presented a new plan that would give us more data, roll over of unused data and automatic coverage in Canada/Mexico.  The best part was that it was $30 cheaper than my former plan!
    Since we were on a roll I asked her about getting my daughter's cracked screen fixed.  I have insurance on our phones but she told me that I needed to make sure and fill out the claim form for just the cracked screen.  The deductible goes from $150 to $50.  The $50 option isn't available in all areas but is in ours.  I would never have known to go to the very bottom of the insurance website and click "just cracked screen".  I would have filled out the normal claim which includes an option of cracked screen as well.  
    Conclusion:  Call and talk to someone about lowering your bill.  Use their name and pick their brain to see what you can learn!
    Result:  I saved $30/month by switching to a different plan that actually gives us more.  We saved $15 a month by removing Canada/Mexico from our plan but got it included in our new plan.  Total Savings:  $45/month=$540 a year
     One time savings of $100 by learning to fill out the "just cracked screen" claim form instead of the regular one.
     This was a big one guys!!!

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