Has anyone gone from regular Verizon cell contract to Verizon prepaid service?

[merince]

You can probably use something like Red Pocket. Their online chat is on the spot, but you will have to have an "unlocked" phone - that is a ph0ne that you can change the sim card.

[artist]

I haven't had any issues and I continue to use my Iphone 4.

[simplelife4me]

If you are not using prepaid, you are overpaying by hundreds and hundreds per year, IMO.

[gimmethesimplelife]

I was with Verizon and am no longer with them. I switched to a non-contract plan with Metro PCS for unlimited talk and text and unlimited 4gLTE data with no throttling for $60 a month (including taxes), which is $7 a month less than I was paying with Verizon after I talked them down in price a year ago in February. This is much more data than I was getting with Verizon and the phone was only $29 with no monthly payment after that, $29 total, for a Galaxy Light, which is the perfect phone for me as it has what I need without a lot of bells and whistles plus has unlimited fast data. I'm very pleased so far with Metro PCS. Rob

[ABB]

First, Apathetic, call 877.228.5770 and tell them you'd like to have them take away that message about how many minutes you have left, and they will do it! I didn't have that message issue from the beginning, but it started automatically once I signed up for auto-pay online, and it drove me insane. Once I called customer service, they said "sure, let me take that right off" and did something on their computer, and a second later while I was still on the phone with them, I got a text from Verizon that they had made the change (also, a real person answers the phone, not a phone service, so it should be a quick and easy call for you hopefully!). Soooo much better now, and doesn't make my blood pressure rise every time I go to check a call or check my voice mail.

I have switched from Contract Verizon to Pre-Paid. I had to give up my previous phone number of about 16 years, but I chose to do it. I've been very happy. My plan is unlimited talk & text (anytime), and 1 GB of Data for $50 a month (now $45/month, see below). When I called customer service one time for an issue unrelated to money, at the end of the call the woman asked me if I wanted to keep paying $50/month, or if I wanted to go down to $45/month. I pretty much thought it was a scam, but asked a bunch of questions, and she said they offer a $5/month discount just for signing up for auto pay, and since I had previously signed up for that online, she would discount me the $5. So if you do sign up online for autopay, make sure you call customer service later on to get your discount.

The positives I have noted:
1: Lower cost of course
2: No contract
3: Customer service has been surprisingly fantastic. I'm pretty sure the number to call for pre-paid service is different from the main line. When I call, a PERSON picks up, and I don't have to sit through a phone tree, etc.

I've only found two negatives (for me), so far:
1: When I first signed up, they showed me a huge list of phone numbers. I chose one that seemed easy to remember. Well, apparently the woman who had my number before me was in debt all over town, so for the first few months, I had tons of people calling me looking to collect on debt. That's mostly stopped now. What worked for me was actually answering the phone and explaining to those people that I wasn't her, and they eventually must have made the proper notes and the calls have stopped.
2: I received a refurbished phone. I didn't know this at the time, since I was a newbie to the smart phone world, but my husband said since the box the phone came in wasn't your typical iphone box, it was refurbished. The phone has maybe 2 glitches that are annoying but not terrible. I haven't even bothered trying to get a new phone from Verizon because of it, so I cannot speak on how they would handle that if I did, but thought it was worth mentioning.

Then these two aren't negatives for me, but perhaps would be for someone, so I should mention:
A. I'm not even sure this is a negative (because I'm happier calling customer service, which as mentioned above, has been quick & easy for me), but it seems that sometimes the store sales associates don't know quite as much about pre-paid questions as they do about regular contract plans. I visited the store twice I believe in the early stages of switching over to pre-paid, only because I wasn't aware at the time that the phone customer service would be good, and they tried to answer me questions, but mostly directed me to call the pre-paid customer service number for "sure" answers.
B. I'm not sure you can get the latest/greatest/newest phones on pre-paid Verizon. I personally could care less, so I didn't even really check into it, but I believe at the time I signed up, the iphone 4 was out maybe, but they just had the 3 (for free for me), and I happily took that.

I've never tried other pre-paid/contract services, so I can't speak to any others. Overall though, I've been about 100x happier with Verizon (contract or not) than I ever was with AT&T ANYTHING. MMM recommends another option on his website for what it's worth to you:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/mmm-recommends/

[nswef]

Great article. I checked and they don't recommend it for my address, which I think is very honest. We have a Trac phone and they first sent a Motorola which did nothing. The Nokia did. I only pay $119 a year, but no data. I don't text, but it can do it. Am feeling a bit of phone envy, but not often enough to change.

[ABB]

nswef, that is indeed very honest of them!

[SteveinMN]

Then these two aren't negatives for me, but perhaps would be for someone, so I should mention:
A. [snip] it seems that sometimes the store sales associates don't know quite as much about pre-paid questions as they do about regular contract plans [...]
B. I'm not sure you can get the latest/greatest/newest phones on pre-paid Verizon [...]

The sales associates don't know much about prepaid because they're not paid to know more about prepaid. Literally. Their highest commisions/spiffs come from selling postpaid plans. Unless someone's credit history is at the bottom of the Sargasso Sea, very few people spend much money on prepaid phones or plans. The associates are just following the money. Fortunately, on-line/phone customer service is good.

Verizon, in particular, is not good about letting prepaid carriers on their network use the latest and greatest technology. Not a huge deal but I'm glad I have access to AT&T's LTE network even on prepaid.

I've never tried other pre-paid/contract services, so I can't speak to any others. Overall though, I've been about 100x happier with Verizon (contract or not) than I ever was with AT&T ANYTHING. MMM recommends another option on his website for what it's worth to you:
http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/mmm-recommends/

AT&T's GoPhone has worked well for me and for DW's iPad for many months. I've never had an issue, either, walking into a corporate store and getting help, though some things apparently are only done on-line/phone.

MMM's recommendations, like so many of his recommendations, are good if you're on the same happy path as him. Republic Wireless' model of mostly Wi-Fi connection is OK for the very casual user, but other carriers have plans which cost about the same and don't cause as much hassle in using the phone. Ting is good for you if Sprint is good for you; great customer service but that doesn't help if Sprint has no coverage where you need it. Lots of people use StraightTalk, which has almost the sole virtue among resellers of offering coverage on the best network in your area (just pick the right phone), but their customer service has a reputation for being terrible; I can't think I would recommend StraightTalk (or TracFone, Net10, SIMPLE Mobile or its other siblings) to anyone like, say, my mom, a first-order technophobe who has no ear for English as a second langauge. If they work for a reader, great. But I'd be careful about anointing those choices "the best".