Prepaid phones are a good option for some, but there are several disadvantages.
The TracFone is a popular prepaid cellphone that offers an alternative to the monthly bills and contracts of most cell phone companies. With the TracFone, users can pay for minutes in advance and purchase additional minutes when needed. Though this phone may be a good choice for those who don't spend much time talking on a cell phone, or for those who don't wish to enter into a contract, there are also several problems associated with TracFones.
Expensive Minutes
Many people use their cell phones as their primary phones, spending many hours a month talking on the phone. These users will find that the cost per minute is much higher with a TracFone than with a traditional cell phone plan, especially since there are no discounted rates for nights and weekends.
Phone Costs
Prepaid phones are generally more costly than phones that come free or discounted as part of a long-term cell phone contract.
Appearance and Functionality
Prepaid phones are typically available in older models; they are often more bulky and come in limited colors and styles. They also tend to lack some common features, such as cameras, caller ID and call waiting, which have become standard on other phones.
Airtime Requirement
Most of the cards used to reload minutes onto a TracFone also come with airtime, which is the time period in which the customer may use the phone. For example, a customer can purchase a card for 200 minutes and 90 days of service, 60 minutes and 90 days of service, and so on. Customers should be aware that their service will be cut off if they don't purchase more airtime before the expiration date, even if they have minutes remaining.
Customer Service
There are many complaints about TracFone's customer service department. Customers report that when they call TracFone customer service, they are often put on hold several times or the calls are dropped. Since these customers are usually using their own prepaid phones to call customer service, these long waits may be subtracted from their minutes, although when they ask, users are often reimbursed for these minutes.
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