Since I wrote about setting up phone and cell phone service, I’ve had a few updates that I wanted to share. First of all, I was able to get T-Mobile to waive the early cancellation penalty on the one phone. All it took was a friendly customer service rep (CSR), a fax specifying the details of the move (which turned out to be an email thread back and forth with the landlord), and a week’s worth of calls to follow-up. Definitely worth it to save the $200 penalty. Next week, just before I leave, I’ll switch the number over to pre-paid service.
As for the other phone, it turns out I’m not going to be giving up my Blackberry for a simpler life just yet. I’ll be turning on international service for the Blackberry for an additional $19.99/month which includes unlimited email. However, to avoid charges for incoming calls, even if I forward them to voice mail, I’ll need to turn on “Unlimited Call Forwarding.” The CSR told me that they can turn it on and it will allow up to 500 minutes of call forwarding. Any minutes over that will incur the normal per minute charge. I’ll set that up to forward to my Vonage line to make sure I’m not missing anything.