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surebought

Jul 7, 2011, 8:06 AM

Post #1 of 13 (3651 views)

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Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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The first reason only happens if you are a Spanish speaker. English Speakers need not worry. You get a call demanding $5000 pesos or we'll kill you and your whole family. This happened to my Mexican Brother in law. He was very upset. He went to Telcel and the Judicial de la estado. They did dig into it a little bit and it turned out that the call originated in a Prison in Mexico City. It shook him up so bad that he moved to the States.
The second reason is that your American acquaintances think nothing of calling you up any time day or night to help them out with their latest calamity. This week one on the street one asked me to go to solve some problem he was having with the shoe repair guy. If I had had a Telcel, he would have called me at home. Just for fun I did go with him to the shoe repair guy and he makes this big scene. They were throw away shoes and the guy said he couldn't fix them. They went back and forth. The shoe guy thought the American was crazy. Finally I thought it was settled, then the American says he wants to see the manager. I just walked away because I didn't want the shoe guy to connect me with this American.
The third reason is that Telcel is a major ripoff. Nearly everyone I know who has a Telcel, complains about it all the time. It is better if you buy the cards instead of the contracts, but still. I am not going to tolerate any of this so I don't have one.

Bennie García

Jul 7, 2011, 8:16 AM

Post #2 of 13 (3636 views)

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Re: [surebought] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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What exactly is the point of your post? Are we supposed to congratulate you on your choice? With all due respect, who cares?

joaquinx

Jul 7, 2011, 8:27 AM

Post #3 of 13 (3632 views)

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Re: [surebought] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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Well, the first two reasons are tossed as they have nothing to do with Telcel. As for the last, yes, Telcel is more expensive, yet, they are very flexible in their plans, rates, etc. More expensive that what other service? It is very difficult to tote a Telmex phone around and dangerous.
_______
My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

Gringal

Jul 7, 2011, 10:15 AM

Post #4 of 13 (3609 views)

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Re: [joaquinx] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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Big deal?

I have had Telcel for over two years now. Bought the cheapest Nokia with no fancy features. I seldom use it and don't leave it on normally. No annoyances that way. Every other month I give them 100 pesos on their Amigo plan and they add more minutes. I'm up to over a thousand now. Couple of weeks ago we had an accident on the Cuota in the middle of nowhere and managed to get to the insurance company with the takealong cell phone, bless it. I'm glad to have it along when I'm more than walking distance from home.

I don't see a problem.

La Isla

Jul 7, 2011, 10:39 AM

Post #5 of 13 (3600 views)

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Re: [Gringal] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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This thread had me confused till I figured out that "a Telcel" is a landline phone with a Telcel calling plan :). I don't see what all the fuss is about either. If there are certain American acquaintances you'd rather not talk to, you can always screen your calls and not pick up when they call. I guess you'd better not give them your cell phone number either, just to be safe. I've had a Telcel calling plan/internet connection for almost 4 years now and have no complaints regarding either the cost or the quality of the connection.

Axixic

Jul 7, 2011, 11:14 AM

Post #6 of 13 (3588 views)

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Re: [La Isla] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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No, Tecel is a cell phone. Telmex is a landline, but you are right in that a cell phone can also be screened. If someone calls asks me to do something I don't want to do, I say, "No."

La Isla

Jul 7, 2011, 11:27 AM

Post #7 of 13 (3578 views)

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Re: [Axixic] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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I goofed. Of course, Telmex is a landline company and Telcel offers cell phone service. I meant to write that I have a landline calling plan/internet service with Telmex. It is easy to screen calls on either kind of phone. I do that a lot with my landline phone since I get a lot of wrong numbers, for some reason or another.

Flora Loveday

Jul 7, 2011, 1:46 PM

Post #8 of 13 (3542 views)

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Re: [La Isla] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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I find it extremely handy to send and receive texts. I bought mine for $200 pesos and it has never failed me.

However, I rarely use it as a phone.

Although it is useful as an alarm clock.

La Isla

Jul 7, 2011, 1:55 PM

Post #9 of 13 (3531 views)

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Re: [Flora Loveday] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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In Reply To

I find it extremely handy to send and receive texts. I bought mine for $200 pesos and it has never failed me.

However, I rarely use it as a phone.

Although it is useful as an alarm clock.

I bought mine for $300 (with $300 worth of tiempo aire as a bonus) and use it mostly for texting, since that's much cheaper than using it for calls. It is also a great alarm clock, both at home and when I´m traveling.

sioux4noff

Jul 8, 2011, 8:01 AM

Post #10 of 13 (3437 views)

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Re: [surebought] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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Just like anything else, cell phones aren't for everyone.
We use ours frequently, for texting and calls.
I speak Spanish and have had a Telcel cell phone for almost 6 years. No one has called wanting to ransom my family. And if they did, I would know from multiple news stories that it is almost certainly a hoax. I have a feeling your Mexican brother-in-law had other reasons to want to move to the US besides one phone call.
Friends call me for help, well isn't that what friends are for? They only call at night if it's really an emergency. In my opinion, your problem is not the phone, it's the friends!
I don't complain about the price. It is what it is.

fordmexico

Jul 8, 2011, 9:00 AM

Post #11 of 13 (3410 views)

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Re: [surebought] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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I have had Telcel for 4 years now and have found its service to be very reliable and no more expensive than carriers in the USA. I purchased a Nokia unlocked GSM phone so I can change SIM cards between Telcel and T-Mobile as needed.

I utilize pay as you go so I am not locked into any plan. With Telcel I wait until I receive a message from Telcel that they will double my minutes if I recharge electronicly that same day. I can either go to a store (Walmart, Sorianna) to recharge or now I can utilize the Internet. If you have a debit/credit card with a Mexican bank you can recharge at any ATM. This lowers my cost by 50%. Telcel will send its text message once or twice a month. This makes Telcel much more economical than anything that T-Mobile offers.

I can set my home VOIP phone and Google Voice to automatically ring on my Telcel so I never miss a call. I find the Telcel phone to be a vital security necessity while out of my home or traveling as well as a convenience item so I can speak to my wife, family and friends in Mexico as needed.

(This post was edited by fordmexico on Jul 8, 2011, 9:01 AM)

Maesonna

Jul 8, 2011, 9:50 AM

Post #12 of 13 (3396 views)

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Re: [surebought] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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The first reason: this happens on landlines and on other cell phones, too.

The second reason: I haven't got any foreign friends who are less helpless than me. Problem solved.

sioux4noff

Jul 8, 2011, 4:34 PM

Post #13 of 13 (3355 views)

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Re: [Maesonna] Three good reason why I don't have a Telcel.

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Quote

The second reason: I haven't got any foreign friends who are less helpless than me. Problem solved.

Now THAT's funny!!