Getting Past the ‘Gotchas’ in Prepaid Plans

If you’re shaken by the idea of a one-year commitment to a mobile phone company, then the growing selection of prepaid wireless offerings might be for you.

The benefits of using prepaid programs are that there are no long-term contracts to sign, no credit checks and no deposits to fork over. In addition, the prepaid model eliminates the nasty surprise of higher-than-expected bills for wireless service.

Most of the licensed wireless carriers sell some form of prepaid service. There also are companies that specialize in prepaid plans, such as Tracfone Wireless Inc. (https://www.tracfone.com), which sells service online and through retailers such as Radio Shack, Kmart and others.

But, as with the service plan world, there are plenty of potential “gotchas” in the mix.

First, prepaid service will often cost you more for each minute you talk--sometimes 50 cents per minute or more--instead of the typical 20 cents or less available through long-term plans.

Second, you’ll have to make sure the minutes you buy upfront won’t expire before you use them. Also check the refill requirements to make sure you can add minutes without too much hassle.

In addition, check on policies involving out-of-area usage, long-distance calls and what kinds of phones come with the plans. Determine whether you will be supplied with older, analog phones or the newer digital models.

Also, check each carrier’s policies involving starting and stopping prepaid service. Some companies cut off customer accounts if they are idle for a certain period of time; then they charge users a reactivation fee to get going again.

*

Times staff writer Elizabeth Douglass covers telecommunications.