Adieu to an Old Lefty Partner

Oh, pinko angst. I cancelled my Credo phone accounts today. Political and economic wisdom has it that we have competition in telecommunications — choice, price and other consumer options. We have liked Credo's politics though for many years. I grieve.

In case you are not as pink as I, know that Credo puts a lefty twist to cellphones. It is part of Working Assets, and some of its profits go to liberal causes, which you can specify. We have done that for many years, and with the Sprint network that Credo uses, before...a total of, I think 15 May Days and 15 Christmases.

Surely I make too big a deal of this. I have tried and tried. We suffered. We went to their support folk and more. Like the spring runoff with a narrowing river and maybe a whirlpool equivalents finally tipped me today.

My box of causes and catalysts contains:

• No reception in our house.
• Credo's rates have crept up from about 16% cheaper to penny-for-penny matches of the biggies.
• One son lost his.
• One son washed his.
• We did not insure against loss or clumsiness.
• Visitors with other networks can make and receive calls in our house.

Since August 2009, in our new house, we can't get or receive calls on our Credo cellphones. Yet visitors on other networks can. So, basically we have not been getting what we paid for on the family plan, maybe 33% of value since the move. We can use the phone when we are outside. It has reduced us to acting like working smokers in taking our cells out in the cold and wet and dark to use them or waiting like a college student of old for the dorm wall phone to be free.

I tried Credo once more and waded through their asinine voice support system (about five minutes to get to a human when even pressing 0 does nothing). After getting cut off during a hold the first time, I got an impatient sort the second. I complained and he said it was obvious that I should cancel the lines. He put me through in a few more minutes of hold to someone he said would do that. Instead, she tried to troubleshoot by switching a roaming setting from Home Only to Automatic, to have the phone use any network's towers. It barely boosted the bars (from zero to 1 inside) and would not allow calls.

On the money side, Credo also matches the other networks in oppressive contracts, where really the sensible choice has become a two-year contract. If you have a single phone, the no-contract deals are fine, but with a family, they aren't. So, I'm faced with buying out two contracts at about $150 each. Otherwise, replacing two pretty new phones would run at least that much, and more like $175 or $200 each with Credo.

Verizon was typical of the competing offers. I looked online and figured I'd trot to the closest (BJs in Dedham). That way, if I wanted, I could come home with phones the same day.

Sure enough, while Verizon doesn't have a current deal here to buy out a competitor's contract (amusingly enough, Credo does), I got:

• Three free phones.
• No activation fee.
• On-the-spot cancellation of Credo.
• Retention of the existing numbers.

I got 'em. They work. To the point, they work inside the house.

When the boys came home, we huddled. Each decided the $5 a month for the total insurance coverage was a good bet. I think I hid my surprise, as I've had the same feature phone for five years and it is still perking. I don't lose them, nor wash them, nor drop them, nor, well, act like a normal human. I confess I'm finicky or cautious or both.

After my research, online, by phone, in circulars and ads, I'm OK with the result. Yet, again, I do like Credo's politics. I did enjoy the monthly whiff of self-righteousness and do-gooder behavior. I went over a year huddled outside to use my phone and finally passed the point of diminishing...diminished...returns.

I wish Sprint's network was better around here. I wish Working Assets or someone like them would do the same thing on Verizon.

I'll have to atone by increasing my personal social action instead of my small contributions through Credo.

Cross-post note: This is personal and political. It runs at Harrumph! as well.

---

Tags: massmarrier, cellphones, Credo, Verizon, social action