Tracfone in the US | Other carriers | Consumer forum

Since I travel to the US a fair amount, I've had a basic pre-paid Tracfone for a few years which has worked out fairly well, much like my Speakout phone in Canada. It won't work at all in Canada but I can call long distance US to Canada for the same price as local calls.

However, Tracfone are presently offering cheap phones ($10 -15 for the whole kit) complete with double minutes for the life of the phone and I bought one for my wife. Now after using this new phone for a couple of weeks, I certainly wouldn't recommend anyone else get one.

I'm receiving around six or more unwanted text messages every day from Windows Live Messaging and other sites, none of which I've subscribed to or wish to receive. I've called customer service several times and been assured the messages will stop and I've placed my number on the "Do Not Call" list but they still come. I can delete the messages but if I want to see the sender's number, I have to accept and pay for them. A quick internet search shows I'm just one of thousands who are totally PO'd with this service.

The old Tracfone doesn't have any of these problems. So does anyone have any suggestions how I can stop these unwanted messages once and for all? A phone that rings six times a day with garbage text messages is practically useless.

BTW, I'm very grateful to this site for helping me get my Speakout phone about 3 years ago.