This could have gone in FLAME.

Last week I got my fourth Google Nexus 4. My daughters and I have StraightTalk and so far, so good. Far better coverage than Verizon (AT&T network allows us for the first time EVER to talk on our phones from the house), $100.00/month less, all of us have unlimited data plans (with Verizon, 2 of 4 had data plans) and no contract. The stuff we sacrifice (no streaming) is not missed at all since all of us are hooked up to WiFi almost all of the time. But, back to the story.

So, I get the Nexus 4 to replace my wife's phone and finally get rid of the thieves at Verizon and guess what? Straight Talk has no more microSIM's available and according to their support, "Check back in a couple of weeks". JEEBUS! They've taken Google's approach to running out of stock! Fortunately, I see that Walmart online is selling them. You have to sign for these things and since I live 45 miles from work, I order it with a shipping address of my office. Shortly after I get the email saying, "Thanks for your order" I get another email saying the order has been cancelled by Walmart due to a problem in payment processing. Now, this happened with the Google Play store with the first credit card I used, so I check online and NOPE. It wasn't blocked by the credit card company. So, I order it again using another credit card. Same result. But this time the credit card transactions show an approved purchase followed some minutes later with a credit issued from Walmart. I contact Walmart. "There's something that doesn't match between the information you entered and the information your credit card company has" is what I'm told. I scrupulously look and notice that my credit card online account lacks my middle initial. The credit card in my hand has my middle initial. I wonder if that's it. So, process it without the middle initial. No sale. Same thing happened. I order/cancel, order/cancel about a half dozen times. I keep asking Walmart support why they are cancelling this order. In the midst of all this, the transactions "look suspicious" to the credit card company so they freeze my credit card. That's a 45 minute phone call to resolve. I get another email from Walmart asking for the order number, my address, a description of the item, etc. I point out that all of that information is included in the original email, but repeat it for them. They reply that they know how frustrating this is and one of their senior people will reach out and tell me exactly what doesn't match. Then, I get a "Your Order Has Shipped" email from Walmart. It is one of the order iterations - the SOLE iteration that has the shipping address as my home address and the address that matches the billing address.

This sucks because I've got to take one of my very limited vacation days so that I can be home to sign for the damned thing. Hopefully, I'll have the microSIM Friday and can get rid of the bandits at Verizon once and for all.

I thought my experience ordering Nexus 4 phones from Google was horrible. But this is a very close second. So close, in fact, that it's a photo finish.

Honestly, except for occasional Navigation, I don't use data on my account very often. I'm away from WiFi for about 2hours a day (have it at work, at home and at the airport and those three places are typically the only places I spend any time ;0).

Absolutely no complaints so far from anyone. Mine is paid for until next January and everyone else is renewing monthly. Damned nice to have one less bill coming in each month and since it's a fixed amount each month, budgeting is greatly simplified. In all honesty, I have noticed that I'm on the EDGE network more frequently than I'd expected initially, but that's to be expected given where I live - two weeks from anywhere. The fact that I don't drop calls 3 times on the way home (which I did 100% of the time on Verizon - I know where the dead zones are and two of them are on the 4 lane highway between Fort Wayne and Kendallville, IN) is greatly appreciated.

I'm pleased I switched. I don't think I'll ever be a "contract customer" again.