It may have a happy ending. cnek has made a point that might save me. I am on an old plan (no longer offered by Verizon). I had requested an upgrade from my current 300mins/mo to 450mins/mo plus free in-Verizon and prevention of roaming fees. Both have free long distance, and free unlimited off peak. I wanted the better plan, but have cancelled the switch and am staying with the old one.
It seems that on this ancient plan I appear to have (still not sure), it charges MOU for data (Minutes Of Use, ie airtime charges only). Like cnek said, I have to take steps to be careful about airtime charges if data connections persist accidentally, or can wake up without my knowledge. And I'm not sure exactly how it will work for me, but I will give it a try and see. I may have become lucky. But I'd still rather have bought a Treo tied to a wireless company that has a public, supported and promoted plan that I can live with.
In case you're wondering, I've also taken this page off the front page. I think the point has been made, and to be honest, I'm embarrassed by the tone of the writing. It's not horrible, so I'll leave it as-is in terms of the text, but I should never have written while in the heat of the emotions. It spoils what could have been a really great article if done with a positive approach. Sure, it's information that needs to get out, but I just wish I had packaged it differently. Lesson learned.
Thanks for everyone's input. I'll let you know over the next couple of months what happens. I hope to learn soon because I need to decide about my choice of plans so I don't have to extend my contract much if I switch. Who knows? Maybe the 450min plan will also handle my data needs as MOU?
I do want to provide a little balance once again...
Verizon has frustrated me with the Treo and data plans, but they have been a great carrier as far as wireless voice goes. The rates are approximately competitive for voice plans. The customer service is great on the voice side. I have, until now, had less unpleasant surprises than with the competition. Many of the people I know have Verizon phones, which makes in-Verizon promotions very nice. And most of all, they have the best signal coverage. So no matter how much I don't think they're a good fit for small budget Treo data users, I'd say overall they are a decent carrier in a business that doesn't exactly promote trust, goodwill and joy.
And finally, lest anyone misconstrue any of this to mean that the Treo 650 is not spectacular, let me make it perfectly clear.. I love my Treo, and like it better every day. PalmOne did a wonderful job with it, and despite the smartphone neccesitated compromises like screen size and memory, it's pretty much everything I need, and an excellent tradeoff.
I heartily recommend a Treo 650. However I would warn everyone to (1) Check carefully into all charges for data, and (2) Consider a non-Verizon Treo 650 if you are interested in a data plan and are on a budget.
Okay, enough clarification! I'm done.
