Imagine someone having a really old flip phone where it serves their needs and anything extra is pointless since they don’t even have things like a data plan. They get by with one of those pay and talk plans which means their monthly expense is only about $10 or so. Recently they found out that they can just switch the service with a company whom they are already getting other services from for free. Sounds like a no brainer right?
Upon asking the company they mentioned all they had to do is have their basic account information to transfer their phone number. So they waited until the last day of their pay and talk expiry to make the switch. That’s where the surprise came in. In trying to switch the service apparently the phone was locked with the current carrier.
In speaking with their current provider even the employees were stunned as they expressed how the phone shouldn’t be locked as that practice has been abandoned almost five years ago. Because it was the last day as well, not renewing would mean they would lose their number they had. So they had to renew it for another month as the only way to unlock it was to phone in and there was more than an hour of wait time.
It’s one of those examples where sometimes keeping extremely old tech can be more of a nuisance than just getting modern day items. With the money the person would save too for going on the free plan they could get something way better than what they have and still come out ahead money wise.