Anyone using Solavei for Service?

[tardman91]

http://www.solavei.com

It seems like a pretty sweet deal. $49/month for unlimited everything, plus the ability to earn credits for signing up friends. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with it. Looking at their coverage maps it seems pretty solid in my area (as well as most of the larger metro areas in the US). Anyone using it with an unlocked iPhone, or planning to?

[Lunchbox700]

There is a kiosk in my mall for this place so I googled them and got some results that scared me away. Long term I was worried they'd be around so I dropped that idea quick.

[wxman2003]

They are the first one bringing the BlackBerry Z10 to the US. Steep price of $1000 unlocked, but still the first.

[bohbot16]

They use T-Mobile's towers, so the coverage will be as good as T-Mobile's is.

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by Lunchbox700

There is a kiosk in my mall for this place so I googled them and got some results that scared me away. Long term I was worried they'd be around so I dropped that idea quick.

this! they appear to be a sort of MLM/pyramid scheme. everything i was reading screamed stay away.

[Lunchbox700]

So what's funny is I noticed today on the way in that the kiosk I saw is now gone and advertising Girl Scout cookies. Finally something I can use.

[slu]

It is a legit company. I would use them except t-mobile refarm is not complete in my area and when I tried T-moblie in Dec, the coverage here was terrible. If t-mobile gets thier act together, there are a bunch of mvnos I will try.

[Gregintosh]

Yeah, you don't have to participate in their MLM part.

Luckily, they aren't selling ip their MLM part as a get rich quick scheme which other MLMs do. It's more of a casual referral service where for every 3 people you refer you get $20 off your bill.

Unlike spammy MLMs, they also don't require you to pay big sign up fees, buy training materials, attend expensive seminars, etc.

I'm actually thinking about getting this. If I refer my parents (who tell me they want a smart phone soon), my wife who now shares a plan with me, that could drop my bill to $30 for my line and $50 for the wife's. $80 a month for two plans sure beats the $170 I'm paying with Verizon -- and we would each get 4GB rather than 4GB to share.

I would like to know if visual voicemail works and if there's any other quirks. I imagine since T-Mobile said they'd support the iPhone officially that visual voicemail, mms, and all the features should work as expected.... If not now then very soon.

[sectime]

Originally Posted by Gregintosh

Yeah, you don't have to participate in their MLM part.

Luckily, they aren't selling ip their MLM part as a get rich quick scheme which other MLMs do. It's more of a casual referral service where for every 3 people you refer you get $20 off your bill.

Unlike spammy MLMs, they also don't require you to pay big sign up fees, buy training materials, attend expensive seminars, etc.

I'm actually thinking about getting this. If I refer my parents (who tell me they want a smart phone soon), my wife who now shares a plan with me, that could drop my bill to $30 for my line and $50 for the wife's. $80 a month for two plans sure beats the $170 I'm paying with Verizon -- and we would each get 4GB rather than 4GB to share.

I would like to know if visual voicemail works and if there's any other quirks. I imagine since T-Mobile said they'd support the iPhone officially that visual voicemail, mms, and all the features should work as expected.... If not now then very soon.

Actually if you try to sign up you must 1. be sponsored or 2. they will assign you to somebody. MLM all the way.

[Gregintosh]

Originally Posted by sectime

Actually if you try to sign up you must 1. be sponsored or 2. they will assign you to somebody. MLM all the way.

But you still don't have to buy anything other than the phone service right?

[dictoresno]

from their website...

"An opportunity to earn income by sharing Unlimited Voice, Text and Data mobile service on a nationwide 4G network for $49 per month"

sure sounds alot like the whole "earn $1000 a week from home" scams. how many other services that you pay for, groceries, car insurance etc, try to entice you by offering you "income" in exchange for getting new customers? Ambit Energy does this and they are a mess of a scam. the promise of dollar signs have been dragging people into these schemes for years. if its so awesome and blatantly obvious that we can all be SOOOOOOO rich from something like this, why dont big companies like Verizon and AT&T jump on the bandwagon? hell, i know dozens of people with Verizon, i could be a millionaire. its because its sketchy sounding and historically has been proven to be a grey area for doing business.

then there is this....

"1.1 Qualifications for Social Members

To become a Social Member, each applicant must:
• Be at least 18 years old;
• Complete the Social Member Qualification Process at www.solavei.com;
• Pay the Social Member Fee, as provided in Section 1.4;
• Provide proof of a valid social security number;
• Assent to this Agreement by online click-through or other means; and
• Provide any other information Solavei may reasonably request."

"1.4 Social Member Fee

Social Members must pay an annual non-refundable fee of $149 on the Effective Date and on each anniversary of the Effective Date. This fee is waived for Social Members who have an active account for Solavei mobile phone service. If Solavei does not receive payment of the annual fee on a timely basis, Solavei may terminate this Agreement and Your Social Member
status."


basically, you can push their product for a $149/yr fee without even having their service and take income on people you get to join. that sure sounds like many other MLM scams.

"2.2 Independent Contractor

Social Members are independent contractors. Neither this Agreement nor any other communication from Solavei shall be deemed to create an employee/employer relationship, agency relationship, partnership, joint venture, or other representative relationship of any kind other than that of an independent contractor as provided in this Agreement. You acknowledge
and agree that, with respect to any and all work You do in connection with Solavei, You have complete control to set the hours You work, where You work, whether You work alone or with others, and the other methods and conditions regarding your work. Solavei does not owe and will not provide You with any benefits whatsoever except as expressly stated in the
Compensation Plan. Social Members must always identify themselves as independent contractors of Solavei in their dealings with potential Solavei members and any other parties. Under no circumstances shall Social Members state, suggest, imply, confirm, fail to deny, or indicate in any other way
that they are employees, agents, partners, joint venturers or representatives of Solavei of any other kind, except for independent contractors under the terms of the Agreement."

riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. independent business owner MLM anyone?


"2.8 Media and Media Inquiries

Social Members must not respond to any media inquiries of any kind about Solavei, its services, its business model, or any other issues, including without limitation any inquiries from print, radio, television, broadcast, cable, blogs, or other media entities, whether online or offline. If a member of the media contacts You, You must refer them immediately to Solavei’s corporate
communications department at (425) 628-6300."

sure. gotta keep the whole scheme hush hush. this just all seems too whacked to want to be involved in. way too much work, and the average joe isnt going to see squat in a return.

https://support.solavei.com/docs/DOC-1395
https://support.solavei.com/docs/DOC-1462

[dictoresno]

Originally Posted by Gregintosh

But you still don't have to buy anything other than the phone service right?

as a matter of fact, after reading their ToS, you dont even have to buy their phone service in order to start making money. but as i posted above, it will cost you a smooth $149/yr in order to be "privileged" to push their product.

basically, if you buy their service, the $149 gets waived and you can still be an independent contractor for them if you wish. they got a whole "how-to and do's and don't" marketing crash course section on their site you must abide by.

oh and you also cant make any mention of t-mobile. so while selling, you cant even let people know they use the t-mobile network. thats nice.....they want you to get people to commit to something and not even let people know the real facts. and you also cant get into the whole "we can make money by dragging more saps in" without letting them read their compensation disclosure. guess they dont wanna get peoples hopes up on making $$$ under false pretenses.