揭露手機運營商額外收費的七大祕密!

The two-year contract is essentially dead, and carriers have replaced it with lots of confusing new ways to buy a new smartphone. From financing plans to leasing options to early upgrade contracts, each new plan adds another layer of complexity to the process of buying a smartphone and selecting a data plan. (And if you don't want to deal with figuring out all the details, the most appealing option is to buy your new smartphone outright.) Plans have gotten complicated enough that it's not always obvious when you're paying too much for the service you're getting, and there are far too many hidden ways for carriers to charge you too much when you're buying a smartphone or choosing a data plan.

兩年合約制已經壽終正寢，貪婪的運營商推出了一系列令人眼花繚亂的購機計劃。分期支付購機計劃，租賃合約，以舊換新合約，消費者選購智能手機和流量套餐的過程變得越來越複雜（不願意費腦筋算數？直接買部新的智能手機就好了）。運營商靠着愈發複雜的購機計劃隱蔽地從你身上多賺錢。這些傢伙在提供合約購機計劃和流量套餐時還有許多暗藏的賺錢手段。下面本文將爲你揭露運營商額外收費的七大祕密：

ng hidden fees to your bills

1.將隱藏費用添加到你的賬單上

Carriers have become notorious for adding unauthorized fees to your monthly bill, charging you for services that you didn't sign up for or didn't even receive. As the FCC reported recently, the practice, referred to as "cramming," has affected tens of millions of American households. The agency noted, "Smartphones are sophisticated handheld devices that enable consumers to shop online from wherever they are or charge app purchases to their phone bills. The more your mobile phone bill begins to resemble a credit card bill, the more difficult it may become to spot unauthorized charges." From service charges to voicemail fees, charges as low as a dollar or two can appear on your bill for years at a time — which means that it's important to look at your bill each month and ensure that you recognize all the charges.

運營商早已因種種各項未經審批的收費而臭名昭著，消費者可能根本未曾享受過某種服務，卻仍要爲此掏腰包。美國聯邦通訊委員會（FCC）近日發佈的報告中將此行爲稱爲"植入收費"，全美千萬戶的家庭深受影響。委員會特別指出"智能手機屬於精密的可攜帶設備，消費者可隨時隨地進行網上購物或支付其手機應用上產生的費用。倘若消費者的手機賬單越來越像信用卡賬單，那麼發現這些未經審批的費用也將越來越困難。"像服務費以及語音郵件費等等只有一兩美元的費用如果數年間每次都出現在你的賬單上，那麼你有必要檢查自己的月度賬單，確保每筆花費都實至名歸。

incing you to pay for more data than you need

2.說服你爲比你需要的更多的信息買單

Data charges account for a large proportion of carriers' revenue, so many want to make sure that you're buying an ample amount of data monthly (though they don't mind when they get to collect overage fees, either). Carriers' most valuable customers are those who pay more than 100 dollars or even 200 dollars for their service every month, and companies are always willing to upgrade to you to a higher-priced data plan. But before you increase your monthly bill to get more data, check out how much data you really use each month so that you can avoid paying for lots of data that's going to go unused.

對運營商而言，消費者購買流量多多益善，因爲收取流量費用乃是收入的重要來源（儘管對套餐外流量進行收費後，這件事他們便不怎麼上心了）運營商的金主就是那些每月願意花上100到200美元購買流量的消費者。運營商希望消費者升級自己的流量套餐。但請謹記，決定升級流量套餐前應先確認自己每月使用的具體流量，免得買了許多流量到月底卻用不完。

ging more than the retail price for a phone via payment plans

3.合約手機收更多的錢

On plans that enable you to pay the cost of your brand-new smartphone over the space of months or years, you should always calculate the total of those monthly payments and make sure that they add up. The total cost should match the retail price of the phone; if it's significantly more than what the phone would cost to buy up-front, then you're paying too much for the privilege of paying for the phone gradually instead of all at once.

參與了合約購機計劃，消費者可以在幾個月或幾年內分期付款購買一部嶄新的手機。這時消費者應當將每月付款額相加，計算一下能否得到相應金額。付款總額應與手機零售價相當，而如果每月付款總額比直接買手機花得多，那麼爲了省錢分期付款反而得不償失。

incing you to upgrade to a new phone every year

4.說服你每年升級一部新手機

Early upgrade plans, particularly those with short contracts, can be a good choice if you've been upgrading to a new phone every year, and intend to continue doing so. But if you don't really need a new smartphone each year, signing up for an early upgrade plan is a great way to spend a lot more money than necessary. If you really want a new phone every year, it generally works out better to purchase your phone outright and sell it to finance the purchase of the newest model. As with every plan offered by your carrier, you need to thoroughly evaluate how much it's going to cost you in the long-term, and whether you'll really benefit by trading in your old phone instead of reselling it yourself.

"以舊換新"套餐，尤其是短期的"以舊換新"套餐，對那些每年要換新手機的人稱得上是上佳選擇。不過如果你無需每年都更換手機，參加這項計劃還真的是多花錢的好法子。若你想年年用上新手機，那就直接買一部手機，想換新機時再出手賣掉，再湊些錢去買新機。面對運營商提供的套餐，你應仔細覈算長期成本，究竟是更換舊機更合適還是自己賣掉更合適。

ing your bill the same even after your phone is paid off

5.付清費用之後繼續收取同樣的費用

If you plan to buy a smartphone and keep it for longer than the period of time it takes to pay off completely, then you'll need to carefully read the terms of your agreement with your carrier. In some cases, your monthly bill will automatically decrease once you've paid off the retail price of your phone. But in other cases, your carrier will continue to charge you the same amount, even after you've had your phone long enough to pay its entire retail price. It's one of the most annoying ways that carriers can get you to pay more than you should.

如果消費者在付清分期費用後想繼續使用這款手機，便必須仔細閱讀協議條款了。有些協議規定消費者在付清費用後，每個月的費用會自動減少。然而其餘協議則規定，即使付清了費用，運營商每個月還是會繼續收取相同的費用。此舉也是運營商最令人厭煩的多賺錢的方式。

matching deals and discounts on top smartphones

6.在頂級智能手機上沒有折扣

While it often seems easiest to buy a smartphone directly from your carrier, it pays to investigate whether you can find the same smartphone offered at a better price elsewhere. Promotions and discounts are offered both by smartphone manufacturers themselves and by trusted retailers like Amazon, so it's worth a quick Google search to see if there's a better deal that your carrier isn't matching.

直接從運營商處買手機是最方便的，可是花點時間去別處找找是否有價錢更合適的同款機型是有好處的。手機廠商以及像亞馬遜這樣信譽良好的零售商經常會推出打折和促銷活動。只需在谷歌搜索上輕輕一點，往往能發現在運營商那裏找不到的優惠價格。

ging exorbitant early termination fees (and more)

7.收取過高的提前終止費

Many carriers charge early termination fees when you want to switch carriers before your contract is up or your phone is paid off. Even if your carrier doesn't charge an early termination fee, per se, you should pay attention to the terms of your service if you anticipate having to switch carriers in the near future. If you're paying your phone off over a period of a couple of years, you'll end up having to pay off the remainder of its price all at once if you leave your carrier early. That means that you should thoroughly investigate your carrier's coverage and service before committing to a plan that will keep you locked in.

如果消費者在合約終止或付清費用前想更換運營商，此前的運營商往往會收取一筆叫做"提前中止服務費"的費用。即使運營商不收這筆錢，將來有意更換運營商的消費者也應多加註意協議條款：如果規定套餐費用在幾年內付清，那麼你不得不一次性支付所有剩餘費用才能更換新運營商。因此在選擇購機計劃前，消費者應該徹底搞清楚運營商套餐覆蓋的範圍和提供的具體服務，否則盲目選擇的購機計劃，終將成爲自己身上的枷鎖。