I know, I'm down to the wire but I must carefully research before committing to outgoing cash needed for living expenses. I was ready to go with phone power before reading reviews. The complaint read most often involves their hidden fees, not disclosed before hand unless you read the terms of service, and then not fully clear. I see that the offer shown when signing up through obi says no hidden fees, all taxes included. So, is $34.99 really the complete price for 1 year Obi Lite plan? The terms of service say otherwise, plus there is a whopping $99 early cancellation fee if one is not happy with the service. Even if this is the actual price this year, what will it be when this expires. Also, while I was researching legitimate surcharges and taxes I found out that they may not charge the Federal USF Recovery Fee to those that are in the lifeline program. How do they determine who they can charge this fee to? From their terms of service...
QuoteIn addition to regular fees set forth in the Pricing Schedule, you agree to pay all other charges, including but not limited to network usage, applicable taxes, fees and surcharges, including charges imposed against PhonePower.com by third party providers that it passes on to you. The taxes and surcharges may vary on a monthly basis and may change at any time without notice; any variations will be reflected in your monthly charge. The current Regulatory Recovery Fee is one dollar and 98 cents ($1.98) for all clients. E911 Recovery Fee is ninety-nine cents ($0.99) for all clients in the US. PhonePower.com collects a Federal, State and Local Services (FSLS) Recovery fee for most voice services. This fee is a percentage of billable service, and covers a variety of taxes, surcharges and fees billed by federal, regional and local agencies. The current rate is 11.64%, and is subject to change without notice.
I'm starting to think I might be better off just using google voice on my computer rather than using the obi device at all.