SPOT GPS service costs to much

fj12ryder wrote:
Worse comes to worse, close the card. I've heard of people having trouble getting online services to stop charging their card. Sometimes it can be frustrating as heck. I think that's one of the reasons I've never been fond of automatically recurring charges.

Yeah, ran into that with Ooma. My solution now days is to set up automatic reoccurring billing to my Amex CC. If I want to turn it off and the provider won't cooperate I call Amex and they put a block on the company charging my card. Pisses off companies like Ooma, but it sure works! And Amex will even roll back any charges that were made from the point in time where I asked the provider to stop the service or discontinue automatic billing.

magicbus wrote:
Yet another reason to use the single-use charge card numbers like BofA Shop Safe that link to your credit card. Any time we want to sign up for an auto-renew service we log on to our CC account and create a card for 1 year for the specified amount. After the year is up they come after us to update the expired card rather than us chasing them to cancel service.

Dave

X2. I use B of A Shop Safe all the time. Of course, you need to have a BofA CC account in order to use that service. I like being able to set the max limit of the temporary card. The temp card usually expires in 2 months, anyway.

joebedford wrote:
Does Garmin inreach allow web tracking and notification if you don't check in?

Yes. It will cost you "Tracking Points" though which, depending on the plan you choose, will either be free or about 10 cents each. I only turn the unit on once a day (which greatly extends battery life) to send/receive messages so don't use this feature.

joebedford wrote:
Does Garmin inreach allow web tracking and notification if you don't check in?

the garmin inreach is basically an upgrade to the Delorme inreach, which is now part of Garmin.

it lets you set up mapping with location sent every 10 minutes that anyone you give access to can check on location on a map. It doesn't do notification if you don't check in, but anyone you want to watch you can respond to you via text ID you send them a text message first. once they have at least ONE text from you they can continue to text back to you for status. If they text and you don't repsond I suppose they could start a rescue or response.

IMHO it is far far far far better than the spot. in addition to the messaging, you get NA, canada and mexico high res topo maps, gps weather, waypoints, sos, up to 20 preprogrammed text messages, 3 quick send messages that don't count against texts, interface to phones, tablets etc for texting if wanted. the ability to text to someone on the fly, don't need the phone or email already set up like spot requires,

way better than event he spot connect which was discontinued.

only downside is the cost, but you get what you pay for.

and since it uses the iridium sat system it basically works around the world, which the spot does not. spot covers us and canada and parts of mexico pretty good, but there are parts of the world it doesn't cover. and that includes a few places we have been.

Does Garmin inreach allow web tracking and notification if you don't check in?

I use In-Reach for backpacking and multi-day river trips.
It is less expensive than SPOT ($15/month for basic Freedom Safety plan) if you only activate it when needed (i.e.; month by month) and far more versatile.

fj12ryder wrote:
Worse comes to worse, close the card. I've heard of people having trouble getting online services to stop charging their card. Sometimes it can be frustrating as heck. I think that's one of the reasons I've never been fond of automatically recurring charges.

And I've been so "not fond" of automatic payments that I NEVER DO THAT.....NEVER. Just last week some utility company near me had a "glitch" in their computer billing system and repeatedly charged their customers for their monthly bill amount....OVER AND OVER, in some cases to the tune of thousands of dollars until their account was empty.

The damage done by simple mistakes and/or stupidity can be just as devastating as a criminal stealing from you.

TNGW1500SE wrote:
I've had a SPOT GPS emergency service for years. Every year they charge my credit card. This year the price went up to $221.30

It started at $164 (and change) years ago and then went to 175. Now they want $221.30!

Enough is enough. Most places we ride the cell phones work anyway.

If you go to their website, you can do everything but cancel service. You have to call. How long should I wait on hold? 1/2 hour? An hour?

Anybody want to buy a SPOT?

I disputed the charge with my CC company and blocked them as a vendor that can charge me.

I dropped spot and went to the garmin inreach. yes, more expensive than spot but it allows two way communication via texting, has built in maps, and a lot more for emergency service.

But we are often gone for days or weeks w/o cell service and ride off road motorcycle quite often in remote areas so some form of emergency contact is worthwhile.

Yet another reason to use the single-use charge card numbers like BofA Shop Safe that link to your credit card. Any time we want to sign up for an auto-renew service we log on to our CC account and create a card for 1 year for the specified amount. After the year is up they come after us to update the expired card rather than us chasing them to cancel service.

Dave

Worse comes to worse, close the card. I've heard of people having trouble getting online services to stop charging their card. Sometimes it can be frustrating as heck. I think that's one of the reasons I've never been fond of automatically recurring charges.