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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.
两年合约制已经寿终正寝，贪婪的运营商推出了一系列令人眼花缭乱的购机计划。分期支付购机计划，租赁合约，以旧换新合约，消费者选购智能手机和流量套餐的过程变得越来越复杂（不愿意费脑筋算数？直接买部新的智能手机就好了）。运营商靠着愈发复杂的购机计划隐蔽地从你身上多赚钱。这些家伙在提供合约购机计划和流量套餐时还有许多暗藏的赚钱手段。下面本文将为你揭露运营商额外收费的七大秘密：
1.Adding hidden fees to your bills
1.将隐藏费用添加到你的账单上
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.
运营商早已因种种各项未经审批的收费而臭名昭著，消费者可能根本未曾享受过某种服务，却仍要为此掏腰包。美国联邦通讯委员会（FCC）近日发布的报告中将此行为称为"植入收费"，全美千万户的家庭深受影响。委员会特别指出"智能手机属于精密的可携带设备，消费者可随时随地进行网上购物或支付其手机应用上产生的费用。倘若消费者的手机账单越来越像信用卡账单，那么发现这些未经审批的费用也将越来越困难。"像服务费以及语音邮件费等等只有一两美元的费用如果数年间每次都出现在你的账单上，那么你有必要检查自己的月度账单，确保每笔花费都实至名归。
2.Convincing you to pay for more data than you need
2.说服你为比你需要的更多的信息买单
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.
对运营商而言，消费者购买流量多多益善，因为收取流量费用乃是收入的重要来源（尽管对套餐外流量进行收费后，这件事他们便不怎么上心了）运营商的金主就是那些每月愿意花上100到200美元购买流量的消费者。运营商希望消费者升级自己的流量套餐。但请谨记，决定升级流量套餐前应先确认自己每月使用的具体流量，免得买了许多流量到月底却用不完。
3.Charging more than the retail price for a phone via payment plans
3.合约手机收更多的钱
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.
参与了合约购机计划，消费者可以在几个月或几年内分期付款购买一部崭新的手机。这时消费者应当将每月付款额相加，计算一下能否得到相应金额。付款总额应与手机零售价相当，而如果每月付款总额比直接买手机花得多，那么为了省钱分期付款反而得不偿失。
4.Convincing you to upgrade to a new phone every year
4.说服你每年升级一部新手机
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.
"以旧换新"套餐，尤其是短期的"以旧换新"套餐，对那些每年要换新手机的人称得上是上佳选择。不过如果你无需每年都更换手机，参加这项计划还真的是多花钱的好法子。若你想年年用上新手机，那就直接买一部手机，想换新机时再出手卖掉，再凑些钱去买新机。面对运营商提供的套餐，你应仔细核算长期成本，究竟是更换旧机更合适还是自己卖掉更合适。
5.Keeping your bill the same even after your phone is paid off
5.付清费用之后继续收取同样的费用
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.
如果消费者在付清分期费用后想继续使用这款手机，便必须仔细阅读协议条款了。有些协议规定消费者在付清费用后，每个月的费用会自动减少。然而其余协议则规定，即使付清了费用，运营商每个月还是会继续收取相同的费用。此举也是运营商最令人厌烦的多赚钱的方式。
6.Not matching deals and discounts on top smartphones
6.在顶级智能手机上没有折扣
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.
直接从运营商处买手机是最方便的，可是花点时间去别处找找是否有价钱更合适的同款机型是有好处的。手机厂商以及像亚马逊这样信誉良好的零售商经常会推出打折和促销活动。只需在谷歌搜索上轻轻一点，往往能发现在运营商那里找不到的优惠价格。
7.Charging exorbitant early termination fees (and more)
7.收取过高的提前终止费
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.
如果消费者在合约终止或付清费用前想更换运营商，此前的运营商往往会收取一笔叫做"提前中止服务费"的费用。即使运营商不收这笔钱，将来有意更换运营商的消费者也应多加注意协议条款：如果规定套餐费用在几年内付清，那么你不得不一次性支付所有剩余费用才能更换新运营商。因此在选择购机计划前，消费者应该彻底搞清楚运营商套餐覆盖的范围和提供的具体服务，否则盲目选择的购机计划，终将成为自己身上的枷锁。
