Complaint Review: Straight Talk Wireless

Beware of hidden fees and charges!  I just switched to Straight Talk from Boost Mobile, enticed by the iPhone offer.  I was reassured by the advertising that Straight Talk was a straight $45 a month, no contract, no extra fees, no hidden charges, no tricks.  When I purchased the iPhone and the first service card, it was a straight $45, as advertised.  But it's not!  If you enroll in Auto-Refill, that $45 is actually $46.53 because they charge you extra fees and taxes instead of including it in the $45.  I was not informed of this when I signed up.  I never had a problem with Boost Mobile - it was always a straight $50 a month with auto-pay and with shrinkage I was down to $40.  Now I am stuck with Straight Talk because I have the iPhone that is locked to their service.  This is false advertising!  Although $1.53 may not seem like a lot, it adds up over time.  Plus I am sure there are thousands of Straight Talk customers beig overcharged the same way. More importantly, I really don't like being mislead.   

Here's what my first auto-refill bill looked like:  

Subtotal    $45.00
Discounts and Credits    $0.00
Tax1    $0.00
911 Surcharge, CPUC PPP Program and User fees    $0.76
Federal Universal Service3    $0.68
Regulatory Cost Recovery4    $0.09
Purchase Amount    $46.53

What's even weirder is if you buy the $45 service card at Wal-Mart, it is a straight $45, no hidden fees or charges.  That's what I paid when I first bought the iPhone and the service card.  If you try to sort this out with Straight Talk - be prepared for absolutely no help.  My call to customer service went to the Philippines and 3 customer service agents and 40 minutes later, I asked to be switched to the corporate office customer service in the US.  The nice woman claimed to be from the corporate office, but sounded an awful like the other customer service agents I spoke to.  Each agent just asked me to repeat what I had told the last one and they proceeded to repeat back to me the same explanations I had already heard.  The bottom line - they said they had to collect the extra fees and taxes, but if I bought the card at the store, I would not be charged e these extra fees.

Does that make any sense?