Shanti’s Dispatches

9 Responses to “Sprint PCS / Nextel: Outright Fraud or Just Horrible Customer Service?”

1. 1 raytube720  on Jul 27th, 2007 at 9:22 am

   Personally, I do prepaid only. No suprises. Get a prepaid Boost SIM starter kit $20, plug it in yer Nextel phone and keep rockin. I really dig the Boost customer service, they answer the phone with hip phrases like ‘You got Boost Mobile, what’s up?’ , and their hip phrase of ‘Where Y’at?’

2. 2 Shanti A. Braford  on Jul 29th, 2007 at 1:43 pm

   raytube - you for real?

3. 3 Leo K  on Aug 21st, 2007 at 11:25 pm

   I’m having the very similar nightmare, except my Sprint salesman did it over the phone.

   On May 2, I called Sprint to upgrade my broken phone, was confirmed for eligibility for new free phone of my choice, as advertised. Then the salesman persuaded me to add second line to my service with considerable discount and free second phone - cheap, basic. This cheap phone was the only one they sent, and even this one never worked quiet right. Since then I’ve been monthly charged - and overcharged - for two-line service, which I never had used.

   Calling Sprint Customer Serviceis would be great for a masochist craving every kind of reoccurring mental pain. Or if you love spending hours listening to elevator music on hold, being balled from one rep to another explaining again and again from the top - what’s the matter; then learning that Sprint is “truly sorry, and it should be taken care of within’ a few business days, but pay your bill first”, etc.

   I refused to pay my last bill because I never got what I’m billed for, so yesterday Sprint disconnected my service. Then - another two hours on hold and in conversation with apologetic rep who made another promise “to call back within’ next hour” - unfulfilled, no surprises.
   Today I switched to AT&T, but Sprint refused the reassignment of my phone numbers.

   I guess, Sprint feels 100% bulletproof because all it’s customers are bound by the Agreement to arbitrate only on Sprint’s terms. No one can file even a small claim, so Sprint has every right to be wrong, why not use it?

   Is this even constitutional?

   Fraud or bad service - doesn’t matter, and it shouldn’t. I do believe there must be ways to hold Sprint (and the likes) accountable for misleading persuasions, false ads, broken promises or any lies that result in loss of customer’s time and money. But so far I’m still looking.

   Please, wish me luck, I don’t feel as bulletproof as Sprint, I’ll need it.

4. 4 Shanti A. Braford  on Aug 22nd, 2007 at 5:54 pm

   Good luck Leo, I feel your pain bro.

   Someone should seriously start a class-action lawsuit against Sprint / Nextel over this kind of behavior.

5. 5 Samantha  on Sep 21st, 2007 at 1:38 pm

   I could never contact the disconnect line, so I wrote to the customer service website email before the end of my billing period with my notice that I wished my service canceled effective immediately. I never used my account again, and I was safely out of contract.

   I guess they didn’t get the email (or whatever the excuse) — pretty funny for a communications network.

   The bill for the next two months’ service (the service I never used) is still out there, 6 months after my cancellation, and now they’re sending collection agency billing to my new address.

   Absurd. just incredible.

6. 6 CHRISTINA  on Nov 2nd, 2007 at 8:00 am

   i am being over charge for a service i am not receving!
   when i signed up for wireless internet my first month
   was free AUG 27 to set27.
   my service was turn off on October 1st, and i called on October 3rd to see what happend.
   1st: the MANAGER told me they repeadily called my cell phone and left messages because they had my WRONG
   ADDRESS! (NoT MY FAult)my carbon copy shows my correct address
   when i ask to repeat the cell phone number they were calling, it turned out they were leaving messages on the wireless internet line??
   is that even possible?
   2. she apolize all rudly and fake and told me to turn on the service it was cost $67..
   NOTE my first month was free yet i am being $67 charge for ?? for my first “free” month!
   now its nov 2 and my current bill is $117, note my
   service is still turned off
   3. when i called they knocked off $50 and i still had to pay
   $67! for that free first month…
   what should i do email me yeahchrisyeah@yahoo.com
   im young and they are scamming me

7. 7 Jess  on Nov 16th, 2007 at 11:04 am

   so I had something a little diff:

   I wanted to upgrade my phone because the one I had didn’t work inside. I’d get calls and the signal would fade a few seconds later. Sprint wouldn’t replace it for free because they said “we don’t guarantee service inside structures.”

   So as a loyal customer in the middle of a two-year contract, I was offered this deal: sign up for two more years and get a $75 credit on the purchase of a new phone. Or, sign up for a year and get a $25 credit on a new phone. Or, don’t renew and pay full price.

   I chose to bite the bullet and renew for a year. I got a $25 credit towards my phone, and was told by a Sprint person over the phone that my contract would be from the date of purchase, not an extension to my original contract (which would have made it three years instead of two).

   A few weeks later I got an account summary that had me as still using my old phone, but conveniently with an extended contract–to 2009.

   I called and spoke to someone in India, who took ten minutes to tell me my account had been upgraded to a new billing system which she couldn’t access. She transferred me to someone else in India who insisted that my account had not yet been upgraded to the new billing system, so she couldn’t access the account. At that point, after 25 minutes, I asked to be transferred to a supervisor. I got better than that–finally, someone in America.

   This person was able to see that Sprint had ignored my reduced rebate/reduced commitment deal. They had me listed as a two year re-commit with a $75 credit used towards the purchase of a new phone. I politely informed her that I had kept my receipt with the terms, explained what they were, and she fixed my account. 30 minutes after I’d started. But at least I got them to fix it.

8. 8 Erik  on Feb 11th, 2008 at 1:30 am

   Everyone here is missing the point. How could you agree to, sign a contract on, and recieve a new line/phone without understanding the charges. Lets attack the issue your having with your bill. To start off if you walked out of the store with the phone that day theres no way the cost of the phone would appear on your bill, thier inventory is separate from Sprint’s many warehouses. When you direct ship in a phone the cost if any appears on your bill.
   When you agreed to start a new line to get a lower priced handset there had to be a plan attached to it and you would still have to pay for the service that was on the old phone until you were out of contract or put it on standby restricted. If you were only using a few hundred minutes and had a 900 minute plan why didnt you lower your plan. Sprint is one of the only carriers that allows you to change plans without contract extention. I believe theres a 450 minute plan that would better suit your needs. If you made this change half way through your billing cycle there would be proration which could result in half of what you were paying initially and the full amount of the new plan tied to the new activation.
   “Of course, the best way to get what you want in these situations is to be as nice to the employees as possible in the hopes that they will somehow grease the wheels in their giant corporate monolith.”
   Grease the wheels? This entire statement is about as useless as vomit coming out of the anus of a rotting skunk’s corpse. These salespeople, any sales person work on commision you could treat them like a turd on the sidewalk but if you mention start a new line they will be your best friend for the 10 minutes or so it takes to set it up.They make the most on new lines. Had you not been such a saint and nice person mabey you would have asked some important questions like “WHATS my bill going to be like?” or ” hey buddy instead of going through this new activation and then flip floping numbers can i have my phone repaired” or even “Are you trying to fuck me over?”.
   Thank God for Sprint’s 30 day return policy…. right

1. 1 Shanti’s Dispatches - Sprint Customer Service Sucks and Oh, the Irony Pingback on Aug 28th, 2007 at 3:18 pm