Sprint - Feels like extortion to me

[speakEZ]

My business has been with Sprint since 1999.

When I took over the business, after a couple of months of overages, I decided to do a cost analysis of cell usage. I called Sprint to have a rep go over the usage and discuss new plans. During this conversation I asked if any of the four lines were still under contractual agreement, to which the answer was NO.
I then proceeded to evaluate all the new plans from the top providers including Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobil, ect.

I decided that Verizon suited me best and proceeded to port all the numbers from sprint to Verizon except one (my mother past away of cancer so we no longer needed the line). Of coarse there were issues so I had to do a conference call with Sprint and Verizon to get it done. When asked about the other line, I told them the situation, and asked for that number to be cancelled. "No problem" was the answer I got.

So 2 months go by then I start getting a bill from sprint for like $270. When I called they start telling me that I breached my contract. After 40 minutes on the phone talking to people that hardly speak English, 2 supervisors, I am finally transferred to the "Customer Is Getting Really Pissed Off Department" where I got an answering machine. I calmly (to my standards) left a message asking them to call me back so this could be resolved. This was in March.

I am now getting a bill for $370 because now (after 4 more of the same kind of calls I made with the same result) they tell me that the other line was never canceled. They said I had to call Sprint to cancel it and the people that helped me port the numbers were a private contractor. Now they answered the phone saying "Thank you for calling SPRINT." Maybe it is just me and I am an idiot, but when they say that I, well assume, that it is !@#$ing SPRINT that is on the phone.

I got another bill (wanting me to avoid cancellation mind you) so I called them. WOW.....just WOW.....

I just can't believe that after 10 years of service, we will do a low estimate, @ $200/month (yeah right) that comes to over $24,000. They are screwing me for $370.

What happened to loyalty within business. If I have a customer that spends less than 1/2 of that, I treat them like my best friend and bend over backwards to make sure they have a positive experience. Maybe my Texas southern hospitality in all of my business leads me to being a naive person.

(only lets me put 10)

I hope that anyone else looking for competitive phone service hears this story.

Thanks to all for letting me vent.

 

[jwenthold99]

I had the exact same problem when leaving sprint after 5 years with them. I wanted a new phone, all of my contracts were due, and they would not give me any deals on a new phone. So I switched to cingular, and got a $300+ bill from sprint for breach of contract.

Fortunately when I was talking to sprint I had asked and had them verify that I was not going to terminating my contract early, and they had made a note regarding this, so when I called to complain all they could say was "you are right, there is a note in the file" and they canceled the charge.

And I agree with everything you posted... customer service and attempting to retain customers seems to be non existent these days.

 

[speakEZ]

Lesson learned about the notes. When I had called it was for several reasons, and the rep only noted that I called about overages and didn't document anything else during the 57 min conversation.

 

[j_garcia]

I had something similar when I had to correct my Verizon accounts. For some stupid reason, the store put my account down as a business account instead of a personal one. That restricts certain features so I asked them to change my account to a personal one. 2 months later I start getting calls about a past due bill but my balance was zero when I checked on the web. They kept calling and calling until I finally asked them what account they were talking about and it was the CLOSED one. I asked them why the entire balance did not transfer over and they said "our system doesn't work like that." It isn't like they were trying to bill me for breach of contract or anything, but they were harrassing me trying to get this paid because they couldn't shut off my phone because the account was already closed (lol).

 

[jamie2112]

I had the same issue with AT&T and will never use them again...I want a iphone but not till it goes open service........

 

[Matt34]

I will never deal with Sprint again, poor service, unexplained bill increases that were never explained, etc. I used my last military deployment orders to get out of the contract and went with Verizon.

 

[GlocksRock]

I've had nothing but positive experiences with Sprint so far, so I can't complain. They even haved waived fees for me before just because I called and told them that nobody told be about that fee when I was at the store and they said no problem, we will waive it for you. I guess my only complaint is that I wish the signal was a bit stronger in some areas, but that can be said about ever service provider.

 

[markw]

Sprint sucks, and they are pretty stuoid to boot.

Had 'em since '98. Got a phone (with a 2 year contract) for my new wife in 2001.

In late 2004, her three year old phone died and she picked out a new phone to replace it on line and, speaking to their representative, they said it would cost $49. I give 'em my credit card # and they banged my credit card.

So far, no problem.

I get my bill two weeks later and they charged me $300 more for the phone. I called and they explained "oh, that $49 price is only for a new phone number". I said that I was never told that and they said (literally) 'Well, that's not OUR problem."

I asked if they had a 30 day return policy. She waited for a second and said, "yes"

I then asked her if we were under contract or were we on a month-to-month basis. I could hear her gulp when she said "You don't have a contract with us."

I then asked if she could see where I was going with this. She meekly said "yes".

I then asked what's the procedure to return the phone and she said to go to a local sprint store and ask for a kit to send the phone back. She would send labels to me and have UPS pick it up. Thankfully, she did.

Whe it went out, I sent a letter explaining this and, since they bill a month ahead, I asked for moneys they have already received in advance be returned.

I then had our two numbers ported to cingular, which gave us two nice, new Motorola 551's and we haven't looked back since. And, I got more minutes for a lower price and better coverage.

About a month later I got a brief message on my answering machine from Sprint offering an apology and asking what the could do to get us back as a customer.

Oh, when our Cingular contract expired in 2006, we upgraded (for $50 each) to V3 RAZR's. ..wifey loves her brandy new Iphone, though

 

[jamie2112]

For my money Verizon is the best service if you travel. I have tried the rest, and I am all over the country all the time and Verizon works in MANY towns that my crewmates don't get their respective services. I have witnessed it 1st hand and will be sticking with Verizon for a while.....

 

[Nemo128]

After a loyal Nextel customer for 2 years and a loyal Verizon customer for too many years, I can say I won't be switching from AT&T any time soon.

My service price before any discount is equal to my Verizon gov-employee discounted rate! After AT&T added the discount, it's far less for better service.

Verizon's CDMA service was heavily based on the phone you chose. The right phone would give you good coverage, the wrong phone left you screaming at the annoying pr*ck in the commercials "NO, I CAN'T HEAR YOU A-HOLE!"

Their customer service had to be some of the worst I ever dealt with, which was the final straw that broke. Yet to have an issue with AT&T's coverage or service, the phone selections are much better, and their online system works better. Oh, and rollover minutes? Hellz yeah.

 

[j_garcia]

Their customer service had to be some of the worst I ever dealt with, which was the final straw that broke. Yet to have an issue with AT&T's coverage or service, the phone selections are much better, and their online system works better. Oh, and rollover minutes? Hellz yeah.

May be your area, because it is just the opposite here. AT&T has lousy coverage and Verizon has me covered even in the boonies which frankly surprised me.

 

[speakEZ]

I guess all this leads me to believe that any service provider is your best friend when it comes to earning your business and getting you started. It seems that all the associates are trained to entice new customers will condemning existing ones. I guess that once you have the contract signed they remove the friendly face and reveal their ugly heads.

I am sure this technique worked when not every family and every member of it had a phone. I don't think I know anyone who doesn't have a cell phone!! And come to think of it, most children 12 and up I know have one. So eventually this "sell now and screw later" attitude will have to change as eventually cell phones will "take over the world"(Right Pinky?) and there will be nothing left but retention.

If this manner of thinking is way off base let me know. Just seems like common since to me.

 

[Nemo128]

May be your area, because it is just the opposite here. AT&T has lousy coverage and Verizon has me covered even in the boonies which frankly surprised me.

Well I never had a problem with coverage or service, my phone was a total PoS though. The woman's phone never dropped a call anywhere, but mine would everywhere and it would cause choppy communication constantly. It's a limitation of CDMA networks, they're device critical.

I never dealt with Verizon's 3G coverage, but I have no desire to since I'll be saving >$180 this year by switching to AT&T.

 

[Nemo128]

So eventually this "sell now and screw later" attitude will have to change as eventually cell phones will "take over the world"(Right Pinky?) and there will be nothing left but retention.

If this manner of thinking is way off base let me know. Just seems like common since to me.

You're right, but this shift in focus won't happen in our lifetime. It's still a recruiting game and will be for decades, since we are currently at the period of the baby boomers approaching and living in retirement. Once the technocentric people born in the early 80s are approaching retirement age, outdated technology like dialup internet and land lines will go the way of analog OTA TV LOL!!!!!

 

[speakEZ]

You're right, but this shift in focus won't happen in our lifetime.

What a shame

 

[Audioholics]

When I left Nextel (Sprint) I had to use my position as an online editor and talked to the PR department. Basically I was ready to blow the whole scam wide open and they immediately took care of everything. Then I found out my brother in law was having the same problem and got them fixed (got the cancellation fee and hassle removed) as well.

I will NEVER deal with Sprint again.

 

[speakEZ]

When I left Nextel (Sprint) I had to use my position as an online editor and talked to the PR department. Basically I was ready to blow the whole scam wide open and they immediately took care of everything. Then I found out my brother in law was having the same problem and got them fixed (got the cancellation fee and hassle removed) as well.

I will NEVER deal with Sprint again.

Thats funny. I told them that I knew Clint and would be posting on all the blogs sites.j/k

I did mention that I would be telling my story as far as my internet would reach and guaranteed them that the man hours dealing with my phone calls and disputing the charges every 30 days with the credit bureau was going to cost them a lot more than what I am being charged. I would love nothing more than to go on national television and compare Sprint to the Ahmadinejad fascist regime.

All I really want is for sprint to pay for my work phone that I bashed into 30 pieces after talking to them

 

[Hi Ho]

I have been a Verizon customer as long as I've had a cell phone and I have no complaints. They have the best network coverage BY FAR here in Washington State. Customer service has been excellent.

My job gives me an AT&T phone and the coverage is horrible. It drops calls like crazy. That is, if we can even get the call through in the first place.

I would love in an Iphone too but not until it's on Verizon (if that ever happens). Until then the Blackberry Storm and Ipod Touch are a great combo.

I would never switch to Sprint after all of the horror stories I've heard about them.