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dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo to Timmn

Premium Member

to Timmn

Re: [Sprint] Disconnecting Service

CMoore,

I went back and forth with Sprint for over 6 months on the issue that finally resulted in me leaving. I communicated with them through every means possible. I spoke to reps in stores, I spoke to reps on the phone and I attempted to communicate with them through e-mail. I did not want to leave Sprint, I had to leave them.

They closed all the doors to communicate with people high enough to actually have the authority to do what is logical and right. At the same time the tightened their own cooperate policies to the point that I found it outright hostile towards certain types of customers. After I left them they proved me right by forcefully ejecting people they deemed to complain to much.

How blatantly can a business tell their customers they do not care about the customers satisfaction level?

Just so you know what happened to me...

I signed a contract with sprint MANY years ago that gave me 2000 anytime minutes, unlimited web, unlimited messaging and one free additional line. This was at a time when Sprint did not even have true SMS and there was no such thing as video mail. I got my wife a seperate account with the same plan. Additional phones got unlimited web and unlimited messaging for $5 per month.

Between the two accounts were 5 lines of service all equipped with unlimited web and messaging. I did eventually merge them all into one plan and also changed phones on various lines at various times through the years. Each time I did so I lost a little bit more from my included 'extras'.

I bought video phones, without rebates, before they even launched video mail. When they launched video mail I got grandfathered in with my unlimited messaging.

I lost the video mail on one line when the phone had to be replaced under warranty when it became defective. I lost it on the other line in a completely arbitrary manner when it simply stopped working after over 6 months of use.

One of my lines of service lost all picture mail because the phone associated with the line was not a camera phone. I begged them to leave the picture mail code intact because if I did purchase a camera phone for that line I was sure Sprint would charge me for those services. I turned out to be right.

I spoke to a rep in a store once just to ask some questions about buying a new phone and that somehow resulted in one line losing unlimited messaging and being set to 100 per month.

I had basically lost all my included extras except the unlimited messaging and unlimited web on my primary line. Any saving of merging the two accounts had been lost in a series of nickel and dime additions that were 'accidentally' removed as free additions. I started with 2 separate plans that came to around $300 per month and ended with one plan that cost about $300 per month.

I wanted to buy a new phone for myself to use on the primary line and Sprint simply refused to honor my unlimited web and messaging if I purchased a new phone. I simply could not tolerate that. I am a private individual spending as much as some small business and I could not get ANY consideration for my long standing loyalty or impecable payment history.

There is just no way I am going to buy a new phone from them, at full price. Not because a recent phone rebate but because they renewed my contract when I merged my Wifes account into mine and since I was under contract I couldn't get a rebate. So pay full price for a new phone AND get to have my bill go up $25 per month for the same service I was currently getting.

I just couldn't do it. I HAD to leave. I paid a $200 ETF for my line and a $200 ETF for my wifes line. My line had one phone rebate associated with it since 1999 and my wife had one from 1999 as well. Aside from those two rebates I had one in 2001 associated with one of the additional lines.

I still think Sprint has the best service of the big 4 in America but as a company they suck more than any company I have ever dealt with. If it had not been for the 'backdoor' customer service numbers and e-mail addresses I had I doubt I would have been able to tolerate them as long as I did. For 5 years I got great service but after the nextel merger all the backdoors started closing and my account(s) started getting whittled away to fast.

peace,
dumwaldo
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

So you had unlimited web and text messaging, but figured that you should have the video mail and other new features that they came out with? Video mail uses more of their resources, not just the simple bandwidth that you got with your unlimited web. They're stored on their servers, accessed on their servers, and served to the people that view them from their servers.

Them booting customers because they were complaining too much was a good move. If there was simply no satisfying these customers, give them a free ride to take their service to someone who will put up with their unreasonable requests. Look around on the forums, I see MANY people that say to just keep calling in until someone will give you a free add-on that they're not in any way entitled to. At some point, you've got to get rid of customers that don't pay more than their service costs.

dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo

Premium Member

said by CMoore2004:

So you had unlimited web and text messaging, but figured that you should have the video mail and other new features that they came out with?
No, I paid every month for a contract that included anytime minutes, unlimited web and unlimited messaging.

Through 'accidents' they managed to remove the unlimited messaging on several of my lines. A service I was paying for in the fee agreed to in my contract. There were never any stipulations placed on the type of messaging. They chose the wording and they wrote the contract.

When they adamantly refused to honor the contract, that they solely set the terms of, by refusing to honor the web service that I was paying for in my contract I had enough.

make no mistake, ETF does not stand for Early Termination Fee and it is not for them to recoup a phone subsidy that is not really costing them anything. ETF stands for extortionate termination fee and it is just a tool that they use to take advantage of their customers.

The point I am trying to make is pretty simple. When the contract says something in favor of the customer it means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to sprint. The contract ONLY matterws when it says something in favor of sprint.

Thats my experience with the company and it was a consistent experience for a number of years. As I said before I think the only reason I was able to deal with them for so long was because I had phone numbers for direct customer support with no hold time and English speaking reps. I had email addresses for individuals in the corporate office.

I understand what you are saying about some of the people in the forums and grabbing for every free extra they could but I was a loyal and very long standing customer with over $300 per month of service and a perfect payment record. I should not have been treated like a 'freeloader'.

It makes me question the judgment of those responsible for deciding what customers were these 'impossible to please' individuals that should be booted regardless of the fact that they have a contract. Again like I said before the contract means NOTHING to sprint when it says something in favor of the customer.

I am sure at least a few of those impossible to please customers were simply people that wanted something unreasonable, such as for Sprint to honor the contract that THEY fashioned.

BTW
I once purchased a phone from a source that was not sprint and they decided to charge me for the phone on my bill. In fact they charged me twice for over $1200 extra on one bill. It took over 40 hours of phone calls to correct that problem. In Sprints eyes someone who calls customer support for over 40 hours during one month might be considered an impossible to please customer.

Maybe they would have fewer constant callers if they could just get some competent help so things get fixed the first time and people don't have to call multiple times. The only reason I even got that $1200 problem cleared up was because I sent emails to len lauer's and gary forsee's offices and ended up getting in touch with someone in the corporate office. Left to deal with regular customer service it would have taken even longer.

peace,
dumwaldo
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

Just an FYI, the contract is a per-line contract and not per-plan. Would you please show me a contract that states you have unlimited messaging or unlimited web?

dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo

Premium Member

Yeah, actually I do have my contracts. This weekend I will try to find some time to dig them up and scan them.

BTW
you should consider applying for a job with sprint. You seem to have an abundance of the same screw you unless you can force me into it by law attitude that has destroyed the company so I would have to think you are very qualified to work for them.
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

You mean the mentality where I actually live up to contracts I sign and expect the other party to do the same?

dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo

Premium Member

WHAT!!!

I was with them for OVER 8 YEARS. Not one single bill was paid late in all that time. I only received 3 phone rebates during that entire time and I had 5 lines of service. I had to have at least 10 phones during that time that were purchased from sprint at FULL PRICE. I paid 2 ETF, not because I cheated them on a phone rebate but because I had to make an administrative change to my account and got EXTORTED into a new agreement. One which I got NOTHING to sign but had to sign to merge accounts that were both completed with their contract date.

You are NOT trying to imply that it is me that does not honor contracts are you? I really hope thats not what you are trying to get at because I don't want this to turn ugly but if that is what you are getting at I can go there too.
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

How were you extorted into a new agreement?

Pingi
@xo.net

Pingi to dumwaldo

Anon

to dumwaldo
Dumwaldo, I guess when you made changes to your account, Sprint changed your contract. When you merged your account, Sprint might have used that to put you into a new contract.

dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo to CMoore2004

Premium Member

to CMoore2004
Click for full size
I wanted to close the account that my wifes phone was on and move her line to my account. Her contract had been fulfilled so I could have closed the account or ported her to another carrier for free. Instead I wanted to add her phone to my account and to do so I had to sign a new agreement for her phone (expected) as well as a new contract for my own phone (extortion) because they deemed this process as something that required me to renew the primary line contract.

I feel this is an extortionate business tactic because I could ad a NEW line without extending my contract but because I wanted to keep my wifes phone number I had no choice but to sign a new agreement for my own line of service.

I had less than 6 months left on my own contract and by signing a new contract before mine expired I also had to give up my potential phone rebate when my contract did expire. Business tactics and practices like this had managed to successfully deprive me of any phone rebates for a period of 8 years.

So I signed the new contract. You see the nice big scan available at the top of this post.

In early 2007 I decided I wanted a new phone even if I did have to pay full price for it. You (well maybe not you but a reasonable thinking person) could imagine my surprise when I was told that if I did purchase a new phone I would no longer be entitled to my premium vision service and I would have to pay an aditional fee for this service.

I mean there it is on the contract and agreed to by Sprint but they feel absolutely no responsibility to honor what they have agreed to.

I was left with two choices. Pay them their EXTORTIONATE Termination Fee and leave or file a time consuming and expensive lawsuit to save myself the ETF's. I chose the former. It is not worth my personal time to take on this battle. My life is already busy enough.

I can also save you a lot of debate by addressing what you are going to say next because, quite frankly I am that much smarter than you that I already know what you are going to say. You are going to quibble over the difference between "vision" and "power vision".

I fully understand the differences between 1xRTT and 1xEV/DO but the delivery system makes no difference at all. It is the SERVICE that I am entitled to. I am entitled to service that connects me o the web and I am happy to continue using the 1xRTT service but since sprint is unable to deliver that service exclusively they should not be given a free pass to no longer deliver the service they agreed to.

Would you think it is right if sprint decided to change the system they use to track pcs to pcs calling, started calling it power pcs to power pcs, and told everybody they are no longer entitled to free calls within the network?

How about if they changed their system for voice calls and decided there are no longer any such thing as anytime minutes and from now on they are power minutes and since nobody is entitled to free power minutes everybody should have to start paying by the minute?

I know my agreement was old and did give me certain benefits that new customers could not get but it works in both directions. After all I was paying $10 per month for early nights and free roaming while those are services that are now given free.

any chance you are starting to get the picture?
dumwaldo
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

Your scan isn't a contract. The contract is the service agreement you agree to when you first sign up. Not the plan.

And for being that much smarter than me, I'm surprised you got that wrong.

dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo

Premium Member

Here is a hint for you. Where it says CONTRACT start date and CONTRACT end date should indicate to you that it is a CONTRACT.

I am NOT surprised that escaped your notice. You come across incredibly obtuse.

Just out of curiosity was there any point you were trying to get at or was it all just trolling?
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

It's the contract associated with the plan, not a contract for that specific plan. My point is that people should read and honor contracts they sign. It's not like when our farm has a bad year we renegotiate rent on our thousands of acres or say "Yanno, we've been paying you every month, do you think you could just give us a break?".

r81984
Fair and Balanced
Premium Member
join:2001-11-14
Katy, TX

r81984

Premium Member

said by CMoore2004:

It's the contract associated with the plan, not a contract for that specific plan. My point is that people should read and honor contracts they sign. It's not like when our farm has a bad year we renegotiate rent on our thousands of acres or say "Yanno, we've been paying you every month, do you think you could just give us a break?".
I think that Sprint should have honored their contracts.
They kept changing the terms on dumwaldo.

You should have paid the ETF with a credit card and then just did a chargeback after you were fully canceled.
CMoore2004
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Jonesville, MI

CMoore2004

Premium Member

What part of the contract didn't they honor? The contract even states in it they can change the terms if they notify you, I believe.

dumwaldo
Premium Member
join:2001-03-12

dumwaldo

Premium Member

said by CMoore2004:

What part of the contract didn't they honor? The contract even states in it they can change the terms if they notify you, I believe.
The part they were refusing to honor if I bought a new phone is the vision premium pack AT NO CHARGE!

The contract does NOT state they can change the terms if they notify you. The contract DOES state that for them to change the terms they need to notify you and allow you the opportunity to refuse the changes with NO EARLY TERMINATION FEE!

Seems to me that YOU are the one that has never read their contract. How about you stop talking crap that you don't follow yourself. Lets see a scan of YOUR CONTRACT because I bet you don't even have a copy.

I bet you 99.9% of Sprint customers don't even possess the document I scanned and posted above. I fail to see how reading the contract would have changed my situation in any way since I DID READ MY CONTRACT! That was the entire source of my problem with Sprint. The fact that I had read my contract(s) so I was fully aware how much I was getting screwed every time they managed to 'accident' away a service I was supposed to be getting included in my monthly service charge.

BTW
said by CMoore2004:

It's the contract associated with the plan, not a contract for that specific plan.
What does this mean? That is a unique document that detailed my specific plan for my primary line.
said by CMoore2004:

It's not like when our farm has a bad year we renegotiate rent on our thousands of acres or say "Yanno, we've been paying you every month, do you think you could just give us a break?".
Emergency Farm Relief Act of 2007
Yet you have no problem being callously unsympathetic in a thread about someone suffering from "some major financial difficulties". Seriously the guy was 21 months into a 24 month agreement and he is accountable for the FULL termination fee.

That is not right. As a matter of fact it is so not right that this year The Cell Phone Empowerment Act of 2007 was introduced to the Senate. The bill suggests that ETF's should be prorated. The suggested minimum prorating would be to cut the ETF in half after the first year of a 2 year agreement.

peace,
dumwaldo
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