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11 Rants this month

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1. I DID THIS TODAY AND IT WORKS!!!!!
   (for more info on this strategy to screw those bastards at sprint, see
   http://www.roobaroo.net/2006/08/21/cancel-sprint-contract-without-paying-an-early-termination-fee/)

   If you have Sprint as your cellular provider, read this!

   If you follow this strategy, you can disconnect your Sprint plan WITHOUT PAYING THE ETF (EARLY TERMINATION FEE.)

   Say goodbye to surly customer service and repeated overbilling and hidden charges. Follow the instructions below to force Sprint into letting you go for free, or, if you choose, massively upgrading your plan with no cost to you.

   Sprint?s business model is to lock each customer, no matter how dissatisfied, into his or her contract by raising the cost of switching to 200$, the cost of their early termination fee.

   There is now a LOOPHOLE which will exist for 30 days, so DO NOT PAY YOUR BILL YET!!!

   This is what you need to know:

   Look at the Terms and Conditions on the website.
   (http://www.sprintpcs.com/common/popups/popLegalTermsPrivacy.html)
   Find this section. Note the parts that I have bolded and italicized. You will need to be prepared to recite this in broken record fashion to the service reps and floor supervisors.

   Agreement. We may change the Agreement at any time with notice. Any changes to the Agreement are effective when we publish them. If you use our Services or make any payment to us on or after the effective date of the changes, you accept the changes. If we change a material term of the Agreement and that change has a material adverse effect on you, you may terminate the Agreement without an Early Termination Fee by calling 1-888-567-5528 within 30 days after the changes go into effect. You understand and agree that taxes, Universal Service fees and other charges imposed by the government or based on government calculations may increase or decrease on a monthly basis, and that this paragraph does not apply to any increases in such taxes, Universal Service fees or other charges.

   Comment by Anonymous — October 1, 2006 @ 11:58 am

2. This DOES still work. I just terminated my account TODAY with no ETF (early termination fee.)

   see this website
   http://www.roobaroo.net/2006/08/21/cancel-sprint-contract-without-paying-an-early-termination-fee/

   The only difference now is the CSRs and the Floor Supervisors are more tenacious than ever. They will tell you again and again that ?you can close the account, but there WILL be a fee.? They will even refer you to their legal department.

   To succeed with Sprint, your strategy should be as follows (this is what worked for me.)

   1. Go into broken record mode. Say, repeatedly, ?according to the Terms and Conditions, I have the right to terminate my contract with no termination fee if Sprint changes its rate plan. The Terms and Conditions do not specify that Sprint can force me to waive this right by offering me anything for free, nor do I want anything for free. I want to cancel my account, as is my right under the terms and conditions.? Be prepared to say that the SMS messages will cost you 15 cents, and that even if you have the 500 SMS plan, on SMS number 501 you will be charged 15 cents. As a poster to this thread wrote, very wisely?the clause in Terms and Conditions does NOT specify what ?material adverse effect? is, nor does it say Sprint may foreclose this right by offering you anything for free. Keep saying it?they have a record of how long the phone conversation is, and if they see you have been on the phone for an hour, you will get some supervisor attention. Keep them on the phone as long as possible.

   2. Then, extract concessions from them. They offered me unlimited SMS and data for the life of my plan, plus 300 minutes per month for 30$, plus nights and weekends starting at 8pm, plus an extra 400 minutes and 35$ credit for my troubles.

   3. Repeat. As in, after doing the above, I just hung up and called again (use this line 888 567 5528.) They will give you more and more concessions each time you call. Ask to be credited for your time (a few hundred minutes or 10$ credits here and there.)

   4. Ask where they are calling from. THE CALL SITES MOST LIKELY TO WAIVE YOUR ETF ARE IN CENTRAL FLORIDA OR ORLANDO. Stay calm, and demonstrate your willingess to hang up on them after getting a concession like a better plan, and hang right up and call again!!!

   5. Do not be afraid to LIE. They certainly lie like crazy to get out of their contractual obligations. For example, if you extended your 2 year contract on the phone with them, just say ?NO-I NEVER said that i agreed to extend my contract. The rep on the phone EXPLICITLY told me that i WOULD NOT be extending my contract.?

   To conclude, your objective is to call, extract concessions (by keeping them on the phone as long as possible so the supervisor is incentivized to get you off the phone by any means possible because they need to maximize call volume/turnover), and repeat. BE PERSISTENT?THEY LIED THROUGH THEIR TEETH TO ME. They?d rather refer you to legal than give in to what it CLEARLY states in the terms and conditions.

   And lastly? DO NOT PAY YOUR BILL. According to terms and conditions, paying your bill signifies acceptance of the new charges. But deifnitely still call and badger them repeatedly (on the weekend works well because of the free calls)? they *will* MASSIVELY upgrade your plan, which might give you what you wanted in the first place. But monitor your bill, because they might offer you sth for free, then try to charge you for it.

   GOOD LUCK SCREWING THIS EVIL COMPANY!

   This is a matter of principle, a David and Goliath struggle against a powerful company competing in what is basically an oligopoly with very, very anti-consumer characteristics of the industry. Take a principled stand! This company?s share price should eventually reflect their dishonesty and skewed incentives given to employees at the call centers, the frontline in interfacing with customers. What Sprint is doing is WRONG, and you can be part of the problem or part of the solution. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Let?s keep this thread going, and stand together to generate strategies for opposing this nasty behemoth. Who knows, we might generate critical mass to launch an effective lawsuit one of these days and bring down SPRINT once and for all!!!!!

   Comment by ben — October 1, 2006 @ 11:59 am

3. T Mobile just added the feature, when will sprint!

   Since several of my friends have moved away from sprint my Sprint PCS to PCS calling plan doesn’t help much. With some other companies they allow you to add phone numbers that you can have unlimited minutes with, why the heck does sprint always have to be the last ones to do something like this?

   Comment by Erik — October 5, 2006 @ 6:52 am

4. This all started about a month ago, when I called Sprint, (Now known as Embarq) to order new DSL High Speed Internet service. My girlfriend doesn?t really know what to ask, or what she needs, so I called for her and the customer service rep. was very nice and in about an hour or so my girlfriend was setup to receive High Speed Internet on the Tuesday after the weekend I called. We waited, and on Tuesday, no one came. No one even called, and when I called that night I was told that I didn?t even have an account and that I would have to wait till morning. Well, I’m busy, so I had to wait till the weekend.

   Over the weekend I called and the person told me that the reason my girlfriend was without DSL is because Embark required a copy of her Social Security card and Birth Certificate, and until it was sent in, we couldn?t get DSL. So Emily (My Girlfriend) reordered a Birth Certificate online for $80 dollars and when I called back to ask where I could fax it to, the guy on the phone “Justin” (I started writing names down from here) told me I didn?t need that. At this point, I decided to put the account in my name, as it seemed they couldn?t get their stuff together with Emily’s name on the account. So Justin created a new account for me. And changed the “New Number” from the one I had from last time I set it up “434-296-####” to a new-new number “434-296-####”. He told me that it would be working on Thursday morning at the soonest. So we waited another 4-5 days. On Thursday, the phone worked, but when Emily (My Girlfriend) called my cell phone, the number was “434-293-####”, but the DSL light was on! So we thought that the number was working, and that DSL worked so I hooked up to the phone and alas, it didn?t work. It got an IP, but WebPages weren’t showing. So I called up tech support AGAIN and AGAIN I was disappointed and told to called customer service because the number that it was now was the person who lived there before! I was told I needed to contact the woman who lived there before and get her to remove the phone line. Does this sound like my job!?

   So the next morning I called customer service AGAIN…and I spoke with a “Russell”, he was very helpful and extremely friendly, and understood why I would be so angry. He told me he would recreate the account ONE MORE TIME! But this time, he deleted all past accounts in my name, and the new-new-new-new number is now “434-295-####” and that it would be set up on Friday. Finally!, I thought, its got to work this time! And Friday came, and Friday went… nothing. The phone still worked, and the DSL light was on, but the phone number according to calling my cell phone with it was still “434-293-####”. So I called that Night and spoke with a woman named “Gay”. She was extremely rude, but it could have been reflected off of me as I called up completely irate after a month of this. She told me no one was going to help me Friday Night, or over the weekend, I would have to wait until Monday afternoon, and she would send someone out with a new Sprint 660 modem (Because the 645 modem, doesn?t work anymore I guess? I find that hard to believe) and on Monday afternoon? which is today. The following event occurred.

   At 11:45am the Sprint technician came over to my girlfriend?s house, WITHOUT a new 660 modem and took the phone line from the phone to the DSL modem and said, ?All done? in 10 minutes and left without testing it. My girlfriend called and said of course, ?it doesn?t work?. So I told her to call Sprint and they told her because her name wasn?t on the ticket, they couldn?t talk to her about anything. So I called from work, on my lunch break and spoke with a woman, (I didn?t get her name) and she told me that none of the numbers worked and she cant find my account. I?m not a subscriber at all. I asked for someone ?higher up?, and she just put me back into the queue to talk to someone else. I guess she didn?t care to deal with me. Finally, I find someone who truly tries to fix my problem, a gentleman named ?Jazz? and he spends an hour and a half going through ALL of the numbers and cant find my name on any of them. I put him on hold and tell my girlfriend to call me from the house phone on my cell and the number is ?434-296-####?? the second number I received. I?m of course not on the account for that number, and neither is my girlfriend. It belongs to a woman named Peggy. After an hour and a half with Jazz, I have to go back to work. So I told him I would contact the BBB and their main Business Office. And there it stands for now. I know this is confusing, so I?ll recap?

   1. (Month and a week ago) Called to setup DSL and phone line at girlfriend?s house. The number I receive was ?434-296-####? It was never turned on. Called back later that week.
   2. (A month ago) Told that DSL isn?t on because they need a copy of my girlfriend’s Birth Certificate and Social Security Card. Given another new number and recreated account. ?434-296-####?. It was never turned on. Called back later that week. And had my girlfriend order a copy of her birth certificate online.
   3. (Less than a Month ago) DSL still doesn?t work, and phone number is owned by old home renter?s name. Her phone number was ?434-293-####?. Was told that I would have to contact her personally to get her removed of the house. I don?t even know this woman. DSL still, was never turned on. Called back later that week.
   4. (Less than 2 Weeks Ago) DSL of course still doesn?t work, and the all accounts were removed and given new number again. New number is ?434-295-####?. Tech will come to the house on Monday, October 09, 2006. He will bring a new modem.
   5. (Monday, October 09, 2006, Today) Tech comes without modem, and doesn?t even test the line before leaving. Spent an hour and a half on the phone figuring out where my account is.

   -Number of “New” phone numbers I?ve had in a Month (4)
   -Number of times I?ve called (Around 7-9)
   -Number of hours spent on the phone (Around 10)
   -Amount of money spent preparing for DSL. $80 for Birth Certificate, $90 for wireless hub, $75 for someone to come out (May have been deducted multiple times out of bank account?), and a month of having 5.0MB DSL w/ phone line $85?. Around $300 total, not including lost time at work.

   Phone Numbers:
   Embarq Business Office Number: 1-800-672-6242
   Embarq N.C.Status Center: 1-877-677-7596

   Whoever reads this in the BBB, thank you for all your time and effort and I?m sorry this is a little scatterbrained; it was a real complex problem for a very simple issue. I expected Sprint (Embarq) to be a lot more professional and I expected they could handle a simple issue like setting up new service. Maybe this is why they changed their name?

   Comment by Anonymous — October 9, 2006 @ 9:25 am

5. I’m a Sprint customer that purchased an LG phone at my original 2 year contract signing and it broke 3 months after I got it, well within the 1 year manufacturer’s warranty. I take it to a Sprint Store and they tell me it will cost $35 to open it up to determine if it can be fixed, and that will void my manufacturer’s warranty because I have no Sprint insurance.

   So I send the little PM-225 (POS) off to LG for warranty repair. LG sends me back a phone that powers on but can’t be activated on the Sprint network because the ESN number has not been cleared. LG states they have satsified their end of the deal because they sent me a phone that powers up and the software to Sprint. Sprint still won’t activate the phone for me because they say the ESN isn’t clear. SO WHO’S GETTING STUCK IN THIS SCENARIO?

   ME, the Sprint customer who faithfully paid my Sprint bill, even without a phone for almost a month while the LG phone was at the LG factory. Sprint and LG pass the responsibility back and forth while I’m paying a bill for a service I can’t use and have a phone I can’t use.

   This STINKS big time. ONLY AFTER I BOUGHT THE SPRINT INSURANCE did Sprint give me another PM-225 phone that works. I’m on the hook with Sprint for the remainder of a 2 year contract, but I consider this kind of run around and customer service CRAP. LG says they sent the software to Sprint and it’s out of their hands. Sprint told me they couldn’t activiate the phone because the ESN isn’t clear.

   I have filed a complaint with the Alabama BBB against LG and LG continues to say that they sent a phone to me that worked. Powering up isn’t working. I needed a phone that I could use on my service providers network. I bought this phone from Sprint, I followed the terms of LG’s warranty repair, but the phone sent to me by LG did not work on Sprint network.

   I have gone back and forth with LG and the Better Business Bureau three times already, and LG continues to state that they sent me a phone that worked. I told LG & the BBB that I wanted an LG phone that would work on the Sprint network, and they just can’t understand WHY sending a phone that powers up doesn’t satisfy my complaint.

   Oh, it didn’t help my customer satisfaction level that after a week of calling LG, they assured me that I was in the que for the supervisor of customer service to call me back, and I never received a call.

   Big Business screws consumer time and time again. What can I do? NOTHING but complain, complain, complain.

   Sprint used my situation to force me to buy the phone insurance. I don’t know who’s responsible for the phone not being able to be activated on the Sprint network. Software, business process or some other glitch may be responsible, but one of these two companies should have tried to solve my problem.

   I may have a phone that works on the Sprint network now, but as soon as I can, I’ll be leaving Sprint.

   Comment by Anonymous — October 11, 2006 @ 5:14 am

6. ARE THERE ANY SPRINT REPRESENTATIVES HERE THAT CAN HELP ME UNLOCK A TREO 600

   Comment by Jay Lopez — October 12, 2006 @ 5:15 pm

7. Jay – Yes, there are sprint reps here (at the mo it looks like it’s just me though) who can help you with stuff. You’re probably going to want to get registered and post that in the forums, it’s free, easy, and very quick.

   Get your treo 600 unlocked? CDMA phones are not locked and unlocked like GSM phones are. The ESN may be suspended as lost or stolen, in which case if you’re a smooth talker (like me) you could probably get it unsuspended as lost or stolen. If you just pulled it out of the package and it says it’s locked, then it needs the last four digits of its phone number. If you need the MSL, then that’s a different story… just call in and say hi, I was just transferred here, I can’t make or receive calls and the previous rep said I needed to get my phone programmed or something? Can you help me with that? They will tell you to dial ##123456#. 123456 is your MSL code.

   There, you’ve officially been helped… now go get registered.
   -Yetiamchosen

   Comment by Yetiamchosen — October 13, 2006 @ 11:43 pm

8. I took the time last month to go ahead and tell sprint to go f**k themselves. I switched to T-Mobile. The signal sucks, kind of with T, but they don’t have under- 80 IQs when you call customer support.

   And my bank account just had THIS MONTH’S SPRINT BILL DEDUCTED FROM IT. Now I have to deal with that. F**k you, Sprint.

   Comment by jason — October 25, 2006 @ 9:28 am

9. Hello. I foolishly switched to SHI”N”T as my husband and i like to call it in august 2006. I bought two LG fusic phones and the $89.99 plan with 1500 anytime minutes and internet ($15.00) for both phones. Figuring about $130 a month with tax…. Well I went to the SPRINT STORE here in town and gave the gentleman my DRIVERS LICENSE. About a month later i received my first bill for $310.87 the DAY AFTER THE BILL WAS due. The idiot at the sprint.. aka shint store has mistakenly put in my maiden name and my old address (half way across the country, i haven’t lived there in 6 years) in the forms. EVEN THOUGH HE HAD MY INFO RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIS FACE. Needless to say the bill showed up 3 days past the due date and i was on the phone with a customer service rep who could barely speak english. He apologized and gave my bill the one time extension in payment you are allowed without fees. Next month I received a bill for $502.46. I called sprint (I had family plan with two lines) and i was charged for my monthly fee of $89.99 (we used 609 minutes out of 1500) AND 10 cents per minute on my husbands line, even though no one obviously used the minutes. They informed me that their SHINT customer service rep at the store gave me a plan that didn’t exist and that’s why there were the excess charges. I received a credit. They SAID the problem would be corrected… HAHAHAHA. Next month I got a bill for $431.76. This time for internet charges even though i have unlimited SHINT internet on both lines. Apparently when they so nicely corrected my bill to a plan that did exist (instead of 1500 minutes i got 1400 for the same price) the customer service lady accidently “deleted” the internet on one of the lines then tried to say I did it. Which I clearly did not. I received a partial credit of $86.00. Realizing I had better things to do with my time then spend 3 to 4 hours a month on the phone with Shint customer service who could not speak english…… I spoke with a “MANAGER” who cancelled my account and gave me a confirmation number effective immediately (it was worth the cancellation fee). We tried our phones about two hours later and sure enough they were off. About 4 weeks later I sold them on ebay. I turned on the phones to clear the numbers and received about 599 shint messages. They were infact “reactivated” I of course called back only to talk to another manager who said it was an honest error and I would have to adjust. And he would turn the phones off now. And i also checked with a “manager” to make sure my ESN numbers are clear, he reassured me multiple times they were and could infact sell them. At that point I sold both the phones for $511.02 ($70 shipping) to a gentleman on ebay. I in turn got ripped off. The duschebag i sold them to on ebay was a spoof and i never received payment. Just two phones shipped to Nigeria. There’s even a longer story to that. Long story short. SHINT SUCKS… so do a holes in Nigeria. Good day.

   Comment by Sierra — October 27, 2006 @ 12:08 pm

10. You shipped two phones to Nigeria before you got your money? Niiiiice.
    -Yetiamchosen

    p.s. Sucks about sprint being retarted. They’re like that sometimes.

    Comment by Yetiamchosen — October 28, 2006 @ 9:15 pm

11. Well, not to defend the shadiness of the company, but as a former employee of this ridiculous company… the employees have absolutely no say over what goes on. For example.. go into a store, and ask for corporate’s number… they’ll all look lost. SPRINT DOESNT GIVE THEIR EMPLOYEES ANYTHING TO SUCCESSFULLY DO THEIR JOBS. There’s tons of loop holes in this company though that aren’t hard to figure out as a customer. Look for them.. they’re there. Trust me. In the meantime, gripe loud enough, they’ll fix it.

    Comment by Disgruntled Employee — October 30, 2006 @ 10:16 am

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