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SiliconJon

Senior member
Nov 1, 2004
252
0
0
Just sent back my phone today. So long, nice to know you. The battle for a refund has begun. Let's hope it's a short battle.
 

Svnla

Lifer
Nov 10, 2003
17,986
1,388
126
I am using ATT, way back when it was ATT Wireless, then Cingular, and now ATT. They are not perfect for sure but I never have to spend that much time with CSR as the OP.

I am thinking about Sprint and its SERO plan ($30 vs. $40), but now I think I will be on hold.
 

HumblePie

Lifer
Oct 30, 2000
14,665
440
126
I had something very similar happen to you. Here's the amount of stupidity I went through.

Ordered the phone on June 23rd with the sero plan. The phone at the time was phone order only at $550. With $150 off for a 2 year contract, the phone was $399 + tax.

I called originally the *2 number to order SERO. Okay first off, didn't know I couldn't order SERO through *2... but then again neither did any rep I talked to until around the 5th one. The first four tried to transfer me somewhere else and I ended up getting hung up on. The fifth TRIED to sign me up for SERO before finding out she couldn't but gave me the correct 888 sero number to call to do so. However, she DID change my current number to a 2 year contract. It was NOT in contract, and she did this without telling me. Something I did not want done either. Why the heck would I want to put a 2 year contract on my current number when I was trying to sign up for a new number?

Anyhow, I didn't realize that at first, so I called the SERO number. I sign up for sero. That process actually went smoothly. I ordered the phone for $424 after tax, applied a few coupons for $150 in credits and was all good to go. I asked the guy to cancel my old line off my number and he said he couldn't do that, it was done through normal customer service as all he could touch are sero lines on an account. I said no problem.

Well, not having the time to call *2 and deal with that crap, figure I'd send in an email to ecare. Simple, cancel my OLD 210 number on the line, and use my new 832 sero number only.

I get an email back stating, there had been an erroneous line added to my account, the 832 number was cancelled and my 210 is now my main number with a 2 year contract.

I was a bit pissed at this point. I call *2 the next day. Actually got a rep that said, yes, she could remove the 2 year contract agreement on the old line and remove the old line. I was told my current phone number will be de activated at the end of my current bill cycle which would be july 3rd, in about 4 days. However, I would have to go through the process of re signing up for SERO again. GRR. So I do it again, but this time order no phone. I asked about the $150 service credit being on the account from the original time I signed up. I was told it was there. I am told I am good to go again. SERO signed up, this time they gave me a new number, but instead of a houston 832 number I got another san antonio 210 number. No biggie.

So, later that night, I have a date. I was suppose to meet the girl at the resturant and call her when I arrive. I get there and go to make a call on my current phone/old line. I get this message.

You currently have an outstanding balance on this account of one thousand, ten dollars, and eighteen cents.


Yes, $1010.18. I was told my service is interrupted until I paid that amount and I was transferred immediately to collections. You get no option to speak to customer service. I talk with the collection guy and said I need to make a call ASAP and this is stupid and needs to be fixed now. The guy says, he can't change anything, only transfer me to customer service because all he can do is collect money. He said, however, while I was on hold he'll get a supervisor to work on it. So I go on hold while he transfers me. Bamm, get hung up on.

So I call back again. This time I'm on hold for the collection department for 20 minutes. I only showed up 15 minutes early for my date so now I'm running late. By the time I talk to a collections person again the person tells me that my account shows I can make a call now as the balance is only $200.

Guess the first guy fixed something as well as he can. Figured I'd get everything finally all worked out the next day. By the way, I ended up 30 minutes late for my date.

So the next day I called, and after talking to 4 different billing reps. The first had such a bad india accent, I could barely understand her and I didn't want her working on my account, it was already messed up as it was. The next two had to get a supervisor and I got hung up on. The last said, yep, I can clear out the bad charges and fix it the way it is suppose to be. Okay... please do so.

So, I call back after talking to check the balance.. and it shows 0 balance, 0 due. Not the credit I was suppose to have, but I'd was PO'd enough not to try calling back yet again to get that credit fixed just yet. Decided to wait another day or two to calm down, give one more go to get it fixed or cancel competely. By this time I had received my new 6800 phone also.

So july 1st. I go to make a phone call on my normal phone..... and it is dead. Service cut off. New service on my 6800 doesn't start until the 3rd and the old one was paid up until the 3rd. But now I can't make any calls. GRRRRR!!!!!! I call customer service. Before I get a rep, I get a balance that states I owe $54.95. DOUBLE GRRRRRR!!!!!!

First rep I get was a girl in the atlanta call center. I tried to explain what is happening, tell her I am quite angry with how things have been going, and while I know it's not her fault, if she can do something. I explain everything that happened so far just like I did in this post. She says, she'll see what she can do. Well, I ask why do I have a $54.95 balance from the last time this was "fixed." She says it's because I had a $200 cancelation fee from my OLD phone after a courtesy $150 credit. Cancellation fee???!? why? Because it had a 2 year contract. ARGH!! I told her it wasn't on contract, that some stupid previous rep screwed the pooch and signed up my old number for a 2 year contract when I wanted a new sero number instead and that was suppose to have been fixed already. I said this need to be removed and fixed immediately. At this point she starts to berate me. Saying she can't do anything and calls me stupid for messing my account up. She called me stupid.

I hung up on her. Call back this time to cancel. I get to retentions after being transferred then hung up twice more. I get a rep at retentions. She says she is sorry all this has happened but to let her look at my account real fast to see what has happened. She tells me it seems because when I resigned up for SERO again, I got charged $549 for another phone. She asked if I received a second phone. I said no. She checks the shipping list and says because I wasn't shipped a second phone and thus shouldn't have been charged, she can give me a credit of $549 + 30 for the service I was charged twice for. She asks me if I want a $579 service credit applied or to continue cancellation. I said okay.

3 weeks later I have SERO, a mogul phone for which I was charged $424, and a service credit on my account for $524. Which was $579 minus the 54 balance I had on there.

Sprint is really, really screwed up, but this time they screwed up in my favor. Basically I get the phone for free with several months paid for signing up through sero and going through the crap I went through. I haven't bother to call back to tell them they screwed up again, albeit in my favor this time. Leaving everything as is.
 

SiliconJon

Senior member
Nov 1, 2004
252
0
0
Sprint sure does love to hang up on people. Sometimes they hung up on me instead of successfully transfering, sometimes the computer hung up on me before I even got to speak to anyone, and sometimes I was hung up on in the middle of a call or hold time. I find it hard to imagine anyone sticking with these guys unless they're lucky enough for everything to go as planned for years on end, or they're just a glutton for punishment - or even perhaps they find the efforts worth the savings in the case of SEROdites. I was going to call and check on my balance today to see if it's been nullified yet, but on the plus side at least I was hung up on quickly this time. It seems using a cancelled number will get you out of the phone system quicker. I can't login online to check either.

My Sprint Xperience conversations have brought out a heck of a lot of complaints regarding Spring in my everyday coversations. It seems they are also notorious for renewing your contract without anything of the sort coming out of your mouth, among many other complaints. The most persistant efforts tend to pay off, but my time is worth more than that so I wouldn't consider such lengthy ordeals to be worth it unless the payoff is at least $30/hour, that includes overtime and hazard [to my own stress capacity] pay.

It sounds like there's at least two major problems with Sprint from all that I have read and heard:

1) A complete lack of ethics. The contract renewals are likely dishonest reps looking for commissions. The same would cause reps to blatantly misrepresent what they're selling you, only to find out they lied when you receive your bill. This is far too common and blunt to be a lack of knowledge unless you want me to believe your name is AG Gonzales, but there is some of that also in other matters.

2) A complete lack of competence. Wether it be employees lacking skills or technical failures, or a combination of both, getting a resolution from sprint is like a sterile person trying to make a baby. You're going to need a little more than luck and a hell of a lot of patience, otherwise (or eventually) you can just come to terms with your loss.
 

SiliconJon

Senior member
Nov 1, 2004
252
0
0
I did an email yesterday and received a reply today - a much better way to deal with this circus.
 

oogabooga

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2003
7,806
3
81
Originally posted by: SiliconJon
I did an email yesterday and received a reply today - a much better way to deal with this circus.

getting your monies back?

Sorry to hear it's this tough with sprint.

I have verizon, they haven't been bad to me. They just charge so much and gimp their phones
 

SiliconJon

Senior member
Nov 1, 2004
252
0
0
That's what they tell me. My balance was $7.xx for usage...but the email had our previous conversation copied below and they assured me in their reply that would be dropped to zero since I was never able to use the phone. I'm going with AT&T once my Helio and Sprint balances are zero. I can't afford AT&T's data packages, so I'll just get a nice phone and a cheap plan. I was totally wanting a PPC or similar smart device, but it looks like I'll just wait another two years before I try for that again.
 

Crusty

Lifer
Sep 30, 2001
12,684
2
81
FWIW Sprint is in the middle of converting their entire billing system into Nextel's.

Obviously this is does not excuse the treatment Siliconjon got at all, just a heads up.
 

SiliconJon

Senior member
Nov 1, 2004
252
0
0
I'm still sad. I really really really really really wanted the mogul and that killer monthly cost. Oh well. Due to the fact that Sprint didn't finalize my first credit card charge I'm not waiting for any money from them, but I am waiting for a zero balance due.
 

dahunan

Lifer
Jan 10, 2002
18,191
3
0
Can a sprint customer do all their business in person in the store if they want to.. I know being forced to physically go into a store should not be required but if the phone reps suck that bad... then..
 

erwos

Diamond Member
Apr 7, 2005
4,778
0
76
Originally posted by: SiliconJon
I did an email yesterday and received a reply today - a much better way to deal with this circus.

EXACTLY. Don't freaking call Sprint. That's a recipe for disaster. Use the email support. It's a touch slower, but I've had fantastic resolution from them EVERY time I've needed to make a change.

And to whomever suggested going into the store, that's going to depend on the locale, but you're generally going to be there for an hour or more where I am. They seem to love to understaff their stores and then not provide any chairs to sit in while you fume. The only good reason to ever set foot in one is for technical phone problems, which involve a completely different line.
 
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