My experience with Sprint PCS service

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
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> In alt.cellular.sprintpcs John Richards <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > If you follow that formula to the bitter end, the total charges could be
a lot
> > higher than the agreed upon plan of (say) $45 per month for 500 minutes.
> > I hope there is a ceiling that tops out at the monthly rate, as long as
the
> > 500 minutes weren't exceeded.
> >
>
> Eh? If you followed that formula to the very end, you would have used
> more than 500 minutes. That was the point of the post. A prorated bill
> is based off of a prorated plan (30 days). So, 6 days would equate to
> 100 minutes and if a user used 110 minutes, they would have 10 minutes of
> overage.
>

That would explain why they do it different in Australia- too much math
involved.

---

› See More: My experience with Sprint PCS service

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
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> In alt.cellular.sprintpcs John Richards <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > If you follow that formula to the bitter end, the total charges could be
a lot
> > higher than the agreed upon plan of (say) $45 per month for 500 minutes.
> > I hope there is a ceiling that tops out at the monthly rate, as long as
the
> > 500 minutes weren't exceeded.
> >
>
> Eh? If you followed that formula to the very end, you would have used
> more than 500 minutes. That was the point of the post. A prorated bill
> is based off of a prorated plan (30 days). So, 6 days would equate to
> 100 minutes and if a user used 110 minutes, they would have 10 minutes of
> overage.
>

That would explain why they do it different in Australia- too much math
involved.

"Lawrence Glasser" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
> >
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> >
> > In alt.cellular.sprintpcs John Richards <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >
> > > Where do you get this "more than 500 minutes"?
> > > Quoting Bob Smith:
> > >> if one buys a 500/mo. plan,
> > >> used 100 minutes in two days, it could get more expensive to the
customer,
> > >> as that plan allows an average of 17 minutes of calls per day. If the
plan
> > >> is cancelled in 2 days, 34 minutes would be allowed and the 66
minutes in
> > >> overage, would be billed at a much higher rate of $0.40 to $0.50 a
minute.
> > >
> > > Suppose he used all 500 minutes the first two days, then cancelled.
Using
> > > Bob's formula, the customer would have 466 "overage" minutes,
resulting in
> > > a charge of about $233. This makes no sense because it exceeds a
normal
> > > whole month of charges ($45). Why should Sprint get more revenue for
> > > two days use as opposed to 30 days of use when the total air time is
the same?
> > > Sprint's billing system shouldn't care if I use all of my 500 minutes
the first
> > > few days or whether I dribble it out a little at a time (17 minutes
per day).
> > >
> >
> > That is not "Bob's" forumula ... that is simply how proration works, by
> > definition. You might want to talk to Webster about that one.
>
> Maybe the folks at Webster will change it to "Bob's Formula," kinda like
> "Bernoulli's Equation."
>
> Pretty cool having something, that works, named after you! <g>
>
> Larry

Hey, I'll go for that ...

Bob

"Lawrence Glasser" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" wrote:
> >
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > In alt.cellular.sprintpcs John Richards <[email protected]> wrote:
> > >
> > > Where do you get this "more than 500 minutes"?
> > > Quoting Bob Smith:
> > >> if one buys a 500/mo. plan,
> > >> used 100 minutes in two days, it could get more expensive to the
customer,
> > >> as that plan allows an average of 17 minutes of calls per day. If the
plan
> > >> is cancelled in 2 days, 34 minutes would be allowed and the 66
minutes in
> > >> overage, would be billed at a much higher rate of $0.40 to $0.50 a
minute.
> > >
> > > Suppose he used all 500 minutes the first two days, then cancelled.
Using
> > > Bob's formula, the customer would have 466 "overage" minutes,
resulting in
> > > a charge of about $233. This makes no sense because it exceeds a
normal
> > > whole month of charges ($45). Why should Sprint get more revenue for
> > > two days use as opposed to 30 days of use when the total air time is
the same?
> > > Sprint's billing system shouldn't care if I use all of my 500 minutes
the first
> > > few days or whether I dribble it out a little at a time (17 minutes
per day).
> > >
> >
> > That is not "Bob's" forumula ... that is simply how proration works, by
> > definition. You might want to talk to Webster about that one.
>
> Maybe the folks at Webster will change it to "Bob's Formula," kinda like
> "Bernoulli's Equation."
>
> Pretty cool having something, that works, named after you! <g>
>
> Larry

Hey, I'll go for that ...

Bob

"John Richards" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob Smith wrote:
> To follow up
> > this and your follow up post, as an example, if one buys a 500/mo. plan,
> > used 100 minutes in two days, it could get more expensive to the
customer,
> > as that plan allows an average of 17 minutes of calls per day. If the
plan
> > is cancelled in 2 days, 34 minutes would be allowed and the 66 minutes
in
> > overage, would be billed at a much higher rate of $0.40 to $0.50 a
minute.
>
> If you follow that formula to the bitter end, the total charges could be a
lot
> higher than the agreed upon plan of (say) $45 per month for 500 minutes.
> I hope there is a ceiling that tops out at the monthly rate, as long as
the
> 500 minutes weren't exceeded.

John, there is no cap. If the user did burn their whole monthly bucket of
minutes in that short of a time, they will have to pay. They should also get
their brain examined for using so many minutes in such a short time and not
agreeing to go with a higher minutes plan in the first place ...

Bob

"John Richards" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob Smith wrote:
> To follow up
> > this and your follow up post, as an example, if one buys a 500/mo. plan,
> > used 100 minutes in two days, it could get more expensive to the
customer,
> > as that plan allows an average of 17 minutes of calls per day. If the
plan
> > is cancelled in 2 days, 34 minutes would be allowed and the 66 minutes
in
> > overage, would be billed at a much higher rate of $0.40 to $0.50 a
minute.
>
> If you follow that formula to the bitter end, the total charges could be a
lot
> higher than the agreed upon plan of (say) $45 per month for 500 minutes.
> I hope there is a ceiling that tops out at the monthly rate, as long as
the
> 500 minutes weren't exceeded.

John, there is no cap. If the user did burn their whole monthly bucket of
minutes in that short of a time, they will have to pay. They should also get
their brain examined for using so many minutes in such a short time and not
agreeing to go with a higher minutes plan in the first place ...

Bob

Bob Smith wrote:

> John, there is no cap. If the user did burn their whole monthly bucket of
> minutes in that short of a time, they will have to pay. They should also get
> their brain examined for using so many minutes in such a short time and not
> agreeing to go with a higher minutes plan in the first place ...

Your comment makes sense for a normal customer, but canceling after
two days is not a normal customer. Maybe the guy knew he was going
to cancel anyway so he figured he might as well use up his bucket.

--
John Richards

Bob Smith wrote:

> John, there is no cap. If the user did burn their whole monthly bucket of
> minutes in that short of a time, they will have to pay. They should also get
> their brain examined for using so many minutes in such a short time and not
> agreeing to go with a higher minutes plan in the first place ...

Your comment makes sense for a normal customer, but canceling after
two days is not a normal customer. Maybe the guy knew he was going
to cancel anyway so he figured he might as well use up his bucket.

--
John Richards

errr i didnt realise you had to calculate to make a phone call...bloody
hell...

no wonder u yanks blabber on and on and on....and in the end you forget what
you'r blabbering about.....

cheers

"Scott Stephenson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > In alt.cellular.sprintpcs John Richards <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > If you follow that formula to the bitter end, the total charges could
be
> a lot
> > > higher than the agreed upon plan of (say) $45 per month for 500
minutes.
> > > I hope there is a ceiling that tops out at the monthly rate, as long
as
> the
> > > 500 minutes weren't exceeded.
> > >
> >
> > Eh? If you followed that formula to the very end, you would have used
> > more than 500 minutes. That was the point of the post. A prorated bill
> > is based off of a prorated plan (30 days). So, 6 days would equate to
> > 100 minutes and if a user used 110 minutes, they would have 10 minutes
of
> > overage.
> >
>
> That would explain why they do it different in Australia- too much math
> involved.
>
>

errr i didnt realise you had to calculate to make a phone call...bloody
hell...

no wonder u yanks blabber on and on and on....and in the end you forget what
you'r blabbering about.....

cheers

"Scott Stephenson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Thomas T. Veldhouse" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> > Hash: SHA1
> >
> > In alt.cellular.sprintpcs John Richards <[email protected]> wrote:
> >
> > > If you follow that formula to the bitter end, the total charges could
be
> a lot
> > > higher than the agreed upon plan of (say) $45 per month for 500
minutes.
> > > I hope there is a ceiling that tops out at the monthly rate, as long
as
> the
> > > 500 minutes weren't exceeded.
> > >
> >
> > Eh? If you followed that formula to the very end, you would have used
> > more than 500 minutes. That was the point of the post. A prorated bill
> > is based off of a prorated plan (30 days). So, 6 days would equate to
> > 100 minutes and if a user used 110 minutes, they would have 10 minutes
of
> > overage.
> >
>
> That would explain why they do it different in Australia- too much math
> involved.
>
>

Mike,

The most amazing thing about Sprint is that they are still in business.

Several years ago we purchased Sprint PCS service - 4 phones, for our entire
family - Atlanta area.
All phones were billed to the same number.
After a couple of months, they cancelled my daughter's service.
We went to the Sprint store - they said "oops the computer dropped her out"
I say "That's okay, just reinstate it"
They say "we can't, that plan is no longer available"
We argue - eventually they solve that problem
Then they say - She can't have the same phone number - it's locked out.
She settles for a different number.

My daughters are sharing 500 mnutes

Daughter A uses 50 minutes
Daughter B uses 320 minutes.

We get a bill for 70 excess minutes of usage.
We complain. Sprint is sorry, they are fixing it.
5 months later the bill has not been straightened out.

My wife writes to the Chairman of the Board of Sprint.
We get a response from some functionary which has both grammar and *****ing
errors.
The letter accuses us of trying to cheat Sprint.

If the Chairman of Sprint were to fly here, hand deliver four phones and
offer us free worldwide service for ever, I'd have his escorted off my
property.

There are a lot of just plain arrogant companies out there. They don't seem
to care about their customers. I put Sprint at the top of the list.

Mac


"Mike" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I want to tell you about my awful experience with SPRINT & their PCS
> service. I went into the Costco store on Oahu back in November and
> purchased a Sprint PCS phone. At the time their sales staff at the
> store told me I had a 14 day money back guarantee, later I found out
> all their sales people at any Costco (mainland included) purports this
> as a sales point. Over the next couple days, I found their service to
> be far from up to par. I decided to cancel within that so called 14
> day time frame. I called them up and they informed me I had to cancel
> at one of their stores. I went to their store 50 miles away only to
> find out I could cancel with an unknown phone number Sprint does their
> best to hide. A month later I received a bill from Sprint for 300
> dollars. I called and their staff acted like they couldn't do
> anything about it. I later called back and told them about the 14 day
> deal and they said, alright you have to pay $100 for the activation
> fee and the first month (used the phone for 2 days by the way, not
> 30). The 14 day money back deal was in fact for the phone only. A
> phone the store would have returned no questions asked. Now it's
> February and i get another bill from Sprint for 15 dollars for a late
> fee. They said I paid the bill late. I tried explaining that during
> this time i was in discussion with their Sprint Staff over prorating
> this bill. Might I also add that everyone I've dealt with at Sprint
> via phone service acts inept and incompetent; it takes 10 phone calls
> to get a straight answer about anything. It's almost as if Sprints
> goal is hire these half apes so you go crazy wasting your time and you
> eventually give up. I hope Costco takes a look at this. I can't
> believe Costco would have anything to do with a 3rd rate company like
> Sprint.

Mike,

The most amazing thing about Sprint is that they are still in business.

Several years ago we purchased Sprint PCS service - 4 phones, for our entire
family - Atlanta area.
All phones were billed to the same number.
After a couple of months, they cancelled my daughter's service.
We went to the Sprint store - they said "oops the computer dropped her out"
I say "That's okay, just reinstate it"
They say "we can't, that plan is no longer available"
We argue - eventually they solve that problem
Then they say - She can't have the same phone number - it's locked out.
She settles for a different number.

My daughters are sharing 500 mnutes

Daughter A uses 50 minutes
Daughter B uses 320 minutes.

We get a bill for 70 excess minutes of usage.
We complain. Sprint is sorry, they are fixing it.
5 months later the bill has not been straightened out.

My wife writes to the Chairman of the Board of Sprint.
We get a response from some functionary which has both grammar and *****ing
errors.
The letter accuses us of trying to cheat Sprint.

If the Chairman of Sprint were to fly here, hand deliver four phones and
offer us free worldwide service for ever, I'd have his escorted off my
property.

There are a lot of just plain arrogant companies out there. They don't seem
to care about their customers. I put Sprint at the top of the list.

Mac


"Mike" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I want to tell you about my awful experience with SPRINT & their PCS
> service. I went into the Costco store on Oahu back in November and
> purchased a Sprint PCS phone. At the time their sales staff at the
> store told me I had a 14 day money back guarantee, later I found out
> all their sales people at any Costco (mainland included) purports this
> as a sales point. Over the next couple days, I found their service to
> be far from up to par. I decided to cancel within that so called 14
> day time frame. I called them up and they informed me I had to cancel
> at one of their stores. I went to their store 50 miles away only to
> find out I could cancel with an unknown phone number Sprint does their
> best to hide. A month later I received a bill from Sprint for 300
> dollars. I called and their staff acted like they couldn't do
> anything about it. I later called back and told them about the 14 day
> deal and they said, alright you have to pay $100 for the activation
> fee and the first month (used the phone for 2 days by the way, not
> 30). The 14 day money back deal was in fact for the phone only. A
> phone the store would have returned no questions asked. Now it's
> February and i get another bill from Sprint for 15 dollars for a late
> fee. They said I paid the bill late. I tried explaining that during
> this time i was in discussion with their Sprint Staff over prorating
> this bill. Might I also add that everyone I've dealt with at Sprint
> via phone service acts inept and incompetent; it takes 10 phone calls
> to get a straight answer about anything. It's almost as if Sprints
> goal is hire these half apes so you go crazy wasting your time and you
> eventually give up. I hope Costco takes a look at this. I can't
> believe Costco would have anything to do with a 3rd rate company like
> Sprint.

In article <[email protected]>,
"NewsReader" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Daughter A uses 50 minutes
> Daughter B uses 320 minutes.
>
> We get a bill for 70 excess minutes of usage.
> We complain. Sprint is sorry, they are fixing it.

Thats the "whoops" charge.

In article <[email protected]>,
"NewsReader" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Daughter A uses 50 minutes
> Daughter B uses 320 minutes.
>
> We get a bill for 70 excess minutes of usage.
> We complain. Sprint is sorry, they are fixing it.

Thats the "whoops" charge.

"NewsReader" wrote:
> Several years ago ....

And that's the key phrase. You don't say how many years ago your experience
was, but I would guess that it was at least one CEO and several major
changes ago. Approximately two years ago, I had some trouble with my phone
and with the store on the SprintPCS web site. After getting nowhere with
customer service and tech support on either issue, I wrote the new CEO of
SprintPCS and within two weeks got a very nice written reply followed up by
a phone call from a very bright and helpful lady from Executive Services.
They fixed my problems quickly and more than satisfied me. Since then, my
calls to customer service and my use of their web site have been very
positive.

So, if you don't want the CEO to personally deliver you four phones and free
worldwide service, send him to me. I'll gladly take 'em!

Jeff