A very disappointed Sprint PCS customer...

Has anyone out there been made false promises by Sprint PCS to entice
them to renew a contract when they try to switch companies? I have,
and is hasn't taken much for me to find hundreds of other people with
serious complaints against Sprint. If I can find several hundred
additional individuals willing to file a complaint, I can submit a
package of bulk complaints to the appropriate Federal authorities (the
FCC and FTC will only pay attention to a complaint if you have a
significant number of people all contending the same wrong-doing).


I have been a sprint customer for about 5 years now, and recently
decided to switch to Cingular. Upon contacting Sprint PCS to inform
them that I was switching companies and was interested in transferring
my phone number, they made me several offers in a bid to entice me
from doing so. They offered me unlimited night and weekend calling
beginning at 7 pm for 5 dollars per month, plus, they offered me a
rebate (that most likely already existed in the store)on a new handset
from the PCS store. I was rather hesitant to stay with them because
the deal I was getting from Cingular was much more appealing to me,
not to mention their service is better...and I made this clear to
them. Then, they offered me an extra 60 minutes per month for no
additional charge, if I would stay with Sprint. This was rather
enticing for me at the time, so against my better judgment, I accepted
the 2-year agreement.

I had even asked the customer service rep TWICE to verify that I would
indeed receive what she promised me if I renewed my contract, and she
assured me in no uncertain terms that I would receive these new
benefits. I was promptly transferred to an automated system to verify
my acceptance of the new contract, which turned out to require an
additional 2 years of service. I accepted the contract, hung up, and
proceded to use my phone as normal, with the exception that I made
good use of the additional hour which I was now entitled to.

When I received my phone bill, I noticed that not only was I not
receiving an additional hour of calls for the same plan price, but I
was being charged $.40 per minute for overages. I was livid! I
called Sprint Customer Service, spending nearly an hour on the line
trying to achieve some resolution. They simply told me that I did not
have the extra hour, and would have to pay the overages.
Additionally, they informed me that it would cost $150 to cancel the
contract. In spite of the fact that the opening message to all
customer service calls informs you that calls may be monitored for
quality control, in my case (and I'm sure in any case that isn't
favorable to Sprint) they conveniently failed to record the particular
call in which I was offered that free hour. They flat out refused to
even consider correcting their error, and were also conveniently
unable to track down the original customer service rep was who made
the offer. This is a classic bate and switch.

Now, because there are so many other people out there complaining of
similar experiences, it leads me to believe that this is a common
practice on the part of Sprint. I believe that they fraudulantly
offer leaving customers enticements to stay with them, only to
conveniently not make a record of what was offered. When the
customers discover that Sprint isn't living up to their end of the
bargain, the company simply reminds them of the cost involved in
breaking the contract. Although the loss is small for any given
individual, multiply this times potentially thousands of customers,
and it all ads up. Why on earth would I, or anyone, sign a new 2 year
service agreement (which was no longer required of me) just so I can
receive earlier night and weekend calling (I could have simply paid
the extra $5 a month with no additional obligation), and a coupon to
get a rebate/discount on my next phone? I agreed to the new contract
because I though I was getting something of real value.

If there is anyone else out there who has experienced Bate and Switch
Fraud tactics on the part of Sprint PCS, please email me at
[email protected]. I am very serious about sumitting a bulk
complaint to the appropriate investigative authorities. Once again,
the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade
Commission (FTC) don't have the time or resources to investigate
individual complaints, but if the pot is sweetened with several
hundred or even several thousand complaints for the same thing, they
are more likely to take notice. Just dealing with all the hassels
involved with a potential investigation of complaints could end up
costing Sprint PCS thousands of times more than they've gained by
ripping me off of my 60 minutes.

---

› See More: A very disappointed Sprint PCS customer...

You could have just switched companies

> Has anyone out there been made false promises by Sprint PCS to entice
> them to renew a contract when they try to switch companies? I have,
> and is hasn't taken much for me to find hundreds of other people with
> serious complaints against Sprint. If I can find several hundred
> additional individuals willing to file a complaint, I can submit a
> package of bulk complaints to the appropriate Federal authorities (the
> FCC and FTC will only pay attention to a complaint if you have a
> significant number of people all contending the same wrong-doing).
>
>
> I have been a sprint customer for about 5 years now, and recently
> decided to switch to Cingular. Upon contacting Sprint PCS to inform
> them that I was switching companies and was interested in transferring
> my phone number, they made me several offers in a bid to entice me
> from doing so. They offered me unlimited night and weekend calling
> beginning at 7 pm for 5 dollars per month, plus, they offered me a
> rebate (that most likely already existed in the store)on a new handset
> from the PCS store. I was rather hesitant to stay with them because
> the deal I was getting from Cingular was much more appealing to me,
> not to mention their service is better...and I made this clear to
> them. Then, they offered me an extra 60 minutes per month for no
> additional charge, if I would stay with Sprint. This was rather
> enticing for me at the time, so against my better judgment, I accepted
> the 2-year agreement.
>
> I had even asked the customer service rep TWICE to verify that I would
> indeed receive what she promised me if I renewed my contract, and she
> assured me in no uncertain terms that I would receive these new
> benefits. I was promptly transferred to an automated system to verify
> my acceptance of the new contract, which turned out to require an
> additional 2 years of service. I accepted the contract, hung up, and
> proceded to use my phone as normal, with the exception that I made
> good use of the additional hour which I was now entitled to.
>
> When I received my phone bill, I noticed that not only was I not
> receiving an additional hour of calls for the same plan price, but I
> was being charged $.40 per minute for overages. I was livid! I
> called Sprint Customer Service, spending nearly an hour on the line
> trying to achieve some resolution. They simply told me that I did not
> have the extra hour, and would have to pay the overages.
> Additionally, they informed me that it would cost $150 to cancel the
> contract. In spite of the fact that the opening message to all
> customer service calls informs you that calls may be monitored for
> quality control, in my case (and I'm sure in any case that isn't
> favorable to Sprint) they conveniently failed to record the particular
> call in which I was offered that free hour. They flat out refused to
> even consider correcting their error, and were also conveniently
> unable to track down the original customer service rep was who made
> the offer. This is a classic bate and switch.
>
> Now, because there are so many other people out there complaining of
> similar experiences, it leads me to believe that this is a common
> practice on the part of Sprint. I believe that they fraudulantly
> offer leaving customers enticements to stay with them, only to
> conveniently not make a record of what was offered. When the
> customers discover that Sprint isn't living up to their end of the
> bargain, the company simply reminds them of the cost involved in
> breaking the contract. Although the loss is small for any given
> individual, multiply this times potentially thousands of customers,
> and it all ads up. Why on earth would I, or anyone, sign a new 2 year
> service agreement (which was no longer required of me) just so I can
> receive earlier night and weekend calling (I could have simply paid
> the extra $5 a month with no additional obligation), and a coupon to
> get a rebate/discount on my next phone? I agreed to the new contract
> because I though I was getting something of real value.
>
> If there is anyone else out there who has experienced Bate and Switch
> Fraud tactics on the part of Sprint PCS, please email me at
> [email protected]. I am very serious about sumitting a bulk
> complaint to the appropriate investigative authorities. Once again,
> the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade
> Commission (FTC) don't have the time or resources to investigate
> individual complaints, but if the pot is sweetened with several
> hundred or even several thousand complaints for the same thing, they
> are more likely to take notice. Just dealing with all the hassels
> involved with a potential investigation of complaints could end up
> costing Sprint PCS thousands of times more than they've gained by
> ripping me off of my 60 minutes.
>

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 23:45:22 GMT, MRK <[email protected]> wrote:

>You could have just switched companies
>

I would have liked to see what one of the "several offers" were before
he settled on 60 minutes! LOL! Hell, I'm only on a $40 plan. They gave
me an extra 250 anytime minutes, and any phone deal they offer to a
new customer, to stay.

Call Executive Services 866-519-5698, ask for John Chivis.

If that diesn't work, Send your posting to your States Attorney general,
complaining of Deceptive Trade Practices, with a Certified copy to
Sprint PCS in Kansas City.

Jason D <[email protected]> wrote:
> them that I was switching companies and was interested in transferring
> my phone number, they made me several offers in a bid to entice me
> from doing so. They offered me unlimited night and weekend calling
> beginning at 7 pm for 5 dollars per month,

That's a real promotion. They're offering to everyone. They are advertising
it on TV (although the TV ads don't make it obvious that the earlier N/W is
$5 per month extra).

> If there is anyone else out there who has experienced Bate and Switch
> Fraud tactics on the part of Sprint PCS, please email me at
> [email protected]. I am very serious about sumitting a bulk
> complaint to the appropriate investigative authorities

Forget everyone else: if you were promised stuff that you didn't get, you
should file a complaint, regardless.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED

MRK <[email protected]> wrote:
> You could have just switched companies

Granted, but if he decided not to based on promises that weren't fulfilled...

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP: C57E 8B25 F994 D6D0 5F6B B961 EA08 9410 E3AE 35ED

The last time I made a plan change, SPCS made it abundantly clear
that it would not take effect until the beginning of my next billing =
cycle.

Jason didn't say whether they told him anything similar.
---JRC---

"Jason D" <[email protected]> wrote in message =
news:[email protected]...
>=20
> =20
>=20
>=20
> =20
> I had even asked the customer service rep TWICE to verify that I would
> indeed receive what she promised me if I renewed my contract, and she
> assured me in no uncertain terms that I would receive these new
> benefits. I was promptly transferred to an automated system to verify
> my acceptance of the new contract, which turned out to require an
> additional 2 years of service. I accepted the contract, hung up, and
> proceded to use my phone as normal, with the exception that I made
> good use of the additional hour which I was now entitled to.
> =20
> When I received my phone bill, I noticed that not only was I not
> receiving an additional hour of calls for the same plan price, but I
> was being charged $.40 per minute for overages. =20
> =20
>=20
> =20
>

[email protected] (Jason D) wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Has anyone out there been made false promises by Sprint PCS to entice
> them to renew a contract when they try to switch companies?

Switch companies, refuse to pay the early termination fee, if they turn
you over to a credit agency, dispute the charges.

On 10 Feb 2004 15:21:36 -0800, [email protected] (Jason D) wrote:

>Has anyone out there been made false promises by Sprint PCS to entice
>them to renew a contract when they try to switch companies? I have,
>and is hasn't taken much for me to find hundreds of other people with
>serious complaints against Sprint. If I can find several hundred
>additional individuals willing to file a complaint, I can submit a
>package of bulk complaints to the appropriate Federal authorities (the
>FCC and FTC will only pay attention to a complaint if you have a
>significant number of people all contending the same wrong-doing).
>
>
>I have been a sprint customer for about 5 years now, and recently
>decided to switch to Cingular. Upon contacting Sprint PCS to inform
>them that I was switching companies and was interested in transferring
>my phone number, they made me several offers in a bid to entice me
>from doing so. They offered me unlimited night and weekend calling
>beginning at 7 pm for 5 dollars per month, plus, they offered me a
>rebate (that most likely already existed in the store)on a new handset
>from the PCS store. I was rather hesitant to stay with them because
>the deal I was getting from Cingular was much more appealing to me,
>not to mention their service is better...and I made this clear to
>them. Then, they offered me an extra 60 minutes per month for no
>additional charge, if I would stay with Sprint. This was rather
>enticing for me at the time, so against my better judgment, I accepted
>the 2-year agreement.
>
>I had even asked the customer service rep TWICE to verify that I would
>indeed receive what she promised me if I renewed my contract, and she
>assured me in no uncertain terms that I would receive these new
>benefits. I was promptly transferred to an automated system to verify
>my acceptance of the new contract, which turned out to require an
>additional 2 years of service. I accepted the contract, hung up, and
>proceded to use my phone as normal, with the exception that I made
>good use of the additional hour which I was now entitled to.
>
>When I received my phone bill, I noticed that not only was I not
>receiving an additional hour of calls for the same plan price, but I
>was being charged $.40 per minute for overages. I was livid! I
>called Sprint Customer Service, spending nearly an hour on the line
>trying to achieve some resolution. They simply told me that I did not
>have the extra hour, and would have to pay the overages.
>Additionally, they informed me that it would cost $150 to cancel the
>contract. In spite of the fact that the opening message to all
>customer service calls informs you that calls may be monitored for
>quality control, in my case (and I'm sure in any case that isn't
>favorable to Sprint) they conveniently failed to record the particular
>call in which I was offered that free hour. They flat out refused to
>even consider correcting their error, and were also conveniently
>unable to track down the original customer service rep was who made
>the offer. This is a classic bate and switch.
>
>Now, because there are so many other people out there complaining of
>similar experiences, it leads me to believe that this is a common
>practice on the part of Sprint. I believe that they fraudulantly
>offer leaving customers enticements to stay with them, only to
>conveniently not make a record of what was offered. When the
>customers discover that Sprint isn't living up to their end of the
>bargain, the company simply reminds them of the cost involved in
>breaking the contract. Although the loss is small for any given
>individual, multiply this times potentially thousands of customers,
>and it all ads up. Why on earth would I, or anyone, sign a new 2 year
>service agreement (which was no longer required of me) just so I can
>receive earlier night and weekend calling (I could have simply paid
>the extra $5 a month with no additional obligation), and a coupon to
>get a rebate/discount on my next phone? I agreed to the new contract
>because I though I was getting something of real value.
>
>If there is anyone else out there who has experienced Bate and Switch
>Fraud tactics on the part of Sprint PCS, please email me at
>[email protected]. I am very serious about sumitting a bulk
>complaint to the appropriate investigative authorities. Once again,
>the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade
>Commission (FTC) don't have the time or resources to investigate
>individual complaints, but if the pot is sweetened with several
>hundred or even several thousand complaints for the same thing, they
>are more likely to take notice. Just dealing with all the hassels
>involved with a potential investigation of complaints could end up
>costing Sprint PCS thousands of times more than they've gained by
>ripping me off of my 60 minutes.

With Sprint, any changes made to your plan usually don't take effect
until the start of you new billing cycle. Whenever I changed plans or
was given anything from retention, it always took effect when the next
billing cycle started.

On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 18:59:03 -0500, Tom <[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 10 Feb 2004 23:45:22 GMT, MRK <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>You could have just switched companies
>>
>
>I would have liked to see what one of the "several offers" were before
>he settled on 60 minutes! LOL! Hell, I'm only on a $40 plan. They gave
>me an extra 250 anytime minutes, and any phone deal they offer to a
>new customer, to stay.

Yeah.. I received 350 anytime minutes, and a free phone.

"MRK" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> You could have just switched companies

Read the post again. He stayed, and signed a new contract, because of a
supposedly attractive offer. Now he can no longer leave without penalty
because of the new contract.

Same for me. As soon as the day came , I checked on the website and there
was my new deal.
I had the same initial concerns though, that I had gotten shanked but,
turned out OK.

Even if it went to court, etc, it would be hard to prove. Kind of a "he
said/she said" kind of thing.

Scotty



"John R. Copeland" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
The last time I made a plan change, SPCS made it abundantly clear
that it would not take effect until the beginning of my next billing cycle.

Jason didn't say whether they told him anything similar.
---JRC---

"Jason D" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
>
>
>
> I had even asked the customer service rep TWICE to verify that I would
> indeed receive what she promised me if I renewed my contract, and she
> assured me in no uncertain terms that I would receive these new
> benefits. I was promptly transferred to an automated system to verify
> my acceptance of the new contract, which turned out to require an
> additional 2 years of service. I accepted the contract, hung up, and
> proceded to use my phone as normal, with the exception that I made
> good use of the additional hour which I was now entitled to.
>
> When I received my phone bill, I noticed that not only was I not
> receiving an additional hour of calls for the same plan price, but I
> was being charged $.40 per minute for overages.
>
>
>
>

A couple of points about what you wrote, Jason, and others have replied
with.

1. You wrote: "Why on earth would I, or anyone, sign a new 2 year service
agreement (which was no longer required of me) just so I can receive earlier
night and weekend calling (I could have simply paid the extra $5 a month
with no additional obligation)..."

Not true. Everything I've ever seen or heard has clearly stated that the
nights & weekends at 7pm for $5/month option requires a 2 year Advantage
agreement. Whether or not you think that's a reasonable requirement for
that option is of course your decision, but you wouldn't get the $5 N&W at
7pm without it and in my experience Sprint has never been deceptive about
it.

2. Others have written that your new plan may not take effect until your
next billing cycle.

That hasn't been true for me. Whenever I've made a change, it's taken
effect right away and the old and new plans were prorated for the parts of
the month they applied to. However, my account with Sprint is under a
corporate discount arrangement, so it may be different.

As you described things, the extra 60 minutes a month was the thing that
made you finally decide to stay with Sprint. These two points may or may
not mean anything about whether Sprint deceived you on that; I hope not.
But they didn't deceive you on the 7pm N&W. Keep checking after your
billing cycle is over and if it's still not right, file a written complaint
with Sprint and with the agencies others have suggested. I hope you got the
name of the customer service rep that made you the offer.

DD

P.S. - Why did you call Sprint to tell them you were leaving for Cingular
before setting up the Cingular service? In the whole number portability
process, you don't cancel the old account until the new service is set up
and the new provider has successfully ported the number. Sounds like you
wanted Sprint to make you an offer that you would accept.



"Jason D" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Has anyone out there been made false promises by Sprint PCS to entice
> them to renew a contract when they try to switch companies? I have,
> and is hasn't taken much for me to find hundreds of other people with
> serious complaints against Sprint. If I can find several hundred
> additional individuals willing to file a complaint, I can submit a
> package of bulk complaints to the appropriate Federal authorities (the
> FCC and FTC will only pay attention to a complaint if you have a
> significant number of people all contending the same wrong-doing).
>
>
> I have been a sprint customer for about 5 years now, and recently
> decided to switch to Cingular. Upon contacting Sprint PCS to inform
> them that I was switching companies and was interested in transferring
> my phone number, they made me several offers in a bid to entice me
> from doing so. They offered me unlimited night and weekend calling
> beginning at 7 pm for 5 dollars per month, plus, they offered me a
> rebate (that most likely already existed in the store)on a new handset
> from the PCS store. I was rather hesitant to stay with them because
> the deal I was getting from Cingular was much more appealing to me,
> not to mention their service is better...and I made this clear to
> them. Then, they offered me an extra 60 minutes per month for no
> additional charge, if I would stay with Sprint. This was rather
> enticing for me at the time, so against my better judgment, I accepted
> the 2-year agreement.
>
> I had even asked the customer service rep TWICE to verify that I would
> indeed receive what she promised me if I renewed my contract, and she
> assured me in no uncertain terms that I would receive these new
> benefits. I was promptly transferred to an automated system to verify
> my acceptance of the new contract, which turned out to require an
> additional 2 years of service. I accepted the contract, hung up, and
> proceded to use my phone as normal, with the exception that I made
> good use of the additional hour which I was now entitled to.
>
> When I received my phone bill, I noticed that not only was I not
> receiving an additional hour of calls for the same plan price, but I
> was being charged $.40 per minute for overages. I was livid! I
> called Sprint Customer Service, spending nearly an hour on the line
> trying to achieve some resolution. They simply told me that I did not
> have the extra hour, and would have to pay the overages.
> Additionally, they informed me that it would cost $150 to cancel the
> contract. In spite of the fact that the opening message to all
> customer service calls informs you that calls may be monitored for
> quality control, in my case (and I'm sure in any case that isn't
> favorable to Sprint) they conveniently failed to record the particular
> call in which I was offered that free hour. They flat out refused to
> even consider correcting their error, and were also conveniently
> unable to track down the original customer service rep was who made
> the offer. This is a classic bate and switch.
>
> Now, because there are so many other people out there complaining of
> similar experiences, it leads me to believe that this is a common
> practice on the part of Sprint. I believe that they fraudulantly
> offer leaving customers enticements to stay with them, only to
> conveniently not make a record of what was offered. When the
> customers discover that Sprint isn't living up to their end of the
> bargain, the company simply reminds them of the cost involved in
> breaking the contract. Although the loss is small for any given
> individual, multiply this times potentially thousands of customers,
> and it all ads up. Why on earth would I, or anyone, sign a new 2 year
> service agreement (which was no longer required of me) just so I can
> receive earlier night and weekend calling (I could have simply paid
> the extra $5 a month with no additional obligation), and a coupon to
> get a rebate/discount on my next phone? I agreed to the new contract
> because I though I was getting something of real value.
>
> If there is anyone else out there who has experienced Bate and Switch
> Fraud tactics on the part of Sprint PCS, please email me at
> [email protected]. I am very serious about sumitting a bulk
> complaint to the appropriate investigative authorities. Once again,
> the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Trade
> Commission (FTC) don't have the time or resources to investigate
> individual complaints, but if the pot is sweetened with several
> hundred or even several thousand complaints for the same thing, they
> are more likely to take notice. Just dealing with all the hassels
> involved with a potential investigation of complaints could end up
> costing Sprint PCS thousands of times more than they've gained by
> ripping me off of my 60 minutes.

DukieDallas wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> P.S. - Why did you call Sprint to tell them you were leaving for Cingular
> before setting up the Cingular service? In the whole number portability
> process, you don't cancel the old account until the new service is set up
> and the new provider has successfully ported the number. Sounds like you
> wanted Sprint to make you an offer that you would accept.

This has been the idea behind Sprint's Retention Department... Threaten to
leave for another company, and they'll offer you a better plan.

Sometimes it works, sometimes not.

Larry

Well unless I understand it wrong to get the 7pm N&W you have to get a
new contract no matter what, I understand that also goes for the rebate,
no contract, no rebate.
So I guess this guys not paying attention.

Jim