Re: Retention and Sprint's new plan

>
> You might want to check your sources on that, because I don't think that
> is
> a true statement.
>

That is a true statement and for the new $99 everything plan. I confirmed
this with the retentions department this morning.

In alt.cellular.verizon Jar-Jar Binks <jarjar@nospam.com> wrote:
> Verizon phones will roam if they cannot pick up a verizon signal. A Verizon
> phone will lock onto a Verizon signal even if the signal is very weak and
> unusable. With a Sprint Phone, you have the ability to force roaming on
> Verizon. Also, if you have the "all you can eat" unlimited plan, there is no
> cap on roaming. Both Verizon and Sprint have their advantages and
> disadvantages and I can choose either network from a single phone. That
> really rocks!
>

Yes, I know all about it ... I used them for many years [and have posted here
for nearly as many]. One thing that Sprint does not have is customer service.
They won't have the opportunity to screw me again.

Either way, you CAN force your Sprint phone over to roaming [hopefully, you
don't have AMPS on that phone, or you will most likely go analog], but you had
better not forget to switch it back. Sprint has a rule about 50% used minutes
being in network. If you roam more than 50% of the time, you may lose the
privilege to roam at all [without cost]. I have posted about this elsewhere I
believe.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

In alt.cellular.verizon Bill T <wctom1@pacbell.net> wrote:
>>
> The reason I occasionally force roaming on my Sprint phone is that in
> fringe coverage areas (like my house), the phone stays on Sprint until
> the signal is almost non-existent. This causes poor reception and
> frequent dropped calls. Forcing it to go to the stronger carrier
> manually solves that problem.
>

Sounds like a good reason to just use Verizon to me. Plus, you won't have
your contract extended over a minor contract change ... or get screwed out of
a new phone rebate because you had to do a warrantee swap [or any ESN change],
etc etc. Sprint, as far as technology goes, is fine. But that is where it
ends.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

In alt.cellular.verizon Jar-Jar Binks <jarjar@nospam.com> wrote:
> Sprint also doesn't enforce the old 50 percent roaming rule anymore if
> roaming is included in your plan. Sprint is certainly not for everyone,
> however, it is not nearly as bad as many folks claim that it is. I know a
> lot of quite technically savvy folks that like Sprint for a number of good
> reasons and they have tried all of the cellular service providers. YMMV.
>

They most certainly DO enforce the 50% rule. They just don't hassle you on
the first offense, but if you do it enough, you will hear from them. I
already posted about a guy I work with who got a call from them. He explained
that coverage at his employer is marginal on Sprint. They haven't hassled him
since [but he has been good about switching back to automatic or home when he
leaves].

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

>
> They most certainly DO enforce the 50% rule. They just don't hassle you
> on
> the first offense, but if you do it enough, you will hear from them. I
> already posted about a guy I work with who got a call from them. He
> explained
> that coverage at his employer is marginal on Sprint. They haven't hassled
> him
> since [but he has been good about switching back to automatic or home when
> he
> leaves].
>
> --
> Thomas T. Veldhouse

The roaming rule is NOT enforced on the all you can eat $99 plan that
includes everything. I was told this by the retentions department yesterday
morning. The unlimited plan is really "unlimited".

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> In alt.cellular.verizon Bill T<wctom1@pacbell.net> wrote:
>> The reason I occasionally force roaming on my Sprint phone is that in
>> fringe coverage areas (like my house), the phone stays on Sprint until
>> the signal is almost non-existent. This causes poor reception and
>> frequent dropped calls. Forcing it to go to the stronger carrier
>> manually solves that problem.
>>
>
> Sounds like a good reason to just use Verizon to me. Plus, you won't have
> your contract extended over a minor contract change ... or get screwed out of
> a new phone rebate because you had to do a warrantee swap [or any ESN change],
> etc etc. Sprint, as far as technology goes, is fine. But that is where it
> ends.

Well, Sprint already got me on the contract extension. I had my phone
repaired last April. Unbeknownst to me at the time, they gave me a
2-year extension, and so I am stuck with them for another year.

Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
> Sounds like a good reason to just use Verizon to me. Plus, you won't have
> your contract extended over a minor contract change ... or get screwed out of
> a new phone rebate because you had to do a warrantee swap [or any ESN change],
> etc etc. Sprint, as far as technology goes, is fine. But that is where it
> ends.

My old Sprint contact (expired) is too old to reflect any new changes,
but I wonder if the current contracts it specifically deny you an
upgrade rebate if your phone was replaced under warranty or under their
insurance plan. Or if your contract is extended if the phone was
repalced under warranty or insurance.

I know my contract was extended when I changed phone numbers.

> Well, Sprint already got me on the contract extension. I had my phone
> repaired last April. Unbeknownst to me at the time, they gave me a 2-year
> extension, and so I am stuck with them for another year.
>

It is good to know that you have the best.

Bill T wrote:
> Thomas T. Veldhouse wrote:
>
>> In alt.cellular.verizon Bill T<wctom1@pacbell.net> wrote:
>>
>>> The reason I occasionally force roaming on my Sprint phone is that in
>>> fringe coverage areas (like my house), the phone stays on Sprint until
>>> the signal is almost non-existent. This causes poor reception and
>>> frequent dropped calls. Forcing it to go to the stronger carrier
>>> manually solves that problem.
>>>
>>
>> Sounds like a good reason to just use Verizon to me. Plus, you won't
>> have
>> your contract extended over a minor contract change ... or get screwed
>> out of
>> a new phone rebate because you had to do a warrantee swap [or any ESN
>> change],
>> etc etc. Sprint, as far as technology goes, is fine. But that is
>> where it
>> ends.
>
>
> Well, Sprint already got me on the contract extension. I had my phone
> repaired last April. Unbeknownst to me at the time, they gave me a
> 2-year extension, and so I am stuck with them for another year.
>

How can they "just give" you a two year extension? You had to sign
something, at some point, agreeing to that! It may have been a
provision of your original contract.

The moral of this story is READ CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SIGN!!!!!!

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Jar-Jar Binks <jarjar@nospam.com> wrote:
>
> The roaming rule is NOT enforced on the all you can eat $99 plan that
> includes everything. I was told this by the retentions department yesterday
> morning. The unlimited plan is really "unlimited".
>

I will believe that when I see that in writing from a reputable source or if I
see no complaints of people getting notice over the next year or so.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Jar-Jar Binks <jarjar@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>> Well, Sprint already got me on the contract extension. I had my phone
>> repaired last April. Unbeknownst to me at the time, they gave me a 2-year
>> extension, and so I am stuck with them for another year.
>>
>
> It is good to know that you have the best.
>

The best? They extended his contract without his consent and that is the
best? And yes, they DO or HAVE done this. They did it to my Brother who
finally beat them at their game by asking for the recorded or written
acceptance and they couldn't offer it. They put "notes" on his account that
his contract doesn't expire when the computer says it does. Nice huh? They
couldn't even fix it in the software and had ot put a NOTE in the account. My
Brother continued to use them however, because he has a great legacy plan
(2000 minutes anytime, no N&W and Vision, not Power Vision) for $110 (I don't
know if this includes taxes or not). He has since bought a new phone and does
have a contract with them, but he is the only hold out among my friends and
family who has stayed with Sprint; the rest have gone to Verizon with a very
small subset who went to AT&T.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs Richard B. Gilbert <rgilbert88@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> How can they "just give" you a two year extension? You had to sign
> something, at some point, agreeing to that! It may have been a
> provision of your original contract.
>
> The moral of this story is READ CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SIGN!!!!!!
>

They can set it in the system as easy as I am writing this message. However,
what they can't do easily is get the third party verification or your
signature ... so, if somebody has an unauthorized extension [which Sprint has
been historically known to do ... I believe the MN attorney general got
involved once], you just ask them for the signature or third party
verification and you will be all set if they can't supply it. Of course, this
might involve legal fees and temporary damage to your credit, but that is the
only way forward in such cases.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

In alt.cellular.sprintpcs DTC <me@nothingtoseehere.zzx> wrote:
>
> My old Sprint contact (expired) is too old to reflect any new changes,
> but I wonder if the current contracts it specifically deny you an
> upgrade rebate if your phone was replaced under warranty or under their
> insurance plan. Or if your contract is extended if the phone was
> repalced under warranty or insurance.
>

If you have switch phones, for any reason, to an old or a new phone, then they
had to perform an ESN swap, as each phone has its own ESN. Their foolish
software engineers knew of no other way to determine when a customer is due a
new phone other than to use the date of the last ESN change, so that is what
they do. You are eligible for a $75 rebate one year after the last ESN change
and a $150 rebate two years after the last ESN change.

> I know my contract was extended when I changed phone numbers.

Sprint will extend your contract for sneezing too loudly near one of their
stores.

--
Thomas T. Veldhouse

In the land of the dark the Ship of the Sun is driven by the Grateful Dead.
-- Egyptian Book of the Dead

"Thomas T. Veldhouse" <veldy71@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>> I know my contract was extended when I changed phone numbers.
>
>Sprint will extend your contract for sneezing too loudly near one of their
>stores.

Thomas,

You sure are behind the times - Sprint has ELIMINATED the auto
contract extension (along with a number of other major changes made by
the new management). The only thing that will extend a contract is
adding a NEW line to a contract (and even that won't mess up upgrade
rights on existing numbers/phones on the same account).

BTW, for anyone within the last year or so with a multi-line
contract that has auto extension issues over an ESN swap or a phone
number change - if you ***** about it, Sprint WILL reverse it. They
did it for me on two lines on our account (I had swapped phone numbers
between 2 existing phones last April).

Regards,
Bill Bowen
Sacramento, CA

Richard B. Gilbert wrote:

>
> How can they "just give" you a two year extension? You had to sign
> something, at some point, agreeing to that! It may have been a provision
> of your original contract.
>
> The moral of this story is READ CAREFULLY BEFORE YOU SIGN!!!!!!

I didn't sign anything. I took a Samsung phone in for repair 4/07. I
did not have Sprint insurance, but the phone was still covered by
Samsung's warranty. I guess I could've find Samsung directly, but it
was easier to just take it into a Sprint store. IIRC, Sprint charged me
a small amount to be the middleman. A few months ago, I was checking
my online account for my contract expiration and saw that it was 4/09.
The obvious conclusion is that my phone repair triggered the extension,
since I had no other contact or request with Sprint.

I've been with Sprint for over 10 years, and have been pretty happy with
their plans and overall service. It is the chicken**** maneuvers such
as the contract renewel which will have me look long and hard for a new
carrier.


Bill T