justin

Dear Sir or Madam:

This letter is a general letter I will be using to file a second round
of complaints with Better Business Bureaus, Attorney Generals, and if
need be, courts. My complaint is against Sprint PCS stores and mainly
their Customer Care service and corporate headquarters policy. I will
also be using this letter to file complaints with local media, radio
and television personalities, various online, consumer advocacy
groups, etc. I am also sending Sprint PCS headquarters as well as the
two Sprint PCS stores a copy of this letter so they can prepare their
response to the BBBs.

Introduction & History
My name is Justin Green. I live in Little Elm, Texas. Little Elm is
west of Frisco, TX and north of The Colony, TX. Around December 14th,
2002, I purchased a two-phone sprint plan, family plan, add-a-phone
plan, or whatever other term it is called now. The plan was for 400
minutes per month I believe and was around $69.00 per month before
taxes, surcharges, fees, etc. The phones purchased in the Radio Shack
in the mall in Arlington, Texas. Both of the phones were Model 1010
LG phones. I paid by debit card and I have the receipt.

Problems
In June, my service began to seriously degrade. By the middle of
July, I was dropping approximately 80-90% of the calls I made,
including calls to check my voice mail and calls to Customer Care,
which is *2 on anyone's Sprint PCS Phone. Friends and family who
called my while I was in Little Elm would often go directly to
voicemail and my phone would never ring. In July I began contacting
Sprint PCS Customer Care to let them know about the problems I was
having with their service. Below is the list of steps we took to
attempt to resolve the problem.

· At first, I was instructed to take my phones to the nearest Sprint
PCS store to have a software update performed on the phones. Since my
wife was at work, I tried to resolve most of the issues on my phone
only, knowing that if something resolved the reception problem, I
could just drop hers off at the store for an easy fix. So I drove to
the Sprint store on Gaylord Avenue in Frisco. I explained my problem
to them and they took my phone to the back of the store. They
returned, saying that I did indeed need a software update on the
phone. I signed a ticket, which I was not given a copy of, and they
took the phone to the back again. About 15 minutes later they
returned with my phone. I thanked them and left the store and drove
back to my house, just 10 miles west of the store. I began to drop
calls again that night, and I noticed the service bar on the phone
hovered between no service and one bar of service while in the area
where I live.
· I was also informed at this time that by dialing *2 and saying
"dropped call" to Claire, their automated voice recognition system, I
would be given credit for dropped calls. Well, I quickly reported
around 20 dropped calls and Claire began to refer me to Sprint
Customer Care personnel. This time they told me to take the phones in
to the nearest Sprint PCS store and have a diagnostic check performed
on the phone. I did so the next weekend and the phone passed,
meaning, according to the Sprint Store, that I apparently had no
problems and should be getting service.
· I called Customer Care again and told them what I had done so far.
I was then transferred to a Technician to whom I was supposed to tell
my problems. I did so and he said he would check the area to see if
any of the towers were having problems. I never heard back from him.
· It is at this point that I realized that the Sprint Customer Care
personnel have a very rigid script they must follow because no less
than 20 of these calls resulted in the following discussion:
o Have you taken your phone to a Sprint PCS Store for a software
upgrade? Yes.
o Have you taken your phone to a Sprint PCS Store for diagnostic
tests? Yes.
o Have you filed a trouble ticket? Yes.
o Here, I will credit your account for one courtesy minute of service
at your highest local air time rate. Thank you, have a nice day.
· By this time, I had spoken with no less than two dozen people at
customer service, some of which granted me minutes, all of whom
recited the above script. However, three Customer Care
representatives told me that the Model 1010 LG phones were defective
and the nearest Sprint PCS store would replace them with the LG 5350,
a dual band phone. The LG 1010s are apparently single band and a dual
band increases reception, supposedly. Armed with this knowledge…
· I returned to the Sprint PCS store in Frisco on Saturday, August
16th, 2002. I told them that I had trouble with the phones and they
requested that I file a trouble ticket, which I had already done. I
informed them that Customer Care, on three different occasions, had
told me to bring the LG 1010s back to the store to exchange them for
LG 5350s. The lady at the Sprint PCS store said this was not true,
and that they did not replace phones. She did offer, however, to
order me a LG 1200, another of Sprint PCS's single band phones. I
requested that I receive the phones that day, since it had now been
several weeks since I had been reporting problems and dealing with
Sprint. The lady refused so I asked to speak with her manager. Her
manager appeared from the back and informed me that they had done all
that they could. I told him what Customer Care had told me about the
Sprint Stores replacing the phones at no charge. He said there was no
such program and said there was nothing they could do but order the LG
1200s. By this point, I was upset and demanded he replace the phones.
He rushed off to the back and returned with two LG 1100 Touchpoint
phones, calling me "ridiculous" as he went. They closed the store and
I was still there, waiting for them to finish activating the
reconditioned phones. He told me that the chargers I had at home
would not work but that the LG 1010 car chargers would, and that one
of the phones was about dead. I thanked the girl working on the
activation and left the store. I placed the one phone on the car
charger and immediately noticed that the screen was broken. The phone
was on, but the screen display was blank. The store was closed at
this point, so I drove home to try out the reconditioned phones. They
did not work. I received the same strength signal, either one bar or
the no service signal when I got close to my home.
· The next day, Sunday, August 17th, 2003, I returned to the Sprint
Store and showed them the broken phone and let them know that the
single band phones would not work in my area. The same lady as before
offered to replace the one phone and refused to replace both of them
with phones that would actually pick up a signal. I again asked to
see her manager and she said there was no manager on duty. I also
requested the two LG 1010 phones back that I had exchanged the night
before, as I would rather have two phones that did work, but that had
my phone books than two phones that did work and no numbers. She
refused. I told her that I would not leave until 1) My phones were
replaced with the dual band phones Customer Service SAID the stores
were to replace them with, 2) They told me where another store was
where I could have my phones exchanged, or 3) We sit down and call *2
together to resolve the issue. She refused to do any of the above. I
told her I wouldn't leave until I had phones that worked, so she then
admitted that there was a manager on duty and went to the back of the
store to get him. A guy walked out and said that he would not speak
with me and that he would not replace any phones or call *2 or do
anything else to help. I cussed once, the only time I had cussed
during this entire ordeal, and for that, I am sorry. However, the
utter lack of concern the store was showing and their incessant
unwillingness to help resolve the issue made me severely angry. I
again stated that I wasn't going to leave, so he called the Frisco
police and I was escorted out of the store, issued a Criminal Trespass
Warning and told to leave. I apologized to the cops for making them
stand out in the Texas heat, and went on my way.
· I then went to the Sprint PCS store in Plano, Texas, on Preston
Road, calling Sprint Customer Care on the way. I told them the entire
saga and told them about exchanging the phones and was told I would be
given a $100 discount on the purchase of a new phone(s) for the
account due to the amount of trouble I had experienced. She also told
me that if the new phones did not work, I would be allowed to cancel
the account and the $150 charge would be waived. She said that she
would "note that on my account." I stood in line for 30 minutes and a
customer service representative had the LG 1100 phones checked while I
waited. He returned and said that there were no problems with the
phone and that I was welcome to continue waiting to talk to another
customer rep. I waited and talked to another service rep who informed
me that the LG single band phones, including the LG 1200 phones the
other store had offered to order me, would not work any better than
the original phones I received. He told me that a dual band phones
would work better and recommended a phone to me. At this point, I was
told that I could return the phones within 14 days if they did not
work. He activated the phones and I left the store. The phones were
$280 after the $75 discount he said was noted on my account (see above
for the $100 I was supposed to receive). I left the store and began
to drive home. Sure enough, as I neared the trouble area, the new
phones showed no service or low service. I dropped two calls before I
gave up.
· Monday morning, August 19, 2003, I contacted Sprint Customer Care
for what has to have been the 40th time, and asked to cancel my
account and have the $150 cancellation charge waived. The customer
service representative said that they were not waiving the fees and
that nothing had been noted on my account. I told her that a manager
had approved the waiver and all she could say was, "Nothing has been
noted on your account," over and over again. She then asked why I
wanted to cancel my two-year contract.
· I never signed up for a two-year contract. My original plan was for
12 months, although I NEVER signed anything stating that I would pay
$150 if and when Sprint could no longer provide me with service. I
asked the Customer Care Person, named Stephanie, when I had signed up
for a two-year contract. She said I was obligated to a two-year
contract when I purchased the new phones the day before. I lost it.
I told her that I NEVER agreed to a two year contract, was not made
AWARE of a two year contract, and was under the impression that the
new phones and the discounts were solely because of the trouble I had
been experiencing during this ordeal. She said that yes, I was indeed
under a two-year contract and that I could cancel that contract for
$150. I asked her if I returned the phones could I cancel the
contract. She replied that I would cancel the contract for $150 and
that two $39.50 charges would be charged to my account for activating
the new phones (the phones I had used for less than 24 hours), for a
grand total of $230 plus their associated taxes, fees, charges, etc.
· I asked for her supervisor. Sharon repeated the exact same script,
almost verbatim, offering no semblance of understanding or care. To
this point, not ONE Sprint employee had acted as if they cared. Every
request bothered them severely in the stores and customer care sounded
like a long since broken record. I asked the balance on my account
and found it was $39.50. Then I hung up. I called back later today
and cancelled the account, learning that I would be charged for two
activation fees of $39.50 and a cancellation charge of $150,
regardless of whether or not I return the phones, which I have now had
for 48 hours.

I could pay the $280 bill I will likely receive in September and be
done with Sprint. But I don't want to and I strongly feel that I am
not obligated to do so. I have been lied to about defective phones
being replaced at Sprint PCS stores, no one at Sprint can give me a
straight answer as to whether or not the towers are overloaded or
whether or not dual band phones work better than single band phones.
I was lied to about the waiver of the $150 fee. I was lied to about
the coverage area, which appears to cover Little Elm, but in fact
obviously does not. I was NOT INFORMED of activation fees, extended
two-year contracts etc., when I purchased the third set of phones.
Sprint has lied maliciously to get my money and refuses to provide the
advertised clear service or allow me to cancel without penalty. No
doubt the charges I intend not to pay will end up on my credit report
for the next 7 years, and cost me who knows how many points on my next
home purchase. Not to mention that in the past three weeks, I have
spent far more than 40 hours dealing with this hell. Never ONCE was a
Sprint Customer Care representative kind to me. They read their
scripts, not even stopping to allow me to say that I had done all the
things they were advising.

It is at this point that I will begin to distribute this letter, in
hopes that some will read it and not deal with Sprint.

For the Attorney Generals
I am mailing a copy of this letter to the attorney generals in
Missouri and Texas, the states where Sprint PCS headquarters is
located and the state service was purportedly provided. I am
considering retaining an attorney to fight Sprint, but I really cannot
afford to do so. I hope that the attorney generals can offer me
advice as to whether or not I can sue in small claims court to have
the charges removed from my credit reports when I refuse to pay them,
or pay them and then sue to get them back in small claims court. I
would rather go the first route, as I have doubts about collecting
from Sprint PCS should I actually win a judgment. At the least, if
the attorney generals cannot specifically deal with my case, as I am
aware there are thousands of other matters that must be attended to, I
would like this letter to serve as perhaps a starting point for an
investigation into the malicious Advertising, Sales, and Service
practices of Sprint PCS.

For the Media
I do not expect to be a star. I want to send this to as many radio
personalities and television stations as possible, in hopes that a
story will be run, a word said on the radio, etc., that will tell
people of Sprint's practices. I know that media outlets will require
further investigation, but I doubt any of you will have trouble
finding a handful (or more) of unhappy Sprint PCS customers or
ex-employees who will verify exact duplicates of my experience. I
have found and printed several web sites where ex-employees post,
"spilling their guts" so to speak about the sneaky extended two-year
contracts, the scripts, the lack of coverage, the fact that Sprint PCS
Customer service reps are fired for failing to "resolve" calls in
under their 5 minute and 19 second allotted time, firing people for
giving too many minutes to dissatisfied customers, etc.

For the BBBs
I am also sending this letter to Better Business Bureaus. I know that
the most they will do is forward the complaint to Sprint. However, if
I can inconvenience Sprint PCS by forcing them to mail yet another
form letter, get the word out about their practices, etc., I will be
satisfied from this angle.

For Friends and Family
I will e-mail you guys copies of this letter, as 1) I need all of your
phone numbers again as all of mine were on the two LG 1010s that the
Sprint PCS store in Frisco refused to allow me to use to retrieve my
personal information, and 2) for you to forward this letter to your
friends to assist in spreading the word about Sprint PCS.


If you have read this far, I thank you.

Justin William Green
justin@cjteam.com
972-341-3455 – Work
2204 Tailburton Ct.
Little Elm, Texas 75068



Wow, what a collection of names in the to: line! I wanted to send you
guys a copy of this letter I am writing concerning Sprint PCS. I'm
just a little guy, having some problems with a big company, and I am
e-mailing my letter to several media personalities in hopes that
someone will do a story or mention my story on the radio so no one
else falls prey to Sprint PCS. The letter is long, and it describes,
as professionally as I can, my dealings with Sprint. I will greatly
appreciate it if you simply read the letter. I know each of you is
incredibly busy and I appreciate that. I listen to all of your shows
at work, yes, I flip back and forth between KLIF and WBAP. I need
Tivo for radio. Anyways, thanks guys.

Justin Green
justin@cjteam.com

Dear Sir or Madam:

This letter is a general letter I will be using to file a second round
of complaints with Better Business Bureaus, Attorney Generals, and if
need be, courts. My complaint is against Sprint PCS stores and mainly
their Customer Care service and corporate headquarter's policies. I
will also be using this letter to file complaints with local media,
radio and television personalities, the Mayor of Frisco, various
online consumer advocacy groups, etc. I am also sending Sprint PCS
headquarters as well as the two Sprint PCS stores a copy of this
letter so they can prepare their response to the BBBs.

Introduction & History
My name is Justin Green. I live in Little Elm, Texas. Little Elm is
west of Frisco, TX and north of The Colony, TX. Around December 14th,
2002, I purchased a two-phone sprint plan, family plan, add-a-phone
plan, or whatever other term it is called now. The plan was for 400
minutes per month I believe and was around $69.00 per month before
taxes, surcharges, fees, etc. The phones purchased in the Radio Shack
in the mall in Arlington, Texas. Both of the phones were Model 1010
LG phones. I paid by debit card and I have the receipt.

Problems
In June, my service began to seriously degrade. By the middle of
July, I was dropping approximately 80-90% of the calls I made,
including calls to check my voice mail and calls to Customer Care,
which is *2 on anyone's Sprint PCS Phone. Friends and family who
called me while I was in Little Elm would often go directly to
voicemail and my phone would never ring. In July I began contacting
Sprint PCS Customer Care to let them know about the problems I was
having with their service. Below is the list of steps we took to
attempt to resolve the problem.

· At first, I was instructed to take my phones to the nearest Sprint
PCS store to have a software update performed on the phones. Since my
wife was at work, I tried to resolve most of the issues on my phone
only, knowing that if something resolved the reception problem, I
could just drop hers off at the store for an easy fix. So I drove to
the Sprint store on Gaylord Avenue in Frisco. I explained my problem
to them and they took my phone to the back of the store. They
returned, saying that I did indeed need a software update on the
phone. I signed a ticket, which I was not given a copy of, and they
took the phone to the back again. About 15 minutes later they
returned with my phone. I thanked them and left the store and drove
back to my house, just 10 miles west of the store. I began to drop
calls again that night, and I noticed the service bar on the phone
hovered between no service and one bar of service while in the area
where I live.
· I was also informed at this time that by dialing *2 and saying
"dropped call" to Claire, their automated voice recognition system, I
would be given credit for dropped calls. Well, I quickly reported
around 20 dropped calls and Claire began to refer me to Sprint
Customer Care personnel. This time they told me to take the phones in
to the nearest Sprint PCS store and have a diagnostic check performed
on the phone. I did so the next weekend and the phone passed,
meaning, according to the Sprint Store, that I apparently had no
problems and should be getting service.
· I called Customer Care again and told them what I had done so far.
I was then transferred to a Technician to whom I was supposed to tell
my problems. I did so and he said he would check the area to see if
any of the towers were having problems. I never heard back from him.
· It is at this point that I realized that the Sprint Customer Care
personnel have a very rigid script they must follow because no less
than 10 of these calls resulted in the following discussion:
o Have you taken your phone to a Sprint PCS Store for a software
upgrade? Yes.
o Have you taken your phone to a Sprint PCS Store for diagnostic
tests? Yes.
o Have you filed a trouble ticket? Yes.
o Here, I will credit your account for one courtesy minute of service.
Thank you, have a nice day.
· By this time, I had spoken with no less than two dozen people at
customer service, some of which granted me minutes, all of whom
recited the above script. I could absolutely care less about the
courtesy minutes, as they do no good if your phone does not work.
However, three Customer Care representatives did tell me that the
Model 1010 LG phones were defective and the nearest Sprint PCS store
would replace them with the LG 5350, a dual band phone at no charge.
The LG 1010s are apparently single band and a dual band increases
reception, supposedly. Armed with this knowledge…
· I returned to the Sprint PCS store in Frisco on Saturday, August
16th, 2002. I told them that I had trouble with the phones and they
requested that I file a trouble ticket, which I had already done. I
informed them that Customer Care, on three different occasions, had
advised me to bring the LG 1010s back to the store to exchange them
for LG 5350s. The lady at the Sprint PCS store said this was not
true, and that they did not replace phones. She did offer, however,
to order me a LG 1200, another of Sprint PCS's single band phones. I
requested that I receive the phones that day, since it had now been
several weeks since I had been reporting problems and dealing with
Sprint. The lady refused so I asked to speak with her manager. Her
manager appeared from the back and informed me that they had done all
that they could. I told him what Customer Care had told me about the
Sprint Stores replacing the phones at no charge. He said there was no
such program and said there was nothing they could do but order the LG
1200s. By this point, I was upset and demanded he replace the phones.
He rushed off to the back and returned with two LG 1100 Touchpoint
phones, calling me "ridiculous" as he went. They closed the store and
I was still there, waiting for them to finish activating the
reconditioned phones. He told me that the chargers I had at home
would not work but that the LG 1010 car chargers would, and that one
of the phones was about dead. I thanked the girl working on the
activation and left the store. I placed the one phone on the car
charger and immediately noticed that the screen was broken. The phone
was on, but the screen display was blank. The store was closed at
this point, so I drove home to try out the reconditioned phones. They
did not work. I received the same strength signal, either one bar or
the no service signal when I got close to my home.
· The next day, Sunday, August 17th, 2003, I returned to the Sprint
Store and showed them the broken phone and let them know that the
single band phones would not work in my area. The same lady as before
offered to replace the one phone and refused to replace both of them
with phones that would actually pick up a signal. I again asked to
see her manager and she said there was no manager on duty. I also
requested the two LG 1010 phones back that I had exchanged the night
before, as I would rather have two phones that did work, but that had
my phone books than two phones that did work and no numbers. She
refused. I told her that I would not leave until 1) My phones were
replaced with the dual band phones Customer Service SAID the stores
were to replace them with, 2) They told me where another store was
where I could have my phones exchanged, or 3) We sit down and call *2
together to resolve the issue. She refused to do any of the above. I
told her I wouldn't leave until I had phones that worked, so she then
admitted that there was a manager on duty and went to the back of the
store to get him. A guy walked out and said that he would not speak
with me and that he would not replace any phones or call *2 or do
anything else to help. I cussed once, the only time I had cussed
during this entire ordeal, and for that, I am sorry. However, the
utter lack of concern the store was showing and their incessant
unwillingness to help resolve the issue made me severely angry. I
again stated that I wasn't going to leave, so he called the Frisco
police and I was escorted out of the store, issued a Criminal Trespass
Warning and told to leave. I apologized to the cops for making them
stand out in the Texas heat, and went on my way.
· I then went to the Sprint PCS store in Plano, Texas, on Preston
Road, calling Sprint Customer Care on the way. I told them the entire
saga and told them about exchanging the phones and was told I would be
given a $100 discount on the purchase of a new phone(s) for the
account due to the amount of trouble I had experienced. She also told
me that if the new phones did not work, I would be allowed to cancel
the account and the $150 charge would be waived. She said that she
would "note that on my account." I stood in line for 30 minutes and a
customer service representative had the LG 1100 phones checked while I
waited. He returned and said that there were no problems with the
phone and that I was welcome to continue waiting to talk to another
customer rep. I waited and talked to another service rep who informed
me that the LG single band phones, including the LG 1200 phones the
other store had offered to order me, would not work any better than
the original phones I received. He told me that a dual band phones
would work better and recommended a phone to me. At this point, I was
told that I could return the phones within 14 days if they did not
work. He activated the phones and I left the store. The phones were
$280 after the $75 discount he said was noted on my account (see above
for the $100 I was supposed to receive). I left the store and began
to drive home. Sure enough, as I neared the trouble area, the new
phones showed no service or low service. I dropped two calls before I
gave up.
· Monday morning, August 19, 2003, I contacted Sprint Customer Care
for what has to have been the 40th time, and asked to cancel my
account and have the $150 cancellation charge waived. The customer
service representative said that they were not waiving the fees and
that nothing had been noted on my account. I told her that a manager
had approved the waiver and all she could say was, "Nothing has been
noted on your account," over and over again. She then asked why I
wanted to cancel my two-year contract.
· I never signed up for a two-year contract. My original plan was for
12 months, although I NEVER signed anything stating that I would pay
$150 if and when Sprint could no longer provide me with service. I
asked the Customer Care Person, named Stephanie, when I had signed up
for a two-year contract. She said I was obligated to a two-year
contract when I purchased the new phones the day before. I lost it.
I told her that I NEVER agreed to a two year contract, was not made
AWARE of a two year contract, and was under the impression that the
new phones and the discounts were solely because of the trouble I had
been experiencing during this ordeal. She said that yes, I was indeed
under a two-year contract and that I could cancel that contract for
$150. I asked her if I returned the phones could I cancel the
contract. She replied that I would cancel the contract for $150 and
that two $39.50 charges would be charged to my account for activating
the new phones (the phones I had used for less than 24 hours), for a
grand total of $230 plus their associated taxes, fees, charges, etc.
· I asked for her supervisor. Sharon repeated the exact same script,
almost verbatim, offering no semblance of understanding or care. To
this point, not ONE Sprint employee had acted as if they cared. Every
request bothered them severely in the stores and customer care sounded
like a long since broken record. I asked the balance on my account
and found it was $39.50. Then I hung up. I called back later today
and cancelled the account, learning that I would be charged for two
activation fees of $39.50 and a cancellation charge of $150,
regardless of whether or not I return the phones, which I have now had
for 48 hours.

I could pay the $280 bill I will likely receive in September and be
done with Sprint. But I don't want to and I strongly feel that I am
not obligated to do so. I have been lied to about defective phones
being replaced at Sprint PCS stores, no one at Sprint can give me a
straight answer as to whether or not the towers are overloaded or
whether or not dual band phones work better than single band phones.
I was lied to about the waiver of the $150 fee. I was lied to about
the coverage area, which appears to cover Little Elm, but in fact
obviously does not. I was NOT INFORMED of activation fees, extended
two-year contracts etc., when I purchased the third set of phones.
Sprint has lied maliciously to get my money and refuses to provide the
advertised clear service or allow me to cancel without penalty. No
doubt the charges I intend not to pay will end up on my credit report
for the next 7 years, and cost me who knows how many points on my next
home purchase. Not to mention that in the past three weeks, I have
spent far more than 40 hours dealing with this hell. Never ONCE was a
Sprint Customer Care representative kind to me. They read their
scripts, not even stopping to allow me to say that I had done all the
things they were advising.

It is at this point that I will begin to distribute this letter, in
hopes that some will read it and not deal with Sprint.

For the Attorney Generals
I am mailing a copy of this letter to the attorney generals in
Missouri and Texas, the states where Sprint PCS headquarters is
located and the state service was purportedly provided. I am
considering retaining an attorney to fight Sprint, but I really cannot
afford to do so. I hope that the attorney generals can offer me
advice as to whether or not I can sue in small claims court to have
the charges removed from my credit reports when I refuse to pay them,
or pay them and then sue to get them back in small claims court. I
would rather go the first route, as I have doubts about collecting
from Sprint PCS should I actually win a judgment. At the least, if
the attorney generals cannot specifically deal with my case, as I am
aware there are thousands of other matters that must be attended to, I
would like this letter to serve as perhaps a starting point for an
investigation into the malicious Advertising, Sales, and Service
practices of Sprint PCS.

For the Media
I do not expect to be a star. I want to send this to as many radio
personalities and television stations as possible, in hopes that a
story will be run, a word said on the radio, etc., that will tell
people of Sprint's practices. I know that media outlets will require
further investigation, but I doubt any of you will have trouble
finding a handful (or more) of unhappy Sprint PCS customers or
ex-employees who will verify exact duplicates of my experience. I
have found and printed several web sites where ex-employees post,
"spilling their guts" so to speak about the sneaky extended two-year
contracts, the scripts, the lack of coverage, the fact that Sprint PCS
Customer service reps are fired for failing to "resolve" calls in
under their 5 minute and 19 second allotted time, firing people for
giving too many minutes to dissatisfied customers, etc.

For the BBBs
I am also sending this letter to Better Business Bureaus. I know that
the most they will do is forward the complaint to Sprint. However, if
I can inconvenience Sprint PCS by forcing them to mail yet another
form letter, get the word out about their practices, etc., I will be
satisfied from this angle.

For the Mayor of Frisco
At one point, I was told that you were blocking further expansion of
cell towers by a lady working in the Frisco Sprint PCS store. While,
if true, you may be the sole reason for my dropped calls (yeah right),
I applaud you for standing up to Sprint PCS. I just want to let you
know as well, what a fine job a store in your city has done of not
only not providing me with service, but blaming their problems on you.

For Friends and Family
I will e-mail you guys copies of this letter, as 1) I need all of your
phone numbers again as all of mine were on the two LG 1010s that the
Sprint PCS store in Frisco refused to allow me to use to retrieve my
personal information, and 2) for you to forward this letter to your
friends to assist in spreading the word about Sprint PCS.


If you have read this far, I thank you.

Justin William Green
justin@cjteam.com
972-341-3455 – Work
2204 Tailburton Ct.
Little Elm, Texas 75068

 

letsgoflyers81

None of that surprises me at all. I can say is, good luck.

--
Posted at SprintUsers.com - Your place for everything Sprint PCS
Free wireless access @ www.SprintUsers.com/wap

SprintPCS Tech

I hate reading thing like this. Just a few comments;


justin@cjteam.com (justin) wrote in article
<886c066.0308200452.700c480d@posting.google.com> :
> in the mall in Arlington, Texas. Both of the phones were Model 1010
> LG phones. I paid by debit card and I have the receipt.

Ugh, the LG1010. The biggest nightmare for any TSR in Sprint.

In June, my service began to seriously degrade. By the middle of
> July, I was dropping approximately 80-90% of the calls I made,
> including calls to check my voice mail and calls to Customer Care,

The 1010 had a low-noise amplifier issue, there was actualy a recall on
them (unfortunatly not on the cunsumer level) - stores sent them all
back to be 'repaired' and ones that did not ship, were repaired. If you
got yours then at radioshack, I'm willing to bet you got one that wasn't
repaired (a lot of Shacks didn't send them back).


> · At first, I was instructed to take my phones to the nearest Sprint
> PCS store to have a software update performed on the phones. Since my

First, this is flat out misleading. Software updates do not enhance
call related performance at all. If you had a bad PRL, then I can see
that it would help, but that is the only time.


> the Sprint store on Gaylord Avenue in Frisco. I explained my problem
> to them and they took my phone to the back of the store. They
> returned, saying that I did indeed need a software update on the
> phone. I signed a ticket, which I was not given a copy of, and they
> took the phone to the back again. About 15 minutes later they
> returned with my phone. I thanked them and left the store and drove

Interesting, they either did a PRL update, which customer service should
have flagged your phone for over the phone, or they updated your phone
to some non-existant software update.
Since it was a hardware failure, then you can update the software until
the cows come home, the same with the PRL, it will not help.


> back to my house, just 10 miles west of the store. I began to drop
> calls again that night, and I noticed the service bar on the phone
> hovered between no service and one bar of service while in the area
> where I live.

Just out of curiosity, did the store at least offer to check what kind
of coverage is at your home? I know Radio Shack cannot do that. If
you're in a weak or no coverage area, this would be common.


> Customer Care personnel. This time they told me to take the phones in
> to the nearest Sprint PCS store and have a diagnostic check performed
> on the phone. I did so the next weekend and the phone passed,
> meaning, according to the Sprint Store, that I apparently had no
> problems and should be getting service.

They should have done that the first time you were there.


> recited the above script. However, three Customer Care
> representatives told me that the Model 1010 LG phones were defective
> and the nearest Sprint PCS store would replace them with the LG 5350,
> a dual band phone. The LG 1010s are apparently single band and a dual
> band increases reception, supposedly. Armed with this knowledge…

Both points are completely false. A dual band phone will not give you
better reception over Sprint's network as opposed to a single band
phone. A dual band phone will only give you the advantage of picking up
other frequencies, such as 800MHz analog.
Not only that, it is highly against the "rules" to swap out a 1010 for a
5350. You shouldn't have been told either of these, and if they did,
they should have noted the account with such so the store would have
something to go on (or have the customer (lack of) service rep order a
replacement for you.


> and that they did not replace phones. She did offer, however, to
> order me a LG 1200, another of Sprint PCS's single band phones. I

That is what they're supposed to do. (Unfortunatly, distributing
reconditioned phones is difficult, demand is impossible to predict).

> He rushed off to the back and returned with two LG 1100 Touchpoint
> phones, calling me "ridiculous" as he went. They closed the store and

I wouldn't tolerate the insult, even as an employee. The 1100 for 1010
swap was also common before the recondidioned 1010s and 1200s were
available.


> activation and left the store. I placed the one phone on the car
> charger and immediately noticed that the screen was broken. The phone
> was on, but the screen display was blank. The store was closed at
> this point, so I drove home to try out the reconditioned phones. They
> did not work. I received the same strength signal, either one bar or
> the no service signal when I got close to my home.

Sounds like where you live there is a poor signal, and I'm assuming
again that noone in the store checked?
As for the defective 1100, they should have noticed that when they were
activating the phone, unless it coincidently went out between the time
they activated it and you plugged it in.


>I also
> requested the two LG 1010 phones back that I had exchanged the night
> before, as I would rather have two phones that did work, but that had
> my phone books than two phones that did work and no numbers. She
> refused.

She did the right thing, stores cannot give back phones that have been
'returned' without corperate security breathing down their necks. Yes,
it is done sometimes, but not advised by corperate.


> waited. He returned and said that there were no problems with the
> phone and that I was welcome to continue waiting to talk to another
> customer rep. I waited and talked to another service rep who informed
> me that the LG single band phones, including the LG 1200 phones the
> other store had offered to order me, would not work any better than
> the original phones I received. He told me that a dual band phones
> would work better and recommended a phone to me. At this point, I was

Again, bull. Dual band phones won't let you get a better Sprint PCS
signal than single band phones. I'd love to see these guy's logic. And
again, they didn't check the coverage where you live? Am I the only
tech who does their job?


> $150. I asked her if I returned the phones could I cancel the
> contract. She replied that I would cancel the contract for $150 and
> that two $39.50 charges would be charged to my account for activating
> the new phones (the phones I had used for less than 24 hours), for a
> grand total of $230 plus their associated taxes, fees, charges, etc.

You have 14 days to opt out of a contract with only having to worry
about usage.

> · I asked for her supervisor. Sharon repeated the exact same script,
> almost verbatim, offering no semblance of understanding or care. To
> this point, not ONE Sprint employee had acted as if they cared. Every
> request bothered them severely in the stores and customer care sounded
> like a long since broken record. I asked the balance on my account

Indifference, unfortunatly too many customer service reps mastered this
trait.

> and found it was $39.50. Then I hung up. I called back later today
> and cancelled the account, learning that I would be charged for two
> activation fees of $39.50 and a cancellation charge of $150,
> regardless of whether or not I return the phones, which I have now had
> for 48 hours.
>

What is this $39.50 activation fee? I thought it was $36 (unless my
area is different?)


You took a good route to take. Involving the media is a tricky
situation, though, they're notorious for twisting words around just ot
make a story look good.

But, does sound you have a very good case against Sprint PCS (as much as
I'd hate to say that, I feel its true). I'll see if I can do some
research today including the coverage in your area etc..

[posted via phonescoop.com - free web access to the alt.cellular groups]

Steven J Sobol

SprintPCS Tech <pcsguy@bellsouthnospam.net> wrote:

>> ? At first, I was instructed to take my phones to the nearest Sprint
>> PCS store to have a software update performed on the phones. Since my
>
> First, this is flat out misleading. Software updates do not enhance
> call related performance at all. If you had a bad PRL, then I can see
> that it would help, but that is the only time.

THANK YOU - I moved to an area of fringe coverage on Verizon's network.
My wife's Sprint phone works great, but my Verizon phones are iffy. It took
a bit of effort to get Verizon customer service to do more than just tell me
to do a *228 to update my PRL. I should e-mail your comments to them


--
JustThe.net Internet & Multimedia Services
22674 Motnocab Road * Apple Valley, CA 92307-1950
Steve Sobol, Proprietor
888.480.4NET (4638) * 248.724.4NET * sjsobol@JustThe.net

justin

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I'm not too much of a cell phone
guru, so when they told me something, I tried to give them the benefit
of the doubt.

The two activation fees, I found out later, came when I cancelled the
2 year contract I NEVER agreed to.

Again, thanks for the response, I cancelled the account yesterday and
was told I would have service until the end of the billing cycle in
September, but when I woke up this morning - the phones were cut off.

Yet another lie.



pcsguy@bellsouthNOSPAM.net (SprintPCS Tech) wrote in message news:<vk6vhf57fqtmd0@corp.supernews.com>...
> I hate reading thing like this. Just a few comments;
>
>
> justin@cjteam.com (justin) wrote in article
> <886c066.0308200452.700c480d@posting.google.com> :
> > in the mall in Arlington, Texas. Both of the phones were Model 1010
> > LG phones. I paid by debit card and I have the receipt.
>
> Ugh, the LG1010. The biggest nightmare for any TSR in Sprint.
>
> In June, my service began to seriously degrade. By the middle of
> > July, I was dropping approximately 80-90% of the calls I made,
> > including calls to check my voice mail and calls to Customer Care,
>
> The 1010 had a low-noise amplifier issue, there was actualy a recall on
> them (unfortunatly not on the cunsumer level) - stores sent them all
> back to be 'repaired' and ones that did not ship, were repaired. If you
> got yours then at radioshack, I'm willing to bet you got one that wasn't
> repaired (a lot of Shacks didn't send them back).
>
>
> > · At first, I was instructed to take my phones to the nearest Sprint
> > PCS store to have a software update performed on the phones. Since my
>
> First, this is flat out misleading. Software updates do not enhance
> call related performance at all. If you had a bad PRL, then I can see
> that it would help, but that is the only time.
>
>
> > the Sprint store on Gaylord Avenue in Frisco. I explained my problem
> > to them and they took my phone to the back of the store. They
> > returned, saying that I did indeed need a software update on the
> > phone. I signed a ticket, which I was not given a copy of, and they
> > took the phone to the back again. About 15 minutes later they
> > returned with my phone. I thanked them and left the store and drove
>
> Interesting, they either did a PRL update, which customer service should
> have flagged your phone for over the phone, or they updated your phone
> to some non-existant software update.
> Since it was a hardware failure, then you can update the software until
> the cows come home, the same with the PRL, it will not help.
>
>
> > back to my house, just 10 miles west of the store. I began to drop
> > calls again that night, and I noticed the service bar on the phone
> > hovered between no service and one bar of service while in the area
> > where I live.
>
> Just out of curiosity, did the store at least offer to check what kind
> of coverage is at your home? I know Radio Shack cannot do that. If
> you're in a weak or no coverage area, this would be common.
>
>
> > Customer Care personnel. This time they told me to take the phones in
> > to the nearest Sprint PCS store and have a diagnostic check performed
> > on the phone. I did so the next weekend and the phone passed,
> > meaning, according to the Sprint Store, that I apparently had no
> > problems and should be getting service.
>
> They should have done that the first time you were there.
>
>
> > recited the above script. However, three Customer Care
> > representatives told me that the Model 1010 LG phones were defective
> > and the nearest Sprint PCS store would replace them with the LG 5350,
> > a dual band phone. The LG 1010s are apparently single band and a dual
> > band increases reception, supposedly. Armed with this knowledge?
>
> Both points are completely false. A dual band phone will not give you
> better reception over Sprint's network as opposed to a single band
> phone. A dual band phone will only give you the advantage of picking up
> other frequencies, such as 800MHz analog.
> Not only that, it is highly against the "rules" to swap out a 1010 for a
> 5350. You shouldn't have been told either of these, and if they did,
> they should have noted the account with such so the store would have
> something to go on (or have the customer (lack of) service rep order a
> replacement for you.
>
>
> > and that they did not replace phones. She did offer, however, to
> > order me a LG 1200, another of Sprint PCS's single band phones. I
>
> That is what they're supposed to do. (Unfortunatly, distributing
> reconditioned phones is difficult, demand is impossible to predict).
>
> > He rushed off to the back and returned with two LG 1100 Touchpoint
> > phones, calling me "ridiculous" as he went. They closed the store and
>
> I wouldn't tolerate the insult, even as an employee. The 1100 for 1010
> swap was also common before the recondidioned 1010s and 1200s were
> available.
>
>
> > activation and left the store. I placed the one phone on the car
> > charger and immediately noticed that the screen was broken. The phone
> > was on, but the screen display was blank. The store was closed at
> > this point, so I drove home to try out the reconditioned phones. They
> > did not work. I received the same strength signal, either one bar or
> > the no service signal when I got close to my home.
>
> Sounds like where you live there is a poor signal, and I'm assuming
> again that noone in the store checked?
> As for the defective 1100, they should have noticed that when they were
> activating the phone, unless it coincidently went out between the time
> they activated it and you plugged it in.
>
>
> >I also
> > requested the two LG 1010 phones back that I had exchanged the night
> > before, as I would rather have two phones that did work, but that had
> > my phone books than two phones that did work and no numbers. She
> > refused.
>
> She did the right thing, stores cannot give back phones that have been
> 'returned' without corperate security breathing down their necks. Yes,
> it is done sometimes, but not advised by corperate.
>
>
> > waited. He returned and said that there were no problems with the
> > phone and that I was welcome to continue waiting to talk to another
> > customer rep. I waited and talked to another service rep who informed
> > me that the LG single band phones, including the LG 1200 phones the
> > other store had offered to order me, would not work any better than
> > the original phones I received. He told me that a dual band phones
> > would work better and recommended a phone to me. At this point, I was
>
> Again, bull. Dual band phones won't let you get a better Sprint PCS
> signal than single band phones. I'd love to see these guy's logic. And
> again, they didn't check the coverage where you live? Am I the only
> tech who does their job?
>
>
> > $150. I asked her if I returned the phones could I cancel the
> > contract. She replied that I would cancel the contract for $150 and
> > that two $39.50 charges would be charged to my account for activating
> > the new phones (the phones I had used for less than 24 hours), for a
> > grand total of $230 plus their associated taxes, fees, charges, etc.
>
> You have 14 days to opt out of a contract with only having to worry
> about usage.
>
> > · I asked for her supervisor. Sharon repeated the exact same script,
> > almost verbatim, offering no semblance of understanding or care. To
> > this point, not ONE Sprint employee had acted as if they cared. Every
> > request bothered them severely in the stores and customer care sounded
> > like a long since broken record. I asked the balance on my account
>
> Indifference, unfortunatly too many customer service reps mastered this
> trait.
>
> > and found it was $39.50. Then I hung up. I called back later today
> > and cancelled the account, learning that I would be charged for two
> > activation fees of $39.50 and a cancellation charge of $150,
> > regardless of whether or not I return the phones, which I have now had
> > for 48 hours.
> >
>
> What is this $39.50 activation fee? I thought it was $36 (unless my
> area is different?)
>
>
> You took a good route to take. Involving the media is a tricky
> situation, though, they're notorious for twisting words around just ot
> make a story look good.
>
> But, does sound you have a very good case against Sprint PCS (as much as
> I'd hate to say that, I feel its true). I'll see if I can do some
> research today including the coverage in your area etc..
>
> [posted via phonescoop.com - free web access to the alt.cellular groups]

JRW

That's a real horror story. Sounds like Sprint should at least
have all their techs and sales staff attend a Cellular 101 course.

I'm looking at my single sheet contract, titled Customer Sales
Information (Sprint PCS Division). Just above the FOR OFFICE USE
ONLY line, there's a "Sprint PCS Advantage Agreement and Special
Provisions of the Sprint Advantage Agreement" line. It says "I
acknowledge receipt of a copy of the Sprint PCS Advantage
Agreement...yada, yada, yada." There are two check-off boxes,
one for 1 Year AA and another for 2 Year AA, then your signature
and date. Which box is checked on your contract?

As someone will inevitably point out, the BBS has no compelling
legal authority (Kind of like what Gore said about illegally
begging for campaign contributions from inside the White House).
BBB complaints are the bane of inside managers because it forces
them into accountability and that might get results.

The fact that you are getting conflicting and at times erronious
information might be in your favor. Upgrading to a dual-band
phone usually will not improve coverage - two points here: it
might improve coverage by placing the call in the analog off-
network mode (and that will cost you a lot for each call as
you would be considered roaming) and single-band phones are
pretty much out of style, i.e. they may be an older technology
and the newer phones (being dual-band) may be better.

*ALL* wireless providers willl have some dead spots. That's
the nature of radio communications. For example, in southeast
Collin County (you're in Denton Co, aren't you?) I know there
is a one mile stretch on Farm Road 1138 where I will most
likely drop a call. Likewise on Farm Road 6 east of Nevada
there is a quarter mile stretch. And ALL carries won't work in
a dead zone on a dirt road next to my farm that is in a 30'
deep ravine providing a good 20 dB of shielding. Good for
antenna testing.

Now when I suddenly start dropping calls where I never had
problems before, THEN I know there is a problem. I wait until
the next day to see if the problem is resolved before I call
it in, as network monitoring may have caught it and fixed it.

justin

JRW <jrw@___.com> wrote in message news:<x1O0b.1645$uQ4.1173@newssvr23.news.prodigy.c om>...
> That's a real horror story. Sounds like Sprint should at least
> have all their techs and sales staff attend a Cellular 101 course.
>
> I'm looking at my single sheet contract, titled Customer Sales
> Information (Sprint PCS Division). Just above the FOR OFFICE USE
> ONLY line, there's a "Sprint PCS Advantage Agreement and Special
> Provisions of the Sprint Advantage Agreement" line. It says "I
> acknowledge receipt of a copy of the Sprint PCS Advantage
> Agreement...yada, yada, yada." There are two check-off boxes,
> one for 1 Year AA and another for 2 Year AA, then your signature
> and date. Which box is checked on your contract?

I do not have a signed contract. The only thing I signed in the Radio
Shack where I purchased the phone ws the debit card receipt, which I
checked, and had no contract on the back, just the Radio Shack return
policy.


> As someone will inevitably point out, the BBS has no compelling
> legal authority (Kind of like what Gore said about illegally
> begging for campaign contributions from inside the White House).
> BBB complaints are the bane of inside managers because it forces
> them into accountability and that might get results.

Yes, I've used the BBS before, if for nothing more than to
inconvenience companies. However, as my newest post said, I finally
have won. The guy from executive services said it was due to the two
different letters I sent to the Attorney Generals, the BBB complaints,
and the FCC complaints. He actually asked my permission to respond
via phone instead of in writing. I told him he could respond over the
phone, but I wanted a written response as well, due to the previous
abuse of my trust.

> The fact that you are getting conflicting and at times erronious
> information might be in your favor. Upgrading to a dual-band
> phone usually will not improve coverage - two points here: it
> might improve coverage by placing the call in the analog off-
> network mode (and that will cost you a lot for each call as
> you would be considered roaming) and single-band phones are
> pretty much out of style, i.e. they may be an older technology
> and the newer phones (being dual-band) may be better.

> *ALL* wireless providers willl have some dead spots. That's
> the nature of radio communications. For example, in southeast
> Collin County (you're in Denton Co, aren't you?) I know there
> is a one mile stretch on Farm Road 1138 where I will most
> likely drop a call. Likewise on Farm Road 6 east of Nevada
> there is a quarter mile stretch. And ALL carries won't work in
> a dead zone on a dirt road next to my farm that is in a 30'
> deep ravine providing a good 20 dB of shielding. Good for
> antenna testing.

I realize that there may be dead spots, but this is one large dead
spot about 10 miles across, 5 miles north and south, and centered in
Little Elm. I was also told that due to the tower shortage, Little
Elm was feeding from the Frisco and Colony Towers, and calls with
stronger signals (i.e. people living in the Colony and Frisco)
received priority and mine were dropped. I am not a scientist, I'm
just repeating this explanation as I was told.

> Now when I suddenly start dropping calls where I never had
> problems before, THEN I know there is a problem. I wait until
> the next day to see if the problem is resolved before I call
> it in, as network monitoring may have caught it and fixed it.

That is sort of how my service went. I was with TMobile before I
moved to Little Elm. T Mobile didn't have coverage in the area to
which I moved, so I didn't get my panties in a wad about it, I just
rode out the contract. Sprint DID have service there for the first 5
months of my contract, however, I am more and more beleiving the
overloaded tower explanation because our area is really growing
rapidly, especially in Frisco, 5-10 miles east of where I live.

Thanks for the response!

Bubba Cooter

Contact Tandy/RS corporate in Ft Worth, they will do about anything to
satisfy a customer.





On 20 Aug 2003 05:52:31 -0700, justin@cjteam.com (justin) wrote:

>Dear Sir or Madam:
>
>This letter is a general letter I will be using to file a second round
>of complaints with Better Business Bureaus, Attorney Generals, and if
>need be, courts. My complaint is against Sprint PCS stores and mainly
>their Customer Care service and corporate headquarters policy. I will
>also be using this letter to file complaints with local media, radio
>and television personalities, various online, consumer advocacy
>groups, etc. I am also sending Sprint PCS headquarters as well as the
>two Sprint PCS stores a copy of this letter so they can prepare their
>response to the BBBs.
>
>Introduction & History
>My name is Justin Green. I live in Little Elm, Texas. Little Elm is
>west of Frisco, TX and north of The Colony, TX. Around December 14th,
>2002, I purchased a two-phone sprint plan, family plan, add-a-phone
>plan, or whatever other term it is called now. The plan was for 400
>minutes per month I believe and was around $69.00 per month before
>taxes, surcharges, fees, etc. The phones purchased in the Radio Shack
>in the mall in Arlington, Texas. Both of the phones were Model 1010
>LG phones. I paid by debit card and I have the receipt.
>
>Problems
>In June, my service began to seriously degrade. By the middle of
>July, I was dropping approximately 80-90% of the calls I made,
>including calls to check my voice mail and calls to Customer Care,
>which is *2 on anyone's Sprint PCS Phone. Friends and family who
>called my while I was in Little Elm would often go directly to
>voicemail and my phone would never ring. In July I began contacting
>Sprint PCS Customer Care to let them know about the problems I was
>having with their service. Below is the list of steps we took to
>attempt to resolve the problem.
>
>· At first, I was instructed to take my phones to the nearest Sprint
>PCS store to have a software update performed on the phones. Since my
>wife was at work, I tried to resolve most of the issues on my phone
>only, knowing that if something resolved the reception problem, I
>could just drop hers off at the store for an easy fix. So I drove to
>the Sprint store on Gaylord Avenue in Frisco. I explained my problem
>to them and they took my phone to the back of the store. They
>returned, saying that I did indeed need a software update on the
>phone. I signed a ticket, which I was not given a copy of, and they
>took the phone to the back again. About 15 minutes later they
>returned with my phone. I thanked them and left the store and drove
>back to my house, just 10 miles west of the store. I began to drop
>calls again that night, and I noticed the service bar on the phone
>hovered between no service and one bar of service while in the area
>where I live.
>· I was also informed at this time that by dialing *2 and saying
>"dropped call" to Claire, their automated voice recognition system, I
>would be given credit for dropped calls. Well, I quickly reported
>around 20 dropped calls and Claire began to refer me to Sprint
>Customer Care personnel. This time they told me to take the phones in
>to the nearest Sprint PCS store and have a diagnostic check performed
>on the phone. I did so the next weekend and the phone passed,
>meaning, according to the Sprint Store, that I apparently had no
>problems and should be getting service.
>· I called Customer Care again and told them what I had done so far.
>I was then transferred to a Technician to whom I was supposed to tell
>my problems. I did so and he said he would check the area to see if
>any of the towers were having problems. I never heard back from him.
>· It is at this point that I realized that the Sprint Customer Care
>personnel have a very rigid script they must follow because no less
>than 20 of these calls resulted in the following discussion:
>o Have you taken your phone to a Sprint PCS Store for a software
>upgrade? Yes.
>o Have you taken your phone to a Sprint PCS Store for diagnostic
>tests? Yes.
>o Have you filed a trouble ticket? Yes.
>o Here, I will credit your account for one courtesy minute of service
>at your highest local air time rate. Thank you, have a nice day.
>· By this time, I had spoken with no less than two dozen people at
>customer service, some of which granted me minutes, all of whom
>recited the above script. However, three Customer Care
>representatives told me that the Model 1010 LG phones were defective
>and the nearest Sprint PCS store would replace them with the LG 5350,
>a dual band phone. The LG 1010s are apparently single band and a dual
>band increases reception, supposedly. Armed with this knowledge…
>· I returned to the Sprint PCS store in Frisco on Saturday, August
>16th, 2002. I told them that I had trouble with the phones and they
>requested that I file a trouble ticket, which I had already done. I
>informed them that Customer Care, on three different occasions, had
>told me to bring the LG 1010s back to the store to exchange them for
>LG 5350s. The lady at the Sprint PCS store said this was not true,
>and that they did not replace phones. She did offer, however, to
>order me a LG 1200, another of Sprint PCS's single band phones. I
>requested that I receive the phones that day, since it had now been
>several weeks since I had been reporting problems and dealing with
>Sprint. The lady refused so I asked to speak with her manager. Her
>manager appeared from the back and informed me that they had done all
>that they could. I told him what Customer Care had told me about the
>Sprint Stores replacing the phones at no charge. He said there was no
>such program and said there was nothing they could do but order the LG
>1200s. By this point, I was upset and demanded he replace the phones.
> He rushed off to the back and returned with two LG 1100 Touchpoint
>phones, calling me "ridiculous" as he went. They closed the store and
>I was still there, waiting for them to finish activating the
>reconditioned phones. He told me that the chargers I had at home
>would not work but that the LG 1010 car chargers would, and that one
>of the phones was about dead. I thanked the girl working on the
>activation and left the store. I placed the one phone on the car
>charger and immediately noticed that the screen was broken. The phone
>was on, but the screen display was blank. The store was closed at
>this point, so I drove home to try out the reconditioned phones. They
>did not work. I received the same strength signal, either one bar or
>the no service signal when I got close to my home.
>· The next day, Sunday, August 17th, 2003, I returned to the Sprint
>Store and showed them the broken phone and let them know that the
>single band phones would not work in my area. The same lady as before
>offered to replace the one phone and refused to replace both of them
>with phones that would actually pick up a signal. I again asked to
>see her manager and she said there was no manager on duty. I also
>requested the two LG 1010 phones back that I had exchanged the night
>before, as I would rather have two phones that did work, but that had
>my phone books than two phones that did work and no numbers. She
>refused. I told her that I would not leave until 1) My phones were
>replaced with the dual band phones Customer Service SAID the stores
>were to replace them with, 2) They told me where another store was
>where I could have my phones exchanged, or 3) We sit down and call *2
>together to resolve the issue. She refused to do any of the above. I
>told her I wouldn't leave until I had phones that worked, so she then
>admitted that there was a manager on duty and went to the back of the
>store to get him. A guy walked out and said that he would not speak
>with me and that he would not replace any phones or call *2 or do
>anything else to help. I cussed once, the only time I had cussed
>during this entire ordeal, and for that, I am sorry. However, the
>utter lack of concern the store was showing and their incessant
>unwillingness to help resolve the issue made me severely angry. I
>again stated that I wasn't going to leave, so he called the Frisco
>police and I was escorted out of the store, issued a Criminal Trespass
>Warning and told to leave. I apologized to the cops for making them
>stand out in the Texas heat, and went on my way.
>· I then went to the Sprint PCS store in Plano, Texas, on Preston
>Road, calling Sprint Customer Care on the way. I told them the entire
>saga and told them about exchanging the phones and was told I would be
>given a $100 discount on the purchase of a new phone(s) for the
>account due to the amount of trouble I had experienced. She also told
>me that if the new phones did not work, I would be allowed to cancel
>the account and the $150 charge would be waived. She said that she
>would "note that on my account." I stood in line for 30 minutes and a
>customer service representative had the LG 1100 phones checked while I
>waited. He returned and said that there were no problems with the
>phone and that I was welcome to continue waiting to talk to another
>customer rep. I waited and talked to another service rep who informed
>me that the LG single band phones, including the LG 1200 phones the
>other store had offered to order me, would not work any better than
>the original phones I received. He told me that a dual band phones
>would work better and recommended a phone to me. At this point, I was
>told that I could return the phones within 14 days if they did not
>work. He activated the phones and I left the store. The phones were
>$280 after the $75 discount he said was noted on my account (see above
>for the $100 I was supposed to receive). I left the store and began
>to drive home. Sure enough, as I neared the trouble area, the new
>phones showed no service or low service. I dropped two calls before I
>gave up.
>· Monday morning, August 19, 2003, I contacted Sprint Customer Care
>for what has to have been the 40th time, and asked to cancel my
>account and have the $150 cancellation charge waived. The customer
>service representative said that they were not waiving the fees and
>that nothing had been noted on my account. I told her that a manager
>had approved the waiver and all she could say was, "Nothing has been
>noted on your account," over and over again. She then asked why I
>wanted to cancel my two-year contract.
>· I never signed up for a two-year contract. My original plan was for
>12 months, although I NEVER signed anything stating that I would pay
>$150 if and when Sprint could no longer provide me with service. I
>asked the Customer Care Person, named Stephanie, when I had signed up
>for a two-year contract. She said I was obligated to a two-year
>contract when I purchased the new phones the day before. I lost it.
>I told her that I NEVER agreed to a two year contract, was not made
>AWARE of a two year contract, and was under the impression that the
>new phones and the discounts were solely because of the trouble I had
>been experiencing during this ordeal. She said that yes, I was indeed
>under a two-year contract and that I could cancel that contract for
>$150. I asked her if I returned the phones could I cancel the
>contract. She replied that I would cancel the contract for $150 and
>that two $39.50 charges would be charged to my account for activating
>the new phones (the phones I had used for less than 24 hours), for a
>grand total of $230 plus their associated taxes, fees, charges, etc.
>· I asked for her supervisor. Sharon repeated the exact same script,
>almost verbatim, offering no semblance of understanding or care. To
>this point, not ONE Sprint employee had acted as if they cared. Every
>request bothered them severely in the stores and customer care sounded
>like a long since broken record. I asked the balance on my account
>and found it was $39.50. Then I hung up. I called back later today
>and cancelled the account, learning that I would be charged for two
>activation fees of $39.50 and a cancellation charge of $150,
>regardless of whether or not I return the phones, which I have now had
>for 48 hours.
>
>I could pay the $280 bill I will likely receive in September and be
>done with Sprint. But I don't want to and I strongly feel that I am
>not obligated to do so. I have been lied to about defective phones
>being replaced at Sprint PCS stores, no one at Sprint can give me a
>straight answer as to whether or not the towers are overloaded or
>whether or not dual band phones work better than single band phones.
>I was lied to about the waiver of the $150 fee. I was lied to about
>the coverage area, which appears to cover Little Elm, but in fact
>obviously does not. I was NOT INFORMED of activation fees, extended
>two-year contracts etc., when I purchased the third set of phones.
>Sprint has lied maliciously to get my money and refuses to provide the
>advertised clear service or allow me to cancel without penalty. No
>doubt the charges I intend not to pay will end up on my credit report
>for the next 7 years, and cost me who knows how many points on my next
>home purchase. Not to mention that in the past three weeks, I have
>spent far more than 40 hours dealing with this hell. Never ONCE was a
>Sprint Customer Care representative kind to me. They read their
>scripts, not even stopping to allow me to say that I had done all the
>things they were advising.
>
>It is at this point that I will begin to distribute this letter, in
>hopes that some will read it and not deal with Sprint.
>
>For the Attorney Generals
>I am mailing a copy of this letter to the attorney generals in
>Missouri and Texas, the states where Sprint PCS headquarters is
>located and the state service was purportedly provided. I am
>considering retaining an attorney to fight Sprint, but I really cannot
>afford to do so. I hope that the attorney generals can offer me
>advice as to whether or not I can sue in small claims court to have
>the charges removed from my credit reports when I refuse to pay them,
>or pay them and then sue to get them back in small claims court. I
>would rather go the first route, as I have doubts about collecting
>from Sprint PCS should I actually win a judgment. At the least, if
>the attorney generals cannot specifically deal with my case, as I am
>aware there are thousands of other matters that must be attended to, I
>would like this letter to serve as perhaps a starting point for an
>investigation into the malicious Advertising, Sales, and Service
>practices of Sprint PCS.
>
>For the Media
>I do not expect to be a star. I want to send this to as many radio
>personalities and television stations as possible, in hopes that a
>story will be run, a word said on the radio, etc., that will tell
>people of Sprint's practices. I know that media outlets will require
>further investigation, but I doubt any of you will have trouble
>finding a handful (or more) of unhappy Sprint PCS customers or
>ex-employees who will verify exact duplicates of my experience. I
>have found and printed several web sites where ex-employees post,
>"spilling their guts" so to speak about the sneaky extended two-year
>contracts, the scripts, the lack of coverage, the fact that Sprint PCS
>Customer service reps are fired for failing to "resolve" calls in
>under their 5 minute and 19 second allotted time, firing people for
>giving too many minutes to dissatisfied customers, etc.
>
>For the BBBs
>I am also sending this letter to Better Business Bureaus. I know that
>the most they will do is forward the complaint to Sprint. However, if
>I can inconvenience Sprint PCS by forcing them to mail yet another
>form letter, get the word out about their practices, etc., I will be
>satisfied from this angle.
>
>For Friends and Family
>I will e-mail you guys copies of this letter, as 1) I need all of your
>phone numbers again as all of mine were on the two LG 1010s that the
>Sprint PCS store in Frisco refused to allow me to use to retrieve my
>personal information, and 2) for you to forward this letter to your
>friends to assist in spreading the word about Sprint PCS.
>
>
>If you have read this far, I thank you.
>
>Justin William Green
>justin@cjteam.com
>972-341-3455 – Work
>2204 Tailburton Ct.
>Little Elm, Texas 75068
>
>
>
>Wow, what a collection of names in the to: line! I wanted to send you
>guys a copy of this letter I am writing concerning Sprint PCS. I'm
>just a little guy, having some problems with a big company, and I am
>e-mailing my letter to several media personalities in hopes that
>someone will do a story or mention my story on the radio so no one
>else falls prey to Sprint PCS. The letter is long, and it describes,
>as professionally as I can, my dealings with Sprint. I will greatly
>appreciate it if you simply read the letter. I know each of you is
>incredibly busy and I appreciate that. I listen to all of your shows
>at work, yes, I flip back and forth between KLIF and WBAP. I need
>Tivo for radio. Anyways, thanks guys.
>
>Justin Green
>justin@cjteam.com
>
>Dear Sir or Madam:
>
>This letter is a general letter I will be using to file a second round
>of complaints with Better Business Bureaus, Attorney Generals, and if
>need be, courts. My complaint is against Sprint PCS stores and mainly
>their Customer Care service and corporate headquarter's policies. I
>will also be using this letter to file complaints with local media,
>radio and television personalities, the Mayor of Frisco, various
>online consumer advocacy groups, etc. I am also sending Sprint PCS
>headquarters as well as the two Sprint PCS stores a copy of this
>letter so they can prepare their response to the BBBs.
>
>Introduction & History
>My name is Justin Green. I live in Little Elm, Texas. Little Elm is
>west of Frisco, TX and north of The Colony, TX. Around December 14th,
>2002, I purchased a two-phone sprint plan, family plan, add-a-phone
>plan, or whatever other term it is called now. The plan was for 400
>minutes per month I believe and was around $69.00 per month before
>taxes, surcharges, fees, etc. The phones purchased in the Radio Shack
>in the mall in Arlington, Texas. Both of the phones were Model 1010
>LG phones. I paid by debit card and I have the receipt.
>
>Problems
>In June, my service began to seriously degrade. By the middle of
>July, I was dropping approximately 80-9