Sprint Plan Prices Deceptive? (Free & Clear)

I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
"price".

Verizon tells me the taxes and surcharge would bring *their* $35 plan
to about $40. That's a lot less upcharge than Sprint, assuming I am
being given a straight story (and based on coversations with and posts
from a few Verizon customers, that sounds at least fairly clse to
truth). I used a monthly prepaid service awhile back, and even though
they have a reputation for scewing people over, their upcharge
percentage was even less than Verizon's -- about 10%: $40 -->
$44.28). And this carrier used the SPCS network to habdle its calls!

Sure sounds to me like Sprint may be using fees to allow them to quote
a competitive price but in actuality charge more.

In a way this reminds me of a stuation in most U.S. (not Euoropean)
restaurants, namely that they don't list beer, cocktail or soft drink
prices -- only wine. Few people bother to ask, and they can end up
paying extremely jacked-up prices. (I sometimes ask, and the servers
usually don't know and seem surprised anyone would ask -- "the
computer prices it" -- and they sometimes balk at checking.)
Apparently Sprint, more than some other providers, is using this same
"hardly anyone one will bother to ask THAT" angle to ratchet up their
profits. And, BTW, I had to go through several CS reps before I could
even get an answer about the all-inclusive cost.

Partly due to this, I may cancel while I'm still in the no-penalty
cancellation period.

---

› See More: Sprint Plan Prices Deceptive? (Free & Clear)

"Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
> customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
> charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
> will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
> "price".

Which plan did you sign up for, the Fair & Flexible plan, or the flat 300
min. plan? Did you buy an extra option like 7 PM N & W, or PCS2PCS, or F &
CA?

>
> Verizon tells me the taxes and surcharge would bring *their* $35 plan
> to about $40. That's a lot less upcharge than Sprint, assuming I am
> being given a straight story (and based on coversations with and posts
> from a few Verizon customers, that sounds at least fairly clse to
> truth). I used a monthly prepaid service awhile back, and even though
> they have a reputation for scewing people over, their upcharge
> percentage was even less than Verizon's -- about 10%: $40 -->
> $44.28). And this carrier used the SPCS network to habdle its calls!

Taxes and surcharges average around 20%. Some areas are higher, some lower,
depending on the state and local taxes applied. Instead of listening to
Verizon customers, why don't you call Verizon directly and find out from the
horse's mouth?
>
> Sure sounds to me like Sprint may be using fees to allow them to quote
> a competitive price but in actuality charge more.
>
The only fee that SPCS might charge that Verizon might not, is a porting fee
to recapture their expenses, and that $0.40 / a month.

> In a way this reminds me of a stuation in most U.S. (not Euoropean)
> restaurants, namely that they don't list beer, cocktail or soft drink
> prices -- only wine. Few people bother to ask, and they can end up
> paying extremely jacked-up prices. (I sometimes ask, and the servers
> usually don't know and seem surprised anyone would ask -- "the
> computer prices it" -- and they sometimes balk at checking.)
> Apparently Sprint, more than some other providers, is using this same
> "hardly anyone one will bother to ask THAT" angle to ratchet up their
> profits. And, BTW, I had to go through several CS reps before I could
> even get an answer about the all-inclusive cost.
>
> Partly due to this, I may cancel while I'm still in the no-penalty
> cancellation period.

It's your decision. You might supply some additional details on which plan
and options (if any) you took, along with where you live (city & state), as
some additional information can be passed on to here.

Bob

Bob

"Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
> customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
> charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
> will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
> "price".

I just received my bill today, I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and this is what
it shows for the break down as far
as taxes and surcharges go..

Federal tax 1.55
Hamilton county sales tax 0.52
Ohio state sales tax 3.11

Federal universal service 1.02
Federal E911 .40
Federal wireless portability .40

$7.00

And that is about what you'd pay under every wireless carrier at your
current location. In my case I don't have a county tax.

Chris

"thunder" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
>> customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
>> charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
>> will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
>> "price".
>
> I just received my bill today, I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and this is what
> it shows for the break down as far
> as taxes and surcharges go..
>
> Federal tax 1.55
> Hamilton county sales tax 0.52
> Ohio state sales tax 3.11
>
> Federal universal service 1.02
> Federal E911 .40
> Federal wireless portability .40
>
> $7.00
>
>
>

Shortly after starting this thread I got some new info, but had to
wait until the first post appeared before adding the follow-up (I
haven't seen the responses yet, if any):

It appears that the CS rep who very quickly and confidently told me
that my monthly all-inclusive costs would be $44.34 simply took the
$9.34 in taxes and fees I was charged on my first invoice and added
that to the $35.00 monthly base.

I began to wonder if maybe I was also charged tax on the one-time only
activation fee of $36 that also appeared on the first invoice. I
called another competent-sounding CS Rep and asked if the activation
fee was taxable. He quickly said yes. I then called a local city
official and asked if the city and state taxes were levied on
activation fees. He also said yes. I'm guessing that's probably true
for federal taxes, too (which were a lot lower, by the way).

So doing a little number crunching -- namely cutting taxes by a little
more than 50% and leaving fees and surcharges constant -- I come up
with a total monthly charge of only $40.30 instead of $44.34…about the
same as the all-inclusive estimate Verizon gave me pronto for *their*
$35 plan. (I actually get another 5% discount that Sprint offers to
USAA members, bringing the overall monthly total to about
$38.40…although I won't bank on *anything* until I see next month's
invoice.)

Anyway, that incorrect all-inclusive of $44.34 I was given by the
first "quick and confident" CS Rep could have caused me to take
advantage of my two-week cancellation period and move to Verizon, by
tipping the scales when added to a few other mild reservations I have
about SPCS and the phone.

Aren't CS reps trained in all apspects of invoice questions --
including to follow up with a supervisor when necessary instead of
making uneducated assumptions (in my case, that ongoing taxes will be
the same as the first month's taxes)?

So far, my experience with SPCS CS (on an admittedly small sample
size):
-- Overall, better than CS for many (non-wireless) Telecom and
other-industry companies…but that's not
really much of a compliment these days
-- Usually pretty easy to get hold of, wait times short-to-moderate
-- Generally pleasant and courteous
-- Email CS pretty good and quick (although one wrote back that there
was no way he could estimate the all-inclusive monthlyt charges
-- Telephone CS Rep profile:
A. 50% sound like they know what they're talking about and
actually do
B. 25% sound like they know what they're taking about but are
actually clueless
C. 25% sound clueless and *are* clueless

"B" is actually the most dangerous category from a customer
perspective, of course.

(And dammit, I *still* want to know what the beer prices are when I
order at a restaurant! I believe listing those prices is actually a
LAW in many European countries, which makes sense. Why should
Americans be pushovers? OK, I know this has nothing to do with cell
phones, but at least the general concept kind of applies to my
topic…and I don't know where else to get on my soapbox about it.)

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
> > customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
> > charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
> > will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
> > "price".
>
> Which plan did you sign up for, the Fair & Flexible plan, or the flat 300
> min. plan? Did you buy an extra option like 7 PM N & W, or PCS2PCS, or F &
> CA?

The flat plan, which they call Free & Clear now. No extras.
>
> >
> > Verizon tells me the taxes and surcharge would bring *their* $35 plan
> > to about $40. That's a lot less upcharge than Sprint, assuming I am
> > being given a straight story (and based on coversations with and posts
> > from a few Verizon customers, that sounds at least fairly clse to
> > truth). I used a monthly prepaid service awhile back, and even though
> > they have a reputation for scewing people over, their upcharge
> > percentage was even less than Verizon's -- about 10%: $40 -->
> > $44.28). And this carrier used the SPCS network to habdle its calls!
>
> Taxes and surcharges average around 20%. Some areas are higher, some lower,
> depending on the state and local taxes applied. Instead of listening to
> Verizon customers, why don't you call Verizon directly and find out from the
> horse's mouth?

I did. That's what I meant by "Verizon tells me..."

> The only fee that SPCS might charge that Verizon might not, is a porting fee
> to recapture their expenses, and that $0.40 / a month.

I don't think they did. I just posted a followup that I think solves
my issue, namely why I think the all-inclusive price CS quoted me was
wrong, i.e. higher than I'm actually going to get billed. But I
thought I'd answer your questions anyway since you took the time to
reply.

> It's your decision. You might supply some additional details on which plan
> and options (if any) you took, along with where you live (city & state), as
> some additional information can be passed on to here.

Again, no options selected. And I'm in suburban Chicago, where, per
my discussion with a city official (see my later post), state tax is
7% and city tax is 1%. Again, this is all fyi, since I think I've
solved the issue.

"thunder" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
> > customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
> > charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
> > will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
> > "price".
>
> I just received my bill today, I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and this is what
> it shows for the break down as far
> as taxes and surcharges go..
>
> Federal tax 1.55
> Hamilton county sales tax 0.52
> Ohio state sales tax 3.11
>
> Federal universal service 1.02
> Federal E911 .40
> Federal wireless portability .40
>
> $7.00

Assuming you're also on the $35 flat-rate plan w/no extras, it looks
like your total up-charge is 20%. As I mention in a followup to my
own post, I think that CS's quote was wrong and that my actual ongoing
bill will have about a 15% upcharge instead of 27%. Hard to believe
the tax in Cincy would be higher than in suburban Chicago, but again
I'm not certain what your monthly base+options is.

Rick <[email protected]> wrote:

> Assuming you're also on the $35 flat-rate plan w/no extras, it looks
> like your total up-charge is 20%. As I mention in a followup to my
> own post, I think that CS's quote was wrong and that my actual ongoing
> bill will have about a 15% upcharge instead of 27%. Hard to believe
> the tax in Cincy would be higher than in suburban Chicago, but again
> I'm not certain what your monthly base+options is.

Someone's gotta make up for Ohio having some of the lowest telecom
prices in the known universe.... (Not necessarily referring to cellular
here, but the landline/data tarriffs the telcos have filed in Ohio tend to
be ridiculously cheap...)

Seriously - don't bother asking someone in a call center that probably isn't
even in the same state as you are, what your taxes are going to be. They
won't be able to answer accurately.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

"Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > "Rick" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> > > I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
> > > customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
> > > charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
> > > will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
> > > "price".
> >
> > Which plan did you sign up for, the Fair & Flexible plan, or the flat
300
> > min. plan? Did you buy an extra option like 7 PM N & W, or PCS2PCS, or F
&
> > CA?
>
> The flat plan, which they call Free & Clear now. No extras.

Ok. Out of curiousity, why didn't you go with the F & F. If you go over your
monthly minutes, it's much cheaper for a low end user. If you were to go to
maybe 350 AT minutes in a month on the F & C plan, it would cost you $20
more ... plus tax. If you were on the F & F plan, it would cost you just $5
more ... plus tax. Here's a web page where you can compare -
http://tinyurl.com/3znlv

Glad to see that you were able to figure it out on the taxes for your area.

Bob

Rick <[email protected]> wrote:

> Aren't CS reps trained in all apspects of invoice questions --
> including to follow up with a supervisor when necessary instead of
> making uneducated assumptions (in my case, that ongoing taxes will be
> the same as the first month's taxes)?

They *should* just refuse to estimate at all. I don't see how they can
accurately estimate with the HUGE number of possible combinations of
city, county, state and federal taxes out there, and I guarantee... ain't
none of 'em CPA's.

> phones, but at least the general concept kind of applies to my
> topic?and I don't know where else to get on my soapbox about it.)

Other than Bennigan's listing Guinness at "Market Price" (!) I don't know
of any place that *doesn't* list beer prices.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

I am on a retention deal, I have 1000 anytime minutes(national) unlimited
nights and weekends starting at 8pm. for $50 a month.

>
> Assuming you're also on the $35 flat-rate plan w/no extras, it looks
> like your total up-charge is 20%. As I mention in a followup to my
> own post, I think that CS's quote was wrong and that my actual ongoing
> bill will have about a 15% upcharge instead of 27%. Hard to believe
> the tax in Cincy would be higher than in suburban Chicago, but again
> I'm not certain what your monthly base+options is.

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

Rick <[email protected]> wrote:
> I signed up for a "$35/month" plan with Sprint PCS(brand new
> customer). Turns out with all fees and taxes, my base minimum monthly
> charge (assuming I use no extras and stay below my minutes allotment)
> will be $44.34. That's effectively a 27% upcharge over the $35
> "price".
>
> Verizon tells me the taxes and surcharge would bring *their* $35 plan
> to about $40.

It varies by state. I had nearly identical charges on my Verizon bill
as opposed to my Sprint PCS bill. The only thing bigger on my SPCS bill
was the pooling and portability charge for WLNP, but that has just been
reduced to $0.40 per phone [from $1.10].

>
> Sure sounds to me like Sprint may be using fees to allow them to quote
> a competitive price but in actuality charge more.

I have to disagree whole heartedly.
>
> Partly due to this, I may cancel while I'm still in the no-penalty
> cancellation period.

Well, if you go to Verizon, you will be in for a surprise. They charge
more for EVERYTHING, and you will find the taxes very comparable.

- --

Thomas T. Veldhouse
Key Fingerprint: 2DB9 813F F510 82C2 E1AE 34D0 D69D 1EDC D5EC AED1

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.2.4 (FreeBSD)

iD8DBQFA8+qA1p0e3NXsrtERAro9AKC+DS3LsfLB+4o0QVRtf/UaVgK/0ACgnB+p
EPk4+xZ6Dwcny+oHJ5eXPR8=
=Mru+
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

Steven J Sobol <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Other than Bennigan's listing Guinness at "Market Price" (!) I don't know
> of any place that *doesn't* list beer prices.

Wow! Maybe California has a beverage price disclosure law like many
of the European countries? Except for Chinese restaurants,
order-at-the-counter places, some small mom-and-pop joints and a
handful of the national chains, restaurants around here usually don't
list beer prices unless it's a pitcher or a special.

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Ok. Out of curiousity, why didn't you go with the F & F. If you go over your
> monthly minutes, it's much cheaper for a low end user.

Based on my current usage patterns, I'll virtually never exceed 300
peak-period minutes, and I didn't want to lock into the two-year
contract required for F&F. Got a one-year for F&C.

"thunder" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I am on a retention deal, I have 1000 anytime minutes(national) unlimited
> nights and weekends starting at 8pm. for $50 a month.
>
Oh, then the Cincy upcharge % is about the same as here in my
Chicago-area burb (assuming my predictions turn out to be correct when
the second invoice arrives).