Unhappy new Sprint customer...

I received my new phones (two) tonight. They were supposed to already be
activated, and working, when I received them. They were not working. I
then attempted to activate them, but they said they were already activated.
I called Sprint, and they determined that my Nextel account could not be
ported, because I had a lock on the number. Why didn't they ask me this
when I set everything up? Long story short, I had Nextel un-lock the
numbers, so they could be ported over to Sprint. That was successful. Then
they told me the phones would not work until Tuesday, 12/21! When I placed
the order, they told me I could start using them immediately, even while the
Nextel account was still active. This evening, they said I could use the
Sprint's for outbound calls only, and receive calls on the Nextel, until
12/21. Well, that doesn't even work. Does all this sound normal?

Thanks in advance.

Bill Crocker

---

› See More: Unhappy new Sprint customer...

"Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Well, that doesn't even work. Does all
> this sound normal?

What's normal is that sales people will lie through their frickin' teeth
in order to make a sale.

First off it isn't normal, I ported my nextel a year ago and it took 3 hours
to start working on my phone. Thing is with portiing, it's not an exact
science that works right all the time, what does. I would call customer
service and voice your disappointment and see what they can do. I've been
with every provider and have stories from all, but I've learned that
sometimes you have a good sales person sometimes you don't. The number
locked part they wouldn't ask about because most people don't have it
locked, it's something you probably should have looked into before porting.

Capt.

"Neon Knight" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> Well, that doesn't even work. Does all
>> this sound normal?
>
> What's normal is that sales people will lie through their frickin' teeth
> in order to make a sale.

I had asked, when placing my order, if there was anything I needed to
do...did I need to contact Nextel, to get them to transfer the number, or
turned off, etc. Sprint told me no, it wasn't necessary, they handle
everything. Sprint has acknowledged that the lock has been removed, as of
last night, and everything should be fine. However, when attempting to make
a call, I get a recording, that my account is not validated. Sometimes, it
wants to roam, even though I have a strong local signal. When I called
Sprint back, and explained this, she told me that she would submit a request
to tech support, and someone would call me. No response.

That being said, even if I have to wait until Monday morning, to get this
resolved, why can't they do it in three hours, like they did yours? Why are
they telling me my phones won't be working until Tuesday?

I don't have a "home" phone. I rely on my mobile phone 100%. This was
something I could do with confidence, using Nextel. I guess I'm due for a
reality check, using Sprint.

My calls for help are being routed to people you can't understand, due to a
language barrier, static, echo's, delays, dropouts, etc. (even when calling
them from a land-line)

Bill Crocker


"Capn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> First off it isn't normal, I ported my nextel a year ago and it took 3
> hours to start working on my phone. Thing is with portiing, it's not an
> exact science that works right all the time, what does. I would call
> customer service and voice your disappointment and see what they can do.
> I've been with every provider and have stories from all, but I've learned
> that sometimes you have a good sales person sometimes you don't. The
> number locked part they wouldn't ask about because most people don't have
> it locked, it's something you probably should have looked into before
> porting.
>
> Capt.
>
> "Neon Knight" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in
>> news:[email protected]:
>>
>>> Well, that doesn't even work. Does all
>>> this sound normal?
>>
>> What's normal is that sales people will lie through their frickin' teeth
>> in order to make a sale.
>
>

I ported my number from Sprint to Nextel back in June and ported back to
Sprint in October. The Sprint to Nextel took less than a day, the Nextel to
Sprint on the other hand took about a week. Nextel locks their numbers
without telling their customers to prevent unauthorized porting'. Why? Who
the f**k knows. I've had the worst cellular experience of my life when I was
with Nextel for the four months I was there. I will NEVER... EVER go back to
them and if anyone asks me I'll tell them the same thing. I would write off
most of the issues you have with this port to starting out with Nextel but
that's my opinion.

"Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I had asked, when placing my order, if there was anything I needed to
> do...did I need to contact Nextel, to get them to transfer the number, or
> turned off, etc. Sprint told me no, it wasn't necessary, they handle
> everything. Sprint has acknowledged that the lock has been removed, as of
> last night, and everything should be fine. However, when attempting to
make
> a call, I get a recording, that my account is not validated. Sometimes,
it
> wants to roam, even though I have a strong local signal. When I called
> Sprint back, and explained this, she told me that she would submit a
request
> to tech support, and someone would call me. No response.
>
> That being said, even if I have to wait until Monday morning, to get this
> resolved, why can't they do it in three hours, like they did yours? Why
are
> they telling me my phones won't be working until Tuesday?
>
> I don't have a "home" phone. I rely on my mobile phone 100%. This was
> something I could do with confidence, using Nextel. I guess I'm due for a
> reality check, using Sprint.
>
> My calls for help are being routed to people you can't understand, due to
a
> language barrier, static, echo's, delays, dropouts, etc. (even when
calling
> them from a land-line)
>
> Bill Crocker
>
>
> "Capn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > First off it isn't normal, I ported my nextel a year ago and it took 3
> > hours to start working on my phone. Thing is with portiing, it's not an
> > exact science that works right all the time, what does. I would call
> > customer service and voice your disappointment and see what they can do.
> > I've been with every provider and have stories from all, but I've
learned
> > that sometimes you have a good sales person sometimes you don't. The
> > number locked part they wouldn't ask about because most people don't
have
> > it locked, it's something you probably should have looked into before
> > porting.
> >
> > Capt.
> >
> > "Neon Knight" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > news:[email protected]...
> >> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in
> >> news:[email protected]:
> >>
> >>> Well, that doesn't even work. Does all
> >>> this sound normal?
> >>
> >> What's normal is that sales people will lie through their frickin'
teeth
> >> in order to make a sale.
> >
> >
>
>

That's not what happened in my case. I was the one that put the number lock
on my Nextel account. Sprint failed to inform me that was the hold-up.
When I contacted Nextel, I had the block removed immediately, while I was
on-line with them. Ten minutes later, I called Sprint, to inform them, and
they acknowledged the block had been removed. So there were no issues with
Nextel.

Bill Crocker

"Scooterflex" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1103393768.55e04b9f1977022f1db15da690d95191@teranews...
>I ported my number from Sprint to Nextel back in June and ported back to
> Sprint in October. The Sprint to Nextel took less than a day, the Nextel
> to
> Sprint on the other hand took about a week. Nextel locks their numbers
> without telling their customers to prevent unauthorized porting'. Why? Who
> the f**k knows. I've had the worst cellular experience of my life when I
> was
> with Nextel for the four months I was there. I will NEVER... EVER go back
> to
> them and if anyone asks me I'll tell them the same thing. I would write
> off
> most of the issues you have with this port to starting out with Nextel but
> that's my opinion.
>
> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I had asked, when placing my order, if there was anything I needed to
>> do...did I need to contact Nextel, to get them to transfer the number, or
>> turned off, etc. Sprint told me no, it wasn't necessary, they handle
>> everything. Sprint has acknowledged that the lock has been removed, as
>> of
>> last night, and everything should be fine. However, when attempting to
> make
>> a call, I get a recording, that my account is not validated. Sometimes,
> it
>> wants to roam, even though I have a strong local signal. When I called
>> Sprint back, and explained this, she told me that she would submit a
> request
>> to tech support, and someone would call me. No response.
>>
>> That being said, even if I have to wait until Monday morning, to get this
>> resolved, why can't they do it in three hours, like they did yours? Why
> are
>> they telling me my phones won't be working until Tuesday?
>>
>> I don't have a "home" phone. I rely on my mobile phone 100%. This was
>> something I could do with confidence, using Nextel. I guess I'm due for
>> a
>> reality check, using Sprint.
>>
>> My calls for help are being routed to people you can't understand, due to
> a
>> language barrier, static, echo's, delays, dropouts, etc. (even when
> calling
>> them from a land-line)
>>
>> Bill Crocker
>>
>>
>> "Capn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>> > First off it isn't normal, I ported my nextel a year ago and it took 3
>> > hours to start working on my phone. Thing is with portiing, it's not an
>> > exact science that works right all the time, what does. I would call
>> > customer service and voice your disappointment and see what they can
>> > do.
>> > I've been with every provider and have stories from all, but I've
> learned
>> > that sometimes you have a good sales person sometimes you don't. The
>> > number locked part they wouldn't ask about because most people don't
> have
>> > it locked, it's something you probably should have looked into before
>> > porting.
>> >
>> > Capt.
>> >
>> > "Neon Knight" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> > news:[email protected]...
>> >> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in
>> >> news:[email protected]:
>> >>
>> >>> Well, that doesn't even work. Does all
>> >>> this sound normal?
>> >>
>> >> What's normal is that sales people will lie through their frickin'
> teeth
>> >> in order to make a sale.
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>
>

End of story. I cancelled my new Sprint accounts for the wife, and myself.
I have re-instated service with Nextel, which I understand will be available
for about a year, still.

When attempting to resolve all the problems I was having with Sprint, all
they could say was, "I apologize for the problems you're experiencing, and
I'm really sorry. Do you have any other questions, or is there anything
else Sprint can do for you today?" I think if I would have told her it was
snowing here in Michigan, she would have responded exactly the same. When I
finally told her I wanted to cancel my accounts, and stop doing business
with Sprint, she hung up on me! I guess she understood that request, I just
didn't expect such fast service! Sprint, LOL!!! Too bad they're going to
destroy the professional, reliable, service that Nextel has built their
business on.

Bill Crocker


"Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>I received my new phones (two) tonight. They were supposed to already be
>activated, and working, when I received them. They were not working. I
>then attempted to activate them, but they said they were already activated.
>I called Sprint, and they determined that my Nextel account could not be
>ported, because I had a lock on the number. Why didn't they ask me this
>when I set everything up? Long story short, I had Nextel un-lock the
>numbers, so they could be ported over to Sprint. That was successful.
>Then they told me the phones would not work until Tuesday, 12/21! When I
>placed the order, they told me I could start using them immediately, even
>while the Nextel account was still active. This evening, they said I could
>use the Sprint's for outbound calls only, and receive calls on the Nextel,
>until 12/21. Well, that doesn't even work. Does all this sound normal?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Bill Crocker
>

Just out of curiosity - what is meant by "number lock"? What are the
advantages/disadvantages of one? How would you go about putting one on
your phone?

Thanks


On Sat, 18 Dec 2004 14:15:25 -0500, "Bill Crocker"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>That's not what happened in my case. I was the one that put the number lock
>on my Nextel account. Sprint failed to inform me that was the hold-up.
>When I contacted Nextel, I had the block removed immediately, while I was
>on-line with them. Ten minutes later, I called Sprint, to inform them, and
>they acknowledged the block had been removed. So there were no issues with
>Nextel.
>
>Bill Crocker
>
>"Scooterflex" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:1103393768.55e04b9f1977022f1db15da690d95191@teranews...
>>I ported my number from Sprint to Nextel back in June and ported back to
>> Sprint in October. The Sprint to Nextel took less than a day, the Nextel
>> to
>> Sprint on the other hand took about a week. Nextel locks their numbers
>> without telling their customers to prevent unauthorized porting'. Why? Who
>> the f**k knows. I've had the worst cellular experience of my life when I
>> was
>> with Nextel for the four months I was there. I will NEVER... EVER go back
>> to
>> them and if anyone asks me I'll tell them the same thing. I would write
>> off
>> most of the issues you have with this port to starting out with Nextel but
>> that's my opinion.
>>
>> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>> news:[email protected]...
>>> I had asked, when placing my order, if there was anything I needed to
>>> do...did I need to contact Nextel, to get them to transfer the number, or
>>> turned off, etc. Sprint told me no, it wasn't necessary, they handle
>>> everything. Sprint has acknowledged that the lock has been removed, as
>>> of
>>> last night, and everything should be fine. However, when attempting to
>> make
>>> a call, I get a recording, that my account is not validated. Sometimes,
>> it
>>> wants to roam, even though I have a strong local signal. When I called
>>> Sprint back, and explained this, she told me that she would submit a
>> request
>>> to tech support, and someone would call me. No response.
>>>
>>> That being said, even if I have to wait until Monday morning, to get this
>>> resolved, why can't they do it in three hours, like they did yours? Why
>> are
>>> they telling me my phones won't be working until Tuesday?
>>>
>>> I don't have a "home" phone. I rely on my mobile phone 100%. This was
>>> something I could do with confidence, using Nextel. I guess I'm due for
>>> a
>>> reality check, using Sprint.
>>>
>>> My calls for help are being routed to people you can't understand, due to
>> a
>>> language barrier, static, echo's, delays, dropouts, etc. (even when
>> calling
>>> them from a land-line)
>>>
>>> Bill Crocker
>>>
>>>
>>> "Capn" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> news:[email protected]...
>>> > First off it isn't normal, I ported my nextel a year ago and it took 3
>>> > hours to start working on my phone. Thing is with portiing, it's not an
>>> > exact science that works right all the time, what does. I would call
>>> > customer service and voice your disappointment and see what they can
>>> > do.
>>> > I've been with every provider and have stories from all, but I've
>> learned
>>> > that sometimes you have a good sales person sometimes you don't. The
>>> > number locked part they wouldn't ask about because most people don't
>> have
>>> > it locked, it's something you probably should have looked into before
>>> > porting.
>>> >
>>> > Capt.
>>> >
>>> > "Neon Knight" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>>> > news:[email protected]...
>>> >> "Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in
>>> >> news:[email protected]:
>>> >>
>>> >>> Well, that doesn't even work. Does all
>>> >>> this sound normal?
>>> >>
>>> >> What's normal is that sales people will lie through their frickin'
>> teeth
>>> >> in order to make a sale.
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>

Mark <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Just out of curiosity - what is meant by "number lock"?

It prevents your number from being ported. For instance, say someone
goes to port their phone number, their number is one number different
than yours. The guy entering the data fat fingers the number and
accidentally ports your number instead of the one that he was supposed
to. If you have a lock on your number, it can't be ported until you
"unlock" it. If you don't have a lock, your phone just got ported by
mistake. Sure they can fix it but how long and how much hassle will it
be?

Scooterflex wrote:
> I ported my number from Sprint to Nextel back in June and ported back to
> Sprint in October.

I ported my number from Verizon to Sprint in June. The porting specialist at
Sprint said the request went into VZ's system as soon as he entered it, and the
turnaround was about four hours. That was actually confirmed by someone in a
similar role at VZ.

Two problems prevented the port from happening within four hours:

1. I live in Apple Valley CA but when I moved out here I had a Victorville
address since we lived with my mother-in-law for a month before we found a
house. Sprint and Verizon both got my new address but for some reason, Sprint
still had the old address and used it for the port, and the port failed because
Verizon had my new address and the account info has to match at both the old
and new carriers for the port to work. Sprint had the old address in their
computer even though they'd been sending bills to my new address for months.

That was Sprint's fault.

2. Verizon didn't release the account because they weren't given the account
password or the last four digits of my SSN.

That wasn't Sprint's fault, but the porting specialists should have enough
experience to know to ask if the account being ported from is password protected.

So, I called back later in the day after the four hours had passed, and found
out what the problems were, and corrected them. My number ported over the next
day. Not a dealbreaker, but somewhat annoying, and there are probably some
things they can change to make the porting process go more smoothly in the future.

--
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.

In article <[email protected]>, Bill=20
[email protected] says...
> Too bad they're going to=20
> destroy the professional, reliable, service that Nextel has built their=
=20
> business on.
>=20
>=20

That's an interesting leap of faith. And your basis for=20
what they are going to do to Nextel is...?

Did you know the two companies intend to continue operating=20
independently?

--=20
R=D8=DF
O/Siris
-+-
**A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.**
-Thomas Paine. The Rights of Man. 1792-

"Bill Crocker" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> End of story. I cancelled my new Sprint accounts for the wife, and
myself.
> I have re-instated service with Nextel, which I understand will be
available
> for about a year, still.
>
> When attempting to resolve all the problems I was having with Sprint, all
> they could say was, "I apologize for the problems you're experiencing,
and
> I'm really sorry. Do you have any other questions, or is there anything
> else Sprint can do for you today?" I think if I would have told her it
was
> snowing here in Michigan, she would have responded exactly the same. When
I
> finally told her I wanted to cancel my accounts, and stop doing business
> with Sprint, she hung up on me! I guess she understood that request, I
just
> didn't expect such fast service! Sprint, LOL!!! Too bad they're going to
> destroy the professional, reliable, service that Nextel has built their
> business on.
>
Sorry Bill, what your experiancing from "Sprint" is STANDARD OPERATING
PROCEDURE.
The reps DO lie thru their teeth, will tell you bald-faced lies to get you
to sign and turn into instant assholes when you want to bail out and return
their equipment.
They are just like AT&TWorthless in that they will.......
1> Blame the handset
2> Blame the site in your area, but it will be repaired in a few days
3> Blame YOU as you have no idea how a cellular telephone works.
4> NOTHING will get fixed, you will get doubletalk and endless promises, but
NO satisfaction.

Sprint is NO better than the ****ty AT&T when it comes to customer
no-service.

Nextel recently lost the battle with the FCC, regarding their interference
problem with public safety communications (particularly police, and fire).
They have been given an order by the FCC, to completely change their
operating frequency within a designated period of time (not sure how long
that is). As you can imagine, the cost associated with doing this, would be
prohibitive! I think Nextel saw this as an easy way out...take the money
and run, rather than have to deal with that. Sprint has already commented,
that Nextel's infrastructure is showing it's age, and can not be easily
upgraded. It sounds like the plan is to assimilate the Nextel user base,
into the Sprint system, over time. When it gets closer to the deadline,
they'll probably seduce the hold-outs with some kind of super deal on a
video phone, or something.

Bill Crocker


"O/Siris" <0sîrîs@sprîntpcs.côm> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
In article <[email protected]>, Bill
[email protected] says...
> Too bad they're going to
> destroy the professional, reliable, service that Nextel has built their
> business on.
>
>

That's an interesting leap of faith. And your basis for
what they are going to do to Nextel is...?

Did you know the two companies intend to continue operating
independently?

--
RØß
O/Siris
-+-
**A thing moderately good
is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.**
-Thomas Paine. The Rights of Man. 1792-

That is precisely what happened to my wife's AT&T account back in March. The
problem was that when we called AT&T tech support to complain that her
inbound calls went straight to a message stating that her voice mail was not
set up, FOUR different people told us over a three day period she had a
defective phone. After I reamed the last moron to tell us that, he finally
dug around and found that another woman was porting to Verizon and my wife's
number got entered by mistake. It took them several days to fix it on a
"rush" order.

She is now happily with Sprint.

Gregg Hill



"Neon Knight" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Mark <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> Just out of curiosity - what is meant by "number lock"?
>
> It prevents your number from being ported. For instance, say someone
> goes to port their phone number, their number is one number different
> than yours. The guy entering the data fat fingers the number and
> accidentally ports your number instead of the one that he was supposed
> to. If you have a lock on your number, it can't be ported until you
> "unlock" it. If you don't have a lock, your phone just got ported by
> mistake. Sure they can fix it but how long and how much hassle will it
> be?

Bill Crocker wrote:
> That's not what happened in my case. I was the one that put the number lock
> on my Nextel account.

Wait, so you put the lock on yourself, specifically for the purpose of
preventing a porting from taking place, and then you wonder why the port
didn't go through?!


--
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