Recourse for Sprint Surprise Contract

Larry wrote:
> You have no contrct with Sprint.

If he added a family member, that constitutes adding a second line
and the contract on THAT line is two years (or whatever).

> NO signaature...NO contract....Clicking doesn't stand up in court.

Total nonsense.

> Even signatures require a Notary public's stamping its certification.

Total nonsense, you don't have to have a notary stamp your signature
when you sign a contract in the store (as an example).

---

› See More: Recourse for Sprint Surprise Contract

victorg <[email protected]> wrote in news:9ecf0880-9724-418b-a577-
[email protected]:

> Do I have any recourse short of trying to sue them, which I am
> obviously not going to do for just $600.
>
>

You have no contrct with Sprint. What state are you in? Washington State
just handed Verizon its decision that a Washington customer of Verizon
Wirelelss comes uner Washington laws, not NY State which allows this
nonssense.

Any attorney will write a letter on law firm letteread explaining your
state's laws to them and informing them he will be representing you and
the rest of the customers in the class action suit if they persue this
course of action. Washingtonn also told Verizon they had no right to
force customers to knuckle under to arbitration instead of a proper court
proceeding.

NO signaature...NO contract....Clicking doesn't stand up in court.

Even signatures require a Notary public's stamping its certification.

Sellphone company bull****....It won't stand in court.

On Sep 9, 1:39*pm, DTC <[email protected]> wrote:
> Larry wrote:
> > You have no contrct with Sprint. *
>
> If he added a family member, that constitutes adding a second line
> and the contract on THAT line is two years (or whatever).
>
> > NO signaature...NO *contract....Clicking doesn't stand up in court.
>
> Total nonsense.
>
> > Even signatures require a Notary public's stamping its *certification..
>
> Total nonsense, you don't have to have a notary stamp your signature
> when you sign a contract in the store (as an example).

I am in New York. Your comment makes sense, but I am not going to
spend a fortune on lawyers to save $600.

Is there a tested script I could convey to Sprint to get them to
submit?

>I need some advice about how to get out of a Sprint contract.
> I bought my Treo around 4 years ago and got a 2 year contract.
> I finally decided to upgrade to an iPhone with AT&T.
> I called Sprint and they informed me I still have one year left to my
> contract.
> What happened - last year I increased my minutes and added one more
> family member.
> Sprint took it on themselves to increase my contract for 2 years.

If you had only increased your minutes, you might be able to claim that they
wrongfully extended your contract period. More likely, your old plan was
cancelled and they started you up on a new improved plan, with it's own
new contract period. I'm not saying that's right...it's just the way they
do it.

You also say you added one more family member. I assume that you also
got a new phone for that family member. The last two phones I got came
with a discount and/or a rebate. The rebate was dependent on my "signing
up" for another year or two, with the two-year committment carrying a larger
discount, and thus a cheaper new phone for me.

The time you have the phone activated starts another clock that determines
when
you can get another "cheap" phone. That clock may be independent of the
clock
that starts running when you change plans, increase minutes, get a discount,
or ask a question. The CSR in many situations will not tell you that there
is
a new contract extension being instituted.

I wish sprint would handle all their relations online. At least you would
have
everything in writing. It would level the playing field for all customers.
I hate it that all the people that are good at working the system
have plans that are better than mine and are paying considerably less.

On Sep 9, 10:43*pm, "FloydinTampa" <[email protected]> wrote:
> >I need some advice about how to get out of a Sprint contract.
> > I bought my Treo around 4 years ago and got a 2 year contract.
> > I finally decided to upgrade to an iPhone with AT&T.
> > I called Sprint and they informed me I still have one year left to my
> > contract.
> > What happened - last year I increased my minutes and added one more
> > family member.
> > Sprint took it on themselves to increase my contract for 2 years.
>
> If you had only increased your minutes, you might be able to claim that they
> wrongfully extended your contract period. *More likely, your old plan was
> cancelled and they started you up on a new improved plan, with it's own
> new contract period. *I'm not saying that's right...it's just the way they
> do it.
>
> You also say you added one more family member. *I assume that you also
> got a new phone for that family member. *The last two phones I got came
> with a discount and/or a rebate. *The rebate was dependent on my "signing
> up" for another year or two, with the two-year committment carrying a larger
> discount, and thus a cheaper new phone for me.
>
> The time you have the phone activated starts another clock that determines
> when
> you can get another "cheap" phone. *That clock may be independent of the
> clock
> that starts running when you change plans, increase minutes, get a discount,
> or ask a question. *The *CSR in many situations will not tell you that there
> is
> a new contract extension being instituted.
>
> I wish sprint would handle all their relations online. *At least you would
> have
> everything in writing. *It would level the playing field for all customers.
> I hate it that all the people that are good at working the system
> have plans that are better than mine and are paying considerably less.

I have 3 lines, and I received no new phones. They want to charge me
$200 per line to disconnect.

On Sep 10, 8:28*am, That80sGuy <[email protected]> wrote:
> In message news:9ecf0880-9724-418b-a577-
> [email protected], victorg <[email protected]> done
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > I need some advice about how to get out of a Sprint contract.
> > I bought my Treo around 4 years ago and got a 2 year contract.
> > I finally decided to upgrade to an iPhone with AT&T.
> > I called Sprint and they informed me I still have one year left to my
> > contract.
> > What happened - last year I increased my minutes and added one more
> > family member.
> > Sprint took it on themselves to increase my contract for 2 years.
>
> > They told me that I received a letter notifying me of the extension,
> > but so what - I didn't see the letter, they didn't tell me when I
> > changed the service, and they certainly did not provide me with the
> > opportunity to reject it.
>
> > This is so unfair - if I wanted a 2 year contract, I could have got a
> > new phone or something substantially more valuable than just
> > increasing my minutes!
>
> > Do I have any recourse short of trying to sue them, which I am
> > obviously not going to do for just $600.
>
> Most carriers have similar stipulations that any change in service result
> in an additional 2-year extension.
>
> Sprint lets you change phones every 18 months, so you can still get a new
> phone without extending you beyond the 24 months they just put you on the
> hook for.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Sprint's upgrades are ridiculous - their "discount" is higher than you
would pay if you just buy the phone from Let's Talk

Todd Allcock <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Having said that, the FCC is reportedly considering a ruling requiring
> signed written contracts for wireless carriers to collect early
> termination fees. (Which would be a great ruling for consumers, so I
> suspect it'll never happen!) ;-)
>
>

Hmm...Bribes must have tapered off. The industry will take care of that in
short order.

On Sep 10, 12:13*pm, That80sGuy <[email protected]> wrote:
> In messagenews:ba3f2750-eb84-417b-ae94-9d0baeb75148@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com,
>
>
>
>
>
> victorg <[email protected]> done wrote:
> > On Sep 10, 8:28*am, That80sGuy <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> In message news:9ecf0880-9724-418b-a577-
> >> [email protected], victorg <[email protected]>
> >> done wrote:
>
> >> > I need some advice about how to get out of a Sprint contract.
> >> > I bought my Treo around 4 years ago and got a 2 year contract.
> >> > I finally decided to upgrade to an iPhone with AT&T.
> >> > I called Sprint and they informed me I still have one year left to
> >> > my contract.
> >> > What happened - last year I increased my minutes and added one more
> >> > family member.
> >> > Sprint took it on themselves to increase my contract for 2 years.
>
> >> > They told me that I received a letter notifying me of the extension,
> >> > but so what - I didn't see the letter, they didn't tell me when I
> >> > changed the service, and they certainly did not provide me with the
> >> > opportunity to reject it.
>
> >> > This is so unfair - if I wanted a 2 year contract, I could have got
> >> > a new phone or something substantially more valuable than just
> >> > increasing my minutes!
>
> >> > Do I have any recourse short of trying to sue them, which I am
> >> > obviously not going to do for just $600.
>
> >> Most carriers have similar stipulations that any change in service
> >> result in an additional 2-year extension.
>
> >> Sprint lets you change phones every 18 months, so you can still get a
> >> new phone without extending you beyond the 24 months they just put you
> >> on the hook for.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> - Show quoted text -
>
> > Sprint's upgrades are ridiculous - their "discount" is higher than you
> > would pay if you just buy the phone from Let's Talk
>
> I'm reminded of the Woody Allen joke that opens Annie Hall:
>
> Two elderly women are at a Catskill Mountain resort. And one of 'em says:
> 'Boy, the food in this place is really terrible.' The other one says:
> 'Yeah, I know. And such small portions.'
>
> If you're going to ***** and moan about Sprint, why did you add another
> member to your Sprint plan?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I really had no problem with Sprint until now - I want to buy an
iPhone but it will cost me $600 to move away from Sprint

victorg wrote:

> That is what is getting my goat - I did not get any new phones, and my
> own contract had already long expired.
> When I moved all of the lines to a family plan, they increased my
> contract on all lines to 2 years - no new phones, no new service, and
> no notification

If you never agreed to a contract extension, either verbally or in
writing, then you _could_ cancel the credit card the service is billed
to (or any credit card you've used with them), cancel the service, and
then wait for them to come after you for payment.

The problem is that they have all the power. They will eventually send
your account to a collection agency, and it'll eventually end up on your
credit report. You can always dispute the negative information, but
unless they sue you for the termination fee you won't have any recourse
unless you sue them for affecting your credit, and you can't do that in
small claims court. One negative item for $600 probably will have a
minimal effect on your FICO score, but another wireless carrier would be
unlikely to let you sign up with them if they saw something from a
wireless carrier on your report. Of course by the time that happened
you'd be an AT&T customer. They'd rather write off the termination fee
and ding your credit than ever go to court where they know they'd spend
a lot of money, likely lose, and set a precedent.

When I moved all of the lines to a family plan, they increased my
contract on all lines to 2 years - no new phones, no new service, and
no notification

If you started a new family plan, then sprint would claim that you started a
new plan with a new conrtact date. However, they do have an exception, if
you are within the first six months of the existing plan.
From the Sprint forum:
a.. The Right Plan promise is part of "our Guarantee" to the
customer, which also includes the 30-Day Risk-Free Guarantee and the Sprint
New-for-You Upgrade Program.

b.. If you're within the first six months of your service plan
agreement, you can change your plan to a plan with an equal term without
having to renew your contract.


They may not have said a word about starting you on a new contract, but
their website seems to claim that many changes will start a new contract,
and it's hard to find exceptions, other than the six-month one above.
Here's what it says on their website about accepting their agreement:

When You Accept The Agreement
You must have the legal capacity to accept the Agreement. You accept the
Agreement when you do any of the following: (a) sign a contract with us on
paper or electronically; (b) accept Agreement through an oral or electronic
statement; (c) attempt to or in any way use the Services; (d) pay for the
Services; or (e) open any package or start any program that says you are
accepting the Agreement when doing so. If you don't want to accept the
Agreement, don't do any of these things.

(under item 'e' above, if you have received a present or a ups shipment and
opened the box, then they have you(g). "open ANY package")

No, it won't cost you $600 to Sprint to switch to an I-Phone. Only $200.
You don't have to switch all 3 phones just to get your precious I-Phone. It
just depends on how badly YOU want an I-Phone. Your desire for an I-Phone
is your problem, not Sprint's.
"victorg" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:2d166bbb-3e81-4b74-af7f-4a74b2e4d266@l42g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
On Sep 10, 12:13 pm, That80sGuy <[email protected]> wrote:
> In
> messagenews:ba3f2750-eb84-417b-ae94-9d0baeb75148@k13g2000hse.googlegroups.com,
>
>
>
>
>
> victorg <[email protected]> done wrote:
> > On Sep 10, 8:28 am, That80sGuy <[email protected]> wrote:
> >> In message news:9ecf0880-9724-418b-a577-
> >> [email protected], victorg <[email protected]>
> >> done wrote:
>
> >> > I need some advice about how to get out of a Sprint contract.
> >> > I bought my Treo around 4 years ago and got a 2 year contract.
> >> > I finally decided to upgrade to an iPhone with AT&T.
> >> > I called Sprint and they informed me I still have one year left to
> >> > my contract.
> >> > What happened - last year I increased my minutes and added one more
> >> > family member.
> >> > Sprint took it on themselves to increase my contract for 2 years.
>
> >> > They told me that I received a letter notifying me of the extension,
> >> > but so what - I didn't see the letter, they didn't tell me when I
> >> > changed the service, and they certainly did not provide me with the
> >> > opportunity to reject it.
>
> >> > This is so unfair - if I wanted a 2 year contract, I could have got
> >> > a new phone or something substantially more valuable than just
> >> > increasing my minutes!
>
> >> > Do I have any recourse short of trying to sue them, which I am
> >> > obviously not going to do for just $600.
>
> >> Most carriers have similar stipulations that any change in service
> >> result in an additional 2-year extension.
>
> >> Sprint lets you change phones every 18 months, so you can still get a
> >> new phone without extending you beyond the 24 months they just put you
> >> on the hook for.- Hide quoted text -
>
> >> - Show quoted text -
>
> > Sprint's upgrades are ridiculous - their "discount" is higher than you
> > would pay if you just buy the phone from Let's Talk
>
> I'm reminded of the Woody Allen joke that opens Annie Hall:
>
> Two elderly women are at a Catskill Mountain resort. And one of 'em says:
> 'Boy, the food in this place is really terrible.' The other one says:
> 'Yeah, I know. And such small portions.'
>
> If you're going to ***** and moan about Sprint, why did you add another
> member to your Sprint plan?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I really had no problem with Sprint until now - I want to buy an
iPhone but it will cost me $600 to move away from Sprint

You increased your minutes and added a family member. Which you
did probably to save money over just adding a separate line for the new
family member. Short of buying everyone on the plan all new phones $$$
with a different carrier and having a new contract on all of them with
that carrier, it would seem that you planned to stay with Sprint PCS for
a while, probably more than two years. If you yourself want an iphone,
you could either just drop one line from your family plan, however the
lower price of the new family plan might not save more than the $200, or
keep it should the iphone/service not work out. That way the rest of
your family would still have Sprint PCS' great service and your cost
would still be low.