Sprint PCS Consumer Reviews - Page 5

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA -- Hi. I wanted to write this to inform the public about Sprint PCS. Be aware that you can become a victim of identity theft with just a phone call to Sprint PCS. I recently found out that someone called Sprint and gave my name and incorrect other information such as birthdate, social security number, driver's license number and address and was still able to open a cell phone account with Sprint in my name. I found this out when applying for a credit card and it was declined. I then investigated and found that I was in collections from Sprint. I had just become a Sprint customer.

I went into a store to open my account and you would think that if I was in default that I would not have been allowed to open another account but somehow it slipped through the cracks and I was able to open an account. I finally get in touch with someone at the executive office in Texas, Sherry ** who claims to be a supervisor. I explained what had happened and she said she would investigate and she calls me back and says yes, she found an account that was in default for nonpayment. I asked for information on the fake account and was told that I couldn't have it!!! Funny, I'm the victim and I can't have any information.

She makes me go to a local store to show my 3 forms of ID to prove it's me. I go and do that and yet Ms. ** still can't remove the fake account and take it out of collections. She now wants me to send in copies of my personal information. Sprint does not offer to do anything to make restitution or apologize. They simply say that "Yes, it does happen."

It wouldn't happen if people couldn't just call on the phone and give a name and then be allowed to open an account. People should have to go into a store and prove who they are and then be able to open an account! I filed a police report and found out that out of all of the cell phone providers, Sprint is the worse with opening fake accounts over the phone!

Do yourself a favor and go with another cell phone provider. Sprint's customer service reps are rude and they lie and the billing gets screwed up as well! If anyone else has had this happen to them with Sprint, feel free to email me. Maybe we could file a class action suit against them and get them shut down!!! I am also filing a complaint with the BBB about them! Also should mention that when I had gone into the store to find out information about Sprint because I was looking to switch providers the rep at the store said that if I switched that day, he would pay my cancellation fee to my current provider for canceling the contract earlier than the contract allowed.

I said yes and I just recently found out that he never did pay it and now I am responsible for paying it to my last cell phone provider. SPRINT WILL SAY ANYTHING TO GET YOUR BUSINESS! When I complained all I was told was that Sprint does not do that and if I wanted to cancel go ahead!

PENNSYLVANIA -- I am writing this review because I feel I have an obligation to educate my fellow consumers on the inferior customer service provided by Sprint PCS. I have been a customer of Sprint PCS for 4 years and have recently discovered that their customer service has taken a deep plunge.

My problems began when I purchased a Sprint Vision phone (VGA 1000) from a Sprint store in NY. The phone was $269 with a $150 mail in rebate. I was told at the store that I needed to take a 2 year "Advantage" contract in order to qualify for the rebate. It turned out that the store added a Vision plan for an additional $15/month to my plan without informing me of this. Although I was purchasing a Vision phone I intended to only use it to save pictures to my phone and was not planning on sharing these pictures by email.

Therefore I had no use for the Vision plan. I immediately had customer service drop the Vision part of my plan after finding out that the store added this option without my consent. The customer service rep said I would still qualify for my rebate because it was based on having a 2 year Sprint contract and not on any specific type of plan. I began tracking the status of my rebate online and after a month everything was going smoothly with notes indicating the rebate was being processed.

Then 5 weeks after purchasing the phone the situation changed. The notes said the rebate was invalid with no clear explanation. I called customer service and spoke with several reps all of whom could not tell me why or provide any help. They did tell me that Sprint doesn't train the customer service reps on how Sprint's rebates work which infuriated me since I was speaking to Customer Service. At my suggestion, I had a 3 way call with customer service and the rebate center.

It was determined that Vision needed to be added back to the account and then the rebate would be fine. After much protesting I agreed to this in hopes of obtaining my rebate. The Vision addition was going to cost me another $15/month and I knew I wasn't going to use it. The customer service rep suggested that I call the day the rebate check arrived to have Sprint cancel the Vision option.

A week after this incident I received a voice mail from customer services. I could barely understand the message due to a thick foreign accent but was able to hear that I needed to once again call Customer Service to resolve the rebate. I then called and spoke to both a rep and supervisor who were truly clueless. The rep said the rebate was no good and started reading me a page of notes entered by different Sprint employees. The notes didn't make any sense and he said "You need to re-file the rebate."

I protested saying that the issues had already been resolved on a 3 way call with the rebate center. I asked to be transferred to his supervisor. This was a complete waste of time. I spent another 40 minutes on hold and the supervisor told me that "the rebate center is not picking up their phone." Basically, after hanging up nothing was resolved.

Later that evening I went to Sprint's website to check my account. I figured the company most likely screwed something up. Sure enough, they had added a Voice activation plan for another $5, again without my knowledge or consent. I called back Customer Service yet again and this time spoke with someone who explained that Customer Service simply does not receive any training in rebates and "Maam, I don't know what to tell you. You need to call the rebate center."

I informed him that the rebate center usually doesn't answer their phone for a 1/2 hour. He seemed surprised. I believe this man has never called the rebate center himself. He ended the call telling me that I need to call the rebate center to resolve this because he can not help me. When I told him that I wanted to speak to his supervisor he said there was no point to that because he will tell me the same thing.

So here I am in the same state, not knowing whether I will ever see my rebate. I have written to Sprint and know they have received my complaint letter because there are notes about it under my account information. My advice to anyone seeking cellular service is to stay far away from Sprint and avoid entering into any lengthy contracts. I am stuck with another 23 months in a Sprint contract.

LONDON, KENTUCKY -- I am writing to express my disdain at the inept service I have received as a customer of Sprint PCS. I have been a customer since March 1999, and initially chose Sprint because of its competitive prices and hassle-free, straightforward plans. In the past six months I have become extremely dissatisfied with the increasingly convoluted way in which my account has been handled. The following are accounts of these incidents.

In July of 2000, I agreed to sign up for a one-year service term because I had no problems with Sprint, and was under the impression I would stay on another year regardless of the service term. In return, I was offered a $10 credit for the add-a-phone service I was paying for. At the time I had been paying $14.99 per month for add-a-phone. On my next bill. I did see the $10 credit, but I also saw that now the $14.99 per month for add-a-phone was changed to $10 per phone. When I called in about this, the person I spoke with informed me that the rates had just been changed, and now the add-a-phone option was $10 per phone.

I find it very convenient that Sprint PCS changed the add-a-phone prices just when I began receiving my $10 credit, making their loss $5 instead of $10. Also I was not informed of this change in pricing, which I find suspicious. In September 2000, my phone was damaged and would not work anymore, and I have been paying for the equipment replacement program since the beginning of my account with Sprint PCS. What I found out was that I had to pay a $35 deductible and I would receive a refurbished phone similar to my original phone. So if I had paid $3.25 every month until that point, that would make it $61.75, plus the $35 deductible is $96.75.

That means I paid $96.75 for a used phone that flickers in and out of service at any given moment and drops calls on a regular basis. I could have bought the same phone new for $69.99 with a mail-in rebate from the Sprint PCS website. If that wasn't bad enough, I was charged a $29.99 activation fee for activating my new phone. When I called in about it, the representative told me it should have been waived because I had the equipment replacement program, but someone had accidentally forgotten to waive it.

In October 2000, I received a mailing about the Sprint PCS Clear Privilege reward that I was entitled to. Of the three options, I chose 30% off my next Sprint PCS invoice. I received two mailings, one for each phone on my account. When I called in, it asked for my Sprint PCS phone number and I entered the number of the primary phone. When I received the invoice that showed the Clear Privilege credit, the amount was about 3% of my invoice, not 30%.

When I called in, I was told that the 30% was applied to the charges on my secondary phone, not my primary phone. Since I had $80.48 on my primary phone's charges and only $12.25 on my secondary phone's charges, 30% was taken off of the $12.25. That might make sense if I had entered the secondary phone number when I called in to claim the credit; however I had entered the primary phone number and even made a note of it in case it would be a problem later. Again, the representative said that this would be fixed on my next bill.

Today, I called in to change my billing plan, since it is the last day of my billing cycle, and Sprint has been advertising many new service plans. Originally, I wanted the 2000-minute plan that included 1000 anytime minutes and 1000 night and weekend minutes for $74.99. I got this information from a mailing I received, and on the mailing it says that this service plan is available until January 14, 2001. But the representative informed me that regardless of the mailing I had received, this plan was no longer available, and instead there was a 2000-minute plan with 500 anytime minutes and 1500 night and weekend minutes for $69.99.

Even though it was cheaper, I wanted more than 500 anytime minutes, so she suggested the 3000-minute plan, which had 1000 anytime minutes and 2000 night and weekend minutes for $74.99. Since I pay $74.99 anyway for 1000 minutes, I decided to go ahead with this plan. While the representative was processing this, I asked questions to make sure nothing else would be changed without my knowledge; I specifically asked about the $10 add-a-phone credit mentioned earlier. It was then that she informed me that the $10 add-a-phone credit for agreeing to a one-year service term would no longer apply.

When I asked why, she explained that my account only allows for two options, one of which is free long distance, and the other the $10 add-a-phone credit. This was the first time I was hearing about "options"” on my account. The fact that I was limited to two options, and that long distance and the $10 add-a-phone credit are considered options. But the plan I had just chosen has 2000 night and weekend minutes, and since this was also considered an "option"” I had surpassed my limit of two, and would not receive the $10 add-a-phone credit anymore. I thought this whole thing was ridiculous, and asked her to cancel the switching of my plan.

First of all, I have never been told about options, or that I was limited to two. I have also never been told what are considered options. Secondly, the fact that a credit that I had been given in exchange for signing a one-year service agreement is considered an option on my account is preposterous. Thirdly, the representative told me that "“free nights and weekends" are considered an option. However, this plan does not give me free nights and weekends. By paying $74.99, I would be paying for the 1000 anytime and 2000 night and weekend minutes. And when those 2000 night and weekend minutes are used up, I would pay per minute for any overage.

So I do not understand why 2000 nights and weekends, which are part of the plan, are considered an "option". Finally, I have found the prices to be inconsistent with Sprint PCS advertising. As mentioned earlier, I received a mailing which offered 2000 minutes divided into 1000 anytime minutes and 1000 night and weekend minutes for $74.99, available until January 14, 2001. The representative informed me that regardless of the mailing I had received, this plan was no longer available, and instead there was a 2000-minute plan with 500 anytime minutes and 1500 night and weekend minutes for $69.99.

On the website at this moment, there is an advertisement for 2000 minutes, of which 500 are anytime and 1500 night and weekend. The price for this plan, however, is listed as $49.99 on the website. These incidents have increasingly demonstrated that Sprint PCS is lacking in customer care and is primarily concerned with extorting as much money as possible through hidden charges and the supposed incompetence of someone who forgot to waive a certain fee or didn'’t apply my reward option to my entire bill, as I was led to believe.

I am irritated that although I have provided close to $3000 of revenue for Sprint PCS, I have received inept service, both in the handling of my account, and in the actual airtime service of my phone. I have also been subject to what I consider deceitful tactics in throwing in extra charges and hidden fees and conditions on any sort of rewards I have received for being a loyal customer, without any notice of these fees, changes to my account, and conditions applied. I plan on forwarding this account to consumer interest groups so others are aware of the way Sprint PCS conducts business and treats its customers.

LITTLETON, COLORADO -- Customer support is awful, no one wants to work out a problem nor knows how. The telephone support menu system is frustrating, time consuming and endless. What more can I say than the customer support remains terrible.

METRO DETROIT, MICHIGAN -- In approximately January of 2012 I contacted Sprint PCS to find out why my monthly bill was increased. I was told I was losing a service credit and that it was not currently being offered, but to check back in February 2012, as the credit could potentially be offered. I was very upset as I was not informed of the change and as a long time customer (over 10-15 years), wanted to know why this was arbitrarily dropped without my knowledge.

The representative apologized and indicated that she could offer me a one time $100 credit that would be applied to the bill. I grudgingly accepted, indicating to her that it was not the same as my current billing, as this $100 credit was not the same as my monthly payments, and would soon run out. She asked me to check back in February.

I called back in February, and explained the situation, and asked about my billing and was basically told the same thing, that the service credit was no longer being offered. I indicated to the customer service as well as the retention staff that I would not be renewing, as I didn't like the way this situation was being handled for a loyal long-term customer.

Early in May of 2012, I was online, reviewing my account, and noticed that someone had renewed my out of contract account, without my knowledge! I immediately phoned customer service about this and was told that, the person who issued me the $100 credit on my account, did this. I was outraged! The customer representative never explained to me that she was renewing my contract for an additional year, in exchange for a $100 credit; I would have never accepted!

To make matters worse, the representative I spoke within May said that if you give us the $100 back, we will place your contract in "out of contract" again! Oh my goodness, what a sleazy proposition. I indicated to the service representative that it was not the condition under which I accepted the $100; it was a retention act, as I knew it...nothing to do with the contract. I am very close to reporting this to major media as well as the Better Business Bureau... I think you call what they did to me, bait/switch... How unethical!

OVERLAND PARK, KANSAS -- I had a Samsung Moment that I purchased at a corporate store. Several months later it stopped holding its charge. I went to a repair store not knowing it was actually an independent repair store and was told it could not be fixed. They exchanged the phone instead of having a new one mailed to me because it was unsafe for me to be without a phone for days. Within 30 days the new phone malfunctioned and its start and end call buttons did not work properly.

I called Sprint and was told that they would not exchange the phone because it was from an independent store instead of their corporate store. I tried to explain that I couldn't return it to the store it had come from because they had exchanged it as a favor to Sprint's corporate office and weren't going to take it back. The person on the phone started yelling at me. I asked if I could cancel my service and send the phone back to Sprint in exchange for having my termination fee waived. An accounts representative got on the phone and yelled at me. I was nearly in tears and got off the phone.

I later spoke to a representative who told me I could call Samsung and have them replace my phone under manufacturer warranty. When I spoke to Samsung they said I had to send my phone away for three weeks and that if the phone was irreparable then the warranty was voided. I am a Mayo Clinic patient and a young disabled veteran and can't be without my phone. My only option was to find a new phone carrier. It was a huge issue to change service and to go through all of this. I also had to pay connection fees at T-Mobile and pay part of the cost of a new phone all because of Sprint's bad service.

I later spoke to ** in Sprint's Executive and Regulatory Services to ask that my $160 early termination fee be waived and was informed that this was not a possibility. He says that they told me to take it to a Sprint repair store but refuses to provide me with copies of the notes from my own account documenting that saying they are proprietary information and would require a subpoena. I spoke with ** today, a higher level executive, and she told me they would only drop the early termination fee if I moved my service back to Sprint. No way!

More than a year after spending $300 for a wireless pc card and agreeing to pay $60 per month, I lost the pc card. After searching in vain for six weeks, and of course not using the device, I called Sprint and reported the dongle lost or stolen. Sprint told me that they would list the device as lost or stolen and block its usage. I was told that the only way I could close my account was to pay the bill including early termination fees in full. And so even though I had not used the device at all in six weeks, I did pay my bill in full for $168.34.

Then, the following month, I got another bill from Sprint for an additional $120. When I called Sprint to ask about this bill, I was told that even though the device was reported lost or stolen and blocked from usage, Sprint charged me for another month of usage, plus other fees that I had been previously told were paid in full. When I replied that it made no sense that I was being billed an additional month for a device that was blocked, Sprint said that they would get a supervisor on the phone.

I held on the line for an hour and twenty minutes until the battery went dead on my phone. I called another time to resolve the issue, but was left on hold for 40 minutes that time. I realized that not only was Sprint intentionally charging for services that were not delivered, but they were intentionally avoiding all attempts to get a resolution to this matter. For all I know Sprint is going to try to bill me again next month for another month that the device was blocked.

Sprint did tell me that if I don't pay the bill, they will send it to collections and ruin my credit. I pay my bills. But, out of principle I'm going to fight this one. $120 is not a lot of money, but if Sprint rips off a million people for $120 that is a lot of money. I have filed a complaint with the FCC. I have filed a complaint with the BBB. I have filed a complaint with the Arizona Attorney Generals Office. I have mailed two certified letters to Sprint (with no response).

The terms of the contract state that I have given up my right to civil litigation, and must submit to binding arbitration. I have requested binding arbitration from Sprint, with no response. I have contacted two local television stations (ABC 15 Investigates, and 3 On Your Side) and hope to get an on screen interview with both. I am now in the process of posting my story on 30 different complaint forums like this one. Sprint does this because they know that these corporate practices will be profitable to varying degrees in 99.99% of the cases. Unfortunately for Sprint, I am that 1 in 10,000.

PUYALLUP, WA -- TERRIBLE COMPANY!!! I was with Sprint since 2003 and when I signed my last contract in 2008 it became a firestorm of frustration and poor service. I signed up for two additional cell phones because it specifically SAID on the contract that the $9.99 per line was supposed to be waived. Well, from my first invoice I had to fight to get them to uphold the contract. Month after month I would find erratic fees that had no explanation. My bill was supposed to be $89.99 per month, but sometimes it would be $350 with no explanation at all. I do not use any of the extra services, so there is no reason for the additional charges.

Fortunately, one of the reps in the Sprint store was always there to help me out and readjusted my bill for the erratic charges. Unfortunately, the representative finally got sick of their crap and quit, so I was left to deal with this terrible company on my own. I truly feel like the ** up letting her go because she was the only reason I stayed with the company for so long.

To combat the unfair charges, I showed retentions a copy of the contract that I signed and they simply told me that they didn't have to honor it and they made up excuses for why it wasn't good enough to waive the fees. They are very rude, inconsiderate people and I absolutely can't wait till my contract expires so I can switch to Verizon - I hear they're great!!! I should also mention that Sprint's service SUCKS and half the time I couldn't even get my phone to work. I have the LG Rumor and shortly after purchasing it, it wasn't long till it started acting up.

I can't stand this company. They fully suck across the board. I am anticipating the day my contract ends, because there is NOTHING they can do to keep me after I'm no longer obligated. Isn't it funny how, if a CUSTOMER signs a contract THEY have to honor it NO MATTER WHAT! Yet if the cell COMPANY signs it, they only have to honor WHAT THEY WANT TO!

STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK -- Wow, after being with Sprint for TEN (10) years, I think I reached my end. I was going to upgrade my phone to the new Instinct and upgrade my plan to the 99.00 everything. My current contract expires totally 03/09. Currently, I have a 2nd phone on this family share plan, free, not the 9.99.

I called Sprint customer retention to inquire as to what would be available for me, and "why I should stay a customer"... The first guy I spoke to was one of the most rudest customer representative (a supervisor to boot), who essentially told me, " We don't need you, we will offer you nothing, and you will have to pay the disconnect fee on that other line."

I spoke with his supervisor, better customer service, lodged a complaint, and he told me that any decision would have to be made higher than him.

They called me back today (while the supervisor was friendly) and said under no circumstances could/would they waive the 200.00 cancellation fee on the second line. I explained that this is a NO COST line, I pay nothing for it, and I am looking to UPGRADE my PHONE and PLAN!! He understood, but said they can do nothing.

10 years and treated like this... I told him they left me with 4 month to rethink my relationship with them and I didn't see the desire to return... as of now.

Amazing, I was going to upgrade, re-contract for 2 years (4 month early), and pay for a better plan... Now they are in danger of losing a customer... And they just don't seem to care...

Funny thing is, even though I have had them for 10 years (satisfied to a point), I cannot use my phone in my home. Signals dropped immediately. The first idiot wanted to give me (waive the 99.00) a signal antenna to boost my home signal... BUT, it would cost 5.00 per month to use it. **. I laughed at him and asked simply WHY would I do that? He had no answer.

Just wanted to give a heads up on the treatment of a 10 year loyal customer, whose bills are prepaid, never upgraded hardware, and never lodged any complaints.

2 years ago, when I was going to quit, they practically begged me to stay, offered month incentives, etc... Maybe I'll see what happens come March... But I have a bad taste in my mouth!!