Sprint Horry Story & need help with switching!

[2A Batterie]

This is just the last of many straws with Sprint PCS. I've been out of the country on tour for six months, during which I lost my Sprint cell phone in Guatemala. As you can guess, it is kind of hard to replace a cell phone when you're in Central & South America so I decided to wait until I got back to the States. When I got back I called about getting a replacement with the monthly insurance that I signed up for with my contract. Sprint denied my request because I had not used my phone for 60 days, therefore making my claim invalid because of the length of time I hadn't used it. I thought that was crazy enough, but I asked to be refunded the insurance from after the 60 days that I lost my phone. They refused because they said I could have purchased a new phone in the meantime and the insurance would have gone to that. Absolutely ridiculous. I purchased a reconditioned phone from a local vendor, but Sprint refused to activate it and said I need to buy a new one from them... starting at $150!
My contract with Sprint does not expire until the middle of January, but I need a phone now. I was planning on switching anyway, but I certainly don't want to give Sprint another cent of my money. I was concerned about the $175 broken contract fee, but a gentleman at a local PCS store informed me that since Sprint purchased Nextel and then in turn changed some policies, you call Sprint up can say that you don't like some of the new policies and got out of your contract. He said this has not been publicized for the obvious reason that Sprint wants to keep contracts as long as possible. Has anyone heard about this or have any experience with this? Any advice on to what I should say? Any input on T-Mobile service? Any other Sprint horror stories?

 

[MacNut]

I am on Sprint and can say that I have not had any problems with them, In my area at least service is strong and dropped calls are rare. I think every provider has hidden clauses that can screw you if you are not careful. By all means stay away from Cingular. If you are looking to change I would suggest Verison.

 

[clayj]

I've gotten out of a couple of early termination fees... in both cases, everything I said was absolutely true:

I got out of a contract with Sprint PCS for the simple reason that I could not get a signal from one of their towers if I stood on the street in front of my building... their web site mentioned a satisfaction guarantee, and since I could not be satisfied, they let me out.

And when my AT&T Wireless contract got bought by SunCom, I was able to get out of THAT because SunCom no longer supported the MSN Messenger functionality of my cellphone. Cingular did, so SunCom let me out with no termination fee.

The key is to find a legitimate reason why you can no longer be satisfied with their service... explain it logically to them and ask to be released.

 

[Sutekidane]

My Sprint DSL at home is trying to charge me an arm and a leg for BS fees. Last month's bill was $206!

 

[2A Batterie]

Any other suggestions for getting out?? I get signal everywhere, because I'm in a big city. I just need to find something they changed when the merged with Nextel. Thanks!

 

[krimson]

Im surprised that they wouldn't activate that phone you bought. All I did to activate a new phone was change my settings on the website. When that didn't work completely, I just called 611 and they had me enter a set of numbers and I was set to go, no activation fee was charged.

If that doesn't work, becoming IRATE in a Sprint store usually works good for me too.

 

[krimson]

(2x post)

 

[2A Batterie]

I just need to find a way to get out of Sprint. There customer service has been awful ever since I started with them.

 

[seamuskrat]

Your best bet is to go to an actual Sprint store.

Ask to speak with the manager. be polite.

Explain that you were traveling, and explain your story. Say that you bought a refurb phone from a store and want it activated. At this point, they SHOULD go ahead and activate the phone 'for free' and have you re-up your contract. Ask to read the contract, which they will not normally provide in writing.

Now is where it gets fun...

They have changed many aspects of the privacy and policies sections since merging with Nextel. At this stage, you should say, "hey, this changed, and I am not so sure I agree with it all". Don't go into something tangible like service quality or customer support as they can test your phone and provide support on the spot. But the privacy policy is the biggest thing they cannot argue with. At that stage politely explain that you no longer want to activate the used phone, but to get out of SPrint/Nextel. They will probably offer some great deals to stay, consider them if you want.

If you speak with a manager, are polite, have an account in good standing, and have not recently upgraded, gotten a rebate or otherwise taken advantage of a super pricey phone in the last 3 to 6 months, then they should be able to over ride the contract. If however, you have received a rebate in the last 90 days, there is nothing the store manager can do, no matter how irate you get. Wait until you have had the rebate check IN HAND for 90 + days. Also, keep paying the bill. One month of being late (more than 30 days) and all options are off.

worst case scenario. You can argue that you have a working sprint network phone and are paying under contract for service and need them to activate the phone for free due to loss. unless that phone was one with a balance owed, they have to activate it at your request, and with your out of town story should waive the fee.

best case scenario. They let you walk or offer you a deal you like and stay happy. They do have some excellent 'retention' deals. For example, 2 phones, Sprint vision, unlimited mobile to mobile, 3000 anytime, free nights and weekends for 42.95 plus tax.

 

[2A Batterie]

I just tried calling customer care and was polite, but they were extremely rude. I hadn't read the above post yet, so I mentioned how I didn't like the merger with Nextel and how policies had changed... they asked what specific policies, as to call my bluff. Long story short, I didn't get my contract nullified. I only have till January on it, but I don't want to buy a new phone at $150 for 3 months, but I don't want to go that long without a phone. I can't lose the number, as it is my business number... I'm going up a wall here!

 

[jadekitty24]

Wow. That's pretty messed up that they wont activate your refurbished phone. What kind of a way is that to keep your customers? I've had them in the past. The first phone I bought was a piece of crap. It completely stopped working after 2 days. I went to return it and they replaced it with an even crappier phone. I again went to the store to get a replacement and they refused. They actually accused me of trying to scam them! The phone would not power on, and no, it didn't have anything to do with not being charged up. I ended up calling them up and cancelling. The phone did not work so why am I going to pay for service I didn't use? When I told them I wanted to cancel all of the sudden they were sunshine and light...completely agreeable to do anything to keep me as a customer. They ended up sending me another phone that actually worked. When my contract was up I switched carriers, having found a better deal elsewhere. My advice to you is to try again one more time. If they refuse to help you, threaten to cancel. I dont normally advocate succombing to such tactics, but sometimes when your backed into a corner, what else could you do?

 

[watcher2001]

I just need to find a way to get out of Sprint. There customer service has been awful ever since I started with them.

I almost went with sprint and from everything I have heard I am sooo glad I didn't. I have been a cingular user for a while and I have had no issues whatsoever. Good luck switching.