Sprint Agreement extended without my approval!!

[msmith171]

I need some help! I've been with Sprint for seven years. I haven't had an agreement with them since 2004, but I have been having problems with my phone/service/charges this fall. One of the people answering my service call--who could not speak english well enough to hold a conversation, by the way--ended up enrolling me into a new agreement without informing me.

Over the course of that week I spent about 6 frustrating hours with people there and was told the agreement was expunged. I switched to Verizon after this and received a $200 cancellation fee from Sprint. How can I dispute this? I need suggestions! Thanks.

[cheddar]

You canceled your service over one bad customer service experience? Wow. Am I the only one who has worked for a living? You *WILL* get bad experiences with *EVERY* company. No matter the company, industry, or location. You will get the same thing at Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and every other company that exists. I don't mean to bad mouth anyone but the fact is human beings are fallible. The most important lesson to take from this is, If you get a rep you cannot understand or doesn't seem qualified simply thank them for their help, hang up and call back. Almost all companies of any size will have a pool of dozens to hundreds of people. If someone gives you answer you think is wrong or doesn't make sense, again, call back and talk to someone else.

Customer service usually has a huge turnover and is an almost meaningless bit of information. Obviously this is a pet peeve of mine.

[msmith171]

Thank you cheddar. Unfortunately your reply is based on an assumption that is not the case. There are many reasons i left Sprint.

Any other ideas? I'm really looking for a helpful resolution.

[tyler101868]

As an agent who handles 5 different carriers (Sprint, Nextel (they are still seperate in my area) US Cellular, Verizon and T-Mobile) I get the opportunity to deal with a lot of different customer service reps.

One of the worst things Sprint has done it to outsource it's call centers. They have realized that this is a problem and have started moving more calls back on shore. Sprint and Nextel have both gone through a pretty bad period of customer service. They are both hemoraging customers.

Regional carriers like US Celluular and Altel have found a nitch in offering more "customer friendly" policies like not extending contracts, graduated early termination fees, etc. The "big" carriers (Sprint, Verizon, AT&t) are all starting to follow suit.

I will say that Sprint customer service has gotten quite a bit better in the last couple of months, but it may be too little too late. In a store like mine where a choice is available, few are choosing Sprint.

As to what you can do to get your money back? You will probably have to work through the ususal customer service channels. Try to find out exactly when your contract was extended and why. Stay cool, and if you get a rep that is not helpful, just tell them thank you and call back and get someone else. Explain that you were a happy Sprint customer for 7 years, but have decided to give another service a try and you would hate to leave with such a negative taste in your mouth. Who knows, maybe you won't like Verizon. Unfortunately they hold most of the cards, but if you are persistant, you should be able to get this fixed.

Good luck

[TelcomJunkie]

Originally Posted by msmith171

Thank you cheddar. Unfortunately your reply is based on an assumption that is not the case. There are many reasons i left Sprint.

Any other ideas? I'm really looking for a helpful resolution.

He assumed because you didn't mention anything but "sprint sucks, i canceled on my own free will because they extended my contract but before I could get resolution as to why, I canceled therefor breaking my side of the contract making me liable for the ETF" If there was more to it, then share so we have a better understanding of the situation.

This applies to all the carriers, if you are in the middle of a dispute with them don't just randomly cancel. If you do, you are liable for the ETF fee, it's pretty cut and dry. You need to get a clear understanding of the problem and how to get out of it before you ditch them. It's almost impossible to get anything out of any carrier once you have already left.

[msmith171]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll explain more so it's clear. I apologize if it gets wordy in advance.

My November bill increased and I didn't see any reason why, so I called into customer service to see why. The gentleman i talked to couldn't explain to me why my bill had increased. I peg it to the poor english and he wasn't sure what my question was, but that's me. Either way, he said he didn't know but that he could give me a 5% discount on my future bills. For a person with a $50 montly bill that's not very much, and i wasn't looking for a discount, just an explanation why my bill increased by $10 without any explanation. I said to him that I would go in to a sprint store. He asked if I wanted the discount and I said 'Sure, whatever. I'm going to talk to someone else." and hung up.

An hour later I was at the door of a Sprint store to find them closed (it was the day after Thanksgiving). Since I had already plugged the meter, I began wandering into other stores nearby and ended up in Verizon.

Something to note at this point is that I moved into a building downtown Minneapolis in August and have since had to sit with my ear pressed against the window to get any reception. My roommate is able to get reception with his Verizon service and Motorola phone and I've been playing around with ideas about how to fix my reception.

Okay, so here I am at the verizon store, gandering at phones and checking out the prices on their services. I find that a similar plan to mine there would be cheaper, and I would be able to get a new phone with service I already know will work in my home. So I leave Verizon and get back on the phone with sprint to find out when my contract ends (I wasn't sure when, but I knew I hadn't signed anything with them in at least a year...). After an hour I learn that my contract has been resigned that very day and my contract doesn't end until 2009. I informed the guy on the phone that if it had to do with the 5% thingy the guy wanted to give me earlier in the day, then we have a problem because there was no mention of any extension in my service agreement. In fact, I would not be signing a 2 year agreement over a discount of $2.50. He was very helpful and expunged this discount and agreement. THen we talked about my options to fix my reception including a new phone. I wanted to look around. In reality, I was ready to get the verizon plan and phone because I already knew the service would work and that i was tired of having to spend so much time on the phone (by this time I had been on the phone with three different people and on hold longer than I was talking to anyone. I was tired of wasting my time on the phone in my lobby of my apartment, too...).

5 days later my online account was still showing my agreement to be extended so I again on got the phone and called Sprint. Two more reps and a half hour later I finally got to a woman who was able to provide me with some relief--She helped me to understand the $10 bill increase, even. She also said that there were no notes in the system from the previous two guys (the one who extended the contract and the one who said he had reversed it) but that she is making sure things get fixed. I was told that she is able to flag my account to show that the agreement WASN'T approved by me and that the original agreement signed in 2004 and ending in 2006 is honored. The glitch was that she couldn't over ride the system so if I checked online my account will still show the agreement at 2009.

It was almost a week later when I switched to Verizon. I am much happier because I don't get frostbite on my ear having to lean against the window to make phone calls. I crossed my fingers that this got fixed. I'm tired of making calls in to the service center. Unfortunately I now have this bill.

Should I go in to a Sprint store or will I get the run-around? I really hesitate to call in again. I wish I didn't have this hassle becasue I was really pleased with sprint until this fall.

Thanks.

[TelcomJunkie]

You need to escalate this to a higher level as the lower customer service agents won't be able to help you resolve it. If you were out of contract you were free to go ETF free. Unless Sprint has a signature (Either physical or electronic) of you accepting the new agreement you can tell them to pound sand.

[msmith171]

Thanks, TelcomJunkie. Pound sand...I like that. Any suggestions how to get to that 'higher level' of authority? Would going in to a Sprint store be the best idea? Or would they too be at the 'lower level'?

[TelcomJunkie]

Originally Posted by msmith171

Thanks, TelcomJunkie. Pound sand...I like that. Any suggestions how to get to that 'higher level' of authority? Would going in to a Sprint store be the best idea? Or would they too be at the 'lower level'?

At the level Sprint currently allows stores to provide actual customer service versus just sales I'd wager a trip to the store would be a fruitless en devour unless you speak directly to the manager. In certain regions the stores have been given large authority to help the customer (Though be forewarned since you've canceled already you may not get any extra help).

Look around on the internet for an executive services phone number. They would be the ones to fix it for you.

[cheddar]

I would try the store first but if you have to call in you could always try asking for someone higher up.

[Cailiff04]

GEEEEEEE Sprint does it again....Wow So I'm not the only one %*!@#$ over by Sprint then!!

[Cailiff04]

Originally Posted by cheddar

I would try the store first but if you have to call in you could always try asking for someone higher up.

Stores have to call CS anyway...so therefore the store wouldn't be able to help you out at all!!!

[cheddar]

Originally Posted by Cailiff04

Stores have to call CS anyway...so therefore the store wouldn't be able to help you out at all!!!

I'm just basing it on my limited experience. In general, it seems employee's somehow get better responses from a call center than customers.

[Cailiff04]

Good Point Cheddar...i Should've Read The Post A Lil More Clearer

[GregMal]

Hasn't Sprint changed their policy recently? I thought that you can now change things (say adding a text message package) without extending your contract. Or doesn't this apply to people who are "out of contract"???

[lruiz06]

Man i tell you sprint does it again, they really need to get there stuff togethor!

[Cailiff04]

Originally Posted by cheddar

You canceled your service over one bad customer service experience? Wow. Am I the only one who has worked for a living? You *WILL* get bad experiences with *EVERY* company. No matter the company, industry, or location. You will get the same thing at Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and every other company that exists. I don't mean to bad mouth anyone but the fact is human beings are fallible. The most important lesson to take from this is, If you get a rep you cannot understand or doesn't seem qualified simply thank them for their help, hang up and call back. Almost all companies of any size will have a pool of dozens to hundreds of people. If someone gives you answer you think is wrong or doesn't make sense, again, call back and talk to someone else.

Customer service usually has a huge turnover and is an almost meaningless bit of information. Obviously this is a pet peeve of mine.

If you would've read the post..you would've saw it was because of poor service/equipment/charges...of cousre I would'nt have sprint service if it was offered to me for free!!!
SPRINT SUCKS!!!

[Charlyee]

Originally Posted by Cailiff04

If you would've read the post..you would've saw it was because of poor service/equipment/charges...of cousre I would'nt have sprint service if it was offered to me for free!!!
SPRINT SUCKS!!!

Please don't dig up a 4 month old post just to bash a provider - any provider.

Thanks