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WirelessToday2 · 01-01-2003, 2:03 AM

Here's the deal. Sprint PCS sells a customer a phone. They fall behind on there bill. They would like to re-sell the phone to make due on their bill. Fat Chance! This is not right. This would be like the phone company coming to your home and taking your home phone. This is a deceptive practice and someone needs to re-think there thought process. Think about it.... You pay $399 for a Sanyo 5300, and Sprint messes up your bill. YOur credit goes from A-EC you still get charged your monthly reccuring charge plus you get a $150 early termination fee.

scottb · 01-01-2003, 10:22 AM

You've made contradiciting statements. First you say the customer falls behind on their bill, then you say Sprint messes up their bill. Which one is it? Also, if the phone is sold at a promotional price with a contract as the stipulation for getting the phone, the phone probably goes back to the provider if you don't pay. You'd have to check your contract to be sure. If you want a phone with no service, try eBay.

WirelessToday2 · 01-01-2003, 10:51 AM

1st of all, Sprint messed up. Not the customer in this case. It is possible for sprint to screw up your bill beyond recognition and the customer is allowed to wait until the bill looks normal to pay. The customer purchased the phone w/cash. No discount was given to the customer. The customer owns that phone.

jjdu4 · 01-01-2003, 11:32 AM

I personally think the provider would be crazy to allow that phone to be reactivated till the account was cleared....just my opinion.

med1 · 01-02-2003, 9:23 AM

If the phone was subsidized by the carrier, i.e you $20.00 for a phone that normally sells for $220.00, you will owe the carrier a fee of some sort. When the phone is sub'd with a contract for a period of time the carrier carries an ownership interest in the phone, just like when you finance a car, you don't just tell the bank 'car is mine, go away after a month'.

scottb · 01-02-2003, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by: WirelessToday2
1st of all, Sprint messed up. Not the customer in this case. It is possible for sprint to screw up your bill beyond recognition and the customer is allowed to wait until the bill looks normal to pay. The customer purchased the phone w/cash. No discount was given to the customer. The customer owns that phone.

If Sprint messed up your bill, and your credit, start writing letters to the credit agencies to have it straightened out. If you know how much you actually owe, then pay that amount - they may have messed up, but you still owe them something. If you purchased your phone outright, it is yours.

WirelessToday2 · 01-02-2003, 6:14 PM

The issue has been resolved. A credit was issued that took care of everything. I have no further issues here.

northform · 01-02-2003, 9:51 PM

I love happy endings...

KevinJames · 01-02-2003, 10:15 PM

It is good that the customer got an agreeable resolution, but it appears the issue remains that the customer still needs to understand certain industry standards.

For the sake of anyone else having similar issues, take note:

WirelessToday2 stated that he paid cash. From my experience all phones sold by the carriers are subsidized and even if the customer pays cash for the phone, they are not paying the full price. This has been a point of contention here for some time. Newbies come here and complain that they were deceived when in fact the contracts usually make it quite clear that early cancellation will result in heavy cancellation charges. This is in an effort to recoup their investment in your phone.

As far as the "phone company" coming out and taking your phone, you must be very young because that is exactly what landline companies did before devestiture. The subscriber did NOT own the phone. Even now, some cordless phones cost more than what people willingly pay for wireless phones and yet I have never read of anyone complaining about the cost of a cordless phone.

Finally WirelessToday2 states that he feels he can wait to pay the bill until it looks normal. Wrong. What a person facing this situation should do is pay the amount that can be validated by the detailed billing and then follow the procedures in resolving billing disputes. But to pay nothing is asking for credit rating problems.

northform · 01-03-2003, 2:38 AM

I am pretty sure that you own the phone, but if they or you cancel the service they can force you to pay the termination fee (but not take your phone). People used to rent the phones from the tel. co. rather than own it, but there is no rental charge on mobiles, but rather an upfront charge. You do own your mobile (but can be charged an extra ammount if you or they terminate the contract).

(S)he should have paid the money due for the bill to an escrow account to prove that (s)he had the money and was putting it forth pending a resolution. It guarentees the company payment if they are right while protecting yourself.

I wish wireless carriers other than Sprint had no-contract options.

scottb · 01-03-2003, 10:18 AM

Isn't pre-pay a "no contract" option?

01-01-2003, 2:03 AM	#1
WirelessToday2 Fresh Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? Here's the deal. Sprint PCS sells a customer a phone. They fall behind on there bill. They would like to re-sell the phone to make due on their bill. Fat Chance! This is not right. This would be like the phone company coming to your home and taking your home phone. This is a deceptive practice and someone needs to re-think there thought process. Think about it.... You pay $399 for a Sanyo 5300, and Sprint messes up your bill. YOur credit goes from A-EC you still get charged your monthly reccuring charge plus you get a $150 early termination fee.

01-01-2003, 10:22 AM	#2
scottb Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Greensboro, NC, U.S.A Posts: 1,188 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? You've made contradiciting statements. First you say the customer falls behind on their bill, then you say Sprint messes up their bill. Which one is it? Also, if the phone is sold at a promotional price with a contract as the stipulation for getting the phone, the phone probably goes back to the provider if you don't pay. You'd have to check your contract to be sure. If you want a phone with no service, try eBay.

01-01-2003, 10:51 AM	Original Poster #3
WirelessToday2 Fresh Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? 1st of all, Sprint messed up. Not the customer in this case. It is possible for sprint to screw up your bill beyond recognition and the customer is allowed to wait until the bill looks normal to pay. The customer purchased the phone w/cash. No discount was given to the customer. The customer owns that phone.

01-01-2003, 11:32 AM	#4
jjdu4 Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 79 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? I personally think the provider would be crazy to allow that phone to be reactivated till the account was cleared....just my opinion.

01-02-2003, 9:23 AM	#5
med1 Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 171 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? If the phone was subsidized by the carrier, i.e you $20.00 for a phone that normally sells for $220.00, you will owe the carrier a fee of some sort. When the phone is sub'd with a contract for a period of time the carrier carries an ownership interest in the phone, just like when you finance a car, you don't just tell the bank 'car is mine, go away after a month'.

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A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? in Wireless Topics; "Here's the deal. Sprint PCS sells a customer a phone. ..."

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01-02-2003, 6:14 PM	Original Poster #7
WirelessToday2 Fresh Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 46 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? The issue has been resolved. A credit was issued that took care of everything. I have no further issues here.

01-02-2003, 9:51 PM	#8
northform Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 891 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? I love happy endings...

01-02-2003, 10:15 PM	#9
KevinJames WA's 1st retired mod Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Central Valley NorCA Posts: 2,621 Phone(s): Samsung A877, Impression Provider(s): the new AT&T Devices: Plantronics Discovery925, Garmin Nuvi 660 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? It is good that the customer got an agreeable resolution, but it appears the issue remains that the customer still needs to understand certain industry standards. For the sake of anyone else having similar issues, take note: WirelessToday2 stated that he paid cash. From my experience all phones sold by the carriers are subsidized and even if the customer pays cash for the phone, they are not paying the full price. This has been a point of contention here for some time. Newbies come here and complain that they were deceived when in fact the contracts usually make it quite clear that early cancellation will result in heavy cancellation charges. This is in an effort to recoup their investment in your phone. As far as the "phone company" coming out and taking your phone, you must be very young because that is exactly what landline companies did before devestiture. The subscriber did NOT own the phone. Even now, some cordless phones cost more than what people willingly pay for wireless phones and yet I have never read of anyone complaining about the cost of a cordless phone. Finally WirelessToday2 states that he feels he can wait to pay the bill until it looks normal. Wrong. What a person facing this situation should do is pay the amount that can be validated by the detailed billing and then follow the procedures in resolving billing disputes. But to pay nothing is asking for credit rating problems.

01-03-2003, 2:38 AM	#10
northform Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 891 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? I am pretty sure that you own the phone, but if they or you cancel the service they can force you to pay the termination fee (but not take your phone). People used to rent the phones from the tel. co. rather than own it, but there is no rental charge on mobiles, but rather an upfront charge. You do own your mobile (but can be charged an extra ammount if you or they terminate the contract). (S)he should have paid the money due for the bill to an escrow account to prove that (s)he had the money and was putting it forth pending a resolution. It guarentees the company payment if they are right while protecting yourself. I wish wireless carriers other than Sprint had no-contract options.

01-03-2003, 10:18 AM	#11
scottb Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Greensboro, NC, U.S.A Posts: 1,188 Provider(s): Verizon Wireless Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	A Customer Buys A Phone.... He doesn't Pay His Bill. The Phone is his right? Isn't pre-pay a "no contract" option?

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