TIP TO SPRINT: Get these ghetto, non-educated, can't read, add, or subtract, low life people out of your company!

The OP lost me there. Name calling isn't a good way for a consumer to file a complaint. It doesn't even read like he did much to attempt to resolve the situation, yet. The system probably automatically created a contract extension, since the OP was out of contract. A phone call to the consumerist line will fix that in a jiffy.

Before criticizing the education level of others, perhaps you should learn how to properly use plurals, verb forms that are dependent upon the use of plurals, commas, quotes, spaces, ellipsis, and phrases like "needless to say."

There doesn't look to be an attempt as quick resolution here. It's all I can do not to blame the OP as there is so much wrong with that 'letter' but this may simply be a misunderstanding. My potential solution is to call back and point out the error. If that doesn't solve it, then let The Consumerist know.

Name calling - bad
complaining & demanding before what seems like at least some sort of contact to see if the situation could be resulved without it being blown into a big situation - bad

I'm not saying what Sprint did was good - but it sounds like the letter to here and trying to make it a big deal before even calling them - fail.

The person could have called, and possible the representive would see the mistake and fix it quickly.... nope, lets try to make as big deal of this as I can.... fail

I've stuck with Sprint since 20000

Really? Since 20000? Sorry, I just help myself. But in light the last line in the OP's letter...

Sprint Customer Service,

I was wondering if you could help me. I recently swapped my Sprint service from one phone to another (both of which I own outright) via one of your customer service representatives. Upon receipt of my billing statement, I find I have been entered into a 2-year contract to which I did not agree. I would like this stipulation removed at the earliest convenience. Your quick resolution of this matter would be much appreciated.

Yours,
David
(account details)

@TechnoDestructo: For what it's worth, the plural of "ellipsis" is "ellipses".

I'm getting a little tired of folks slamming Sprint all the time. Yes, the customer service sucked a few years ago but these days it is 1000% better. I've been a customer for 9 years and dealt with Sprint on 2 upgrades recently and their customer service was excellent. Mistakes happen but when you call Account Services, they really seem to be trying their best to rectify problems quickly and efficiently. A few years ago, screaming and hollering may have been necessary - these days, a calm, level head gets you very good customer service.

@joeboxxer:

Not to diminish the fact that this guy is an asshole, but when is the last time you saw a mistake that wasn't in the favor of the company making the mistake?

I have never personally seen such a thing, and I've seen my share of billing "errors."

They are not mistakes, and there is no good guy in this story.

"I called Sprint's NO Customer Service,"

I think you mean Sprint's "Customer Disservice" Department.

I doubt this is a letter he sent to the company. Looks more like a venting letter he sent to the consumerist to let them know that Sprint was extending contracts without permission.

Maybe I'm missing something here. It sounds like OP owned two phones and an expired Sprint service contract. OP called Sprint and had the CSR switch service from phone A to phone B. OP never explicitly gave permission to enter into a new contract. But, doesn't his request to switch to a "new" phone without current service imply that he wants to enter into a new contract or renew the old one? If so, what's his complaint? What am I missing?

I'd love to see the Consumerist editors make suggestions to the OP's who submit their stories, BEFORE posting said story to the Consumerist. At least encouraging the OP to write a cogent, coherent piece of Consumeristy goodness.

Nothing too extreme, but most magazines have some basic guidelines/requirements regarding the grammar and readability of the post/article before an editor will allow it to appear in his/her publication. I would be simply thrilled to see the Consumerist adopt some standards for the OPs (since we do have some pretty clear ones for the comments).

The OP in this case does not seem to be taking a mature, business-like approach to resolving his conflict with Sprint.

A word of advice; if you engage in commerce at any level with a company, you've entered into a form of a professional relationship with said company. Regardless of how you feel you've been treated, you would be wise to ensure that all of YOUR dealings with said company are professional in the utmost.

I am a former care rep, when I did ESN swaps I never asked where the phone came from as it makes no difference with regards to a contract.

If it was processed as an upgrade then it would require a contract, but if you just call care to get a phone swapped, there should NEVER EVER be a contract extension for changing phones. The system isn't even set up for that.

Find the Consumerist Sprint hotline number on here somewhere and I guarantee they will have you fixed in no time.

Also, I understand you are upset, but name calling in a business letter will seldom get you far.

@ReidFleming: Good work but a little too stilted and mild. How's this:

Please help me resolve an issue I am having with the customer service department.

I recently swapped my Sprint service from one phone to another (both of which I own outright) via one of your telephone customer service representatives. Upon receipt of my next billing statement, I found that I had been signed up for a new 2-year contract that I did not request and to which I did not agree.

To fix this error, the contract needs to be removed from my account as soon as possible. I do not and will not owe you any payment for the time period the contract was in effect, since I was not at fault. I would appreciate hearing from you in three business days that this matter has been taken care of and that my account was restored to what it was before the error. I will be following up soon to make sure this was done.

Thank you, ....

@utensil42: It sounds like the OP was on the month to month after the 2 year expired, and wanted to switch phones but keep his plan the same.

@speedwell: Hey, I'm stilted and mild!

Seriously, though, I'm fairly certain either of those would have stood a better chance of a positive reply. David, if you're reading these comments, could you let us know what you did and if it was resolved? Many of us feel you jumped the gun (or at least went to full-on attack mode too early) but maybe we're missing part of the equation.

@utensil42:
You are missing the fact that he owned both phones...as in he had upgraded to a RAZR 2 from his old sanyo phone, was out of contract, was not happy with the RAZR, and switched his service back to his old phone. He never bought a subsidized phone. It's akin to me switching my TMO sim card from my 8525 smart phone to my old razr. I didn't buy a new phone for cheap with the stipulations that I extend my contract, I just switched existing service from one phone that I already owned to another phone that I already owned...Understand?

I read these replies which belittle the OP and those on every other post mainly to see what the 'Perfect People' who write said scathing replies really think. And boy, are they just swell folks whom I guess are really 'Perfect In Every Way', or simply people with way too much spare time. Lighten up people.

@weedpindle: I have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say. The only thing that made sense was your last sentence but I don't agree with it. I'm in a pretty lighthearted mood and I see very little freaking out by anybody.

I can't tell if this is the actual missive he sent to Sprint or just his characterization of his response, though. Maybe this is just his unofficial rant and his official communications were closer to the styles suggested above?

If someone wrote a letter like that to me, I'd be much less inclined to help them.

Yeah let's just forget Sprint is screwing people over again (what a big surprise) and let's just unload the grammar police on the OP... :/ None of that changes the fact he has a point. I gave Sprint the pink slip years ago for exactly the same reasons as this guy. Hell, they sent me to collections when I got rid of them to try and collect a termination fee for a contract I never asked for! They ain't getting a red cent from me, and I don't care if that is in collections for the rest of my life.

Did he even call Sprint when he noticed the error made? Seems like all he did was waste internet bits typing and sending this without actually attempting to resolve it.

Demanding compensation for something as simple as just removing the contract is not the thing to do. They didn't take any of your money. They didn't steal your first born.

@ReidFleming: Sorry, I did not mean *you* were like that, LOL... I work with a lot of people, perfectly straightforward and forthright, who think that writing a graceful complaint letter involves pleading with the person who made the error. Many of them are engineers and they are afraid that if they come right out and ask for something, they will sound obnoxious. That just isn't the case. It's much better to work your letter around the following basic elements:

- A pleasant and professional greeting
- A brief summary of why you are writing
- What happened (the more factual you sound, the more credible), including the fact that you are the injured party (seriously, you have to get across that they are responsible for causing the situation so they are also responsible for fixing it)
- What it will take to solve the problem to your satisfaction
- When you expect to hear back from them
- That you will be following up to make sure the issue is resolved, and when

I even follow something like this framework when I am working on a help desk ticket that is someone else's fault. I'll write something like:

Hello, Nazib. I'm working on a help desk ticket filed by John Fuller. He has an engineering change form that can't go through because it is awaiting your approval. Please go to your personal page and complete the approval task as soon as possible. Tom needs the form to go through by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Unless I hear from you before then that you completed the task, I'll follow up with you tomorrow morning to make sure everything is going smoothly.

@TorrentFreak: Sometimes it takes a policeman to keep the peace, eh? Sometimes it takes a grammar policeman to help show people how to communicate peacefully as well.

I have tried to call the special hotline twice in the past two month on two unrelated issues and both times I have been told that they would not help me. Not that thelp me, but that the will not help me. I'm about sick of this company and the SERO plan just isn't worth keeping me around anymore.

Little known fact: Outside of their month-to-month package, Sprint requires a 2-year contract for ALL PLANS.

That means even if you buy a phone outright but want that fancy new unlimited plan they have, you have to agree to a 2 year contract. Other providers are the same I think.

@Cyco: Call and say you are want to cancel, you'll get put through to the retention department, I can just about guarantee they will have you taken care of in no time.

Having worked at a Sprint call center in Canada I totally sympathize with you.

Call centers are mostly outsourced to companies such as Teletech (which is the one I worked for). The employees they usually hire are usually one of the following:

#1: High School student looking for a quick buck.
-I believe that Teletech has changed procedure to not hire anyone under 18 as of Jan 1 2008, unless they have 18+ months of work experience.

#2: Women that have spent most of their lives as mothers and are just rejoining the workforce

#3: Transients/Students/Un-employed people looking for a job to hold over until they move on.

The training is simple. Most of the agents have no common sense when it comes to technical issues. "Judgement Calls" are discouraged and punished.

In regards to the issue at hand:
Sprint's billing/provisioning system is a fully computerized system which will always extend your contract when doing any sort of equipment exchange. Usually the person performing the swap will manually change the contract back to the original end date however sometimes it gets missed.

To solve your problem I would suggest just being persistent in calling back until you talk to someone that will actually care about you as a customer.

Issues such as these will always occur, unfortunately it is up to you to pursue it until you get that 1/1000 agents that knows what the "F" they are doing.

P.S. The Job sucked. I have a B.Sc. and was just looking to make a quick buck and maybe learn some things. I did my job the best I could.

The day that I left was due to not being allowed as a Customer Service agent to do my job.

You know, when I contact a service provider like Sprint I try to be pretty complete in my understanding of what I am doing with them..like saying:

"Hey, I have this phone and I want to swap the ESN number with it but do not what to renew into a 2 year contract, can you help me with that?"

Never assume that you are getting exactly what you expect to get with companies like this.

That said, a simple call to Sprint should clear this up rather than a huge hanting letter like you fired off to the company.

TIP TO THE OP: Being immature and insulting makes you look like a fool in front of others. Blame the company and the contractor handling the call centers if you must for creating an environment where mistakes occur, not everyone working at the bottom of the food chain. They are simply trying to make a living.

Overall, I would recommend taking the advice of the polite and civil Consumerist commenters. More flies with honey than vinegar, and all that.

Good luck.

Cool, May 1st is my birthday!

This doesn't change until legislation is passed. It's that simple. With Republicans in power, limitations on ownership have just about destroyed competition - the competition that ensures that a company will want to retain customers by treating them decently.

If you want change, vote for it.

@pinkpuppet:
I pretty much agree. The people at the bottom are a shield for the company. They are put in an awkward position of having to interact with customers with directives to screw them with a smile. You can't blame them. You have to blame the people running the corporations and lobbying congress.

@temporaryerror: But according to his letter he didn't have existing service so it doesn't matter if he owned the phones or not (a fact that I understood already, thanks). The point was, if you own 2 phones and want to switch service between them, but don't have service, they're going to sign you up for service. How he got the phones, whether they were subsidized, etc. doesn't matter if he didn't have pre-existing service.

Sprint tried to stick me with a $700 final bill when I switched to T-Mobile (they had extended my contracts without my permission). I tried to take the high road, and after being placed on hold for half an hour (which was actually good for Sprint Customer Service), I talked to some moronic monkey who spoke from a script, and basically said that I could either pay up or it would go to collections. She would not put me through to a supervisor, and when I realized that no amount of reasoning was going to have any impact, I decided that I was not going to give one more cent to Sprint. It never showed up on my credit report, so I am assuming they tried to ream many, many people in this way, and just took what they could get. I was happy to hear about the CA State Supreme Court ruling-- and will be even happier when I hear that Sprint has gone bankrupt and/or out of business.

Consumerist should really stop referring to (703) 433-4401 as a "consumerist" hotline. It is standard executive relations. We expect companies to be honest and I expect Consumerist to be honest as well, this is not anything set up on behalf of the consumerist and twice when I called they hadn't even heard of the consumerist. Just run a google search and see

Everyone seems to be missing the two key points here:

1. The OP was never informed that he is entering a 2 year contract with Sprint. Since contracts are an agreement between two parties (with a major emphasis on "agreement"), and he did not agree to the contract, the contract is legal not valid.

2. Phone companies like to say the the contracts are needed to pay for the subsidized cost of the phones. In this case the contract is used to lock in a consumer to one company. This is why the California court ruled that the ETFs were illegal.

I used to be with Sprint from 2000 until 2007, with only the first year under contract. In late 2007 I noticed that two discounts I had vanished, so I called and asked why. The rep explained that I had supposedly renewed my contract the June or so prior, and that was when my discount was removed.

I eventually had to ask what the hell was going on and why in the world would I agree to extending my contract when I got absolutely nothing out of it, and even lost a discount. After a bit they looked through the records and traced the incident to a phone call that more than likely hit my answer machine, and they canceled the contract because there was no way I could have verified my info and agreed to the renewal.

The next day I went to AT&T and changed my provider--danged if I was going to deal with Sprint pulling stunts like that on top of their crappy service and phone reception. Of course, then Sprint tried to hammer me for breach of contract, which resulted in another phone call to correct their dysfunctions. I hope Sprint goes bankrupt and anally implodes.

@purplesun: Hell, the OP lost me when he insulted my intelligence within the first paragraph.

The guy comes off as a real jerk - which of course doesn't justify him being signed up for a new contract. It's probably not helping him get this resolved, but then, neither is his unreasonable demand to cancel a second contract with no penalty to himself (the understanding I got from reading the article)

@Mollyg: Er..I don't think people are missing that. 2) isn't relevant since he owned both phones outright at this point, and 1)...well that's the point of his letter.

While I agree that OP didn't take the best tack in getting this problem solved, I must mention that the same thing happened to me a couple of years ago after a routine CS call (no phone changing or such).

If they want to try to get an ETF or other compensation out of you when you drop service, the burden is on them to demonstrate that there was a valid contract. When I got my "courtesy letter", I immediately called customer service, informed the CSR that I had not approved an extension, noted the time of my call on the letter, and filed the letter with my Sprint bills.

If there ever is a problem with proving I had a contract, I'd like to hear them pull out the recording where I said OK.

firstly: sprint was wrong to do that.

secondly: he was wrong for owning a RAZR2.

thirdly: you get what you pay for, it seems like he was on SERO? for the price of that plan you expect good service? And he has been stuck since 2000? the average contract is 2 years... so has he had these overly helpful reps extend his contract 3 times? and why does he want his lines out of contract... does he want to defect to another company, or does he just want out of contract so he can lord that over people? If he is on SERO, i would want a contract on that...

I haven't been with sprint since 2001, so I don't know how this works. but couldn't he have switched the sim card from one phone to the other? I've done that with T-mobile and with AT&T/Cingular. I don't think I ever had to call them.

of course I only use basic phone-only service, none of that fancypants push-to-talk or internet stuff...

@supertechman: You sir, win the thread.

I was beginning to think I was the only one who felt this way. I know this site is all about the shockingly bad CS issues of the world, but I for one am getting beaten down by posts like this one (Sorry Carey, but I think you are the worst offender). I think the consumerist dilutes its influence with posts like these, because when something really serious shows it opens the gates to being fluffed off because of poor quality posts like this one being preceived as the norm.

Sprint is in the wrong here, but in the very first sentence, the OP was talking down to us (US! THe readers of his post! Not the CS reps, or Sprint Execs, but US!) No sympathy to follow from me.

If posts can be disemvoweled, then why can't submissions?

The last paragraph was incredibly unprofessional and downright rude.

@utensil42:

Very good point Utensil. If your contract expired, but all you want to switch phones,of course they have to signed you a new contract. Remember that you cannot "exchange" what you don't have.

Let me say it more clearly. You call them to switch their service from one phone to another, right? Good. When the serv rep checks out on his/hers computer, we know (s)he saw that you didn't have a valid contract. Therefore (s)he do not have a way to transfer the service, because with an expired contract there's no service to transfer. But since you called to have the service changed, and the serv rep assumes you know the contract is expired, (s)he does what any thinking person would do; sign you for a new contract. Now the fact that (s)he did not tell you so, cannot be excused. (s)he should have told you, in order to avoid the issue now on hand. But about signing you for a new contract (s)he did the right thing, you asked for it.

I work in att's customer service but the technical support side. Most of my coworkers are less likely to help someone if they are pricks about it, especially with courtesy credits like how he is asking for his other phone to be off contract for the hassle, good luck with that.

When I used to be on the customer care side if someone called demanding credit to the account then I would find any way in our terms to not give it to them and then note the account the reason. If I got someone who was nice and either asked politely or didn't ask at all then I would usually give them whatever I could since I had $250 per caller to mess with. I even credit peoples etfs who were no longer with them back because they were nice about it.

I've also fried people's sim cards who were huge pricks though.