Just a snippet:

"..other than them not being able to help me. After that didn't work I found Mr. Dotson's email "

This bit struck me as odd. What would he define "working" as? Did he expect them to grant him a special exemption from the new rule? Did they expect him to immediately cancel the plan just because of his one phone call?

@Moonshadow101: Gah, "they expect him " -> "he expect them "

It has to start somewhere and look how it ended. They scraped the plan and he got a $69.99 credit on his bill. Win Win

@Moonshadow101: Why not? Companies waive silly fees all the time to prevent customers from leaving. Some banking companies even have policies for which fees they will waive, how frequently, and for what reasons.

I am in the Marine Corps and had some problems getting my contact cancelled. I found out a month ago I was being deployed to Afghanistan and (as the Soldiers and sailors Relief Act stipulates) went ahead to cancel my rental contract (no problems there, owner was retired Army) and cancel my cell phone contract (T-Mobile).

For those who don't know, the Soldiers and sailors Relief Act allows active duty or reserve military service members in an active duty status to cancel or suspend payments while military service members are deployed to a combat zone. Something T-Mobile seems to have forgot! At least temporarily...

I called the T-Mobile line and asked to speak to an individual who could help me cancel a contract (I did not elaborate). They were very helpful, and connected me to another operator. I told them that I was going to be deployed, and I wanted to cancel my contract (the S&SRA allows me to do this without paying a penalty).

The operator told me that I could not escape the penalty since my contact was a two-line contract and since my wife was (obviously) not being deployed, I was not exempt from the penalty fee. Hmmmph. I asked to speak to a supervisor, who gave me the same song and dance. Flash forward (I told them I would call back).

I went to the Marine Corps base legal department and talked to one of the legal defense attorneys. She laughed and said, "Let me take care of this," and I went home. At about 3 pm the net day, I got a WE GOT A TEXT MESSAGE ON MY WIFE'S CELL PHONE (and also my email, which I didn't check until late due to work) saying that the contract had been amended to the 1,000 minute SINGLE line plan I had tried to arrange before. HA!

What a day.

@Moonshadow101: With T-mobile it's not entirely unreasonable to expect some special treatment. I've had nothing but great experiences with them over the years. About a year ago I blew through my minutes in a big way, in the neighborhood of $300 in overages. I called to see if anything could be worked out, some discount or payment plan. After about five minutes on hold, the CSR came back and said he was waiving all the overage since I had been such a great customer for so long.

Good for him and sticking up for what he thinks is right. Too bad that his actions in getting through to them won't be helping anyone else and their bills. Tmobile should offer some kind of incentive to get their customers to switch to ebills. Not punish those who choose not to by charging a fee.

Speaking of Tmobile.. Can anyone out there tell me who the heck the old guy with white hair is on their new tv ads for the Tmobile myTouch? He appears between Whoopi Goldberg and Jesse James.

This has been bothering me since it came out. I'm hoping he is just some guy but I can't help but feel that he has got to be someone that they figure just anyone should know since I know the other two stars in the ad very well.

I hate to say it...but generally speaking CEOs probably aren't at fault for such nonsense. This seems like the responsibility of someone like a COO (operations) or CFO (financial). CEOs for the most part are figureheads and mouthpieces and don't have anything to do with the day to day operations of a company...they just collect the moolah.

@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: I read somewhere that it is L.A. Lakers coach Phil Jackson.

[www.nba.com]

@nstonep: Thats not true at all..Many CEOs are not running the Day to Day but they certainly guide the company from a higher level. So while this particular fee may not be the CEO, calling them figureheads just makes you sound like you dont know what you are talking about.

See Steve Jobs, Bil Gates, Steve Balmer, (and every single CEO I have ever met and worked for...)

@nakkypoo: AT&T actually did the same thing for me.
My bill was at $900 because my girlfriend let her brother use her phone (we're on the same plan).
Well, I called AT&T and they let me change my plan for that month of overages to a higher minute plan, and let me change it back. So the bill went form $900 to $165 (Two iPhones)

A shame it took that kind of high level email to clear something a level I CSR should have realized it needed to be escalated.

Morons.

Let's hope the CEO's executive assistant realized what transpired before they got this message and shakes their tree up a bit.

@nstonep: I agree that the CEO might not be aware of or responsible for the fee increase, but a CEO is perceived as running the company. If things go well they get the credit, and if things go badly they take the blame. If the company sets a policy that annoys tens of thousands of customers, the CEO should know about it, whether it was his decision or not.

@okinawadato: Hey there devil dog, Im in the Navy and what you said was exactly right.

Though I have Sprint and theyve never given me that problem. I call them to tell them Im leaving and they say "Ok, when do you want me to cut the phone off and what date do you want it back on?". Painless.

But you situation makes me smile... ahh, the power of Jags and Legalmen :D

@okinawadato: Damn, where do I get me a legal department? That would come in handy sometimes...haha. Sorry you had such a hard time getting it canceled, it seems that a lot of companies need a refresher in common sense.

@Nighthawke: I'm not sure that "customer doesn't think this fee should exist" counts as something that has to be escalated - the fee wasn't even being collected yet, it was a sort of preemptive strike.

@Laines: I thought it was Joe Cocker.
Whoopi and Jesse James though is really scraping the bottom the d-list celebrity barrel.

I'd just assume they have no celebrities at all.

Good for him, but why does he pay 70 in fees a month? Or did he mean his monthly bill?

Part of me dislikes these great results for people who haven't, per se, been wronged, though. (Yes I agree that the paper bill fee is stupid and yes I'm a Tmobile customer - but I was also properly notified and given the option to not pay it (by changing my billing options, obviously - and it didn't come to pass anyway). It's no different than changing the overage rate or text message rate in my mind - materially adverse, but still fair) (man that was a long parenthetical).

So anyway, he wasn't really wronged, and i"m glad he got what he wanted (20 dollars over a 1.50 fee you haven't paid though, strikes me as a bit much - if he asked for say, 3 (two months, for his trouble calling in, instead of just one) that would be reasonable and more likely to be received). But this is like the guy who borked his own checking account then complained about the overdraft fees - he knew what would happen but he was the one who messed up, not his bank. I just feel like people who haven't had the company do them wrong shouldn't be utilizing the EECB (or LGEB in this case) to resolve their problems, as it might make it less effective for those really in need.

Man, I'm wearing out my parenthesis keys today

I love AT&T I Love AT&T IT Loves me Not...

@Boberto: It's Jackson - here's the article -

[phandroid.com]

While you may not like or watch Whoopi on 'The View' a lot of folks do watch that show. I can't stand it but it does seem to get the ratings.

@Boberto: I like Whoopi, she is a very funny person and I have fond childhood memories of her movies. I still enjoy Sister Act every once in a while.

I know Jesse James originally from Monster Garage [en.wikipedia.org] but more recently he has been on a new show where he's like a dare devil or something. He was also on the most recent Celebrity Apprentice.

But it's no wonder that I didn't know who the old guy was.. I don't like Basketball.

@Laines: Thank you so much! Now I don't have to think about it every time that thing comes on! Which is often.. too often. Now if only I could stop getting that stupid song stuck in my head.. I'd be happy.

@Kimaroo - 20% More Kitty Added!: You're welcome. I had to search it out because when I first saw it and Whoopi held up the vampire screen I assumed the big guy was Frank Langella, then thought, but they broke up, and was he always that tall, and the third guy looks so familiar so who is he ... it was driving me crazy.

I will always love Whoopi for so brilliantly expressing, "You know what that means, it means he doesn't have a head. How am I supposed to write for a guy who doesn't have a head?" and "Actors don't like to play comas. They feel it limits their range." I've gotten much use from both those lines.

@Laines: To be completely clear though, I hate her for other comments she has made about other topics, but this isn't the place to discuss those things.

@Laines: Yeah, I like her as an entertainer.. I don't watch the View and I don't need to know her "view" on things.. I just like her to make me laugh.

If regular mail was too advanced for him, would he refuse to pay extra to have his bill delivered on stone tablets delivered by Moses, like phone bills were meant to be before stupid T-Mobile forced everyone onto this "mailed sheets of paper" scam?

Yeah, i'm sorry, what's so good about a paper bill again? If you can afford a cell phone you can afford the internet. Or at least a library card Go get a hotmail account, dummy! (yahoo, gmail, whatever). Oh that's right, he has email, he used it to complain. So WTF is stopping him from printing out his bill if he just needs to cradle it in his arms.

It's not like he would even need to even check the e-mail either, he could just call in to check his balance and pay his bill by phone just like with every carrier. So this guy is being obtuse on purpose.

Not charging this douchebag means I'm subsidizing his need to waste paper, toner, postage, and time. I say those who want that crap should pay for it.

@okinawadato: Sounds to me like that CSR and their supervisor have just stumbled across a training oppertunity.