Consumerist
errors
Posts Tagged “
Cellphones
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errors
emergencies
Passenger Cited For Refusing To Get Off His Cellphone On Southwest Flight
A gentlemen who ignored flight attendants requests that he get off his cellphone was met by police when the flight landed at Dallas' Love Field. Joe David Jones, 50, of Austin was ticketed for disorderly conduct, says the Associated Press. More »
incompetence
Reader Nicholas is in the military, and while he was serving in Iraq, AT&T decided to give his phone number to another customer. When he returned, he asked for the number back, but was refused. The rep then convinced him that he needed to sign a new 2 year contract in order to reactivate his number. Naturally, right after he did this, his phone broke, and now AT&T is telling him that he'll have to wait until 2009 to get a decent upgrade.
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AT&T Loses Your Phone Number While You're Serving In Iraq, Says No Upgrade For You
Reader Nicholas is in the military, and while he was serving in Iraq, AT&T decided to give his phone number to another customer. When he returned, he asked for the number back, but was refused. The rep then convinced him that he needed to sign a new 2 year contract in order to reactivate his number. Naturally, right after he did this, his phone broke, and now AT&T is telling him that he'll have to wait until 2009 to get a decent upgrade.
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Sending a text message is at least 4 times more expensive than retrieving the same amount of data from the Hubble telescope, according to an astronomer at the University of Leicester. Now we just need a phone that sends messages via deep space. [physorg.com] (Thanks to Linus!)
Sprint Death Watch
Sprint Loses 1.09 Million Customers In 3 Months
Sprint is hemorrhaging both money and customers as it searches for a way to stop the financial bleeding. The company lost $505 million in the first quarter alone, and watched helplessly as over a million of its customers defected to other wireless carriers. More »
frustration
T-Mobile: We Can't Help You, Sell Your Brand New Defective Phone On eBay
A link to the following letter to T-Mobile's president just popped into our inbox. It seems that if you receive a T-Mobile Sidekick for Christmas and it's defective... your options are fairly limited. T-Mobile's best solution to your broken phone? Sell it on eBay. More »
leaks
Tmobile Call Center Bans Kleenex
Update on that outsourced Tmobile call center that banned paper and pens earlier this week: our insider reports that Kleenex is now verboten as well. He furthermore notes that, "paper and pens, if they are to be used, have to be signed out from a supervisor. When signed back in, the paper is shredded by the supervisor." Any reps feeling the need to cry about their vaporizing dignity can use the back of their sleeve, after their request form is approved. A comment from our previous post explains why this might be a bad idea...
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complaints
Verizon Interprets "Materially Adverse" Differently From Reality So You Can't Cancel Without Termination Fee
Joseph would like to cancel his Verizon contract without early termination fee by arguing that the recent monthly administrative fee increase is materially adverse, but unfortunately for Joseph, Verizon's lawyers have filled their customer service reps brains with a bunch of hooey about what materially adverse means. In fact, when Joseph was reading the very clause in the Verizon contract that allows him to what he wants, the call center supervisor laughed at him. According to his account, when he criticized the poor customer service, she started screaming at him. The text of Joe's attempted EECB, inside... More »
leaks
Tmobile Forbids Use Of Paper and Pens In Call Center
An insider reports that a Tmobile call center has outlawed customer service reps having pens and paper out in the open. According to our source, the outsourced Business Care facility in Sarnia, Ontario is concerned about reps making off with data. Pens, paper, pencils are not to be left out on the work areas. If they are used, they must be put back inside the desk and locked after use. This has "made life considerably less pleasant for them...There are a number of reps who write faster than they type, so they use a notepad as a sort of buffer." Even photographs and other paper items on cubicle walls will have to be laminated to insure they're not used as illegal writing surfaces. The tipster says Startek-run call center is conducting an audit today to insure compliance with all of its new, policies. It's a good thing that no one working at Tmobile might have access to a small electronic device capable of data input and transmission.
homeland security
Court Rules Customs Agents Can Collect Data From Laptops & Cellphones Without Cause
Some visitors and citizens of the United States may be shocked to learn that their computers, cell phones and data devices are now subject to search and data retrieval upon entry into the U.S., even without cause or suspicion. On April 19th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that all computers and data devices are the same as luggage in that they can be searched without cause, and that all collected data may be stored indefinitely. More, inside... More »
Reach Verizon Wireless Executive Customer Service Desk
Here is another phone number to reach the Verizon Wireless executive customer service desk: 845-365-7700. If that number doesn't work, here are some others to try.
(Photo: Getty)
verizon
Reader Uses Being Nice To Quickly Escapes Verizon Without Early Termination Fee
Mason used the increase in monthly administrative charges to escape his Verizon cellphone contract without early termination fee, but unlike others, had very little trouble. The secret seems to be being nice! Wow, are we still doing that? Yes, we are, and it works wonders: More »
complaints
Verizon Offering Credits To Keep You From Escaping Contract Without Early Termination Fee
Alicia wants to escape her Verizon contract without paying an early termination fee, but she's having some trouble. She writes:Just today, I was informed that Verizon is now increasing their monthly administration charge. I have a right to cancel with having the early termination fee waived because of this increase. The Verizon supervisors I spoke to (total of 4 people) refused to follow this clause and would not waive the early termination fee even though Verizon changed the fees. They said they would give me a credit for this increase, so then it would not adversely affect me, so I can't have the ETF waived. I made it clear that I had a right to cancel and have the ETF waived regardless of what credit they would be willing to give me. They said that having the ETF waived is not an option and they can not do that. Am I in the wrong?More »
early termination fees
Escape Verizon Without Early Termination Fee Based On Administrative Charge Increase
Verizon is increasing the monthly administrative charge from $.70 to $.85, giving customers a chance to escape their cellphone contract without paying an early termination fee. However, it won't come easy. You need to have all the facts and support documents on hand and be prepared to work really hard to convince some reluctant customer service reps. Your best shot is to insist on speaking to the retentions department. Also, you need to say that the only reason you want to cancel is because of the administrative charge increase. If they ask why, just keep saying that it has a material adverse effect on you (here's what material adverse means). Lastly, resist any freebies or bonuses they toss your way. Text of Verizon's fee change and the contract clause giving you the right to break contract without early termination fee, inside... More »
early termination fees
Cellular South is so eager to get you as a customer that they will pay your early termination fee if you switch to them. They will pay up to $200, which comes in the form of a service credit. Cellular South covers Mississippi, coastal Alabama, the Florida panhandle, and parts of Memphis. Perhaps some national carriers will pick up on this awesome idea?
CellularSouth [Official Site]
Cellular South Pays Your Early Termination Fee If You Switch To Them
Cellular South is so eager to get you as a customer that they will pay your early termination fee if you switch to them. They will pay up to $200, which comes in the form of a service credit. Cellular South covers Mississippi, coastal Alabama, the Florida panhandle, and parts of Memphis. Perhaps some national carriers will pick up on this awesome idea?CellularSouth [Official Site]
complaints
Motorola Flip-Flops On Flap Failure
When reader Stuart bought his Motorola Razr V3XX, he was pleased with the phone but could not understand why the tiny flap covering the charger port was held in place by only 2 fragile plastic hinges. As if channeling the spirit of Nostradamus, Stuart made a startling prediction: This flimsy flap will fail. And it did. Twice. The first time, Motorola happily sent Stuart a new flap. But when the flap failed again 8 months later, Motorola unleashed a volley of red tape that left Stuart stuck. Stuart's letter and Motorola's response inside... More »
If you thought AT&T's $2 fee to pay a bill in cash in-store was bad, wait till it goes up to $5. The price increase is scheduled for later this year. [Red Tape Chronicles]
complaints
Jessie opened his Sprint bill and nearly had a heart attack. Staring back at him was in big bold letters: COLLECTION AGENCY ALERT. After recovering, Jessie looked at his bill and nearly had a second heart attack. It said the amount due was $32,669.00. Huh? Had his cellphone been hacked? Used as a call-home payphone for a neighborhood of Tajikistan émigrés? Used by NASA as a Space Station communications channel? Take a guess and then see the answer inside...
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Sprint Sends You Bill For $32,669
Jessie opened his Sprint bill and nearly had a heart attack. Staring back at him was in big bold letters: COLLECTION AGENCY ALERT. After recovering, Jessie looked at his bill and nearly had a second heart attack. It said the amount due was $32,669.00. Huh? Had his cellphone been hacked? Used as a call-home payphone for a neighborhood of Tajikistan émigrés? Used by NASA as a Space Station communications channel? Take a guess and then see the answer inside...
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