TracFone is a pre-paid wireless cellphone company that people enjoy for its low cost and hate for its customer service. The problem comes from their globally outsourced and non-integrated call centers. Problems don’t get solved. Emails go unreturned. Problems get stuck in infinitely recursive loops. Here’s a typical story from reader Susan, “I asked them to escalate this to a supervisor. Three days later, I get a response saying that they have investigated the problem and I should call their support line. When I called the support line, they had no details of any prior communication and no way to resolve the problem. So I am back at step one. ” Luckily for you, she found the numbers to escalate complaints up to the corporate level and got it solved: 1-800-876-5753 or 1-800-339-9345.
cellphones
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If you have an account with Mint, and you’ve enabled mobile alerts, you can now text “Bal” or “Balance” to 696-468 (MyMint) and receive a summary of all of your accounts. [Mint]
Reader Saves $230 On Cable And Phone Bills By Rocking The Cancellation Threat
Here’s how Stephanie saved $230 on her cable and phone bills after following the tips in “3 Ways To Lower Your Out Of Control Cable, Internet And Phone Bills“
Escape Sprint ETF-Free Over Administrative Fee Increase
Want to break your Sprint cellphone contract without paying an early termination fee? On January 1, 2009, Sprint will increase the Administrative fee to $.99 per line. Because this is what is known as a “materially adverse change of contract,” and because of the basic contractual principle that you can’t change someone’s contract without their explicit permission (not the tacit, “opt-out” kind), you can use it to argue that the fee renders your contract void and you can end service without a termination fee. You do have to be willing to argue without giving up with a number of different Sprint employees first, like Matt did…
Leaks: Details On Sprint's New Decreasing ETF
More details have emerged about Sprint’s new decreasing-monthly ETF, thanks to a page from the Sprint customer service manual that fell into NeoWin’s hands. Basically the ETF on a 2-year contract is $200 after the first 30 days and until month 20, then it starts decreasing by $10 at month 19, until it gets to month 5 where it holds at $50. However, they say it’s their policy to waive it if there’s less than 30 days left. Once again, the decreasing-ETF will only apply to new contracts signed after November 2, 2008. Full scan of the internal document, inside…
Sprint To Start Discounting ETFs Monthly
Sprint is expected to soon start making the early termination fee (ETF) decline every month, possibly as early as November 2nd. Previously, whether you canceled service 1 day into or one day before the end of your service contract, you would get a $200 fee. That fee is supposed to reimburse the company for the cost of providing you a cellphone at reduced cost. The change is expected to be only good for new subscribers and is not retroactive, so, sorry Charlie if you were hoping to go get an iPhone.
Wireless Carriers Tell Senate: "Text Messaging Rates Have Dropped, And Your Queries Have Led To Lawsuits Against Us!"
The national wireless carriers have responded to the Senate’s request for information on why its text-messaging fees have doubled over the past three years. Their collective response: they haven’t gotten more expensive, they’ve gotten cheaper—and your public suspicion of our business practices has led to lots of class action lawsuits!
Get A New Sprint Line, Get Free Companion Airfare Ticket
Just found an extra deal for today from Sprint: Get a new Sprint phone line and get a free airline companion ticket, up to a $500 value. Get two tickets, up to a $1,000 value, with activation of a BlackBerry on a BlackBerry Plan or a Simply Everything Plan.
AT&T Says Your Jesus Phone Can Be In Three Places At Once, So Pay Up
Wow, those iPhones really are amazing. Chris’ iPhone can make a call from Nicaragua the same time it’s incurring a data roaming charge in Mexico—all without leaving Chris’ side in the U.S. Some skeptics will probably just say there’s a problem with AT&T’s records, or the phone’s SIM card was cloned or something, but AT&T believes. That’s why they want Chris to pay that bill each month it keeps happening.
Ringtone Scam Class Action Settlement Announced
We’ve known how “free” ringtones and other “free” cellphone content comeons are often lures to get you signed up on a hidden monthly subscription, and now there’s a class action lawsuit settlement to punish MobileMessenger, one of their purveyors. The settlement covers customers from every cellphone provider who bought content from January 1, 2005 to August 13, 2008. If you paid for your kids cellphone plan during that time, chances are they ordered some. You can check your bills for any the “short codes” (listed inside) or call 1-800-416-6129. The deadline for filing a claim is January 30, 2009. More information about Gray v. Mobile Messenger at cellphonedownloads.class-action-admin.com.
Cellphone Extras Aggregator Mobile Messenger Agrees To Pay Out Triple Damages
If you or your teen racked up surprise monthly fees from Mobile Messenger after texting a random code to a strange number because the tv told you to, then you may be eligible for a refund, if not triple damages.
Timberland Offering Up To $150 To Recipients Of Its Text Message Spam
Under the terms of a preliminary settlement agreement, [Timberland and e-commerce company GSI] will pay $7 million into a cash fund to reimburse those who received the messages, according to KamberEdelson LLC, one of the law firms that helped bring the suit.
Verizon Announces Monthly Plans With No Early Termination Fees
Facing increased pressure from consumers and lawmakers alike, Verizon has announced that they will begin offering monthly cellphone plans with no early termination fees. Consumers wishing to take advantage of the plans will be required to pay full price for a phone, or provide their own phone, as Verizon will not be subsidizing the cost of handsets.
Is Walmart Price-Gouging Hurricane Victims?
A Walmart insider tells us that the price of cellphone chargers nearly doubled on orders from Walmart HQ in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Before the hurricane, chargers cost from $10-$15, but afterwards, they rose to a uniform $19.
Verizon Wireless Going Contract-Free Next Week?
If the website Boy Genius Report is correct, next week Verizon Wireless will start offering contract-free, month-to-month service. Pretty much everyone will be eligible for it, but of course you’ll have to pay full price for a phone or bring your own, there’ll be an activation fee that can’t be waived, and if you take advantage of any special offers that require a contract, you’ll have to switch over to a contract agreement. It’s supposed to start on September 21st.
Flipswap Cell Phone Buyback Doesn't Work As Advertised
A Consumerist reader tried to trade in some old cellphones via Flipswap, and it did not go well. Actually, it pretty much didn’t go at all—he may as well have dropped them off at a Goodwill.
Woman Donates Cellphone To Charity, But It Ends Up On Ebay With Personal Info Intact
People! Always wipe your cell phone before you sell it, give it away, or trade it in. Do not assume or expect that someone else will do this for you! This was just one of the mistakes that led to Rachel Swanson being called by strangers several weeks after she thought she donated her old phone to charity. But the store that handled the donation, and the company responsible for actually processing the donated phones, screwed up their parts, too. Here’s how it was supposed to have work, and what you should always do before donating your phone to any organization.
Sprint Keeps Sending Mysterious Security-Related Text Messages, But Doesn't Know Why
Chelsea wants to know why she keeps receiving these cryptic text messages from 9099. The messages alternate between telling her new phantom services have been added to her account, and sending her an account PIN and security answer. We thought it was someone trying to gain access to her account, but the PIN and security answer aren’t hers, and the services never show up on her bill.
