T-Mobile sent reader Ivan’s account to collections after he twice cancelled his service. He first cancelled in August, but T-Mobile mysteriously lost the cancellation letter. Ivan faxed over a second cancellation letter while a CSR waited on the phone to confirm receipt. Having switched to Verizon, Ivan didn’t care when in September, someone stepped on the T-Mobile phone lying in his car, breaking the screen. T-Mobile is now demanding that Ivan pay a bill that lists only a reinstatement fee. Ivan writes:
t-mobile
Consumers Grow Unhappier With Buying Cellphones
By 10.30.07
Customer satisfaction with buying cellphones at stores fell this year, reports J.D. Power and Associates in the recently released 2007 Wireless Retail Sales Satisfaction StudySM-Volume 2.
Sprint Will Allow Departing Customers To Unlock Their Phones
By 10.28.07
Sprint will relinquish unlock codes to departing customers in good standing as part of proposed class action settlement.The class was formed last year by California consumers who argued that the locked phones bound them to Sprint by making it more expensive to switch carriers. Sprint claimed that releasing the codes was unnecessary since the service contract clearly informed consumers that phones would only work on Sprint’s network.
T-Mobile Demands $1,100 From Defrauded Customer
By 10.27.07
T-Mobile is demanding that reader Motoko, a victim of fraud, immediately pay $1,100 before she can port her number to rival Sprint. Last month, Motoko discovered erroneous charges on her bill totaling $1,766; T-Mobile readily admitted that the charges were fraudulent, and told the BBB and Consumerist that Motoko would receive an immediate refund. Instead of a refund, T-Mobile sent Motoko’s another bill and suspended her service. Now, almost a full month after T-Mobile’s PR henchmen at Waggener Edstrom claimed that the company had provided a “satisfactory resolution,” Motoko checked in with another update:
T-Mobile has only given me a partial amount of the credit they promised me in the BBB response. I’ve only gotten $454 back out of the $1,766. Their new response on the BBB website states that my October bill will reflect the full reimbursement of my credit. Unfortunately, the October bill is still $1,100+ and it shows that the second fraudulent line is still active.
AT&T Says It Will Begin Prorating Termination Fees
By 10.17.07
Maybe the T-Mobile lawsuit has scared AT&T a bit, because they’ve announced that they’re changing their early termination policy: they will now prorate termination fees instead of charging a flat fee. They’re also removing the policy that required existing customers to extend a current agreement or sign up for a new one when changing their level of service. No word on when these changes will go into effect, but there’s nothing on their website yet.
Does It Make Sense To Get A Text Message Plan?
By 10.15.07
Here’s the current text-message rate plans for the different cellphone providers. Most providers also offer unlimited text message plans: AT&T: $19.99 a month, Sprint: $20 a month, T-Mobile: $14.99 a month, Verizon: Unlimited messaging isn’t optional feature, but it is part of the America’s Choice Select Plan.
Court Allows Lawsuit Against T-Mobile To Proceed
By 10.11.07
On Wednesday, the California Supreme Court refused to review two earlier findings, which killed T-Mobile’s final chance at blocking a lawsuit against its early-termination fees and practice of locking phones. This is the third time T-Mobile has tried to stop the case from proceeding, and both a state trial judge and a state appeals court have already rejected T-Mobile’s claims that its customers were required by the terms of their contracts to submit to binding arbitration.
T-Mobile's Satisfactory Resolution: Cut The Phone Line, Refuse To Refund $1,766 In Erroneous Charges
By 10.7.07
Remember Motoko? T-Mobile sent her a $1,169.84 bill littered with charges from an unidentified number. When Motoko called to complain, T-Mobile admitted that the charges were likely fraudulent, but encouraged Motoko to pay the bill anyway. After posting Motoko’s story, T-Mobile’s PR watchdogs at Waggener Edstrom got in touch and claimed that the situation was satisfactorily resolved. We updated the post accordingly. Well, Motoko sent us a followup email, and here is her version of T-Mobile’s satisfactory resolution:
T-Mobile ended up cutting my line for nonpayment. They simply refused to investigate the matter or to call me back.
Sprint Is The Suckiest Cellphone Company
By 10.2.07
According to Google, Sprint is the suckiest cellphone company. When you query “____ sucks,” filling in the name of different providers, Sprint returns the most results. Here’s how all the providers stacked up:
UPDATE: Verizon And Helio Are The Coolest Cellphone Company!
By 10.1.07
According to Google, Verizon is the coolest cellphone company. When you query “____ is cool,” filling in the name of different providers, Verizon is tits. Here’s how many results were returned for each company:
T-Mobile Kiosk Boasts: "We Unlock iPhones!"
By 9.29.07
[Fashion Island, Newport Beach, California. Image thanks to Aubrey.]
Updates & Refutations
By 9.25.07
Tmobile says they fixed Motoko’s fraudulent bill complaint. Motoko disagrees..An insurance claims adjuster would like to adjust several of the claims made in “10 Things Your Auto Insurer Won’t Tell You”Two airplane manufacturers and a UCLA professor take issue with a Dan Rather Reports episode…
Your Bill Looks Fraudulent. Pay It Anyway
By 9.15.07
Update: T-Mobile reports that the situation has been satisfactorily resolved. Motoko disagrees.
T-Mobile Sells New Phone Loaded With Porn
By 6.24.07
Taking a page from Comcast, T-Mobile sold Shelby Hinds a phone containing 60 images from an online porn gallery associated with another user’s account. Shelby purchased the phone from a T-Mobile kiosk at Walmart, where she “watched the salesman take the wrapping off two new phones and program them. ” T-Mobile said the porn was Shelby’s fault:
…the representative on the phone told her the only way the phone could have those images was if she took the photos herself or if the pictures were sent to her in a text message.
Shelby brought the smut phone to a T-Mobile store, where the employees said they had “never seen a problem like this before.” T-Mobile is now attributing the porn to a “technical glitch,” and will replace the phone free of charge and waive Shelby’s activation fees. — CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
Materially Adverse Clauses For All Major Cellphones – So You Can Escape Contract Without Termination Fee
By 5.9.07
Here’s a roundup of all the contract clauses regarding “materially adverse changes” for all the major cellphone carriers. When they starting charging new fees or raise the price of a service, you can use this section to argue that you need to be let out of contract without early termination fee….
T-Mobile Confirms You Can Cancel Without Fee Over Texting Price Increase
By 4.3.07
Just like we told you, T-Mobile customers can cancel their cellphone contract without paying an early termination fee, but this time, T-Mobile itself actually made a public statement saying so!
Reader Kicks T-Mobile's Butt Over Denied Rebate
By 4.3.07
Kathlene used her mad consumer skills to force T-Mobile into honoring the rebate they were supposed to give her. She slayed their bogus reasons for denying her rebate. She escalated, and escalated. Finally, she emailed an extremely well-crafted letter to CEO Robert Dotson (pictured, looking like a pile of badass).
