Headaches switching from Nextel to Sprint

[Shane Pitman]

First post here, referred by a Sprint rep, and that's all I'll say about that. I am currently a Nextel subscriber with three lines, one of which is my BlackBerry 7100i. I would like to switch to the Sprint side of the house because as you all know, Nextel's data service is horrible. All three of my lines are currently under contracts that expire towards the end of this year. Therein lies my dilemma. I can switch to Sprint and not have to pay the contract early termination fees on my Nextel lines, however, I would only get $75.00 per line credit towards new Sprint phones. Assuming that I will be replacing my BlackBerry 7100i with a BlackBerry 7130, Treo, or something along those lines, I'm looking at a minimum of $399.99 - $75.00 credit on my phone alone, and I've still got 2 phones to replace. We figured it up and it'd cost me between $800 & $900 in up front costs to transfer from Nextel to Sprint. The other option is no better, cancel the Nextel contracts and pay again, between $800 and $900 after contract termination fees and Sprint discounted pricing for new service. We called every type of service, retention, etc. department for both Sprint & Nextel, and it seems that nobody has a clear answer for what I can do. It seems as if "Sprint Together With Nextel" is more like "Sprint OR Nextel" as there's very little "Together"ness.

Surely there must be someone at some level of the barking order who has one leg in the Sprint side and one in the Nextel side and who can help me make the transition from one side of the house to the other. I spent over $3,000.00 (yes that says three thousand dollars) last year on the three lines of service that I have with Nextel. I am an IT consultant and the chief news editor for a large online community. I need a mobile broadband solution, and Nextel can't offer that. In all honesty, Sprint doesn't have mobile broadband in my immediate area, but even Sprint's standard data speed is better than Nextel's and I know that Sprint's mobile broadband coverage will be available here soon. I would love to stay within the Sprint family, but they need to help me out in order for me to do so. Charging me, a loyal customer, more (by offering less discounts) than a new customer is absurd.

At any rate, I apologize for the rant. I spent the better part of the morning on the phone with a Sprint rep, and then with a local Sprint rep and wasn't able to get a solid, satisfying answer anywhere.

[Goodgyrl]

It's not that easy. My cousin had nextel and went to sprint. Nextel is still sending her bills for the disconnection fee.

[Shane Pitman]

I just thought I'd let you all know that after talking with numerous representatives with Sprint and Nextel and eventually corresponding with the Chairman & CEO Gary Forsee, my situation has been resolved, or soon will be I guess I should say. Rather than re-post everything, if you're interested you can read about it in my blog (http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=7&showentry=835) over at Neowin.net.

[dimm0k]

Good to hear that things are being worked out for you... welcome to Sprint and SU!

[Dan]

I just thought I'd let you all know that after talking with numerous representatives with Sprint and Nextel and eventually corresponding with the Chairman & CEO Gary Forsee, my situation has been resolved, or soon will be I guess I should say. Rather than re-post everything, if you're interested you can read about it in my blog (http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?automodule=blog&blogid=7&showentry=835) over at Neowin.net.


Though it's likely that one of his assistants replied to you, the result is all that matters.

Let us know how it works out, hopefully you will soon be a happy sprint customer :)


:wavey:

[Calming]

I had the same issue, I was only eligible for $75.00 credit if i switched to sprint from nextel because my contract wasn't up until nov. 07. I heard this from the sprint store location(s) and the sprint reps on the phone. I was about to give up, and then i went into a Radioshack. They listened to what I was told from sprint and some how tweaked something to get me the typical new sprint activation deal and then some.

I ended up walking out of there with an LG LX550 Fusic and a Pink Sanyo SCP6600 Katana for my wife... all for 39.99

I always assumed that if you went to the source (i.e. The Sprint Store), you'd get the best deal. I guess that is not the case all the time.


Calming

[bhwolf79]

my wife and i switched from nextel to sprint.....SHE had the nextel account. We canceled, I opened the sprint account, got our numbers ported, no ETF or activation fees, new customer discounts, and we walked out the door with an A900 and a Fusic, for $102. Just yesterday I switched our plans to the Sero 1250's. Having good luck so far.... :)

[Goodgyrl]

I love to hear Happy sprint stories.

[okvol]

I had Nextel. Could not get Sprint, due to "credit check".
Three lines with Nextel, wanted four with Sprint. I was authorized for five when I signed up with Nextel, which is the maximum.

If I ordered Sprint, I would briefly have seven lines, that exceeds the limit of five, and exceeded my "credit limit". (Are you dizzy yet?)

So, I ordered Sprint in my spouses name, Sprint did a new credit check, and we got the phones. I was off-contract with Nextel, transported over numbers and canceled, even got my pre-payment back.

But, I won't post my rant on ordering on www.sprint.com here since it is off-topic, or what happened in transporting over numbers, or what Nextel did about taxes when I moved from one state to another.

[rpg]

Wow! And I thought I was alone during the last few months when we had decided to leave Nextel for Sprint. In reading the posts from Shane, Calming, Bhwolf79 and Okvol, I see all have been put through the same ordeal that I was subjected to recently.
I was with Nextel for over three years and my wife also had her own account with them. Both of our committments were over and now with two kids, decided to save a bit of money and go to Sprint for a family plan. Besides saving a bit of money, the coverage area would be improved especially in the High School where the kids attend. They would not have to go outside of the building to get a signal.

The thing that I guess all these cellphone providers fail to realize is that when you have a longtern customer,and want to retain them, take care of them without forcing them to feel being taken advantage of. Once they loose a longtime customer, it will be a longtime before possibly getting them back.

In my case, I would not be allowed 4 Sprint lines because I had switched my wifes account under my account for simplicity sometime in 2006. Now with two Nextel lines under my name, they would not allow four Sprint lines. I would only be allowed 3 lines with Sprint. We decided to put the four lines under my wifes name instead, and after the phones arrived, cancelled the Nextel lines.

The problem is that Listening Skills are more important if you really want to take care of your customers and here lies the problem. With more and more companies outsourcing to overseas firms to handle this, there is a language understanding barrier. They hear what they are programmed to hear and anything outside that preprogramming is lost and falls through the cracks.

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