Retention Deals - Get it in Writting

[joe123]

I have been a Sprint customer for several years with 2 phones. My contract with Sprint was up and I was looking for 4 new phones plan.

My local AT&T store had a real nice plan at the time and I called Sprint to stop my service. I was then connected with Sprint Retention Plan. I am not going to go into all the details, but it took me some 40 calls to Sprint to finally get the plan I was offered.

Sprint offered me $40/750 national shared minutes, unlimited pcs-pcs, unlimited nights and weekends 8pm, $20 per phone on lines 2-4, 20% off (%15 business I work for, %5 retention). One of the lines included free PCS Vision from my previous contract. So additional PCS Vision for lines 2-4 was only $5 per phone (no $15 for first phone).

As I was contemplating this new contract, the call was dropped (I was at home not moving). So I called Sprint and after another 45 minutes of wait, I get a whole new person, different plan offered. So I decided to wait a few days. I called Sprint again and the plan changed again. By now, I figured that Sprint is either playing games or their structure is such that allows different reps to give out different plans depending on whom you talk to.

I eventually got a rep who offered me the orginal plan and thus I took it. I agreed to it over the phone. I called back 2 days later to check (by now I suspect that this is a game) and sure enough, my current plan is not what I was offered. So I call Sprint again and after 1.5 hours on the phone with several reps, they magically find the plan I was offered. So, I asked Sprint for a written contract since this was a 2 year committment and I did not want misunderstandings over the phone. That's when all hell broke loose.
In total, I must have made some 40 calls to Sprint with no success of getting a written contract of what I was being offered (I was withing the 2 weeks of my new cell phones and contract).

So, I finally wised up. I wrote the contract on paper as it was stated to me and took it to my local Sprint store to have them verify it against what they saw in their Sprint system.
A real nice Sprint lady looked up my account and say "YES", that is your new contract being offered to you - EXACTLY how I wrote it.

[joe123]

Sorry, did not finish my note.

After the nice Sprint lady confirmed my new contract - I asked her to PLEASE SING IT to confirm it in writting - I explain all the problems I had with Sprint.

The real nice Lady turned into THE DEVIL. She begun speaking out loud in front of other customers making me feel bad. I poliltely told her that I was simply trying to get IN WRITTING what I was being offered.

After a VERY long and uncomfortable time at the Sprint store, the Sprint lady finally put her business card on the form and initialized it saying that this was my new contract.

Later, when I was finally able to verify my new contract, you guessed it, it was wrong. So I called Sprint again and told them I had it in writting - they finally corrected the contract to what they originally offered.

Thus the moral of the story - GET IT IN WRITTING!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- :D

[ZEROpcs]

Sorry, did not finish my note.

After the nice Sprint lady confirmed my new contract - I asked her to PLEASE SING IT to confirm it in writting - I explain all the problems I had with Sprint.

The real nice Lady turned into THE DEVIL. :D


Dude I wouldnt have been to happy if you asked me to sing to you either. I cant hold a key to save my life. Just playing :hee:

[joe123]

Dude I wouldnt have been to happy if you asked me to sing to you either. I cant hold a key to save my life. Just playing :hee:

What really got to me, is how I could NOT get anyone at Sprint to simply provide me with a written contract before commiting to a 2 year contract.

I had a real funny rep manager telling me that I had to agree to it before I could see it. I asked him what if we have a misunderstanding over the phone? Tuff luck was the answer :)

In all honesty, all the reps I spoke to agreed that a written contract was BENEFICAL to ALL (Sprint and me), but none would provide me with one. No email contract, no written contract, no nothing - just a verbal agreement.

Not the way to do business in my opinion unless you have something to hide.

[mddavid]

Dude I wouldnt have been to happy if you asked me to sing to you either. I cant hold a key to save my life. Just playing :hee:

I had a similar bad experience today with sprint. Actually, this wasn't me, but this was my mom, dad, and sister. I filed a complaint with the better business bureau online, because this straight out lied to me, by offering me one thing at one time, and then claiming that they never made that sort of offer. We ended up not changing anything in the plan, since my mom and sister are both not in any kind of contract right now. Here is the story in case you want to read it, but I agree with joe123. If they give you a really good retention offer, you should try to get it in writing...

Today I called the sprint business retention dept. to see if I can add my husband and daughter to my plan. The representative gave me an offer of $75 for 1500 anytime minutes, unlimited nights and weekends minutes starting at 8pm, and unlimited sprint pcs to pcs minutes, for THREE PEOPLE on one plan. Several times, I asked, "$75 is for three people right?" And they said, "yes this is correct." And I said, "That's a great deal, I'll take it." So, she told me, all I need to do is buy the two new phones (one for my husband, and one for my daughter) from anywhere, and then call back the business retention department to activate these phones. So, I asked her for her name, and she said, "oh you don't need my name, I will just make a note on your account about this offer we are giving you, and once you buy the new phones, call into the business retention department, and they will see this offer on your account and give it to you...but only the business retention department can give you this offer. We will also waive the $35/$30 activation fee for your phones." This offer was made to me around 430pm EST on August 16 with my husband sitting right next to me and asking me what the offer was before we agreed to it, and then reconfirming it with the customer rep several times to make sure we knew the exact options/deal we were agreeing to. So, I trusted her, and my husband, daughter, and I went to Costco right after that, and purchased two phones, came home and had dinner, and then I called to activate my husbands phone. Basically, they told me there is no note on the account about this offer or me even calling into sprint today. They said that the representative could not have given me an offer like that because the only offer they could have given me is $75 for 1500 minutes, plus $20 for each additional phone line that I want to add to the account so they wanted to charge me $115 for the exact same thing that about 3 hours earlier they told me was $75 for THREE PHONE LINES on one account. We spent from about 8pm to 11pm trying to activate the phones and get the deal that they promised to us earlier. We talked with their supervisor (name was Luis, and he was in Texas), and then after no success with him, we asked to be transferred to another supervisor. They put us on hold, and then they hung up on us before transferring us to another supervisor. So we called again and tried to tell them our story. Still they would not budge and we had no success after about 3 hours in all of talking with the customer rep. They continued to tell us that there is no note on our account of this, and no record about it, and that they cannot give us a retention plan like that. We were very disappointed and frustrated, and could not believe that they could get away with something like this. The lesson we learned is that it is very important to make sure to get the name of the representative that gives you an offer, when they give it to you.

[joe123]

The lesson we learned is that it is very important to make sure to get the name of the representative that gives you an offer, when they give it to you.

In my dealings with Sprint, once I got clued into what was happening, I begun to write down the name, date, and the rep's call-id and the details of the exact plan being offered to me. I repeated the plan back to the rep some 3-4 times to make sure that there were no mis-understandings. Each time I repeated the plan, the rep would confirm the plan as being 100% correct.

A day or two later, I would call Sprint back to confirm the contract to make sure it was correct and sure enough, it was wrong. To Sprint's credit, Sprint would kind-of, sort-of find the "PLAN" I was offered once I gave the details of whom, when, and what was offered to me AND after being on the phone for the LONGEST times. But even when the plan was found, it varied in the details in Sprint favor costing me $more$. Oh yes, be sure to take a day off work to deals with long waits and the "LOST" calls (from land phone line) when talking to the reps. I spent some 40+ calls (probably more) to get the plan right.

I will STRESS once again to you and all ----> MAKE SURE YOU GET THE SPRINT CONTRACT PLAN / DETAILS IN WRITTING. Don't simply assume that getting the Rep's name and info is going to save you.

Also, be prepared to deal with the DEVIL once you ask for the contract in writting. I had the nicest Sprint lady turned into the wicked witch right before my very own eyes for simply asking her to initialize my Sprint contract stating that it was true. ;)

[ziggy4500]

i'm not gonna lie. 2 business made me change my way of dealing with any company. Bellsouth and Sprint. I dont want to go into ancient history, but like many of the people on this board, i can agree, customer service reps outright lie. what do i know is i put my phone on speaker and digitally record everything said as evidence. i dont even think about doing any type of business over the phone without it being recorded. too many loopholes out there and not enough people to fill them once their exposed.

[jg013c]

I would recomend that after you agree on the plan, tell the rep that you will start a tape recording and ask the rep to anounce his/her name, location, the time and date of the call, perhaps the name of his/her supervisor, and the offer being made.

Then record the call, but if the rep thinks he is being rcorded he may decide not to lie.

[joe123]

I would recomend that after you agree on the plan, tell the rep that you will start a tape recording

Very good recommendation. I will stress, however, that there is nothing like a written contract. Trust me!

With a recording (which I agree is much better than nothing) you are sitll bound by noise, clarity, and other elements. Some folks will simply not agree to being recorded. For those that give their ok, you may be violating some state law, or a business policy which may negate your recording altogether.

As for having a contract in wrtting, I can easily fax, email or photo copy the contract and send it to the FCC if need be much easier then sending a copy of a tape. Your milage may vary. :D

[Guy]

Just because you mentioned that the first time you called in your call was dropped, I wanted to add that it's best to call from a land line if you're going to be talking with Customer Service for a long amount of time and possibly making changes to you plan because this does happen (it has to me) and it's hard sometimes to get a rep to give you something that another rep offered you. Thing is, when the call is dropped, if the initial rep doesn't note your account as to what they offered you, you're going back to square one.

[joe123]

Just because you mentioned that the first time you called in your call was dropped, I wanted to add that it's best to call from a land line.

B.S.

The first call was from my Sprint cell, all others were from MY LAND LINE and they GOT DROPPED as well any time the plan begun to look good. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it's funny how NON OF THE REPS ever called me back even after I gave them my land line number (which they have anyways in their files) and as ask them to call me back if we got disconnected. For goodness sake, they also have MY CELL NUMBER as well.

I am willing to believe in innocence up to a point, but this was just too many errors on Sprint part. Also, why did Sprint find it so freaking hard to give me a WRITTEN copy of the proposed new plan? They could not even send me an email to my sprintpcs.com email address with the specifics.

[Guy]

B.S.

The first call was from my Sprint cell, all others were from MY LAND LINE and they GOT DROPPED as well any time the plan begun to look good. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it's funny how NON OF THE REPS ever called me back even after I gave them my land line number (which they have anyways in their files) and as ask them to call me back if we got disconnected. For goodness sake, they also have MY CELL NUMBER as well.

I am willing to believe in innocence up to a point, but this was just too many errors on Sprint part. Also, why did Sprint find it so freaking hard to give me a WRITTEN copy of the proposed new plan? They could not even send me an email to my sprintpcs.com email address with the specifics.

Ok. :eyeroll:

I guess what works for some doesn't work for all.

[xdothedew]

That's exactly what happened to me. The first time when I was transferred to retention, I was offered a good deal also and the call was lost. This was on my cell phone. Now, I know that I don't have bad reception because I'm next to a tower and that I made sure I didn't push any buttons. So I made calls from my landline from then on.

So for the second retention guy, I got a good deal having two lines sharing the minutes. The next day, all the reps played dumb and said I wasn't able to add another line to share minutes on a retention plan. They didn't budge even though I had the rep's ID.

So, I kept on calling and calling and got a rep who could get a supervisor to add an extra line to share the minutes on my retention plan.

I feel like I was playing a game or something. It's so crazy.

[joe123]

That's exactly what happened to me. The first time when I was transferred to retention, I was offered a good deal also and the call was lost.

I feel like I was playing a game or something. It's so crazy.

I don't want to dramatize this, but I spent well OVER 40 calls to Sprint with some calls lasting as long as 1.5 hours to FOKING get the plan *THEY* had offered me.

Unfortunately for Sprint, I live for this. I have gotten burnt so many times with other vendors that I learned the ropes. So I kind-of took pleasure in playing at their own game - Can be very frustrating a times, but I love how towards the end, after I was able to verify my plan, I would keep on calling just to make sure. Some 90+ calls later to Sprint, they finally got tired of me and would immediately confess to the correct plan without any B.S.

Oh man, I love this stuff. I think I will be calling Sprint again in a bit, just to double check :hee:

[joe123]

I have been reading so many posts here of people who give it too easily.

If the plan they offer is no good, try back in a few days. TRUST ME!

I can't stress enough how many much these reps vary - I got reps from one end of the spectrum to the other.

So keep at it and if you hear of a good plan, GET IT IN WRITTING! :hee:

[konceptz]

[Quote]
Unfortunately for Sprint, I live for this. I have gotten burnt so many times with other vendors that I learned the ropes. So I kind-of took pleasure in playing at their own game - Can be very frustrating a times, but I love how towards the end, after I was able to verify my plan, I would keep on calling just to make sure. Some 90+ calls later to Sprint, they finally got tired of me and would immediately confess to the correct plan without any B.S
[Quote]

That just made me smile :). I love that guy.

Anyways, everyone here seems to be walking on eggshells about the "games" sprint is playing... Or at least are suprised by what happens to them. Umm... I think it's obvious what's going on. It's company policy! Who's with me?
1. How many stories do people have here with the exact same plot?
2. If you were running the company, would you do differently?
3. Don't take me to ethics 101, just get that stock up a point...

Come on and say it with me! Sprint Lies! But we got their service, and make out daily calls on it, and it doesn't crap out like the wireless networks of old. I know they're hella shady, but... why not? If you've ever worked at a call center then you'd know. I'm sure it's not a writen policy.. but it's hard to get some things in writing (as we all found out).

I suppose it all boils down to this. We can get good retention plans if we want to play with the system a little. And as well informed SprintUsers.com forum readers/members, we can! Finally, all shared stories are interesting, but they're just that... stories. Keep em coming and keep me entertained, until then I'll be on my normal "non-super user" plan.

[goodiemob]

I have been reading so many posts here of people who give it too easily.

If the plan they offer is no good, try back in a few days. TRUST ME!

I can't stress enough how many much these reps vary - I got reps from one end of the spectrum to the other.

So keep at it and if you hear of a good plan, GET IT IN WRITTING! :hee:
can sprint drop a call on purpose?

[joe123]

can sprint drop a call on purpose?

There is always the oooops, I accidently hit the hangup key :hee:

[amy9545]

B.S.

The first call was from my Sprint cell, all others were from MY LAND LINE and they GOT DROPPED as well any time the plan begun to look good. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it's funny how NON OF THE REPS ever called me back even after I gave them my land line number (which they have anyways in their files) and as ask them to call me back if we got disconnected. For goodness sake, they also have MY CELL NUMBER as well.


I was once told by Sprint CS reps that they were unable to make outgoing calls...even to a Sprint Cell phone.

[joe123]

I was once told by Sprint CS reps that they were unable to make outgoing calls...even to a Sprint Cell phone.

Yes, I was fed that same bolony too - that they cannot call out.

The wonderful thing is how they were able to call me back to my cell phone on two occasions in which it was in Sprint's best interest to get a hold of me.

They can, they have done it with me. It's all a game from my experience.

I have a 40 minute commute every morning to work. For several months, I took that time (and on the way home too) to call Sprint. I am amazed how each rep was able to offer different plans, never did I get the same plan twice. So, you can use it to your advantage and keep calling until you get the plan you feel good about. :hee:

[totc]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (MobilePhone PM-8200/US/1.0) NetFront/3.1 MMP/2.0)

My Sister's Line Is Going On 14 Months And I Will Make Sure She Gets The Best Deal.

[Touchless21]

I was once told by Sprint CS reps that they were unable to make outgoing calls...even to a Sprint Cell phone.


They can call out cuz they've called one of my other lines when i asked then when my primary was running out of juice, i think. Then again it mighta been a tech.

[dknight247]

B.S.

The first call was from my Sprint cell, all others were from MY LAND LINE and they GOT DROPPED as well any time the plan begun to look good. Maybe it was just a coincidence, but it's funny how NON OF THE REPS ever called me back even after I gave them my land line number (which they have anyways in their files) and as ask them to call me back if we got disconnected. For goodness sake, they also have MY CELL NUMBER as well.

I am willing to believe in innocence up to a point, but this was just too many errors on Sprint part. Also, why did Sprint find it so freaking hard to give me a WRITTEN copy of the proposed new plan? They could not even send me an email to my sprintpcs.com email address with the specifics.
ditto. i've been dropped from land lines as well . . .

[adamlee2001GXE]

I called a week ago and talked to a couple different reps. I initially had called to see if there was anything better out there. Rep #1 mentioned the standard public plans. I previously had the $100 1800 min $5 nights, plan with free vision. I think I KNEW more than rep #1 did when I started talking about changing plans and losing free vision. I left it at that, that I didnt want to lose the free vision, and hung up.

I called back a minute later and got Rep #2. I expressed my concern about losing free vision, and she said that since I have a plan that has it, as long as I stay on a $100 MRC or higher, I can keep free vision. I didnt really trust her, but told her to notate my account.

A couple of days later I called back, and talked to Rep #3. I explained everything, and she confirmed yet again that I was on a "Historical Plan". Which I dont entirely know the meaning, but a plan that offers free things, that is no longer offered. Much like the $85 2000 minute free vision plan. I said a couple of years ago I was on the $50 1000 minute 8NW plan from retention. She was like "O yeah, let me check there". She came back with an offer of $100 2500 AT, 8NW, $5 nights, pcs-pcs, keeping everything else the same. I joked with her that the word retention is a *fantasy* word that you never know if you can say it, or it ruins your chances of a better plan or whatnot. She was one of the better reps, because she knew her stuff. I said that I have been with SPCS for quite a while, and that I just try to get the most for my money. I even asked her if once you get to a customers account, the system will suggest what to offer, and she said yes. It all depends on who you get, and what the system will offer you.


It's not what you need, it's what you can get




__________________
Retention Plan:
$100 for 2500 AT. $5 7PM. Pimary line free vision. FIMF. PCS-PCS. ERP $8.

[antwone]

I know today i just changed my plan thru retention for each of my lines they gave me

$40 a month 1000 anytime mins unlimited nights and weekends all nationwide
$10 Unlimited vision
free pcs to pcs
free 7pm nights

plus i get me 25% business discount plus an additional 10% for home long distance sprint is great im never tryin any other company

[joe123]

I know today i just changed my plan thru retention for each of my lines they gave me

That's a good plan. What are they charging you for APP (Add A phone)? $10, $20?

[Quantum_Man]

joe123, excellent thread and I found your stories very amusing and informative. Thanks. :D

[joe123]

I know today i just changed my plan thru retention for each of my lines they gave me $40 a month 1000 anytime mins unlimited nights and weekends all nationwide


Hi.

Is this plan a shared plan? I called the other day and spoke to a retention rep who said that she could offer me that same plan, but that it was not a 1000 shared minutes plan.

For the national shared 1000 anytime minutes, that plan is $50 and not $40. Please let us know.

[skewba_steve]

Hi.

Is this plan a shared plan? I called the other day and spoke to a retention rep who said that she could offer me that same plan, but that it was not a 1000 shared minutes plan.

For the national shared 1000 anytime minutes, that plan is $50 and not $40. Please let us know.

Yes you are correct that plan along with everyone else that has it, is not shared. You can still add phones to the account but not share the minutes.

[joe123]

joe123, excellent thread and I found your stories very amusing and informative. Thanks. :D

Thank You. If one person here benefits, I am happy!

[vikingjunior]

Hi.

Is this plan a shared plan? I called the other day and spoke to a retention rep who said that she could offer me that same plan, but that it was not a 1000 shared minutes plan.

For the national shared 1000 anytime minutes, that plan is $50 and not $40. Please let us know.

I just got a 1000 min SHARED plan it's $50, NOT $40 but am sure if you just sit there and haggle with them they will give you it for $40 I personally don't have the patience to haggle with them, they nickle and dime you to death.

[Hola]

I just got a 1000 min SHARED plan it's $50, NOT $40 but am sure if you just sit there and haggle with them they will give you it for $40 I personally don't have the patience to haggle with them, they nickle and dime you to death.


you said you got it for a total of $55

i was thinking you got

$40 plan
$15 vision
$0 aap
$0 7 pm

what is the break down?

[vikingjunior]

you said you got it for a total of $55

i was thinking you got

$40 plan
$15 vision
$0 aap
$0 7 pm

what is the break down?

I believe it was and am gonna call today again to confirm
$50 plan
$5 7pm
$0 aap
$0 vision


Ok just got off phone and this is the break down
$40 1000 min nationwide plan
$5 7pm N/W
$ 5 unl. vision
$0 aap
$5o total

am sure by tommorrow it will be something different, one observation is regular CS really has no clue what there doing, I can see why people want to go right to a supervisior.

[Hola]

the system has no free vision codes, unless you go to the 2000 mins plan.

[Produce Her]

They can call out cuz they've called one of my other lines when i asked then when my primary was running out of juice, i think. Then again it mighta been a tech.


They equvacate by saying that some call centers can call back and others cannot.

The common thread here is that SPCS has your cell number right in front of them while looking at your account and I have given my landline and stated" if we get disconnected, please call back" but then have not received a call when we were disconnected.

But one retention specialist said she is RATED on how short her calls are when retaining a customer and she asked if she can call me on her outgoing line. That is when she explained to me that some centers can call out and others cannot. She knew we woudl be on the line for a long time since she saw that my plan was changed when in fact my account is flagged persuant to my request as :

"do not change customer's plan without his direct permission and request to do so"

I'm told it is in bold!


Thanks

Mike

[Produce Her]

Hi.

Is this plan a shared plan? I called the other day and spoke to a retention rep who said that she could offer me that same plan, but that it was not a 1000 shared minutes plan.

For the national shared 1000 anytime minutes, that plan is $50 and not $40. Please let us know.


I agree.

and SPCS retention is not shy about offering a free aap or $10 aap's with this plan while they are on the phone with you only to change your plan to the $50.00 plan that allows sharing which basically adds another $10 (difference between $40 plan you had and $50plan they change you to) ...

I was very happy with my $40.00 nationwide 1000 min, $10 unlimited vision, free pacs to pcs, free n/w weekend starting at 7 PM

a free aap offered by rep caused my plan to be changed to the $50.00 /1000 min plan so you are right ...

"The national shared 1000 anytime minutes plan is $50 and not $40. "

Thanks

Mike

[Sprint_Gold]

Primary Plans are...
Area Wide 1000min is $40
Retention 1000min is $50
Nation Wide Free & Clear 750min is $50, 1100min is $65 (no 1000min plan)

If you have recurring courtesy minutes, list them seperately, lets compare "apples to apples" O.K.?

Subs vary by coverage area but basically are....
$20 each for Area Wide Plans
$20 each for Retention Plans
First one $0, rest are $20 each for Free & Clear
First one $0, rest are $10 each for Fair & Flex
:)

[BTSmith]

So, I finally wised up. I wrote the contract on paper as it was stated to me and took it to my local Sprint store to have them verify it against what they saw in their Sprint system.
A real nice Sprint lady looked up my account and say "YES", that is your new contract being offered to you - EXACTLY how I wrote it.

don't forget you are legaly entitled to audiotape the call. When one party to a call announces to the other partytheymay tape the call (as sprint does) you are perfectly entitled to tape as well.

I have not had to use this tactic with sprint. but it has been helpful with other large vendors on rare occasion.

I don't think you could hold expect to hold sprint to a large mistake by a rep., but you certainly could pressure and force them to return you to the status quo ante., ie you old account, contract and other status. And if indeed the plan is doable, you would be very likly to get it.

With omnipiont a few years back I got a plan that was not the offer that was made on the phone bythe rep. I called the main office, and with out making a pushy fuss played the tape to a supervisor, I got what was promised.

Again I am not for holding sprint or others to gross mistakes made by overzelous and or poorly trained reps, but let's also face the fact that theer is a culture created by spiffs/commisions for getting people to sing contracts. the documentation problems the consumer faces should and need not be so uneven.

[SSPCS]

holy crap

joe123 i can't believe running into this thread. this is the EXACT same thing that has been going on with me for the last week. i can't tell you the # of calls i made, interuptions, no call backs. it is unbelievably frustrating to feel like i had to start from ground zero each time. every rep gives me different info.

i've asked for it in writing multiple times AND THEY WON'T DO IT!
actually they say its "in the mail" now.

glad i am not alone in this. are you also the guy who said to buy phones at costco? i might go for that method if i end up returning my new phone.

ok. here's my story.

OLD CONTRACT (2003 contract expired)
------------

- $29.99 300 min F&C plan
- $10.00 Vision Unlimited (with unlim SMS)
- %10 Gold Promotion discount


PLAN I WAS OFFERED AND TOOK LAST WEEK (over many disconnections)
-------------------------------------

- $40 1000 min F&C Plan 2 year plan
- FREE PCS to PCS
- FREE Roaming
- FREE First Incoming Minute
- FREE 7pm calling
- $10 Vision unlimited
- %20 discount (a new 10% retention discount will be "stacked" over old)
- Bought the WM5.0 PPC-6700 to be eligible for the $150 rebate since I was signing a new contract. Haven't activated it yet.
- Told I had 14 days to cancel the phone AND THE NEW CONTRACT.


PLAN I "APPARENTLY" GOT. (Still not sure.)
-----------------------

On my PCS account web page it says

- $40 1000 min F&C Plan 2 year plan
- $5 Sprint PCS F&C America (is this the Roaming?)
- $5 8pm Nights and Weekend Minutes
- $5 PCS to PCS
- $10 PCS Unlimited Vision


CURRENT STATUS
--------------

Upon calling, I was told random things by random people.
This lasted for many many calls.
Finally, I went to cancel. I had enough of this game.
I asked the cancellation guy what he saw on my screen.
He said he saw some invisible things that don't show on the web page.
Supposedly, he saw an additional:

- $40 1000min "Retention" deal
- Two 10% rebates (20% total)
- A "credit" that will refund any minutes charged between the hours of 7PM-8PM. "That's how we do it", he said.
- A $5 "credit" that will offset the $5 "F&C America" charge, (which will expire in just 1 yr!)
- A $5 "credit" that will offset the $5 Nights & Weekend charge, (which will expire in 2yrs)
- A $5 "credit" that will offset the $5 PCS to PCS charge, (which will expire in 2yrs)
- Free First Incoming Minute

I asked for my this to be sent to me in writing. They said it will be but will take 60 days(?). I asked how was I supposed to make the determination if I am to cancel my plan, if my first bill will not arrive for another month, and I don't really know what I will be charged?

I told him I didn't feel comfortable taking his word, I've been told too many things. He said that I am WASN'T ABLE TO CANCEL ANYWAY!!

The 14 day trial was not for previous customers, only for those buying new phone. I told him I bought a new phone. He was not impressed.

DEEP BREATH. OK.


QUESTIONS:
-------------

- There are 3 points of contention, at least with what he saw:
1) the 3 $5 charges that will be "credited" monthly
2) 8pm vs 7pm time, that supposedly will also be "credited"
3) The 1yr expiration of $5 free roaming credit.
4) The 2yr expirations of the other $5 credits. Not that it probably matters, at that point, but it would be nice not to have to go through this all again in 2 years.

- Isn't it standard to be able to cancel before 14 days? I have 6 days left. I want to get something in writing before then, that's for sure. I am afraid I'll have to wait till my 1st new bill, at which point I'll be out of the 14 day window, if that even means anything.

- Has anyone ever seen a situation where minutes of use between a certain set of hours (7PM to 8PM) are credited monthly?

- What is this "Sprint F&C America" $5 charge. Is that roaming?

- Will a local Sprint PCS store even be able to corroborate my facts with the "hidden" screen that the Cancellation Agent saw?

Glad I'm not alone in this...

[jgill81]

I recommend recording the conversation because of misunderstandings....I have done it before and it has worked for me.

[Dan]

email: ecare1@cc.sprintpcs.com and ask for the details of your new agreement. All codes attached to account, all discounts applied. That should tell you if you got the deal they promised or not.

[SSPCS]

thanks, i will email them now and cross my fingers...

i'd still like to hear any comments around Sprint's "standard" 14 day cancellation period.... if i still have it, then i still have leverage...

also dand411, what is the AAP you got for $0?

[SSPCS]

After sending an email to the above address, I got back first this email


Thank you for your email.

I would be happy to complete your request. However, in order to protect
our customer?s account information, please confirm the following
information:

a. The Account holder's PCS Phone Number;
b. The Account Holder's email address of record;
c. The Account Holder's Mailing Address; and
d. The last four digits of Account Holder's SSN.

Please reply to this email with the requested information and rest
assured that we would assist you in the best possible way.

Garfield
E-Care
Sprint together with Nextel
"Where our customers come first!"



So, I sent him what he wanted, then I got this one back:



I understand your concern about the Advantage Agreement.

Sprint does not offer its customers with any copy of the Advantage
Agreement. This allows us to secure our relationship and provide
authentic customer service.

I apologize for the inconvenience it may cause.

I appreciate your patience and cooperation in this matter.

Garfield
E-Care
Sprint together with Nextel
"Where our customers come first!"



How is this providing excellent service?
The last line above says: "Where our customes come first".

And they won't even send me my contract?

This is unheard of.

If I had the time and energy, I'd take this to the State Attorney General's office and BBB.

[Dan]

After sending an email to the above address, I got back first this email




So, I sent him what he wanted, then I got this one back:




How is this providing excellent service?
The last line above says: "Where our customes come first".

And they won't even send me my contract?

This is unheard of.

If I had the time and energy, I'd take this to the State Attorney General's office and BBB.


Strange. I simply emailed eCare and asked to see what my current plan was showing on their end as I had made some changes and they were more than willing to email me what my plan was on the line in question.

As far as my $0 AAP, do you mean what is the contract etc or howe much was the actual phone? The actual phone was a VGA 1000 and they sent me 2 of them free. The $0 MRC AAP is a "gift" from being a long term customer and having an old plan that included a free AAP with "full" Vision services.

PCS Add-a-phone with Vision

PCS Add-a-phone with Vision
$0.00 Monthly Service Charge
Caller ID, Call Waiting
Three-way Calling
Voicemail

That has a free vision picture pack with UL text messages. Hopefully you will get a "smart" rep that will reply to you as to what your "current" plan is. Generally I send the question, give them the mobile number and name on the account. I also welcome them calling my mobile if they have any questions, preferably after 6pm as thats when I get my free minutes.

this is what reply I got when I emailed eCare asking for my plan details:

> Dear Dan,
>
> Thank you for writing back to us.
>
> Here are the plan details of your primary phone number
> 716-XXX-XXXX:
>
> $50.00 Service Plan
> $5.00 Total Equipment Protection Plan
> $5.00 PCS Free and Clear America Roaming Option
> $3.00 PCS Canada Roaming
> $15.00 PCS Vision Picture Pack
> $10.00 Night and Weekend Minutes at 6 pm option
> Free PCS to PCS Calling Option
>
> Credits and Discounts
>
> 15% Federal Govt. Discount
> 5% Courtesy Discount
> 10% loyalty Discount
> $5.00 credit for PCS Free and Clear America Roaming Option
>
> It has been a pleasure helping you. Please let me know if there is
> anything else I can do for you. Have a nice day!
>
> Sariah
> Sprint Business eCare

So dont let them feed you some line about not sending out information on advantage agreements. If needed, you can feel free to copy and paste my plan info in an email to sprint asking for info on YOUR account like that.

P.S. Both lines get UL text messages on the vision.


This is how I worded the question to sprint:

Please email me my plan details for my number 716-XXX-XXXX
as I made a plan change last night and wish to confirm it has
taken place. Please include all credits / discounts that
line receives. Thank You. You may contact me at the above number if you have any questions in regards to this request.


(account holders name)
(mobile number)



Try it with the contact us link when your logged into the sprint.com site also

[joe123]

holy crap

joe123 i can't believe running into this thread. this is the EXACT same thing that has been going on with me for the last week. i can't tell you the # of calls i made, interuptions, no call backs. it is unbelievably frustrating to feel like i had to start from ground zero each time. every rep gives me different info.

i've asked for it in writing multiple times AND THEY WON'T DO IT!
actually they say its "in the mail" now.

glad i am not alone in this. are you also the guy who said to buy phones at costco? i might go for that method if i end up returning my new phone.



Yes. I am telling you that Sprint tried to SCREW me, but unfortunately for them, I did not give up.

Yes, if you are lucky, you will get 1 good Sprint rep who will be kind enough to help, but 99 out of 100 Sprint reps in my experience will try to scew you royally.

Since then, I learned through a friend that worked at Sprint that this is common and normal as this is how they try to make money - bait and switch. Very disgusting from such a large company. No wonder they have so many options and "codes" and why they change their plans so often. With so many changes, they can get away with this as appearing to be liget.

As for Costco - Yes! I buy all my cell phones at Costco. Great advantage point and free upgrades for life. I love Costco.
Good luck to you and others - you will needed it. :scare:

[eppitek]

i was just about to post the same thign regarding emailing customer care

just send an email like was posted by dand411 and you should be all set....

i have done it both that way and also by sending them the plan as i have it recorded and they confirmed / made the correct changes to what was listed

hope this helps

[joe123]

Update 2 years later :)

Well, my Sprint was about to end this month and after several calls to Retentions checking for good deals, I got a new plan.

I was able to verify my new deal through ecare email in writing. :deal:

Now, I have to wait til my next billing cycle to see if all is correct or what surpises :scare: await me.

We'll see...

[mbloof]

don't forget you are legaly entitled to audiotape the call. When one party to a call announces to the other partytheymay tape the call (as sprint does) you are perfectly entitled to tape as well.


In the State of Oregon, we can record the conversation without announcing that it is happening. Only ONE side of the conversation need know that the recording taking place.

As long as that one side is YOU and your in Oregon... bingo.....

[back to Cell phones, sprint and sales/marketing/exc]

I recently got a call from Sprint Sales offering to give me a free phone AAP to my plan. Forgetting for the moment that I only have 200 minutes on my plan and NOONE to "share" them with (even if you could share 200 minutes), a quick look at my call logs... I see a number of calls coming from the Sprint sales number attempting to sell me on this "special offer" :deal:

After reading this thread, I can see how they must of been trying to get me over to a $50 shared minute plan. Sheeze...

I told them nicely NO, I don't want another phone, but I would really really like to have the $30 SERO plan I see offered on their website. (silence) Hello? (silence) Are you there? (silence) "Sir, I'm only prepared to offer you the AAP".....

Most companys OUTSOURCE their call centers... I wonder who has the Sprint contract?

[Scoobmd]

Wow, it's cool to see some old threads being revived...

Hehe, I got some crappy offer to renew with Sprint for 2 yrs and an extra phone that I don't remember as well at the end of last year. I declined and made my own call to retentions a few months later and got two Treos for cheap.

[joe123]

Wow, it's cool to see some old threads being revived...

Hehe, I got some crappy offer to renew with Sprint for 2 yrs and an extra phone that I don't remember as well at the end of last year. I declined and made my own call to retentions a few months later and got two Treos for cheap.

Yes! I too made several calls to Sprint Retentions dept. Calling regular dept gets you nothing. Retentions are more prone to work with you.

I think I made a total of around 20 calls to Retentions over the span of several weeks before I got a decent deal. I was actually about to cancel my Sprint contract on my last call and Sprint must have smelled it.

I got a super deal now. I will wait til my next billing cycle to see if all is there.

[Wayne 1]

Joe:

How long after calling did you email ecare for the notations made on your account? Did retentions notate all segments of the offer to you? How did you phrase the request to ecare?

Thanks :)

[joe123]

Joe:

How long after calling did you email ecare for the notations made on your account? Did retentions notate all segments of the offer to you? How did you phrase the request to ecare?

Thanks :)

Hi Wayne.

First, I repeated the new Deal back to the Retention Lady rep 3 times to make sure we were in agreement. I also told her that I would be sending ecare an email verifying the details of my new Sprint contract. She said that was fine. I also got the Rep to give me her Sprint identification ID.

So, as soon as I hung up, I wrote ecare spelling out my new contract in detail. On the email, I stated that I had just called Sprint Retentions at number xxxx and spoke with So-and-so with Sprint User ID xxxxxxxx and that I had agreed to a new 2 year contract as follows.

I then spelled out EVERYTHING in detail. The plan, the cost, what it included. I Listed each phone and what services that phone had and the cost associated with it: $x dollars or FREE if it was a free item. I also included line items such as:

- I get to keep my current discounts.
- I get to keep my free x text messages on phone so-and-so.

I pretty much spelled out EVERYTHING. You cannot go wrong by including all the details you can think of. For example, there is a difference between "Power Vision" and "Power Vision Ultimate Pack", so I made sure to say "Free Power Vision Ultimate pack on line so-and-so"

I then asked ecare to please confirm *ALL* of the details of my new contract and let me know if it was correct. It took a few days, but I got a reply back from ecare confirming that all was "correct".

Now, if Sprint today is anything like it was 2 years ago when I last did this, my new Sprint plan will be different than what I was offered (in Sprint favor of course). I am waiting until my new biling cycle begins so that I can confirm the new plan.

If my new plan is not the same as what I was offered, I will then have to resort to the email confirmation where it spells out everything to have Sprint correct things.

I am planning for the worse, but I feel good / safe because I have written confirmation on the details of my new plan.

[Dale]

I get everything in writing. I've found that working with Sprint is like looking for UFO's ... some people see it, while others just don't see it. Oh ya, sure, no problem .... I can offer you that deal! When you call back ... what deal? I see no deal here! W-T-F ... one rep see's special codes while the other rep sees nothing!

[Wayne 1]

I get everything in writing. I've found that working with Sprint is like looking for UFO's ... some people see it, while others just don't see it. Oh ya, sure, no problem .... I can offer you that deal! When you call back ... what deal? I see no deal here! W-T-F ... one rep see's special codes while the other rep sees nothing!


LOL Dale, Sprint doesn't discriminate, they (try to) screw everybody! :deal:

[joe123]

Yeap, Sprint does not discriminate - they screw all!

To tell you the truth, when I was young, these things would really bother me.

Now that I am older, I kind of use it to my advantage. For example, the moment Sprint begins their BS that they cannot find this or that, I play the same game but in reverse.

So if Sprint says. We cannot find the code for free PowerVision for phone x, I simply add to it: Sure you can, Sprint told me I would get PowerVision Free on ALL OF MY PHONES, check it again.

Once Sprint catches on, they magically find it: Sir, you do have free PowerVision, but only on lines x, y and not for all phones.

My answer: Oh ok, I guess we both made a mistake. :lol:

I personally love this sh*t.

[jokun]

Probably should have gotten mine in writing when I talked to retentions, but I just went through my new plan details since I'm starting my new billing period and everything looks OK. I'm sure I'll have to keep an eye on it just to be on the safe side.

[Scoobmd]

Yeap, Sprint does not discriminate - they screw all!

To tell you the truth, when I was young, these things would really bother me.

Now that I am older, I kind of use it to my advantage. For example, the moment Sprint begins their BS that they cannot find this or that, I play the same game but in reverse.

So if Sprint says. We cannot find the code for free PowerVision for phone x, I simply add to it: Sure you can, Sprint told me I would get PowerVision Free on ALL OF MY PHONES, check it again.

Once Sprint catches on, they magically find it: Sir, you do have free PowerVision, but only on lines x, y and not for all phones.

My answer: Oh ok, I guess we both made a mistake. :lol:

I personally love this sh*t.



Good trick, kind of like playing reverse psychology or something out of an old Bugs Bunny cartoon... I'll have to remember that one. :lol:

[rmeth]

I'm not really sure why everyone has had this many problems with retentions. I know I got a great deal the first time I called and asked the rep to send me an email outling the details out of new plan while I was still on the phone with them (I have 5 lines with 3000 mins). Did any of you ever think that maybe you are having so much trouble with retentions because honestly is your 30 dollar a month single phone plan worth throwing all these perks at you even if you have been a customer for 3423 years? If they are going to give you a back rub, just take that, don't go looking for the happy ending as well, because chances are you're just gonna frustrate yourself as well as the rep you are talking to.

[Scoobmd]

I'm not really sure why everyone has had this many problems with retentions. I know I got a great deal the first time I called and asked the rep to send me an email outling the details out of new plan while I was still on the phone with them (I have 5 lines with 3000 mins). Did any of you ever think that maybe you are having so much trouble with retentions because honestly is your 30 dollar a month single phone plan worth throwing all these perks at you even if you have been a customer for 3423 years? If they are going to give you a back rub, just take that, don't go looking for the happy ending as well, because chances are you're just gonna frustrate yourself as well as the rep you are talking to.

True, like I posted- I actually got a good deal by going through retentions.
I think Joe was upset because he was promised one thing and got another making him feel like a bait and switch victim. I'd be upset too.

Besides, if we were happy with our plans we wouldn't be trolling SU ;)

[joe123]

True, like I posted- I actually got a good deal by going through retentions.
I think Joe was upset because he was promised one thing and got another making him feel like a bait and switch victim. I'd be upset too.

Exactly. My biggest gripe was the bait and switch tactics all very well done not by one, but by several Sprint employees.

I am not sure what the other poster meant by $30 dollar plan not being enough for Sprint to care, but my last plan was a little over 100 bucks a month. That's $2,400.00+ over a two year commitment and that is no small change.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for a written contract, specially when several hundred dollars are at risk.

[Wayne 1]

As I've repeated so many times, I do business with lots of different types of companies and have never seen anything as unethical, as Sprint's tatics. It's amazing to me they get away with it. Next time I renew a contract with them again, it will be ironclad, in writing, with every i dotted and t crossed. ;)

[rmeth]

Exactly. My biggest gripe was the bait and switch tactics all very well done not by one, but by several Sprint employees.

I am not sure what the other poster meant by $30 dollar plan not being enough for Sprint to care, but my last plan was a little over 100 bucks a month. That's $2,400.00+ over a two year commitment and that is no small change.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with asking for a written contract, specially when several hundred dollars are at risk.

I agree with there not being anything wrong with asking for a written contract. My rant probably should have been put in another thread, but it just blows my mind what some people ask for when they barely pay anything a month already (obviously this is not aimed at everyone, such as you who pays a 100+ dollars a month).

[joe123]

Yes, there are people who pay little and want a lot, but even at $30.00 bucks a month plan, that's over $700 bucks during the 2 year agreement.

I don't know about others, but for that kind of money, $700 bucks, I want some kind of a written contract, even if it's simple one line contract. This helps everyone avoid mis-understandings and confusions.

When you consider the complexity of Sprint plans and options, the codes that magically appear and disapear, the level of knowledge and training each rep has, I can tell you that this is the perfect enviroment for complete and total chaos.

Simple and effective way to fix this is to spell out the details of the contract and have the customer approve it. :deal:

I know that people who work at Sprint read these threads and some higher ups at Sprint do it as well to see what the latests catches are. I have yet to have anyone at Sprint contact me regarding the horrific shinanagons I (and others) encountered with Sprint while negotiating a new deal.

Why has Sprint not conacted me about this? Becuase this tactic is exactly Sprint's game: Bait and Switch. It makes them money!

I'll bet that Sprint higher-ups are doing this :woohoo: this very moment as they read this thread and check up on their stock options and yearly salaries.



I agree with there not being anything wrong with asking for a written contract. My rant probably should have been put in another thread, but it just blows my mind what some people ask for when they barely pay anything a month already (obviously this is not aimed at everyone, such as you who pays a 100+ dollars a month).

[Wayne 1]

Excellent post Joe!

[meme2]

Following Joe123's advice, I wrote to ecare asking for confirmation of what the CSR told/offered me on the phone. Btw, I called the 866 retention number but somehow got Business account Services.

Here is my reply from ecare today:

Dear XXXXXXXX,
Sprint provides world-class service and thank you for using Customer Care online. I am more than happy to provide information on what plans and services are available with renewing your Service Agreement.

After carefully looking into this issue I see that the offers were made by our Account Services Department. I sincerely apologize that Customer Care Online does not have access to the system to honor this offer.

Please call Account Services through Customer Care at 1-888-211-4727 to assist in honoring the offers made by a Specialist in Account Services on 04/24/07.

Please feel free to respond to this e-mail if you have further questions or account needs. I would be happy to continue serving you.

As a Valued Sprint customer we appreciate your business. Have a Great Day!

Cathy A.
E-Care
Sprint together with Nextel
"Where our customers come first!"


:confused: :confused: :confused:

[Wayne 1]

"Honoring the offers" Is that what they're calling the shell game they're running? LMAO :laughing:

By the tone of that email, it sounds like they're passing the buck. :td: I wonder if their reps will send you a email with the details? I'd call'em!

[meme2]

"Honoring the offers" Is that what they're calling the shell game they're running? LMAO :laughing:

By the tone of that email, it sounds like they're passing the buck. :td: I wonder if their reps will send you a email with the details? I'd call'em!


Call who? lol
I called the 866 retention number but the guy says he is in Business Account Services. So all the offers regarding my plan except the vision pack(he refused to reduce price) was made by Business Account Services. Call them back? or Call retentions.
Btw, the guy also said that he made notations of the offers and that it will only be valid for 1 week.
Sounds like sales pressure in car dealership!!!!!

[joe123]

You need to email ecare again and ask the same identical question. Keep doing this until you get an answer.

Here is the one I received about my confirmation:

Dear Joe,

Thank you for contacting Sprint together with Nextel concerning your Arrangement with Account Services.

The information that you have provided with the arrangement made between you and Account Service is correct as you have listed in the email.

I hope that I was able to answer all of your questions to your satisfaction. If there is anything further that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to reply to this email.

Thank you for contacting Sprint together with Nextel. I appreciate your business and I am here for you!

<I spelled out my contract details in GREAT DETAIL > :D

[Wayne 1]

Call who? lol
I called the 866 retention number but the guy says he is in Business Account Services. So all the offers regarding my plan except the vision pack(he refused to reduce price) was made by Business Account Services. Call them back? or Call retentions.
Btw, the guy also said that he made notations of the offers and that it will only be valid for 1 week.
Sounds like sales pressure in car dealership!!!!!


I've been there, it sounds like the old bait and switch they pull so often. It's one of Sprint's favorite DIRTY tricks! Account services is just another name for retentions. For example the dept. that admisiters Sero, employee accounts has their own account services (retentions) dept too. It appears Business accounts does too.

How long ago did the rep make the notations on your account?

[meme2]

You need to email ecare again and ask the same identical question. Keep doing this until you get an answer.

Here is the one I received about the confirmation:

Dear Joe,

Thank you for contacting Sprint together with Nextel concerning your Arrangement with Account Services.

The information that you have provided with the arrangement made between you and Account Service is correct as you have listed in the email.

I hope that I was able to answer all of your questions to your satisfaction. If there is anything further that I can do for you, please do not hesitate to reply to this email.

Thank you for contacting Sprint together with Nextel. I appreciate your business and I am here for you!


Ok that was ecare1, so now I send to ecare2? :irked:

[meme2]

I've been there, it sounds like the old bait and switch they pull so often. It's one of Sprint's favorite DIRTY tricks! Account services is just another name for retentions. For example the dept. that admisiters Sero, employee accounts has their own account services (retentions) dept too. It appears Business accounts does too.

How long ago did the rep make the notations on your account?

As stated in that email, they can see Account services spoke to me on 4/24.
Btw, there was another I spoke to on 4/12. Bet she didn't make any notations regarding free vision as promised. Blah

[Wayne 1]

BTW retentions is the old name, account services is the new one. I've noticed some reps still call it retentions.

[Wayne 1]

Joe:

Will the reps customers are allowed to speak to, email notations directly to customers?

[joe123]

Joe:

Will the reps customers are allowed to speak to, email notations directly to customers?

Some do - I was able to find one rep who was willing to do this after going through 20 or so reps.

The trick is NOT to ask them to detail your plan. I will repeat DO NOT ASK THEM to spell out your contract. I did this 2 years ago and it was a long and very painful process - it took me a long time get them to do it, once they did, they left out many things. It took weeks and weeks of email followups to correct thing.

So what I do now is that I WRITE THE CONTRACT and email ecare for a simple CORRECT or NOT-CORRECT confirmation. This will eliminate a lot of games and headaches on your part.

Also for everyone else: Remember folks, that Sprint higher ups are loving their neat bait and switch games - it makes them momey

This very moment, the Sprint higer ups are doing this :woohoo: as they read these threads.

[Wayne 1]

I understand Joe, however if YOU write it up and ask for confirmation point by point, do you think that will stand up if they get nasty?

[joe123]

I understand Joe, however if YOU write it up and ask for confirmation point by point, do you think that will stand up if they get nasty?

Not sure I follow.

They will either confirm it, tell me it's wrong, or play games like what they are doing to meme2.

When they play games, I simple wait a little (1-3 days) and repeat the question.

If they get "nasty", I can request a playback of the recorded conversation. If they can't find it, I can get nasty too - I have scared myself at how nasty I can get at times :evil:

EDIT: Once I get confirmation on the details, it's a done deal. If they get "nasty" by not honering the contract, I get into my nasty mode of what this failure to meet the contract will cost me: The costs are things like another plan I lost from a competitor, my lost time, phones I sold in preparation for my new contract, the dog I bought, the house I sold, I think you get the picture. :-) I am very creative in this area

[joe123]

Meme2: I answered your questoin, but your private mailbox is full.

Goodnight.

[Dale]

As I've repeated so many times, I do business with lots of different types of companies and have never seen anything as unethical, as Sprint's tatics. It's amazing to me they get away with it. Next time I renew a contract with them again, it will be ironclad, in writing, with every i dotted and t crossed. ;)

That's what corporate attorneys are for ... Sprint contracts! Sprint is the only company that before I renew my contract, I need to have it reviewed by the family attorney just to be sure that I am not getting a 30-minute plan for $100/mo!

[joe123]

That's what corporate attorneys are for ... Sprint contracts! Sprint is the only company that before I renew my contract, I need to have it reviewed by the family attorney just to be sure that I am not getting a 30-minute plan for $100/mo!

You and I as regular customers don't have a chance against Sprint in a law suit.

I alway recommed getting everything in writing from Sprint. Not that you will win in court should you want to fight their bait & switch tatics.

However, if Sprint does not want to honor a writen contract, your local news channel folks will be VERY INTERESTED to show what the BIG companys are doing to the little folks.

It would a disaster for Sprint public relations. :clap:

This is why I always pay on time. In case this happens to me and the local news person interviewing me is wonding if Sprint had plausable cause for not honoring the contract. They wont find any faults on this end :-)

[Maokh]

Has anyone asked retentions to fax over a copy of the plan/contract?

will they actually do this?

[joe123]

Has anyone asked retentions to fax over a copy of the plan/contract?

will they actually do this?

Looks like you haven't read this thread.

When you ask Sprint to get a copy/fax of your contract, you will encounter this: :laughing:

There is a $reason$, a very well planned out $reason$ why Sprint wont do it.

[Wayne 1]

Looks like you haven't read this thread.

When you ask Sprint to get a copy/fax of your contract, you will encounter this: :laughing:

There is a $reason$, a very well planned out $reason$ why Sprint wont do it.

It's because they're a bunch of thieves! :hee:

[joe123]

It's because they're a bunch of thieves! :hee:

Oh man, I just google Sprint Bait and Switch and found this (among others):

http://www.lakinlaw.com/CM/ClassAction/Consumer_Fraud-Product_Liability_Litigation.asp

Looks like we are not alone.

[Wayne 1]

Joe:

Yes, I've been wondering when the lawyers were going to jump on this one. Fishing for customers, I see by looking at that link...... :headbang2

[operasam]

I don't know if I trust the lawyers any more than Sprint. I was part of a class action suit against Sprint that was settled almost a year ago. It wasn't much of a settlement that was due me - perhaps $50 over the course of two years to be paid in the form of a credit on my Sprint bills.
I have yet to see a penny.

[jayhuffdaddy]

I just call executive services. Never had a problem with those guys and I never worry about getting my stuff in writing. Just check the sig.

[joe123]

I just call executive services. Never had a problem with those guys and I never worry about getting my stuff in writing. Just check the sig.
There will never be 100% of anything. Some times, things do work out such as in your case (and others) which is a good thing.

The essense here, however, is that by far and large, Sprint uses Bait and Switch tatics because most people don't have the time nor energy to fight them and it makes Sprint lots and lots of $money$ which the higher ups at Sprint love :clap:

Will the Bait & Switch happen 100% of the time? No, impossible! Plus, you will always have Sprint employees or Sprint semi-employees saying all is well and that they never heard of this before.

Unfortunately, this is a dispicable tatic for any respectable business to do - even to a few. Judging from the entries here, it seems to happen more often than not with Sprint. Just look at the facts.

[jayhuffdaddy]

Well I have the time to always screw w/sprint.

[bigjohn]

They're in the process of trying to bone me now... from my 2000 shared minute with everything plan, to an "all you want a la carte" plan that raises my costs by over 60$ per month...Just because I was stupid enough to take advantage of the "loyalty" phone upgrade on my lines... after being with them for almost 8 years....

[joe123]

They're in the process of trying to bone me now... from my 2000 shared minute with everything plan, to an "all you want a la carte" plan that raises my costs by over 60$ per month...Just because I was stupid enough to take advantage of the "loyalty" phone upgrade on my lines... after being with them for almost 8 years....

They were trying to bone me too, I just renewed my contract last month and sure enough and like clock work, the verbal contract was NOT what I got - Same Sprint bait and switch as 2 years ago.

Lucky for me :D I HAVE MY NEW CONTRACT IN WRITING and I was able to BONE back Sprint :deal:.

It took a few calls, but I got what I was promised. When I have some time, I have to write what happened this 2nd time (2 years later) fiasco.

Bottom line: MAKE SURE YOU GET IT IN WRITING FROM SPRINT!

[Wayne 1]

LOL Joe, I gotta say this is one of the top 10 (or better) threads in these forums. If people don't learn anything else from reading in here, I would hope they learn to get their deals with Sprint in writing. The corporate policy at Sprint is screw the customer for the maximum profit for the company. ;)

[joe123]

SPRINT BAIT & SWITCH TATICS IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE AND DOING WELL :hee:

Last month, I renewed my contract for another 2 years with Sprint. It took several calls to Rentensions department to get a good deal and when the good deal came along, I took it.

I verified with the Sprint lady 3x times over the phone to make sure I understood the new contract before agreeing to it. 3 times she verified every single detail of my new contract and I said - great, we have a deal. Very polite lady. I took down her Sprint ID and told her I would be writing Ecare with the details of my new plan for verification - she said "fine".

Immediately after hanging up with the rententions lady, I wrote up the contract as it was stated to me with every single detail and I emailed Ecare at Sprint asking for confirmation. Two days later, I got an email from Ecare saying that everything was "Correct". :)

20 days later, I get regular paper mail from Sprint explaining what my new contract is and of the early termination fee of $200 bucks per phone (4 phones with me, $800) should I cancel early. Guess what, EVERYTHING on the contract was wrong. Sprint was charging me 20 bucks per add a phone when it was supposed to be free and many other items that were supposed to be free were not listed as free on the contract.

So I called Retentions back and of course, they don't see any of the freebies they promised. So, I explained that I have the whole enchilada deal confirmed in writing :deal: and right there and then, as if by MAGIC, the retentions lady finds everything I listed - seconds before, she could not find a single thing!

So the moral of the story folks is that Sprint is still playing the Bait & Switch game and if you don't confirm your contract in writing, you better bend over for another 2 years.

[Wayne 1]

Joe:

Good for you, you called their bluff. Apparently in their training......they are instructed to not mess with knowledgeable customers. Another lesson learned for people reading the posts in THIS thread!! :Popcorn2:

[joe123]

I started a poll here if you folksk are interested:

------------------> http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=132881

I am trying to gauge what percent of folks get exactcly what Sprint promises verses when Sprint Lies (bait and switch) tatics.

Interesing poll so far!

[dknight247]

Joe:

Good for you, you called their bluff. Apparently in their training......they are instructed to not mess with knowledgeable customers. Another lesson learned for people reading the posts in THIS thread!! :Popcorn2:

Just got "migrated" this week to the new billing system. Last week, Account Services (aka Retention) promised me a $50 credit due to some problems I experienced with my local store in trying to return some items.

My concern is that, mysteriously, now the credit which was with the old account (pre-migration) has not appeared on the new account. There were also some credits where I was charged for roaming (AFTER paying $5/mo to include roaming) for the third month in a row.

In all fairness, I will give Sprint credit for giving me the roaming credit and even sending an email confirmation (the second one since the pre-migration account experience had also resulted in a confirmation email) and the credit appeared on my balance pretty quickly.

We'll see what the Account Services credit does, since it was supposed to appear on my January bill. The representative said that I have to wait until AFTER the bill prints to dispute.

I'm willing to bet that it won't be on there. Any takers?;)

[hellyea]

When I am in the "mood" for getting a new phone, new addition, or new plan, I ALWAYS have my phone calls recorded. A great tool for this is www.321calllog.com. You call their #, then enter the 800 #, and it records the entire phone call for you, and puts it online.

I've used it many times. When the system notifies them that "this call is being recorded", and the reps ask me, I say "I have no idea what you're talking about...I don't hear anything." In truth, your end of the phone, you don't hear anything, only they hear the recording.

Once, I was offered 6 PM nights for free, long before it was possible. I recorded it, and when the perk never appeared for free, I called executive services. I played the recording, and she was shocked and appalled. She took care of me immediately.

[yappering]

that website looks awesome. imagine how funny that is when a CS rep hears this conversation is being recorded. You can tell them that it's for training purposes! haha.

[Scoobmd]

heallyea- that does sound like a cool website, thanks for the info. I'll have to remember that tip next time around.

[sprocket79]

That sounds really sketchy. You usually have to give personal information or PINs or passwords when you call customer service to verify your identity. All it would take is one hacker to that web site and they can screw with your accounts.

[yappering]

that's true. i didnt think of it!! website could steal your identity especially on credit card and bank phone calls. be careful

[luniticlizard]

Similar thing happened to me. Twas almost two years ago...

I called to cancel because a Verizon dealer was offering a sweet deal to employees of my company. It was better than my current plan and my two year plan was up. When I called to cancel, the lady on the phone asked, "May I ask why you are canceling?" I just told her what was going on. She then asked, "What are they offering?" So, I told her.

She then said, and rather excited in doing so, "I can beat that!" That is when she offered me 1000 shared minutes on two lines, unlimited text on both lines, free power vision and picture mail on both lines, and two new phones (A900m $49.99, Katana $39.99); all for $50.00 a month.

My mouth dropped in awe. This kicked the crap out of the 800 shared, 400 text plan I was going to get for $69.99.

Only problem was, when I finally tried to get all that. It took over three months before I actually was charged $50.00. They kept charging me for things she originally said were free.

Then I lost power vision on one phone. Turns out the Katana did not have power vision, so one day they just cut my vision all together on that phone and the kilobytes built up.

Text messages were also a pain. I NEVER did get unlimited. All they could give me was 500 on one and 600 on another.

Things are okay now and I LOVE my plan. But if I ever do something like that again, I will politely ask for an e-mail confirming all the options, else I'm outta there!

Just a note. I found out--after calling Sprint several times a month for the first three months--that if you aren't getting somewhere with someone, just hang up and call back. I did that twice when a rep was giving me a hard time and in both cases the next rep took care of me ASAP.

[joe123]

SPRINT TATICS IS STILL VERY MUCH ALIVE AND DOING WELL in 2008 :hee:

My account got switched to the new and "improved" Sprint billing system. As if by magic, my Sprint bill jumped $20 more per month.

Here is a short version of what it has taken me to correct the problem (so far):

- Email ecare. 20 emails and 4 phone calls later, everything was "fixed" and that it would "never happen again"!
- Next billing cycle, things were back to normal. Next billing cycle, back to $20 bucks per month more error. Found out that it was a temp fix.
- About 40 emails later to ecare and 2 phone calls to Sprint waiting 40+ minutes on hold where they simply dropped my land line call, things are now back to normal. The answers from Sprint were classical, comical and full of bull.

So I will know next billing cycle if the Sprint error have been corrected or not.

[yappering]

That's why I decided to "edit" my plan myself when Ensemble rolled out and screwed up my plan, but fortunately had a nice loophole where we could add free codes to our plan.

[joe123]

That's why I decided to "edit" my plan myself when Ensemble rolled out and screwed up my plan, but fortunately had a nice loophole where we could add free codes to our plan.

What do you mean "edit" your own plan. Who is "ensemble"

[elp2]

What do you mean "edit" your own plan. Who is "ensemble"

"Ensemble" is the name of the new Sprint billing system to which you referred in your earlier post. As far as the edit, apparently there was a bug in the web system that made it possible to add any of Sprint's "Add-ons" for your plan if you knew the internal code--including the "Free" retention codes.

I didn't ever do it, and I think they've fixed the issue.

elp2

[sploshyjay]

When I am in the "mood" for getting a new phone, new addition, or new plan, I ALWAYS have my phone calls recorded. A great tool for this is www.321calllog.com. You call their #, then enter the 800 #, and it records the entire phone call for you, and puts it online.

I've used it many times. When the system notifies them that "this call is being recorded", and the reps ask me, I say "I have no idea what you're talking about...I don't hear anything." In truth, your end of the phone, you don't hear anything, only they hear the recording.

Once, I was offered 6 PM nights for free, long before it was possible. I recorded it, and when the perk never appeared for free, I called executive services. I played the recording, and she was shocked and appalled. She took care of me immediately.

For anyone that reads this, legally you have a right to record your call, and only one party needs to have authorized (you). So if you choose to record just go through the motions as usual and do not tell them! You don't have to!

[bjn]

For anyone that reads this, legally you have a right to record your call, and only one party needs to have authorized (you). So if you choose to record just go through the motions as usual and do not tell them! You don't have to!

This is not true. Different states have different laws. Some states are "all-party" states meaning that every person on the call must agree to the call being recorded.

Also, as a side point, no one should take legal advice from an internet forum.

[bigjohn]

For anyone that reads this, legally you have a right to record your call, and only one party needs to have authorized (you). So if you choose to record just go through the motions as usual and do not tell them! You don't have to!

That is NOT true in all states and all cases. Remember the Monica Lewinski Case? It's Legal in Virginia, but Not in DC (politicans don't want to be recorded!) :scare:

[Wayne 1]

It seems every da*n company on the planet records calls. Why is that?:rolleyes:

[bigjohn]

It seems every da*n company on the planet records calls. Why is that?:rolleyes:
They say "may be recorded for quality and training purposes". You CAN, if you wish, tell them NOT TO record it, or, you can ask for info on how you can obtain that recording.

[Wayne 1]

They say "may be recorded for quality and training purposes". You CAN, if you wish, tell them NOT TO record it, or, you can ask for info on how you can obtain that recording.


I'll remember that part about telling them NOT to record it.:lol:

Of course they won't anyway if its related to a deal they don't want to uphold.:thought:

[BTSmith]

This is not true. Different states have different laws. Some states are "all-party" states meaning that every person on the call must agree to the call being recorded.
Also, as a side point, no one should take legal advice from an internet forum.

And you are giving meaningless advice. No offence. In the case of recording calls with sprint -- this is ALWAYS legal for the customer no matter what state he and the sprint rep are in.

If one party has asked permission to record a call (and sprint has) the other party has the right to record the call and does NOT need to inform the other party.

All parties have ALREADY agreed to the call being recorded with calls to sprint!

[bjn]

i'm not offended, but i stand by what i said about taking legal advice from an internet forum.

[sploshyjay]

That is NOT true in all states and all cases. Remember the Monica Lewinski Case? It's Legal in Virginia, but Not in DC (politicans don't want to be recorded!) :scare:

Your right, I spoke to soon. But since sprint does record calls for training purposes they have already agreed to be recorded.

[channel125]

i'm not offended, but i stand by what i said about taking legal advice from an internet forum.


I'll say that you are correct that there are a lot of states now that do have the legallity that "ALL" parties must be aware and consent to call recording. Eitherway, when you contact customer care anyone who calls can record the call if they wish, because there is a recording that always tells you that your call is going to be recorded. The reps are aware of this. I recorded a call to sprint once, and sure enough I needed it to prove something that was told to me and how ignorant and terrible that the rep was to me. I spoke to their supervisor and advised them that I recorded the call, and IMMEDIATELY the supervisory got PI$$ED at me and said that they weren't advised nor did they give permission to record the call. And he told me that I was in violation of the law. I advised him that the recording at the begining of each call that ALREADY advises their customers that the call is recorded, and the fact that his employees and reps are more than already aware that all calls are being recorded, that both parties have ALREADY been advised that the calls are being recorded. He grew silent and put me on hold for 20-mins, then he aplogized and told me that I was right.

[sploshyjay]

I'll say that you are correct that there are a lot of states now that do have the legallity that "ALL" parties must be aware and consent to call recording. Eitherway, when you contact customer care anyone who calls can record the call if they wish, because there is a recording that always tells you that your call is going to be recorded. The reps are aware of this. I recorded a call to sprint once, and sure enough I needed it to prove something that was told to me and how ignorant and terrible that the rep was to me. I spoke to their supervisor and advised them that I recorded the call, and IMMEDIATELY the supervisory got PI$$ED at me and said that they weren't advised nor did they give permission to record the call. And he told me that I was in violation of the law. I advised him that the recording at the begining of each call that ALREADY advises their customers that the call is recorded, and the fact that his employees and reps are more than already aware that all calls are being recorded, that both parties have ALREADY been advised that the calls are being recorded. He grew silent and put me on hold for 20-mins, then he aplogized and told me that I was right.

It's good that somebody that actually has experience with it, and the reaction of Sprint has posted about it. Thank you.

[BTSmith]

Your right, I spoke to soon. But since sprint does record calls for training purposes they have already agreed to be recorded.

The purpose doesn't matter. If they are recording the call you may as well. you do NOT have advise them. They have per se given their permission by recording the call themselves. This is true in any state.

In 2001 I provided a transcript of my retention (executive services) call back to executive services to get items that were removed after 20 months. These discounts are per se part of your contract if they are offered for resigning your two years and cannot be removed. There seems to be confusion about that in other threads as well.

Also their is confusion about lawsuits. Sprint, despite having claims to arbitration in their contract, does this pro forma (like lots of contracts), but can be sued nontheless. I was involved in a class action lawsuit against them (successful) over the GSM change and handset compensation (they were just going to leave us holding $400 GSM handsets).

[joe123]

I think the point here is clear:

Sprint LIES. Based on the large number of complaints of this nature, it is advisible for anyone dealing with Sprint, specialy any kind of plan change to make sure they protect themselfs against Sprint unprofessoinal business practices.

[BTSmith]

joe.
you misconstrue my point.
First let me say a lot of what sprint workers write here is not based on any undersdtanding of normal business practices. But generally the company and its workers are not any different than any wireless carrier, or any service business.

I am happy with sprint. For the money they are a good provider. (for more money then a well discounted plan, they are not)

[joe123]

joe.
you misconstrue my point.
First let me say a lot of what sprint workers write here is not based on any undersdtanding of normal business practices. But generally the company and its workers are not any different than any wireless carrier, or any service business.


Terrible Business Practices should NEVER be tolerated. Period.

History has proven this point over and over again that the majority of business that practice deception and habitually lie to their customers generally fail. One of the reasons why Sprint lost what, 1-million suscribers lately and it's not getting any better.

My personal observations are that Sprint intentionally makes plans, packages, credits, codes, etc difficult for anyone to understsand - this includes Sprint employees. Why, because Sprint always errors in their $favor$ and the majority of customers don't complain because they don't have the time to deal with these silly games.

Sprint makes it very clear what will happen to you if you break the contract. When Sprint breaks the contract due to no fault of your own, you can bend over and ask for more, or take action.

Sounds like you choose to bend over? I choose to take action and like I said before, I live for this stuff! :D

[kupikunskio]

The purpose doesn't matter. If they are recording the call you may as well. you do NOT have advise them. They have per se given their permission by recording the call themselves. This is true in any state. ...

This is NOT "true in any state", it's true many states only require 1 party permission, but 12 of them still require 2 party CONSENT, not you telling them. Just because you give permission (by staying on the phone) to allow taping, does not mean that Sprint gives you permission. Washington and Texas (2 states where Sprint has call centers) both explicitly require both party's permission to tape, and many courts have ruled that the laws of either state (of the caller and callee) apply, and that the stricter of the two is applied.

Here is a good website of a press/reporter resource site that covers the taping laws: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/

I would consult an attorney before I go crazy taping calls.

[BTSmith]

This is NOT "true in any state", it's true many states only require 1 party permission, but 12 of them still require 2 party CONSENT, not you telling them. Just because you give permission (by staying on the phone) to allow taping, does not mean that Sprint gives you permission. Washington and Texas (2 states where Sprint has call centers) both explicitly require both party's permission to tape, and many courts have ruled that the laws of either state (of the caller and callee) apply, and that the stricter of the two is applied.

Here is a good website of a press/reporter resource site that covers the taping laws: http://www.rcfp.org/taping/

I would consult an attorney before I go crazy taping calls.

You are confused and confusing people. It is valid in EVERY state.

You do not need to consult an attorney for taping call if the other party has announced they are taping the call. Sprint gives it consent for you to tape to tape by taping itself. It is a settled matter of law.

I worked for years as a reporter and know this law inside out. It is editorial issues 101. The permission is per se reciprocal. Please stop giving incorrect advice.

[BTSmith]

Just because you give permission (by staying on the phone) to allow taping, does not mean that Sprint gives you permission. Washington and Texas (2 states where Sprint has call centers) both explicitly require both party's permission to tape, and many courts have ruled that the laws of either state (of the caller and callee) apply, and that the stricter of the two is applied. .

In Washington and Texas, if one party tapes the call, all parties can tape the call.

There is not one single case in all of findlaw or lexis or any party suffering ANY civil or criminal penalty (in either single and all party states) for taping a call when the other party has announced they are taping. Not one.

The stricter law applies issue applies to interception (where you are not a party to the call) or the case where NO ONE is informed the call is being recorded by one party.

[MsRandall]

This thread is being closed because it is 4 years old and it is off topic with laws on taping Sprint agents...

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