SprintUsers.com - Rants, Debates, & Comparisons

Sprint has finally failed me.

RavenTBK — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 01:55:25 GMT

Been with Sprint in one form or another since they launched in my market back in 1998...back then I was working for a third party retailer, and sported a demo line, which I know doesnt really count. Current plan setup was done in 2001. So basically, from Sprint's perspective, I've got 7 years or so invested in this.

Over this time, I have had several minor issues here and there, all of which were resolved to, or above my satisfaction. However, Sprint has finally failed me. Here is my rant...

My family has two accounts, with two lines each. Up until this past February, they both had Fair&Flexible plans, with the additional $10/mo roaming option. Since February, both accounts have been sporting Everything Data Family plans at $129.99/mo each.

At the end of October, one of the lines was shut off without notice. We all assumed it was because we hit the spending limit again or something. When I got online to look up the account, I noticed the line wasnt even listed on the "My Account" page any more. A phone call to CS revealed the line was terminated, and they had no further information. An escalation revealed the same thing, the line was terminated, and they had no further information. To resolve the situation, I was instructed to visit my local Sprint Store.

***?

So I went to the local store. Eventually worked my way up to the store manager after three different sales reps. The manager says the account notes say the line is terminated, and he is not allowed to reactivate it, however he is willing to sell us a new Nextel line. *shrugs* He has us use the "red phone" to call Retentions to get information, as (as he puts it) "they know everything, and can fix anything, especially for a longtime customer". Retentions pulls up the account and informs me the line was terminated due to excessive roaming (***!?) and she has no further info, and transfers me to the Roaming Dept. The roaming dept tells me the line was targeted for termination back in Oct/Nov of last year, and it eventually worked its way through.

I asked why this line, why now? I find it funny that my line uses a similar amount of minutes as the one that was killed, and *even more* DATA, all WHILE ROAMING. Also, why wasnt anybody notified? Sprint claims a letter was sent out in January, and one in February stating the line would be terminated. I never got any. I would tend to think there would be a call, or text, or bill insert somewhere along the line before now. Hell, they text, call, AND leave a voicemail message when your bill is past due. Why not make sure the account owner knows whats up before they decide to drop their end of the contract? "Sorry sir" is the response.

The store manager gets on the line, and talks with the roaming dept rep, and doesnt get any more traction. We end the call. The manager tells me he will contact his district manager to try and resolve it. Give him a week to get an answer. A week goes by, he says no answer, but its been forwarded two levels above the district manager, and to give it another week. I get busy and let it ride for two weeks. Contact with the manager again results in a no answer, let me submit it again....give me another week. I told him if this isnt resolved, I want to have the contracts removed off of the other two lines so I can shop elsewhere. :frustrate

Since day one, my home has been outside Sprint's native coverage, according to the map. The service is there, if you leave the phone on a desk. Its low enough to switch back and forth between Sprint/roam endlessly, causing missed calls/late texts. Originally, they had no problems selling the lines to me, and was told there would be no problems as long as I put on the $10/mo off network option. We were told to force roam when we were home, and there would be no problems. Since the upgrades/plan changes in February, we were told the Off Network Option is depreciated and roaming is included now.

Back to the current time. As DSL became available in my area, I started looking into getting an Airave. My thought was to not only fix the late texts/missed call issues, but also to save Sprint some money with the family being in forced roam mode all of the time. I used that argument when pitching it to the retentions rep who was willing to send me one back in July, but there were none in stock at that time. He made notes to give me one free/nofee, and that I would be calling back next month when they are to arrive. August came, called back, got my Airave. Its been working flawlessly as long as the DSL stayed up.

So, lets catch up. The whole family (4 lines) has been forced roam while at home since 2002. The killed line was targeted in Oct/Nov 08, while we still had the $10/mo Off Network Option, which was supposed to cover everything. I have since, ON MY OWN (without any suggesting/prodding from Sprint), worked to resolve the roaming issue by getting an Airave. The roaming dept CONFIRMS that the overall roaming usage on ALL FOUR LINES has dropped by over 50% since the Airave installation in August 09. INCLUDING the one that was killed.

Based on the above, anybody with some common sense would see that the Airave has more or less fixed the imaginary excessive roaming problem. Why the hell can the line not be reactivated?
**
Here is where it really pisses me off. The store manager, who is nice, and understanding, is apparently impotent with regards to account issues such as this. I wish I wouldve known that before. I searched google and got the number for Executive Services. I figured this was big enough for me to try and escalate my problem. Based on all the good things I've heard, I would figure I would get a representative who would listen to my beef, and work with me towards an amicable solution.

I called, and spoke with Keisha (sp?). She was quick to answer, repeating the same crap that was tossed at me before, rather than listen to my gripes. I told her what the Roaming Dept told me about the Airave and the dramatic decrease in roaming minutes since. She said she would send the request to the Roaming Dept supervisor, as they are the only ones who can reactivate a killed line, and would call me tomorrow.

She called the next day at the time we had agreed upon, quickly telling me that the answer is No, because the Airave doesnt work. The line is killed, no deal. ***? She claims that my area is not supported, and the Airave doesnt matter, and that her sources are more qualified than my sources to say this. Then why did the retentions rep dig all through the coverage maps and tower locations for 20 minutes before he agreed I need one? Why was it even sent to me if I "dont qualify" for one? Even more fun, why does it work like its supposed to, if its not supposed to work? Why does the Roaming Dept confirm the roaming usage has dropped, if the Airave is not supported?

Talk about confusing.

I told her I am not happy, and I would like to have the contracts removed off of my other lines so I might begin looking elsewhere for service. Since its so easy to let me out of the contract and kill one of my lines, its obviously easy enough to do the rest the same. Either I get the line reactivated, or I take my long time account and walk. She replied she would submit a notice of dissatisfaction and would call back with a reply to that request. A call tonight says, to make it short, "That line is killed, no contract release, no deal".

Needless to say, I am finally to the point of being really pissed, and I never thought I would say it, but actually willing to jump ship. Sprint has always been the best, and I have had nothing but good words for them, even during the crappy CS times a few years back. Now they've even turned me sour. :td:

What do I want from this? I would like to have the line reactivated, or I want out of the contract for the other two lines (one of the three is already out of contract and could possibly be killed tomorrow if needbe). Either way, Sprint wins. If the line is reactivated, Sprint gets to keep my money I would take away from lowering the plan on the remaining line. If they let me out of my contract, they win by not having to "pay extra" for all the roaming I plan on doing now that I know how they are going to treat their long time customers. I've already unplugged the Airave. F'em.

Or, since I am a reasonable human being, Sprint should consolidate the two accounts into one, where I can drop the second $129/mo plan and just have the three remaining lines share minutes.

I dont think any of it is too much to ask. Thanks for letting me whine.

TIME TO UPGRADE, but i have SERO

centro.mang — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:02:08 GMT

its that time of year again when i get bombarded with offers since its my time frame to upgrade and what not. i currently have the sero plan with a palm centro. i know they discontinued the offer but since ive had it for awhile, im still on it. i like the htc hero and the pre. but i know i cant keep my plan with those. whats the best way to go about it if i decide to upgrade phones? also, what are some of the new phones i can still use with SERO? thanks

Sprint Wants Customers? Let my sister get 4 lines!

CDeezMA — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:16:37 GMT

Today, I persuaded my sister to get her and her family on Sprint. She goes to the store, and is approved for 3 lines, no deposit. The issue is she needs 4. The rep called in to see if there was a way to get the fourth. There was no way and last time I checked Sprint was losing customers. Whatever, that's an eight subscriber swing, in favor of VZW.

Airave - what's going on today?

Pyramid-3 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:12:35 GMT

I've had my device in startup mode for nearly 2 hours. GPS antenna is stuck to the window. Is Airave not running today?

Mythical telesales free shipping credit.

gilli — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:56:13 GMT

My contract was up, so I bought a Touch Pro 2 last month through the telesales number--the transaction went pretty smoothly (too smoothly, I guess). I didn't even ask, but the rep volunteered that she could apply a $12 credit to my account to offset the cost of the overnight shipping. Great, right?

Now, finally the transaction is showing up on my bill and (big surprise) no credit. I was on my way to work, so I emailed customer care and got this response:

Quote:

"Thank you for contacting Sprint regarding shipping charges.

I am sorry to say that we don't have any notes on your account regarding
reversal of shipping charges. So these charges cannot be reversed.

We value your business and appreciate the opportunity to address your
concerns. Please reply to this email or visit Sprint.com/mysprint if we
can be of further assistance."

Argh.. seriously? So I responded that it wasn't a reversal of the shipping charges, but a credit that would offset them. I get in response:

Quote:

Thank you for your reply.

As informed in the last mail, we don�t find any notes on your account
regarding $12.00 credit promised.We are unable to provide the credit on
your account.Sorry for any miscommunication earlier.

Thank you for writing to us.

Please reply in case of any other concern.

Obviously, I'm getting nowhere. It's not even that the $12 is a huge deal, it's more just annoyance that they promised me something small, and now they're acting like I'm making things up to steal $12 from Sprint. :confused:

It makes me wonder... can you even get non-overnight shipping from telesales? to me, overnight is overkill. The original rep never even told me it was overnight (figured that out once I saw the tracking #), and didn't even mention what the price of the shipping was (since she said it was "free" after the credit) so I didn't even get a chance to ask...

Hey, ranting really does work. I feel better now! If only there was a way to have an account with Sprint that involved no contact with it's employees.. so frustrating!

It costs $600 to be a new Sprint customer!!!!

dino99 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 20:19:59 GMT

So, after being a loyal Verizon customer for years, I decided to give sprint a try. The salesman sold me on their $99 unlimited plan. I figured it would be worth the $100 early termination from Verizon as I would be saving a ton with sprint.

In the store, I was charged $323 for my new phone, fees, taxes, etc.
I never received a bill in the mail, (apparently they had my address wrong.)
Now, 5 weeks later, I'm told that I owe another $275.

So, for being a Sprint customer for 5 weeks, it is costing me $600!!!

I called to complain. I'd rather stay with Verizon than pay this. They told me that I'm just a few days over the 30 day limit so I'm stuck.

This is the most inappropriate, misleading thing I've ever seen.

I'm now stuck with Sprint and I hate them!

WORST. COMPANY. EVER.

Airave vs. Vonage

Pyramid-3 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:02:16 GMT

I have a Vonage V-Portal and I have a Sprint Airave Femtocell device plugged into the same router. The person who is the only user of Vonage complains that 100% of the time Airave 'interferes' with Vonage and she turns off the device whenever she sees that it's on. This of course results in enormous overages.

So, is there some way to connect what are essentially two different VoIP TA's so that Vonage gets better treatment? Other than placing the Vonage TA in front of the router too since that seems to have no dramatic improvement either. I know I have sufficient bandwidth over cable.

Done with Sprint in 8 months!

SurfDan5 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:21:51 GMT

I just want to start off by saying I've been with Sprint since 1999. My contract with Sprint ends in 8 months and then me and my 3 lines are gone for good. I can't stand the way sprint treats me. I have a touch pro and I've gone through more refurbs than I can count (lost count at 8). I've had the screen die a bunch of times, keyboards break etc and it just seems like Sprint couldn't give a crap about me and my issues. I'm polite every time I go into the store with an issue or am talking to a rep on the phone yet they still won't give me a brand new Touch Pro (sick of these crappy refurbs). This whole experience the last year has left a horrible taste in my mouth for Sprint.

:bang:SPRINT

sprint insurance - what a joke

candicelarsen — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:34:59 GMT

My complaint ..... I recieved a refurbished razor phone after I lost mine. I paid only $50 because I had insurance. I did not realize that I would be getting a refurbished phone instead of a new one.

After only 2 months of using it, it kept getting looser and looser when ever I would snap it open or shut. I kept meaning to bring it in for repair, but did not get around to it. Eventually it fell completely off the slider from what appears to me as the 4 screws that keep the slider intact completly coming undone.

When I took it into the repair center to finally get it fixed, they said I would have to pay another $35 because it was physically damaged.
Well - duh - yes it was physically damaged, but that does not mean that it was my fault. They phone just fell apart. From NORMAL use. They said I could have dropped it or been opening and shutting it too hard. Which I did not and was not. We have 4 cell phones and this one was hardly ever used, mainly because it was falling apart.

My point. If a cell phone is going to fall apart because, you open and shut it too much or even if perhaps you drop it. Then it is a piece of**** and sprinit should replace it even if I did not have insurance for making such a loosey phone. I would expect nintendo to replace my wii if it fell apart after 2 months of use.

I think it is rediculous that the insurance will not cover physically damage.

Basically, that means if anything is ever wrong with your phone physically - it is the users fault. Because sprinit always makes perfect phones - especially refurbished ones.

Also, I talked to the owners of a sprinit store and they told me they no longer carry the model of the razor I had, because their were too many problems with the slider. Apperantly they have fixed the problem on the new razors. But, too bad for me. I have to pay $35 to fix my old model piece of ****.

I have already talked to 2 supervisors and 3 costomer service reps about the issue. They do not care. I am waiting to hear back from a manager - who is supposed to call me!!!!

Odd cs experience

Shade2go — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:43:48 GMT

I contacted CS because we are considering new updated phones. We have 4 phones on the plan, 2 out of contract for a couple of years (one phone 4yo the other 5yo), one phone out of contract in January, the 4th phone in March. I asked the CSR when the second 2 would be out of contract (wasn't sure of the dates at the time) and said I wanted to cancel service as 2 phones would like a data plan and Sprint does not offer a split plan for a family. She went into detail, after giving me the dates, how to go about cancelling our service--even to explain about a pro-rated cancellation fee for the March line! Now it was my impression that once my converstation turned to cancellation, I would be sent to another department. Not the case. It wasn't until I turned the conversation around and asked if there was an incentive for signing up for another 2 years, that she could not give me an answer. She said there was a signing incentive on one line, but not the others. I asked her why, she could not give me an answer, so I asked to speak to her supervisor who might be able to explain. All the while, I was a sweet as can be--not argumentative or demanding.

She asked me to hold on and switched me to another department (I assume retentions) where I recapped the conversation and asked about the incentive to sign up. The first thing she asked me was "is this the first time you are calling about this issue?" I said yes. The odd thing about this connection was that it seemed that each time I was talking, the CS person muted her end of the phone. I heard click and then silence, then when she was going to talk, another click and she spoke. Additionally, I had a dificult time understanding the CS person. She spoke very rapidly with an accent and I asked her a couple of times to slow down, that I was having a problem understanding her. Anyway, her offer was to give me $10 per month (on top of my employee discount of 25%) for one line, for one year. I asked about the other lines and she put me on hold.

When she came back to the line, she offered me $10 per month per line for one year. I think that was a very nice offer. I asked her about getting the phones and she told me to go to a Sprint store, pick out the phone and they would activate the phone, extend or start our contracts, and set up our new plan. I thought this was a little odd--I wanted to set up our plan and starting date with my billing cycle and I thought she would offer to take an order for the phones we wanted. But she was adament that I should do this at the store.

I asked her to make notes on our account about her offer and told her I would go to the store. I asked if they would waive activations on the phones and she again put me on hold. No, they would not do that. I told her that was disapointing and kept her on the phone about that, but she would not budge.

On the whole, I thought this was an odd converstation--I thought they would want to complete the deal and renew our contract immediately, and I was surprised that the first CSR gave me the details about cancellation and was about to hang up. With CSR's like that, no wonder Sprint has lost so many customers. I am satisfied with the offer of the discount per month--it will help with the costs of new phones. Maybe I can do something about the activation fee at the store.

I just wanted to share my experience and the offer extended to me.

Why does Sprint hire idiots?

Arcangel — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 06:31:04 GMT

So the other day I took my girlfriend into my local sprint store, she is gonna jump onto my family plan in January and she wanted to look at phones. As she is browsing I am playing with the moment.
Along comes Joe Dumb and says to me " Hey how awesome is this phone"

I say it's not bad, I have the Hero and wouldn't swap it for this"

He says why not this phone is better, it has a slide out keyboard."

Me" I'm actually partial to virtual keyboard less heft, plus I LOVE SENSE UI and the beautiful graphics and seven screens"

HIM" THIS PHONE HAS ANDROID 2.0 THE MOST ADVANCED ANDROID OS OUT"

ME" Ummm NO! this has the same OS as the HERO 1.5, but HERO has HTC sense which adds lots of usability and beauty.

HIM" Are you trying to tell me how to do my job I am a Sprint employee what do you know"

ME" Come here let me show you"

So I proceeded to show him in the settings the same OS and then showed him the difference I also told him, maybe instead of being arrogant he should actually research what he sells so not to mislead people or look like a jackass when a knowledgeable customer comes in. So my question is What The F?? Why hire a guy like this and this isn't the first horror story i have heard! Maybe managers should have product meetings and some kind of way to make sure they have the knowledge if not they can get fired? This does so much harm to SPRINTS reputation and is easily part of the exodus!!

ONLINE PETITION..please SIGN

asensualride — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 04:01:26 GMT

Show Sprint that you are FED uP with Plan requirements, for new phones............sign this petition

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/FEDUPwSprint/

we should be able to have a new phone without being forced into a high priced plan!!

Its bad enough that I spent $300 on a TP that is a piece of crap only to be offered a downgraded phone that requires a higher plan.. SPRINT take THAT!
:bang:

The next problem I have with Sprint

blaineball — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 20:12:30 GMT

.... will be my first!

I have been with Sprint since like 2000. Since then I have moved to 3 different states, changed phones like 5 times, and just keep re-signing. Why? Because I know no other company is going to be better!

I cant say Sprint CS is bad... I have never called them. I pay my bill on line, and walk in and buy phones.

The only phone I replaced due to failure was my LG PM-325, which I had for 2 years, then up'ed to the Moto Q, and gave the LG to my wife. like 3mo later it died. 27 Months of service exceeds any realistic expectations.

I just hate people griping about Sprint CS, mad that they have keep their unlimited everything for $30/mo plan, or they cant trade their year old phone for the latest/greatest for free. They are a for-profit corporation. Maybe if they dropped all these SERO leeches and got more real customers, they would could get back in the black.

This is why I probably will never leave Sprint:
1 - Verizon cripples their phones, sells them for the same price, and plans are more expensive

2 - T-Mobile is to AT&T as Canada is to the US... why would I go to the 2nd best, out of 2.

3 - AT&T is the only real alternative - same phones (usually - and don't say ip@#$), and have higher plans. Why switch?

:rant:

Blaine

Canceled my service yesterday

jmz768 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:47:18 GMT

and it feels good to be done with this poor excuse for a company. I won't go into details but it involved two bad replacement phones, wrong information being given and other information not being given. The sooner Sprint goes under the better.

Sprint changed my plan w/o my consent.

IsLNdbOi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:59:47 GMT

I have a serious problem w/ Sprint right now. It started a couple of weeks ago.

My Touch Pro.'s keyboard stopped working so I brought it to a Sprint store. They didn't have any replacement in store so the tech ordered me a replacement. I come back a week later and they hand me a Touch Pro. 2. Before touching it, I asked them if they were going to change anything regarding my service (plan, monthly payment, etc.). They said the only thing that was going to change was the phone on my account (this Touch Pro. 2 they were handing to me).

So I took the phone and went on my merry way. I get home later that day and login to my account online to make sure everything was ok.

They changed my plan from my $30 SERO w/ unlimited text messaging to the Simply Everything 450 plan ($69.99). I was so pissed. I called customer service to have them change my plan back, but no one would. They then escalated my case to what they called the "management escalation department". That was after a week of trying to get them to change me back to my SERO plan.

Finally, last week I get a call from someone in that management escalation department. She tells me that she would try to change my plan back, but it's unlikely that she would be able to because the Touch Pro. 2 requires this everything plan. I told her that there are people getting these phones that have my old plan. They simply activate the Touch Pro. 2 online themselves and it works with the SERO plan. She said that they are not supposed to be doing this. So she tells me she'll do what she can.

A week passes by and I don't get a call back from her. I begin calling her back and emailing her asking for an update. Today, I get a call back from her and she says she can't do anything. I'd have to keep this plan or switch to a $30 voice only plan. OR I could pay what I owe for the month and she'd waive the early termination fee and I could do whatever I want with the Touch Pro. 2.

I'm still pissed and my blood is still boiling. What am I supposed to do? They changed my plan w/o asking me or telling me. I didn't sign anything. The $30 SERO plan had all that I needed and is what I could afford (I'm a full time college student atm).

I could port my number to another carrier, but no other carrier has a plan equivalent to the $30 SERO plan and apparently Sprint doesn't either anymore.