David & Goliath

July 5, 200818 yr

I have to relay this story to you in hopes I can help some else.

We have been Sprint/Nextel customers since 2002 and have had as many as 6 phones on the account. We usually carried 4. I was a good customer.

In January of 2008, I found out I was eligible for a 15% discount on my regulary monthly recurring charges for all 4 phones. Great!! Any saving is worth it. I contacted Sprint/Nextel and they said, "Sure!" and applied the discount to my February bill.

The next month, I look at the March bill and poof! the discount is gone. I call up Customer service, they assure me it was their error and the situation has been corrected. They also applied the credit towards the bill.

In April, I look and poof! again- NO DISCOUNT! I call up Customer Service again, explain what happened. The rep tells me he has corrected the situation once and for all and credits me the difference. I am told I will have no further problems.

In May, (You know where this is going) Yes- that's right! The discount doesn't show up. Now, I'm really pissed and I call Accounts Retention. This is the department they send you to when you want to cancel your account. They're supposed to do everything in their power to make you stay. I go through my story and this putz whom I'm speaking to tells me the discount isn't applicable and it went from 15% to 8%, I said, "No, I see the webpage on the Union website" and I read him the stipulations. He tells me the page is outdated and my information is wrong because they got a memo last month saying it was cancelled. I asked him why I wasn't informed. He was very nasty as he told me, "We don't have to tell our customers. We can just take your discount away." I knew he was wrong and got his name, Company ID and any other information I could to identify him. The next day, I called my Union and told them what happened. They told me I was right- the 15% is still in effect and that rep should have never spoken to me like that. The Union rep said they'd take care of it and they did. I called Sprint/Nextel back that evening and ratted the nasty guy out. I was assured this problem wouldn't happen ever, EVER again.

In June, (Oh yes- here it comes) I look and VOILA! No discount. Now I call Account Retention and ask to speak to a supervisor. I don't even want to deal with the putzes they have in their department. I speak to a supervisor who tells me, yes, I should be getting the discount and he would personally take care of it. I told him I heard those words before and I'm so sick of the situation, I want out of my contract without having to pay early termination fees or any other penalties. He tells me he's going to give me $100 towards my account and if I have any further problems with my account, he would abide by my wishes. I told him I needed this agreement in writing and gave my e-mail address. He did write me an e-mail saying he had already credited the account the $100 and if I had any more problems, I would be released from the contract, no questions asked. THis e-mail came to me June 19th.

I don't know what made me look, but I went to see if my portion of the payment (due July 2) had been credited to the account. Imagine my surprise when the bill said I had an outstanding balance of $100. The same $100 the guy said he ALREADY credited 2 weeks prior to that.

Now, I'm turning into a Pit Bull. I write him an e-mail and call him on his direct line saying he lied to me about the credit and I want out of my contract.

He writes back an e-mail saying he's sorry for the inconvenience and the $100 credit is there now and thanked me for my patience.

This is a copy of what I wrote:

I saw your hurried adjustment to my account. Your apologies are as empty as your

promises.

I have been patient enough. You did not uphold your part of our agreement. You

did not apply the adjustment to my account until I brought your attention to it,

and would not have done so if I hadn't made you aware of it.

You have been untruthful in your dealings with me. That is unforgivable. I can

not do business with a company whose representatives lie to their customers.

i do not wish to pursue this matter any further with you, the people in the

Sprint/Nextel home office or any other legal entity. I want you to release me

from all contractual obligations with Sprint/Nextel as of July 8, 2008. In

addition, I do not want to pay any early termination fees or any other monetary

charges or fees attached to a contract termination for all three phones on the

account as per our previous agreement.

I will be the honorable person here and pay for the minutes used, and any other

regular monthly charges I incurred on the three lines I am responsible for up

until July 8th.

It was never about the money, Mr. Cordova. It was about customer service and

being treated like a valued customer. You and the other representatives who have

handled my situation have failed miserably.

You have a golden opportunity here to do the right thing and release me from my

contract without incurring the early termination fee or any other fees or

monetary charges attached to a contract termination for all three of my phones

on the account.

I wonder what your choice will be?

I sent this off at approx 8:30 am on July 4th. I got a phone call back close to 10 am from him saying he was releasing me from my contract and he would waive all early termination fees and any other fees associated with the cancellation.

FREE AT LAST, FREE AT LAST! THANK GOD ALMIGHTY, I'M FREE AT LAST!!

I did some research and found out Verizon Wireless has the best Consumer Reports rating for customer service. We found a store close to our home and yesterday, within 2 hours I got home with 3 brand new phones, service and oh yes, I do get a 15% discount from them as well.

*** it's good to be the Pit Bull *** :thumbup

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