I am a college student who has been a loyal T-Mobile customer for over two years. My college is located eight hours away from my home, and it is in upstate Pennsylvania. What this means is, there is no T-Mobile store aroundit is Verizon territory. The closest T-Mobile store was two hours away from my college location so when I noticed my cell phone acting up right before holiday break. I was relieved in the sense that I could take my phone into a T-mobile store when visiting home to have it fixed or cleaned so when I returned to school later I would not need to worry about the malfunctions or how to get to the nearest store, etc.
Well, my phone was often beeping even when the battery was fully charged. Half of the time people called me, I couldnt hear anything (with full reception), incoming calls were often unable to leave voicemail, and when I answered calls, I often heard a high pitched squeal instead of the
caller. I feared that my phone had been accidentally damaged and I wanted to have it fixed during my holiday vacation.
Well, my mother and I took the phone to the T-mobile store located in Oxford Valley Mall, at 2300 E Lincoln Hwy in Langhorne PA, at around 12:10 in the afternoon on 12/19. My mother swore that we had been paying insurance on the phone, (as the account #350694816 had been in her name and she had been viewing the bills) although she didnt have a copy of a recent T-mobile bill at hand. We figured that the insurance would cover the phoneso we waited in line for a sales associate.
After a long wait in the store, we were called over to sales associate Henrys area. He fiddled on his cell phone (which hung around his neck) as we were speaking, and proceeded to take a call from another customer, as we were mid-sentence in explaining our problem. Henry immediately printed out a list of prices and said, what phone do you want? I told him the nature of my problem, and he rudely asked me again what phone I wanted to purchase for an upgrade, as my family had not ever had one (and our account was a few years old). We told him that we might be interested in an upgrade, but we were concerned about the problems with this phone. He told us that we would have to sign up for a two-year contract and, buy a new phone.
I asked him if this problem was common with phones, and what the cost of repair would be. Henry told me it would be cheaper to just buy a new phone than to fix it, and that he could do nothing to help me, as the phones warranty had expired and you did not purchase insurance on the phone. I thought this was strange, as I swore that we had paid insurance on the phone (due to my being away at school our family feared theft or breakage in a dorm-style setting). Henry preceded to hand me a
print out of new phone prices, and move on to the next
customer. After browsing for a few minutes, I approached him again to ask if my phone could get cleaned. He told me no, and continued to exhibit rude behavior and tone of voice.
I told Henry that I know that many cell phone stores try to help fix broken phones, and he replied by again saying, there is nothing I can do. You don't have insurance. Buy a new phone. I told him that his tone of voice and behavior did not make me inclined to purchase another two-year plan with the company.instead of
trying to salvage my business, he rudely retorted by saying, that's fine. Oh well. My mother and I left the store without buying anything, and opted to switch our business to Verizon, as Henry was so rude. We were shocked and upset to find, three days later, that when our cell phone bill arrived at the house from T-Mobile, that the phone in question did have insurance (and had had insurance purchased on it the entire time).
I immediately called T-Mobiles Customer Assistance line, at 11:40 on 12/22, and spoke to Ferny. Ferny told me that the phone in question, did in fact have insurance on it, which covered, lost, stolen, or accidental damage, and had had this coverage the entire time. I explained what had happened at the T-Mobile store, and Ferny apologized on behalf of the
company, but told me that there was nothing that he could do. I told him that I felt cheated, due to the fact that I was basically forced into buying a new phone, when I had purchased insurance, which would have covered the entire situation.
It would be like my current car insurance company telling me that I am not insured after an accident, I told Ferny, I think that that is illegal to do. Ferny referred me to t-mobiles website and to their customer service address, to which I am also sending a letter of complaint. I feel as though T-mobile acted in an unfair manner, lying openly about my plan, and my insurance, with the aim of selling me unnecessary products.
I feel as though all of the insurance money paid to T-Mobile over a several year period was wasted, and I feel distressed that I was pushed into buying three new phones and a new plan in order to rectify the situation for my family. I opted to buy my plan with another company due to Henrys rudeness, but if he had been honest about my real plans coverage, I would not have needed to spend any extra money at all. I would like this situation to be reported and investigated.
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