As a customer of Cingular for over 5 years, I became highly disappointed and dissillusioned with the company this past year.in the spring of I upgraded my phone and plan to a family plan. My understanding of the new plan consisted of the following:
I would receive 3 new phones. One with my prior number transfered to it, and two additional new phones with new numbers for my use.
The phones would have a shared minute pool of 1000 anytime minutes, and have unlimited mobile to mobile minutes.in addition, the phone would have free nights and weekends. During the nights and weekend period, there would be no charge for long distance calls during the time period.
The bill would be about 70 dollars a month, before taxes.
Imagine my surprise when I got my first bill it was in excess of 1000.00 dollars. I called the company, and was told that the charges were acurate. However, through dilligent investigation of the bill, I discovered that there was errors that totaled over 700.00 dollars. When I outlined these charges again with the company, they did agree that there was some sort of error in the billing. They made adjustments to that bill, and they said they corrected the problem from the addition of the 2 new lines that were not initially included within my family plan. (DUH!)
The following months were an ensuing battle. Each month the charges were more and more outlandish, and spectacular. Each month I would dilligently evaluate the bill and call in to the customer service center, only to be given the run around each time. Occassionally, a company representative would agree that the charges were out of line and make adjustments.
One of the most outlandish charges were for the calls that were to be free within the family plan (mobile to mobile, with any Cingular customer). The company insisted that the calls themselves were free, but the calls would use minutes from the 1000 minute pool of anytime minutes. My response was "Say What?!?" One would think that unlimited mobile to mobile would be FREE, not to be deducted out of the anytime pool.
Finally, after almost four months, (and a bill approaching several thousand dollars), out of desperation I suspended the service to the the two additional phones. I was hoping to be able to resolve the billing issues, come to some sort of agreement of the CORRECT charges, and a payment plan on the balance owed.instead I was met with hostility, and threats of turning my account over to collection.
I was making regular payments on the bill as I could. One day in August of cingular called me at work, and demanded that I make another payment to my account or they were suspending my service. At this point the bill was whittled down to a about 900 dollars. I had recently paid almost 500 dollars on the bill the week before, leaving about 400 dollars left. When I tried to explain that the the rep. On the phone, she said that she wasn't interested in past payments paid, only in the current balance due of almost 1700.00 dollars. I told her that I would see what I could do, but not to hold her breath. Within the next hour, she TERMINATED my contract and phone, without any waring or explaination.
My following dealing with the company were not pretty. I requested copies for all of bills and adjusted bills were denied. When I asked why, they said it was too difficult to print out single bills and send them. I waited a couple of days an made my request again. This time I was told that I could have them, but only if I paid a processing fee. Copies of each bill (original and adjusted) would cost me 5 dollars for each bill, a total of over 60, plus the postage required to ship them out. When I asked if they could just email them to me, they said that they could not do that. Now on their website, I could download the last 3 months bills, but not the initial 3 months bills.
I gave up in frustration. I had spent over 60 hours trying to resolve this matter. I felt that I would deal with whatever came of this matter by using the skills and techniques that Cingular had.
Eventually got a notice from a collection agency in the spring of stating that they needed 1900.00 dollars to settle the account with Cingular. When I questioned the amount, they said that it was for the outstanding balance, and an early termination fee for each of the phones of 240.00 dollars. When I explained that I did not personally terminate my contract with Cingular, but that Cingular had made that arbitrary decision; and that I was not going to pay the 720 dollars for early termination fee; and that their records were wrong on the balance due. They backed off. I have not heard anything else about this matter, but I imagine that somehow that it will be placed surely upon my shoulders in the future.
D
Philadelphia, Tennessee
U.S.A.
0 comments