The following is a letter I sent to Cingular Wireless sometime ago. I never received any response to this or any of my other complaints throughout my one year contract time with them. I'm with Verizon now and MUCH happier. I'll never go back... Here's hoping you never fall for their bull sh* Attn: Carla Cummins (228) 819-7844 To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to express to you my complete disgust with your company. Allow me to begin by saying that when I was first shopping for cellular service I heard from two close friends that I should avoid Cingular Wireless at all cost. I immensely regret that I did not take their advice. I purchased my contract at the Mobile One on Gause Blvd in Slidell.in addition to plan structure, I had two specific needs for cellular service. These were the ability to know how many of my plan minutes I had used at any given time, and the flexibility to change my plan if necessary. Regarding the first concern, the salesperson assured me that at ANY time I could call *611 and they would tell me exactly how many minutes I had used for that month. Regarding the second, I was told that it was one of Cingular's greatest attributes that members could change their plan at any time. During the first month of my contract I anticipated that I would probably go over my peak minute limit. Having never had cellular service before, I had planned on using the first month as a test period. I called Cingular to change my plan and while I was on hold for 27 minutes, I listened over and over to a voice telling me, "ingular Wireless allows you to change your plan at any time." dditionally, I knew it should not be a problem to change it because one of the friends I mentioned in the first paragraph had recently changed her plan in the middle of a month. You can imagine my dismay when the customer service representative told me that, yes, I could request a change, but it would not take affect until the following month and therefore any minutes that went over my plan for this month would be billed at your absurd over-the-limit-minute-rate. She argued semantics, but it is not semantics when it is costing me $145 (which is what it ended up costing me). Back and forth we went -her insisting all the while that there is no way my friend changed her plan in the middle of the month -until I asked for her name so that I could hang up, call my friend and get the name of the person she spoke to, and then call back and talk to the same representative again with my new information. She insisted that any customer service person could take my call. When I explained that I preferred not to have to explain my situation all over again and once again asked for her name she said, You don' need that information. Once again, I asked for her name and at this point she said she was going to put me on hold. She then HUNG UP on me. Irate, I called back. I, of course, got a new customer service representative and after a lengthy explanation of my situation she said of course she could change my plan in the middle of the month. All of this stress for nothing. After she changed the plan I asked, O.K. With my new plan, as of TODAY, how many minutes do I have until the end of the billing cycle to use during peak minute times? Answer 200. Imagine if you will my fury when I called the next week and had gone 150 minutes over, when I had carefully monitored and written down all calls made between the time I talked to her and the end of my billing cycle. Apparently, as I learned from a third customer service rep, she didn' have access to how many minutes I had used, but how many minutes I had used as of four days before my call. Frankly, that does me absolutely no good. And not only did she not tell me that this was the case, it was in direct conflict with the information I had received when I bought the phone. When I mentioned to this third CSR that the 2nd CSR had not told me this, she said, Well, I didn' listen to that conversation, so how do I know you'e not lying? When did the adage change from The customer is always right to The customer is usually lying? Perhaps I could share with you the other problems I have had, miniscule in comparison to the first two, but mind-numbingly irritating nonetheless. I never received my first bill. Actually, that's not true. I received my first bill two weeks after I received my second bill. When I began to wonder where it was and called in to check my balance I learned that I had incurred a late charge for having not paid the non-existent bill. I called Customer Service once again and was told that I could have that charge removed at the Cingular store on Gause Blvd. Upon arrival at the store I was told that, no, I would have to call Customer Service. I did, and the charge was removed, but for the love of God! Does no one in your organization have correct information? While in the store, my husband, who, by the way, is just as revolted by Cingular as I, struck up a conversation with the other people in line waiting to complain. One woman received a bill that said her payment was due by Sept. 14th and yet, had had her phone cut off on the 10th. Another man asked if we were aware that the insurance we paid for monthly was only good twice a year. Of course we were not aware, but good information to know. I suppose if I use it two times I should then cancel it, as it is pointless for me to continue to pay it.information no doubt Cingular likes to keep quiet until that third request comes in. Finally, I had my fill when I called last week to see how many minutes I had used as of four days prior. When the woman told me the amount I replied, That's impossible. She said, Well, those are the minutes you used during peak hours, between 7 am and 9 pm. I responded with calm defeat that I had been told when I signed the contract that peak hours were between 8 am and 8 pm. She changed my plan for me, but I have been making calls regularly after 8 thinking that they were unlimited for 2 months already. No wonder my minutes have been high. I'm aware that you've got me. I signed your year contract and theres not much I can do about that for nine more months. What I can do, however, is let EVERY SINGLE PERSON I KNOW know that they should never, ever, under any circumstances use Cingular Wireless as their mobile phone provider. I have already begun spreading the word, I assure you. Additionally, I can change my service once that interminable year is up. I remember from an intro-level marketing class two things. One V the customer is always right. Two V a negative endorsement travels 100 times farther than a positive one. Your company seems to believe that the institution of contracts negates these two basic principles. I'm afraid you are wrong. Sincerely, Emilie G* Emilie Slidell, Louisiana
U.S.A.
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