I received a letter from Sprint informing me that their iDEN network formerly owned by Nextel was being shut down and in order to continue cellular service, i would have to purchase a new Sprint CDMA phone. I have been a loyal nextel/Sprint customer for 15 years and always paid my bill on time, etc. When I went to upgrade my phone, I was nformed that I would have to pay a $36.00 activation Fee as well as either: 1. Pay for a new phone (minimum $209.00) or sign a 2 year contract to get a phone for "free". I have not been under a contract for over 10 years, nor have I ever used the "free" upgrade for my phone as it works fine. I called "Customer Service" and explained that I liked my current phone and didn't really want to change. They told me too bad, and gave me the same options I had reviewed on-line. I told the agent, Tammy, that I wasn't williong to pay anything to get the same service I already had and was being inconvenienced already to switch. After a few frustrating minutes of conversation, I was tranferred to the "Retention" dept. (after holding for 12 minutes) where I spoke with John. After quite a few more minutes explaining the situation and my reservations about having to pay anything for being forced to switch, he told me he was sorry but there was nothing he could do to waive the fees or contract term. I told him I could switch to another carrier and get the exact same deal and he said "that is certainly your option." So I asked if it wasn't important to Sprint to keep a long time customer from switching to another provider and he said "yes, but it is okay if that is what you want to do". So I did... Worst "Customer Service" ever and I hope they lose every customer who they treat this way.
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