My father suffered a stroke Christmas day.in order to handle his affairs, I, as his power of attorney, set out to cancel needless items since, if he recovered, he would be in longterm nursing care and not in his home. I cancelled his Dish network, propane fuel delivery, several things, until it came to his Nextel cellular service. They refused to allow me to cancel or suspend his service, even though they could look on his account and see he was paying $49.95 monthly for the past several months and was not using the phone. I explained he has suffered confusion for a few months and had the stroke on Christmas. They in turn explained their policy and if I could produce a death certificate, they would cancel his service. I explained again, he's not dead, only incapacitated. They gave me a fax number to fax my POA. It was incorrect. I called again. They gave another fax number, also incorrect. As dad's condition worsened, my battle with Nextel continued. I called again and a "manager" named Dana went beyond rude. I explained my situation, and that the phone belongs to a 78-year-old man, not some teen and I wasn't trying to "turn off someone's phone for spite." She suggested I call the legal department. I called again and she happened to answer, and when I asked for legal, she said "they don't have an extension!" I lost it. My nerves were gone and this just took the cake! I asked again for the department's fax number and she gave me yet another number. I asked, "how would you feel if it were your dad?" She didn't even bother to respond, only to say, "this is our policy." As I told her, "there's a fine line between legalism and stupidity and your company has crossed the line." I sent dad's final payment, along with a copy of my POA via certified mail to Nextel and begged they turn off his phone so I could use the money for more important things like funeral expenses. I refuse to pay the final bill... It's not my policy. Sadly, dad did pass away Jan. 24. Believe it or not, his cell service was still operational. As a businesswoman who is often asked for company referrals, Nextel's name will never pass my lips. Their lack of human compassion was beyond belief.
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