*original report (in quotes) written 4/12/07, but not posted until more info received*
"This company is not providing service as promised. Signed up for a monthly plan at $30/month to receive 500 "Anytime" minutes. While they have faithfully been billing my debit card as promised, my phone prompts me to pay them more money even though I have several hundred minutes available under my plan.
I was advised on 4/11/07 by a representative that my account was "messed up" and that it could not be corrected until he filled out a form to submit to their tech people. He advised that he was crediting $20 to my account which would provide me 200 minutes to get by until the issue could be resolved. After making a call which lasted approximately 80 minutes, my service was again suspended by the same recording which prompts me to "replenish" my account with additional funds. I am unable to even retrieve voicemail messages left for me in my mailbox.
Several subsequent attempts to call customer service results in a disconnection after I key in my personal information. I have used different phones to make these attempts, but I still get disconnected just after keying my mobile number and zip code into their system. During all past calls to this number, the waiting time has been 30 to 60 minutes due to "heavier than normal call volume".
Am going out of town on 4/13 for a family emergency. This is the first time I'm truly depending on this company for service, and they are letting me down entirely. I can't even speak to a human anymore, leaving me more or less stranded by them. Their "instant chat" link on their website leads to a que which has lasted well beyond an hour now (am waiting for them as I type this report).
This current issue is only the latest in a long series of this company's failures to deliver as promised. When I first signed up last September, the first phone I received would not access any of the advertised features due to a programming error. I was sent a second phone that is also not fully functional (phone displays "data card not available" when the included USB data cable is connected, rendering it unable to move data to and from my computer as promised). When I emailed them, the response advised that this service doesn't work.
I was also to receive a $100 rebate as part of the purchase agreement. I completed all of the necessary forms just after purchase and have still not received the promised rebate about six months after the fact. The web link I was provided acknowledges that my paperwork was received, but says it is still being processed."
*update with new information below*
On or right after April 12, I was advised by their customer service department that they had a "billing software glitch" that was affecting my account. As it was described to me, all Hybrid Plan customers were being billed as though they were Pay-As-You-Go customers. I was told that this was why my service cut out after 90 minutes or so worth of call time. I was also told that this glitch has been known for several months by them and that I must not have noticed it before because I had previously made only minimal use of my phone.
To rectify this situation, I was advised that I needed to call in to their customer service whenever my service stopped to ask them to credit my account to resume service. This arrangement continued for the last several weeks where I would call in and get a fresh credit of $30 (worth about 90 minutes call time) added to my account. After factoring in my customer service wait times, I was only able to get 3 minutes of actual call time for each minute I spent holding for customer service.
Earlier today, 5/9/07, I was advised by a Kristen in their escalation department that they would no longer provide me w/further credits because their "system" showed that I hadn't paid them since 9/6/06. When I advised that I was looking at my bank statements which did indicate $32.27/month charges for each month since September, she stated that I needed to fax her my bank statements to prove to them that they have been billing my debit card per the agreement I signed.
When I asked her whether this fax would solve the underlying problem of being billed like a Pay-As-You-Go customer, I was advised by her that it would not. She further explained that their technical people are still working on the problem and, unfortunately, I would have to resume repeatedly calling them as I had been doing in order for them to continue manually adding credits to my account.
Amp'd Mobile has been the biggest customer service nightmare I have ever experienced in my life. I wonder how many other Hybrid Plan customers are being unduly denied service because they lack either the time or inclination to spend an hour a week on the phone with them to BEG Amp'd Mobile to honor their own contract. That Amp'd Mobile continues to bill my debit card (I have proof) without honoring their own end of the bargain is absolutely criminal. I simply do not believe a company that can afford millions of dollars worth of advertising lacks the resources to fix a software issue that bills their customers for services not delivered (unless they choose to).
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