It looks like I am going to have my credit damaged by a disputed bill for less than $200, but at this point I do not care because, for me, it has become a matter of principle. No company should be allowed to stomp all over a consumer's rights, and that is exactly what T-Mobile/Voice Stream has done, and is still doing, to me.
Late last spring my son wanted to get a cell phone and I allowed him to obtain an account with T-Mobile in my name. About a month and a half later he broke his phone. T-Mobile sent a replacement and we returned the broken phone (it was totally destroyed and literally in pieces) to them in their box, with their label, as per their instructions. I know the phone was returned because I personally took it to the post office. I did not think put the postal receipt in a safety deposit box.in my dealings with other reputable businesses, this had never been necessary.
In August '02 a charge in the amount of $126.74 appeared on the bill. T-Mobile claimed that this was a restocking fee for the returned phone (original cost $49.99), which they claimed they never received.
Through the rest of August and September whenever my son contacted T-Mobile concerning this charge, their customer representatives continued to claim that the phone had never been received. We sent a letter stating that the charge was disputed.
The charge, by now showing past due, remained on ensuing statements.
Finally in October, my son was told by a T-Mobile representative that he should pay his outstanding balance less the $126.74 while they investigated the matter further. He did this on October 25. Then, less than a week later his phone was shut off without any notification whatsoever, either by phone or letter.
About a week later a bill arrived, and this one not only included the $126.74 restocking fee but also a $400 early termination fee.
At that point, I personally began calling T-Mobile myself, an experience that often resulted in ridiculously long sessions on the phone while I waded through the quagmire of an extremely inefficient automated system to reach a real live person. When I questioned why the phone had been shut off when my son had done exactly as instructed by a T-Mobile representative, I was told that "the computer didn't know the matter was being investigated." When I stated that I had not been nofified, either about a past due balance or the impending cutoff, I was told that they usually sent a text message. And I know for a fact that they didn't do this either.
As I continued to try to obtain an adjustment on the account, it became increasingly clear that I was going to get nowhere with these people. On one occasion I was told that they had no record of any of our previous contacts regarding the account. On another, I was told that they had no record of my letter disputing the charge (something they still claim today). On still another, their claim about not having the phone suddenly changed. Now, they claimed they did indeed have it after all but that they received it after the alloted time limit for returns so the $126.74 charge remained.
Toward the end of November, after countless discussions and arguments with multiple T-Mobile representatives, they finally agreed to reduce the $400 charge to $200. Obviously I still did not find this to be satisfactory since it never sould have been levied to begin with. And, in addition they refused to remove the $126.74 restocking fee. My position remained that this was still not satisfactory.
At that point, T-Mobile apparently turned the matter ovver to a collection agency because I got a call from this agency about a week later. The representative I talked with seemed genuinely interested in trying to resolve the matter and after listening to my side of the dispute thought I had a valid argument and agreed to go back to T-Mobile. T-Mobile refused to budge. Each time I spoke with the collection agency after that (I never got th same representative again), I stated that the outstanding charges were disputed, and each time the person I spoke with acted uninformed about any problem, said their paperwork didn't show aa dispute, and agreed to note it.
In the middle of January I received still another call from this collection agency and after we went through the usual You don't have this marked disputed? Well, then note it and no, I'm not paying it I told this woman that I was going to the Better Business Burueau. Shortly thereafter, I received a letter that really made me see red! This letter said in effect that that if I would reinstate the phone service, T-Mobil would reduce the outstanding balance, which in my book is pure extortion!
Yesterday I received a call from collection agency #2. This jerk condescendingly listened to my summary of events and then took great pleasure in telling me that, if I did not pay the outstanding balance immediately, he would report the account as an unpaid debt. As I said in the beginning, this has become a matter of principle and I did not pay.
As far as I am concerned, this is a rip off from beginning to end! The way T-Mobile handled the matter of the returned phone leaves me little recourse because it is my word against theirs as to when it was sent and when they received it. Additionally, by denying that they ever received my letter of dispute, they have effectively taken away my right to ever get that charge set aside because in the fine print they say that they must receive any dispute, in writing, within a certain time frame. Furthermore, the manner in which they cut off the phone service, without any notification whatsoever, says volumes about their complete disregard for fair business practices. T-Mobile may have very competitive rates, slick advertising and a famous spokesperson. But, if they pad their profits in this unfair, underhanded manner, then their customers are going to continue to be the real losers.
Kay
Gunter, Texas
U.S.A.
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