In July I received an INTERNET 'OFFER' from BIZRATE for SUNCOM CELLULAR & ATT offering a cellular plan that had 400 minutes of ANYTIME AIRTIME, 4,600 NIGHT & WEEKEND MINUTES, Nationwide Long Distance, CALL WAITING, CALLER ID & CALL BARRING, CALL FORWARDING, CONFERENCE CALLING, TEXT MESSAGING AND VOICE MAIL all for just $30 PER MONTH.
My Husband called SUNCOM and spoke to the store MANAGER explaining that I am disabled, in an electric wheelchair, on Liquid OXYGEN and TERMINAL. He wanted a SURE WAY to contact me when he had to go out leaving me home alone. I have LIFELINE Emergency Services and wear an emergency push buttom around my neck to summon help BUT he wanted to be SURE I could reach him as well as he reach me. The kind lady assured him that this would be IDEAL.
He set the account up and the phone was delivered. From the beginning we found that NONE of the 'FEATURES' WORKED. He REPEATEDLY called SUNCOM and also went into their Office and spoke to them about the PROBLEMS (offfice in the BILO Shopping Center on Bees Ferry Road). They told him that the dropped calls and "please place your call at another time, the CIRCUITS ARE BUSY" message was due to SUNCOM OVERSELLING THEIR SYSTEM. He asked WHAT he was supposed to do about that and received a "we are SORRY' answer. On EVERY occasion either he could NOT reach me or I could NOT reach him. NONE of the 'FEATURES' worked and he asked for help on these also. Continually we received the 'VERZION HELP' when he dialed 611.
In Jan. 03 we removed the Credit Card AUTO PAY feature when we received a bill that was on the card BUT NOT accounted for in the records. Through ALL the 7 months we PAID for this account we NEVER were able to access ANY of the features NOR did we EVER have more than 15 minutes of AIRTIME BILLED. We were charged for 1-800 calls as ROAMING from MY COMPUTER, when the calls were placed I was in SUNCOM AREA BUT when the bill arrived these calls were billed as ROAMING. I was VERY careful and ALL these calls were PLACED from my WHEELCHAIR and I was NOT MOVING.
It took 2 hours with a Customer Service rep to get these charges credited. Over and over he explained that this poor service could very well cost me my life. It got so bad he did not want to leave me home when he had to go to the grocery store, the pharmacy and such. We NEVER received ANY BILLS for months on end and finally in March he called SUNCOM and sent them a CERTIFIED LETTER advising them that "they did NOT PROVIDE THE SERVICE WE HAD BEEN PAYING FOR the prior 7 MONTHS" and That UNTIL we had received the SERVICE WE PAID FOR we would NOT pay for ANYMORE. WHY would ANYONE pay for something they DID NOT RECEIVE?
ALL of the replies were 'we DID provide you 400 minutes and 3600 night & weekend minutes'. TOO MUCH to ask of a company to LIVE UP TO THEIR CONTRACT? After repeated calls, visits and grief we REFUSED TO GO ANY FURTHER. Until suncom provides the services we paid for, we will not pay another bill. That is 7 months of airtime, ALL of the FEATURES FOR WHICH WE PAID.
We wrote the FCC, COMPLAINTS.com, The FBIs INTERNET FRAUD DIVISION since this was an OFFERING WE RECEIVED VIA THE INTERNET and copies will also go to the SC Attorney General. We do NOT use this phone to talk on for FUN. It was a MEDICAL NECESSITY and was so stated BEFORE we signed up.
There SHOULD be a way that everyone that has had problems can ban together and MAKE these companies LIVE UP TO THEIR AGREEMENTS. As of July 21 we have received a letter from SUNCOM parroting the SAME line they have been all along "WE DID PROVIDE YOU SERVICE" and that they have turned this over to collections. We use AOL and have since 1996 at $28.95 a MONTH. We would have been as loyal to SUNCOM as we are to AOL IF they had JUST TREATED US FAIRLY. We PAID for AIRTIME we could NOT use because SUNCOM wanted MORE customers and did NOT have the 'CAPACITY' to handle them. My capacity to be screwed has been terminated. You don't screw up someones LIFE to MAKE A BUCK. GET RIGHT SUNCOM or GET OUT OF BUSINESS!
Kay
Hollywood, South Carolina
U.S.A.
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