Cricket
Rip-off! I want my rebate! Cricket customer service is the worst I've experienced. Scam! Visalia Nationwide

I got two cricket phones four months ago. I was supposed to get a $260.00 rebate ($130.00 per phone) after making on-time payments for the first three consecutive months. I must say, I almost cancelled before the first 3 months were even up.

The only thing that made me keep the phones was the promised rebate I had coming. I didn't want Cricket to make out with my $260.00. The customer service was absolutely HORRIBLE.

I called to give my credit card number to their billing service, so I could get a $55.00 rebate per phone, just like the lady behind the counter said I could. Cricket informed me that I couldn't get the rebate, because it is only good if you do the whole credit card thing at the time of purchase.

I told Cricket that the lady who sold me the phone told me otherwise (that I could think about it for a week or so and then call billing services). Billing services simply said that this was not the case. I said, "But you can call the lady who sold me the phone to verify, I KNOW what she said...". Billing services (Cricket) replied, "Oh, it doesn't matter what she said, you didn't go to a "Cricket" store... You went to a certified distributor."

One question: Why bother with the connotation "certified" if the parent company is not responsible for anything the "certified" center says or does? That's not the end of it either...

The next 3 months were rough. The phone that I carried was getting phone calls every day from a law firm looking for "Leroy". Leroy must have owed these guys a lot of money, because they were persistant and rude! They didn't believe me when I said (time and time again), that I wasn't "Leroy". Why? Because according to them, Cricket records still showed Leroy as the registered owner of the phone number I had.

There were about 3 other issues (arguments) with Cricket's customer service over those 3 months that I won't get into due to the fact that I'm tired of typing. The only reason my wife and I stayed with Cricket as long as we did is so we could recoop the $260.00. So what is my problem, you ask. THEY WON'T GIVE ME MY STINKING REBATE!

I called today (Rebate Center) to see what was taking so long. Sure enough, I get some cock and bull story that they can't give me my rebate because one of the phone numbers was changed on one of the phones (LIE!) and the payment due date was changed on the other phone (LIE!). Neither of these statements are true, so I called their bluff. Only problem: The Rebate center can't see account details (imagine that... Pass the buck again).

I'm told the Rebate center needs to re-submit my rebate request to Cricket, and I can expect an answer in 4-6 weeks. I told the rep. That that wasn't good enough. I wanted answers now, because I smelled a scam. I asked for a number for an account manager at Cricket so I could get everything squared away. She told me that it wouldn't do any good, because Cricket doesn't have access to the info at the Rebate center. I asked "... So you're telling me that I can't get an answer from you... Because you don't have my account info, and I can't get an answer from Cricket... Because they don't have YOUR info... What exactly IS your info"? Before she could stutter too long, I asked to speak with her supervisor.

I was on hold for an hour (I refused to give in). The wait was not worth it. This "supervisor" seemed just as ignorant as the rep. However, he was obviously trained in being a little more forceful (I could tell by his tactics). After getting nowhere with him (I'm going to have to wait two weeks). I told him that I would be taking further action. Does anyone know if I can take this to small-claims?

Anyway, it amazes me that a company (scam) like this has remained intact so long. There seems to be no accountability to its customers. I will be suing if I can. I have receipts, records and confirmation numbers for everthing. I don't believe that the right hand (rebate center) doesn't know what the left hand (Cricket) is doing... I beleive there is foul play here, and the consumer is paying for it.

Me
Visalia, California
U.S.A.

Company: Cricket
Country: USA
Phone: 8662742538
Site: cricketcommunications.com

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