Mannerheim Posted July 8, 2007 Report Share Posted July 8, 2007 I recently had a dispute with my cellular phone provider (Sprint) regarding my balance. One of their reps told me that I could go on a payment plan (my monthly bills are 500+ per month). When my service was interrupted anyway last week, I called back and explained that I had been put on a payment plan the day before, and the second customer service rep couldn't have cared less. She referred me to a supervisor, and informed me that my agreement had been cancelled after my call, and that I owed payment in full immediately in order to restore my service. I immediately switched to another provider.I am curious how Sprint might come after me for the balance. I was originally told that if I cancelled my contract early, that there was a $35 per line maximum penalty, and that I wouldn't be bound to the full two years.Does anyone have experience with these types of collections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justincase Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Trust me you don't want or need that ding on your CR's, Sprint is notorious for sending accounts to CA's immediately. If you owe pay it and be done with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sultan Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Mannerheim! long time no see, how ya been man? Nice to see ya.As far as your issue, I have no personal experience with them, but if they made an agreement and then broke it then next day then I'd be nervous of them handling anything ethically or fairly. Personally I'd wash my hands of them and PIF asap to protect my credit. (Of course you could try to negotiate any charges you feel aren't due before settling the account, just a thought)You should swing by here more often when you have a chance now and then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohnstud4200 Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 don't be surprised when the termination fee comes at you for $175 per line, and not $35. I have never heard of a $35 termination fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
txtrouble Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 Hi Mannerheim,I haven't had experience with Sprint but I have had experience with AT&T. This was back in 2003, early 2004. Back when AT*T was first using the GSM network here in the US, service was AWFUL. I had two lines on a family share program. Anyway, billing errors (overcharging for 2nd line) and the fact that about 25% of the time I could make a phone call or a call would be dropped, I caleld to complain. 4 times I sat on hold for over 2.5 hours with nobody answering. I believe a few weeks later I read an article about AT&T apologizing for their customer service during that tmie. Anyway, said screw them and just cancelled. They tried to charge me $350 ($175 term fee for each line) plus I had underpaid my bills b/c they had been overcharging me for about 5 months on the second line. All said and done, owed about $500 total. I sent a few letters and gave up. They've just sold it to CA a year or two ago. Just waiting out the SOL. So far nothing. I do get some phone calls once in a while but that's about it. It does appear as a derogatory on my CR. But I think most cell companies are pretty quick to report to your CR and then refer to a CA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swtguy Posted July 9, 2007 Report Share Posted July 9, 2007 If you genuinely dispute because they overcharged, you could PIF with an endorsement on the back of the check "PAYMENT UNDER PROTEST" and then sue them for the amount disputed. I'd also sue them for any termination fees that they charged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts