Bad Customer Service and Illegal Contract Slamming!
Written: May 17 '04 (Updated May 17 '04)
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Pros: Two-way Radio
Cons: Company illegally writes new contracts without YOUR permission!
The Bottom Line: Nextel had me as a very loyal customer, and then made a bad situation worse due to terrible customer service. Stay away from Nextel is what I tell cellphone owner!
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| jwaid's Full Review: General Reviews of Nextel Customer Service |
I was a very happy user of Nextel Communications for almost 3 years. I would have continued to recommend their products if one thing hadn't occurred...
In February of 2004 I went to work for a new company which required me to use Sprint for cellular service. I wasn't happy with this, but I switched due to necessity. This is where things went horribly wrong, culminating in my filing a complaint with the FCC against Nextel...
The back story:
In April of 2003, after I had moved to another state, I determined that I was buying more minutes than I was really using, and since money was tight, it was in my best interest to switch to a plan with fewer minutes. I called Nextel, they were very accommodating, and switched my plan right away. It was done, nothing else was said. I had zero concerns as I had been off of contract for over a year.
The switch:
February 2004... I make the switch to Sprint, including using the new phone number portability option (Which worked fantastic! I still have my old phone number that everyone knows.). I call Nextel to make my final monthly payment to them, including whatever prorated amount for the partial month I used. Here begins my journey into Contract Slamming HELL...
The slam:
Remember... I had been out of my Nextel contract for over 2 years now, so when I called Nextel I was expecting a bill of around $100.00. Imagine my utter surprise at being told my bill was over $300.00!!!!! Remember that plan change back in April of 2003? Well, it seems that Nextel illegally put me onto a new contract. How you may ask? Well, it seems that a provision of the contract I was no longer legally bound by stipulated that Nextel would put me under a new contract if I changed plans!
Customer Service nightmare:
Now began my customer service nightmare as I tried to get a $200.00 fee for breaking my contract (The new, illegal, one ended the next month!) removed from my bill. I talked to one CSR after another who told me "that's just the way it is" and that they could legally put me under contract without my knowledge and consent!
I asked for the Nextel home office phone number so I could talk to someone in their corporate office about this. I was told they didn't have any phone numbers to give me. "You're the PHONE COMPANY!", I told them. "Find it!", and eventually they did. Not that it mattered... No one ever returned my call to the Vice President of CSR's office after leaving a message.
Totally frustrated, I now filed a formal complaint against Nextel on the FCC's website (Make sure you turn your personal firewall off in order for their online form to work.). Disgusted that this was going to take at least 30 days to be resolved I decided to try Nextel one last time... Side note: I have received a CC of a letter from Nextel to the FCC requesting an additional 30 days for them to "research this issue". Corporate foot dragging at its finest...
Resolution:
After many days of exasperating phone calls and complaints, I finally was transferred to a CSR Supervisor who actually LISTENED to what I was saying. For the first time someone at Nextel actually went back and read the notes from April of 2003 and found that, lo and behold... I was never informed of, nor consented to, a new contract from Nextel based upon my plan change. Gee... I had been telling them that for DAYS! The supervisor removed the $200.00 illegal charge from my bill and I was done. Finally!
Conclusion:
I went from being a total Nextel fan, to actively warning people away from their service in the span of 3 days. Nextel totally dropped the customer service ball, and proved to me that they could not be trusted in one fell swoop. What can you learn from this ordeal that I went through?
1) Make sure you know when your contract expires.
2) When making changes to your plan take notes and save them.
3) Remember that the cell phone company (and most others) take detailed notes which are saved in their corporate database.
4) Demand that the CSR you are speaking to examine any and all previous notes on your account that may pertain to your complaint.
5) Keep working up the Customer Service food chain until you find someone who can resolve your problem. Go all the way to the President or CEO's office with your complaint. These companies try to hide behind Call Center's who lie to you about not having corporate phone numbers.
6) Look up financial and investor data online which will give you the name and location of the Vice President in charge of Customer Service (There always is one.), or the President/CEO of the company. Get the corporate address as well, and call long distance information to get the phone number.
7) Be persistent. You will eventually find someone who can resolve your complaint. These companies bank on your just giving up do to the all of the layers and obstacles that they place in your way... Don't let them win!
8) The squeaky wheel always gets the grease. Be that squeaky wheel! Squeak long, loud, and hard!
9) Contact the relevant governmental watchdog agency and file a complaint if you experience too many obstacles.
10) Tell everyone you know about your bad experience. Post it on website's such as these. Make them lose customers. This is your only method of forcing corporate change. Use it. Use it often!
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 105.00/month
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Epinions.com ID:
jwaid
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Member: Jim Waid
Location: Baton Rouge, LA, USA
Reviews written: 5
Trusted by: 0 members
About Me:
A professional salesman who enjoys the good things in life.
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