Suncom didn't get this one right - Bye bye & so long
Written: Aug 16 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Local Coverage: |
 |
|
| Plan Flexibility: |
|
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
|
Pros: The old AT&T network is good
How they do business they won't be around long
Cons: Terrible Customer Care
No consideration of past customer/payment history
The Bottom Line: Suncom seems to be growing faster than they seem to be able to handle, aquiring Cingular, AT&T, Alltel, etc. Lots of bad reports after takeovers. Be verwy verwy careful.
|
|
|
| buddcoraleigh's Full Review: General Reviews of SunCom Customer Service |
I switched to AT&T wireless from sprint in 2002 because of the lousy service (reception and customer care) and was reasonably happy with the service received. Although not pleased with the bill all of the time and some occasional dropped calls, I was pleased enough to not move to another service and used the phone all over USA and Canada with very little problems or dead areas.
Then I started hearing commercials about Suncom and how “we get it”, which made me think of looking into them. Well sure enough, I did not have to look hard because one day I get a notice from AT&T that Suncom had taken over my AT&T service and the move would take place in the end of July. The change was getting ready to happen, and due to a recent move my bill was late in getting to me and it was past due, so I emailed Suncom asking where I could go locally and speak to someone about my plan that was about to go into effect (which on paper did not reflect the same plan with AT&T) and I wanted to pay my past due bill. The email came back on 7/21/05 with two stores so I chose the closest (8 miles away) and called to see if I could set up a time and was told it was first come basis, so I drove over only to find at least 20 people waiting and only 3 people working the store so I waited for 10 min, as more people came in, and then left to come back at another time. I returned just after they opened in the morning and was the first person in the door so it was quick and easy, in and out. Why? Because I was promptly told that there was nobody there that could discuss my plan and available options and that I should call and 800 number to speak with someone there, and by the way, “we are not set up to take payments yet, not until August 15th at the earliest”. So that was a waste of my time and gas (3 gal @ $2.50/gal.= $7.50) to find out that the tail of Suncom was not telling the head what was going on and they were giving out bad information to their new customers from AT&T. I gets better.
I go home and call the 800 number and in speaking with the ‘customer care agent’ I noticed that the new ‘plan’ form Suncom that was supposed to match the old AT&T plan that was outlined in a notice from Suncom regarding the changes only showed 450 minutes of time when my old AT&T plan had 900 minutes, also it did not show that I had ‘Canada Calling’ feature that was with AT&T. The agent said that it was available but just was not listed on what I received. I explained that I would rather have in writing what my plan contained instead of verbally. She said she could not do it and not to worry because it was in their system and they had to give me exactly what AT&T had supplied. Why they could not put it in writing is beyond me. I then inquired about being able to flex my minutes according to my projected cell phone use for the up coming month, such as with AT&T when I would go out of town on business I would increase my minutes to 900 and when at home I would drop it down to 450 min. and I would add or subtract my “Canada Calling” and “International Dialing” features as needed each month. I was told that what ever my plan was when the change took place that I had to keep that plan as is without changes, or I could change over to a Suncom plan. If I went with a Suncom plan I would now have to change phones as well because of their new system and my old phone would not be compatible anymore. I was told that was their ‘policy’. Hmmmm? Ok, so I can use my old phone under the old AT&T system just fine and with no problems, I have to keep the Canada Calling feature forever, and I can not reduce my minutes from 900, AND the plan is now $30 less per month than when it was AT&T. As well, I was told that when I switched to a Suncom plan that I could not have nationwide calling and I would have no Canada or International calling feature available. What was up with that??? I thought I heard on commercials that you could get those features? Well, the decision I made was to stay put with the “plan” Suncom offered, although it was not fully in writing, rather than going with the new “Suncom Plan” and new phone (I hate putting my old phone book into my new phones as I don’t keep all of my contacts in my phone book on my phones, too many).
Later that day I checked the mail and there was the newest statement, promptly delivered to my new address. So I figured (evidently incorrectly) that I would just pay the newest bill in full and forget the past due bill since it was already way late and waited a couple of days before writing the check and mailing it.
Sometime between the 4th and 5th of August, I tried making a cell phone call and it went directly to Suncom. “Hmmm, this is strange” I thought. I tried another number and got the same thing. A few minutes later my neighbor knocks on my door and tells me that my phone is not working, she had just tried to call me. She said that it said the number was not in service. I told her I had just noticed it and would find out why later. I got busy doing some work and later called the number that it was automatically sending me to and it was Suncom’s Customer Care and they had turned off my cell phone due to the late payment (first and only late payment in 3 years). I explained about the mix up with the mail and my move and that I had sent the entire balance in just a couple of days before, and asked if they could please turn my phone back on? I was told ‘no’ and that they could not turn it on until they received the payment, that was policy. I was told that if I made a payment over the phone they would then turn the phone back on. I said that the check was going to be there any day and that I had not missed a payment in the past and had bills in excess of $1200 in some months and never was late so could they please turn the phone back on? Again with the no and policy routine. I explained that I had made arrangements with a company to move some things for me on Monday and that the only way to contact me was my cell phone as they did not have any other contact information, and that it was after 5 pm on Friday and I could not get in touch with them before they left on Monday morning to travel 65 miles to my house, and that they did not have the address as they were going to arrive into town and call me to meet them and they would follow me to where we were going. I pleaded with them as I had already paid for the move in advance and if they drove out here and did not accomplish the move because of me, I was going to be out the money and would have to pay double in the end. Absolutely no sympathy form the agent, only that it was policy. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that I could not. Disgusted I gave up and hung up.
Ah, Saturday, a new day, a new ‘customer care agent’, and possibly a new attitude? I figured what the heck, give it a try. So I called Suncom again and again pleaded my case and got more or less the same treatment, make a payment over the phone and wait for a refund or have my bill credited when the check arrives at Suncom’s payment center and they would turn the phone back on, otherwise there was that policy thing again. I was again told that I could not talk to a supervisor. Really disappointed, putting it mildly, I gave up and went to plan B.
Plan B was to try calling the company I was dealing with at 8 am sharp and see if they could contact the movers by cell phone/Nextel/radio and have them call me at home on my land line. They said they would try and if they did they gut would call me to make new arrangements for the move. Well, Monday came and went and no move took place. I was out $200 and my safe was exactly where it was that morning. I was seriously bummed and spent the entire day comparing cell phone providers and plans, using Epinions to review all providers I was considering. I was going to get Suncom out of my life for what they had done and how I was treated. I ended up choosing Nextel, primarily because it was not affiliated with Suncom and I doubt seriously that suncom will take over Nextel (now Nextel/Sprint). I don’t see any way Suncom can last when they are loosing as many people as I believe that are because of their customer care service.
Tuesday I woke up determined to have Suncom turn my phone back on or else I was out the door headed to Nextel. I called Suncom again and when the customer care agent answered I immediately asked her to direct me to her immediate supervisor as I need to speak to that person. She replied “Is there something I can help you with?” and I responded with “yes, please put me through to your supervisor, and since you are not your supervisor you cannot help me, thank you”. I was immediately put through and when the supervisor asked what she could do to help me, I told her “you have a decision to make and that is if you choose not to turn my phone back on right now, immediately, then I will hang up and go directly to Nextel and open an account with them and cancel Suncom afterwards. What is your decision, is my phone getting turned back on now or am I going to Nextel?” She asked for a minute and then told me that she “had turned the phone back on and when I powered it on again it would reset and be back in use”. I thanked her and we discussed the facts of what happened. She stated that my service should not have been turned off and was very apologetic. I asked her to review the actions of the earlier agents who ‘cared less’ of my situation and only had “policy” to go by and that their actions had me still thinking about going to Nextel and dropping Suncom. I told her to try to impress upon the agents that “we, as customers pay their pay check and without us they have no job and no Suncom. She agreed and said she would follow up on it. She did offer me a $50 credit for the loss of the $200 for the ‘non-move’. My phone was back working and she recommended I speak to another party at Suncom to review and confirm my current paln options and that that person might be able to give more that the $50 she offered. Well the next conversation confirmed that I was stuck with the old plan and that was it unless I wanted to change over to being a full fledged Suncom customer. That thought really did not suite me well.
And now for the straw that broke the camels back. I last spoke with Suncom on August 8th when they turned the phone back on. On August 10th, I get a letter from Suncom in the mail and what is in side? A “Impending Suspension Notice” dated August 6th stating that I was scheduled for suspension of services if the balance was not paid, offering to take payments by credit/debit cards over the phone, AND that “if you have already mailed your payment please disregard this notice”. Well, well, do you suppose Suncom really gets it? They cut my phone service off 1 or 2 days before the notice is even printed (oops) and then the notice says to disregard it if the payment is in the mail, but the customer (who) cares agent insisted the policy was that it had to be received.
I think you get the picture, and for those who are still reading this novel, I have since ported my old cell phone number over to Nextel and have opened an account for me and my wife with Nextel. Yes I know after reading all the reviews on all the carriers that Nextel will also have its faults, but it seems to be less than the other providers and that’s good enough for me to give them a whirl. One thing for sure, Suncom will never get another dime from me in the future, I will be happy to share my “Suncom we get it” experience with anyone who cares to listen as I firmly believe bad business’s need bad publicity for every ones sake. I have used epinions many times and the feed back helps me feel like I am making better and more informed decisions on how my money is spent. Thanks to every one for their input.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 60/mo
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
buddcoraleigh
|
|
Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.