MCI = Major Cellular Ineptitude
Written: Feb 13 '02 (Updated Jun 14 '02)
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Pros: Prompt billing
Cons: Reprehensible customer service, Shady deals, Incompetent management
The Bottom Line: Just don't deal with MCI. There are other companies out there who are a lot less corrupt and a lot more competent.
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| TheMonolith's Full Review: General Reviews of MCI Worldcom Customer Service |
Trust your Epinions, friends. I should have remembered to look up some reviews on MCI Worldcom Wireless before I plunged into the hell that is dealing with them.
My MCI Worldcom nightmare started with an early-morning telemarketing call about a cellular phone and plan. I had been in the market for a cel phone, so I was willing to listen to the sales pitch. A free phone, no activation charge, some free monthly minutes, and a pretty decent rate sounded good to me, so I agreed to try out the phone. The salesman on the phone swore up and down that I was in the coverage area. He even checked 'the map' to make sure.
To anyone who has heard about Worldcom before, it should come as no surprise to hear that I did not live in the coverage area. I found this out when I received my phone in the mail and called to activate it. I decided that if I was going to have to pay long distance and/or roaming charges for every call, it wasn't such a good deal after all. The first CSR I talked to seemed to think it would be no big deal to get a return-shipping label and send them back their phone. Boy, was he wrong.
From 3:30 to 5:00 pm that day I was on the phone- on hold, being transferred, dialing about 6 different numbers just to have the hold/ transferring start over again each time. Every person I talked to told me that I needed to call a different department at a different number. After 5:00 pm, they stopped answering the phones, so I gave up. I figured someone would eventually contact me about why my phone wasn't activated, and I could solve the problem then.
A month later, I got a bill from MCI Worldcom for various charges on my phone. No talk time, no activation charge, just various other charges that, at that time, added up to about $3. I thought it was pretty silly, so I called MCI and waited on hold for about another hour until I finally got a CSR on the line. He promised me that he would get a return label sent out to me. He also told me that there was now a fee on my account for early cancellation of contract, but since I had never activated the phone, he would waive it.
Another month passed, and I got another bill- this time for about $30 for various charges still unrelated to my actual USE of the phone. Since I still hadn't received that return label, I sent a certified letter to MCI telling them, basically, that I had already spent too much time writing and phoning them, and I wouldn't spend any more trying to return THEIR unused phone. I also told them that I had no intention of paying those bills.
I awaited a response for about 3 more months. I heard nothing. One day at work, we got a suspicious call from MCI that seemed to be trying to trick us into switching our long distance service to them. Since by now I was hip to what kind of company MCI is, I warned my co-workers what was probably going on. This also made me want to call and see if any progress had been made on my cel phone issue.
When I got though to a service rep (in a comparatively speedy 10 minutes), they informed me that they had no record of any phone call or letter from me since August. Obviously, I was irate. They bounced me around a bit more, and made me call a couple more numbers. In the end, what I learned is that because I didn't return my phone within 15 days of receiving it, they could no longer accept it on return. They WOULD NOT accept it on return. They told me I needed to write a letter to a certain address in Scottsdale, AZ, disputing the charges and explaining why.
So this is where I stand now. I have an unused- and UNUSABLE phone that I can't return. I have $175 and counting in unpaid bills for service on the phone that has never been activated, and they say I must either pay the bills until my contract is up or else pay the penalty for early cancellation. I've contacted my attorney, who says MCI flagrantly misrepresented their service to me when they said I was in the coverage area. I've also filed a complaint with my state's Attorney General.
Update: In April, 2002, after being contacted by my State's Attorney General, MCI Worldcom did finally terminate my contract and waive the accumulated fees. They never asked me to return the cheap-o phone they had sent me 'free', so I tried to see if I could get it activated through another company. What I learned is that not only do I live outside MCI Worldcom's coverage area, but the type of network neccessary for this phone doesn't even exist yet within 60 miles of my home. MCI Worldcom Wireless will say, do, and promise ANYTHING to get your signature on the line. I'm now more convinced than ever that the small portion of the company that isn't corrupt is totally incompetent.
If you've been stung by MCI Worldcom Wireless, contact your Attorney General. In my case, at least, it did seem to help.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): None
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Epinions.com ID:
TheMonolith
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Member: Mike Holton
Reviews written: 13
Trusted by: 2 members
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