Love to hate 'em since '98
Written: May 28 '07 (Updated May 28 '07)
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Pros: Special deals.
Coverage better than Sprint.
Cons: Customer service fails to resolve nearly all issues on the first call.
Misleading advertising.
The Bottom Line: Visit turn.org and use their cellphone form to shop around.
2 stars, only because they've given me special pricing.
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| elvey's Full Review: Cingular Mobile Phone Service in San Francisco/San... |
I've been a customer since '98. I called to cancel in '01 and was offered free SMS and Wireless Internet Access if I stayed, so I have stayed ever since. Cingular often charges me for that Internet access anyway, and getting the issue resolved is extremely difficult and aggravating.
The cingular staff is/acts extremely poorly trained/informed. I spoke to a couple after getting SMS spam, and none of them were at all cooperative. The spammers owe me $500 , but cingular refused to provide any information about the senders - wouldn't even tell me if it came from their network or not. They told me to unsubscribe, by replying (to a bogus phone #) with 'STOP'. Even the FCC is clued in enough to tell folks that unsubscribing from spam is a bad idea.
Reference (to $500 statutory damages owed me):
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/13/1738251 At least I don't get billed by cingular for receiving the spam, unlike most of their customers.
FRAUD
Their pattern of overcharging is so extensive that it indicates to me a pattern of systematic fraud. For example, here are some issues I've had:
Hold times to reach customer service are usually long (and force me to listen to their annoying advertising) and I am rarely able to resolve an issue with a single phone call, and follow-up is abysmal. It's usually not possible to speak to a supervisor, if the call taker can't resolve a problem. Often, reps will say that they've resolved or will resolve a problem, but I'll get a bill or do research that shows that the problem hasn't been resolved at all.
I got crammed. Cingular billed me $5/mo for ''First Incoming Minute free'' even though I didn't order it.
Want them to help limit fraudulent usage of your account? (Perhaps you don't want to be one of the many folks who receive surprise bills for THOUSANDS of dollars?) Tough. I tried and failed get them to limit overages, International calls, and roaming, or purchases via SMS. They would say they'd done so, then I'd call back to check, and there'd be nothing done and no record of my call.
They're even not above forming fake consumer advocacy organizations - see http://cbs5.com/consumer/local_story_313213713.html !!!
It's really unfortunate that the FCC has allowed one provider to own multiple mobile phone frequencies, like cingular, thereby reducing competition, given providers' very poor issue resolution records.
Some staff is helpful, but unable to resolve long term problems, such as the Internet billing issue I mentioned, or a problem is resolved, only to recur months or years later.
I had to make about 20 phone calls and involve the California Public Utilities Commission in order to clear up billing errors (totaling over $400!!!) after a 1-day (unsuccessful) trial period, when I got a phone for a friend.
I got billed $47 for WAP calls I never made. Rep said cingular would not provide any information to substantiate the usage, such as what IPs or web sites had allegedly been accessed, without a subpoena, and that it did not store any content on pages viewed via WAP, and could not provide any further assistance resolving the billing issue.
COVERAGE
Because new service is 1900 Mhz, it is spottier than Verizon's, which is 800 MHz, but it's still generally good in urban areas. AT&T Wireless customers who don't have new plans or phones will still get that better service.
Cingular's coverage is better than Sprint's in my experience in the Oakland hills over 6 months, where both had poor service. Despite line of sight to a huge swath of the Oakland flats, about 1/3 of my cingular calls didn't go through or dropped; about 2/3 of my Sprint calls didn't go through or dropped.
Misleading advertising - e.g. advertising various kinds of 'unlimited' (data, voice, mobile, night/weekend...) features, but including so many restrictions, which are only found in extremely long contracts that they make difficult to read, as to make the use of the word misleading. Advertising 'unlimited' features that are VERY LIMITED is unethical and perhaps illegal.
Useful links :
http://www.turn.org/article.php?id=427 - Worksheet for Use Purchasing Cell Phone Service
http://www.cingular.com/disputeresolution
http://nordicgroup.us/ssub/sfbaloc.htm (excellent info - used to be at sfbacell.com, but maintainer disappeared) - detailed data on the San Francisco/San Jose/Oakland area.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Utilities_Commission
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Public_Utilities_Commission
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 40
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Epinions.com ID:
elvey
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Member: Matthew Elvey
Reviews written: 16
Trusted by: 1 member
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