Update---Sprint=BBB Complaint

[Anonymous]

Dear Better Business Bureau:

On November 17th 2014 I contacted Sprint in regards to transferring my services from AT&T to Sprint. Below will be a list of what happened in chronological order.

Contacted the sales department to inquiry about transferring service from AT&T to Sprint; The sales rep stated that he would have to soft pull my credit report to ensure that I don’t need a deposit. No deposit was required and I proceeded to ask him if he can call back in a couple of hours so I can talk it over with my family.

A couple of hours later he contacted me and we proceeded; the sales rep stated that he will ship out the HTC for free and as far as the Nexus 6 I would just need to pay for the taxes as well as receive 20% off on any accessories. I thought this was a great deal and proceeded to order the case. He stated that he would charge my credit card $111.11. This was followed by him asking for my AT&T numbers,  I stated that I do not want my numbers ported until I received the devices, he assured me that they would not be ported until I contacted them

On 11/18/14 I received a credit notification through MY FICO which states a hard pull from Sprint was done. I was like hey the representative stated that it was going to be a soft inquiry, this made me second guess the whole transaction. I logged into my bank account and seen a hold for 117.00 dollars from Sprint, not the 111.11. I immediately contacted Sprint and was given story after story. The sales rep charged me 25.00 dollars more in taxes for the Nexus 6 and did not honor is 20% off for the cell phone case.

I asked to speak to a supervisor; the supervisor stated the Nexus 6 was not shipped out so he could cancel that; when I receive the HTC refuse shipment (which I did); the supervisor rest assured that my lines were canceled.

A week or two later on a Saturday my mother’s phone did not work which led us to contact AT&T. AT&T stated that the number was ported to Sprint. How can the number be ported to Sprint when I cancelled the account? I contacted Sprint yet again and they rest assured the hard inquiry would be removed and no further charges will be added! AS OF TODAY I HAVE A 414.90 BILL FROM Sprint.

I have attempted to contact Sprint via phone and nothing has been resolved. I requested tapes be pulled, when they reviewed them they stated that what I was saying was valid and they continued to miss lead me. Every time I contact sprint via phone I am just told lie after lie. I then decided to contact Sprint via email and as of today still no response. I contacted Sprint through Facebook and still nothing resolved (they have been more professional then the via phone representatives. I requested a corporate number and one can’t be provided to me. I have spent several hours, several weeks trying to resolve this issue. Today I asked to speak to a supervisor once I received a bill and was transferred to Brad. Brad stated that the charges would be removed within 72 hours. Unfortunately I don’t believe a word these representatives say.  If you would like the call log as well as the Facebook messages I’d be more then happy to provide them.

I am requesting a “final bill” that shows a 0 balance; the unauthorized hard inquiry removed from my Equifax credit report removed; and some form of compensation (e.g.; monies) for the negative impact on my credit report and the numerous hours and weeks I have spent to try and resolve the issues. Thank you!

Update:

Dear Ms. Brosseau:

Sprint is in receipt of the above-referenced inquiry of Ms. XXXXXX, which was forwarded to the Executive & Regulatory Services department for review. We regret any difficulty that Ms. XXXXX may have experienced while attempting to resolve her credit report concerns.

We appreciate your bringing this matter to our attention. Based on the information provided, we are able to resolve Ms. XXXXX concerns regarding a credit report inquiry.  A letter has been mailed to confirm her request for the removal of an unauthorized credit inquiry through one of the following credit bureaus:  Equifax, Experian, or Transunion.  Please allow up to 30 days for the removal.

We regret any inconvenience that this issue may have caused. Should there be any additional concerns, you may contact us by calling the Executive & Regulatory Services department toll-free at XXXXXXX or XXXXXX.  I am available Monday through Wednesday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Central Time.

Although I asked for compensation for all the hassle (monies, lol) and was not awarded it, I am however happy that this big mess is resolved. I received a final bill a few days ago that shows a 0 balance and now waiting for the inquiry to be removed! 

[RED_Knives]

Sprint has got to be by far one of the worst companies I have dealt with. In general most mobile carriers are pretty terrible at customer service. they all have skilled sales people to get numbers and sales but nothing after that. I work in mobile sales and I have seen it all. the customer service is just plain non existent with sprint, tmobile, verizon, att and all the other carriers. for what ever reason they put a lot of emphasis on sales and nothing else. and most departments don't talk to each other. they know that if they tell you a lie now that someone else will be responsible and will pick up the slack. never trust any of the sales associates from the mobile carriers. if they say something will be done get there names check with the managers and even record the conversations from your own line. because when things get serious like the incidents you went through it will be a nightmare to fix. I have had each service from all the carriers for a minimum of 1 year and got into mobile sales because i thought i could help people, but some of the things I have seen have disturbed me. people always come compalining to me about poor service and lack of customer service from all areas. spring att and even verizon. account issues are a daily thing. people are constantly porting over from verizon to sprint to att from verizon. at the end of the day it doesn't matter they are all very similar. 

If I where you I would just give up now before you spend another 40 hours trying to get this sorted out. mobile carriers simply don't care. I know because I work for them. as for them removing the hard pull or compensating you good luck unless you have a lawyer and another 100 hours to spend on the issue. anyway good luck I hope you get this sorted out. 

if you want less hassles I recommend going prepaid. there are so many fees associated with post paid services(2 year agreements and installementplans[sprint easy pay, edge, next]) and even initiation fees, that for some its just simply not worth it. My brother is using a service called freedom pop that will save you loads of money and you wont need to talk to sales people to get started. take a look when you get a chance. cheers. 

[Anonymous]

I’m not one that takes No for an answer when I am correct. This is an issue I have to resolve; there is a 414.90 bill that Sprint says I owe. Not once did I authorize them to port numbers considering I cancelled everything within a week and never received any devices. As far as the hard inquiry that is something I don’t mind letting go, everything else better be fixed. I’m not going to pay 414.90 for services I never received. As far a cell phone carries AT&T has been great (customer service not in store customer service), the one and only reason I was changing was due to continuous increases on our services. We’ve been with AT&T for over 6 years; receive 24% discount; three lines (2 smartphones, one basic) and our bill is 160.00 which I tend to find high. I appreciate your input and I hope this does get fixed because I have no problem in taking it a step further, would just appreciate if I didn’t have too.

I’m one who is very persistence. In the beginning of my journey (a little over a year ago I had several collections accounts (medical, bank, university, utility) As of today I have a utility collection left which I have not touched, contacted, and will let fall off gracefully in 6/16. Through my endeavors I have contacted front line reps (if I received a no), I spoke to a supervisor (if that didn’t work); I would contact the CEO. I’ve made many mistakes in life which I continue to learn from. If it wasn’t for the forum I would have never known the importance of credit, and I’d be da*n if I’d allow Sprint to ruin that.

[RED_Knives]

3 lines for 160 is not a bad deal considering the good quality service you get from ATT(fastest internet, good coverage). neither of which sprint has. Sprints network is overloaded with customers right now there internet is 10x slower than ATT I would think twice about ever going near a sprint store or sprint anything for that matter. I have also worked for sprint there company is a disaster. they are almost 3 years behind in computer systems and services that they offer. among the big 4 carriers in the US they are the worst. if your willing to comprise service for price which sounds to me like you are since you wanted to switch to begin with. AGAIN cosider Freedompop your bill for 3 lines will be 50 dollars and it runs on the sprint network. can't go wrong for 50 dollars though.

Yeah the fico fourms are great. tons of good info and people who are willing to help. yeah get that bill taken care of. because thats pretty darn expensive. yeah theres such a big disconnect between all departments that when one person says one thing they almost cannot be held liable. do your best and let us know how it works out.

[Anonymous]

OOOOO after my horrific experience I would NEVER go to Sprint. LOL. Defiantly a lesson learned! I was really annoyed because AT&T stated that if I do a two-year upgrade I would lose the bundle (mins/texting/internet) package which was a 25.00 credit. If I did the AT&T Next I would have to pay 25.00 dollars a month for 24 months. Other option was buy the phone outright. Back in April my brother upgraded to the S5 (199.99 plus tax) this didn't change the rates of our plan. The push for AT&T Next has me annoyed. I'm not one who embraces all this technology and change. So my 2 year old tantrum has resulted in the big ole mess with Sprint. Before I attempted the switch my brother kept telling me Sprint is so bad, dont do it, needless to say I didn't believe it. 

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Dear Better Business Bureau:

On November 17th 2014 I contacted Sprint in regards to transferring my services from AT&T to Sprint. Below will be a list of what happened in chronological order.

Contacted the sales department to inquiry about transferring service from AT&T to Sprint; The sales rep stated that he would have to soft pull my credit report to ensure that I don’t need a deposit. No deposit was required and I proceeded to ask him if he can call back in a couple of hours so I can talk it over with my family.

A couple of hours later he contacted me and we proceeded; the sales rep stated that he will ship out the HTC for free and as far as the Nexus 6 I would just need to pay for the taxes as well as receive 20% off on any accessories. I thought this was a great deal and proceeded to order the case. He stated that he would charge my credit card $111.11. This was followed by him asking for my AT&T numbers,  I stated that I do not want my numbers ported until I received the devices, he assured me that they would not be ported until I contacted them

On 11/18/14 I received a credit notification through MY FICO which states a hard pull from Sprint was done. I was like hey the representative stated that it was going to be a soft inquiry, this made me second guess the whole transaction. I logged into my bank account and seen a hold for 117.00 dollars from Sprint, not the 111.11. I immediately contacted Sprint and was given story after story. The sales rep charged me 25.00 dollars more in taxes for the Nexus 6 and did not honor is 20% off for the cell phone case.

I asked to speak to a supervisor; the supervisor stated the Nexus 6 was not shipped out so he could cancel that; when I receive the HTC refuse shipment (which I did); the supervisor rest assured that my lines were canceled.

A week or two later on a Saturday my mother’s phone did not work which led us to contact AT&T. AT&T stated that the number was ported to Sprint. How can the number be ported to Sprint when I cancelled the account? I contacted Sprint yet again and they rest assured the hard inquiry would be removed and no further charges will be added! AS OF TODAY I HAVE A 414.90 BILL FROM Sprint.

I have attempted to contact Sprint via phone and nothing has been resolved. I requested tapes be pulled, when they reviewed them they stated that what I was saying was valid and they continued to miss lead me. Every time I contact sprint via phone I am just told lie after lie. I then decided to contact Sprint via email and as of today still no response. I contacted Sprint through Facebook and still nothing resolved (they have been more professional then the via phone representatives. I requested a corporate number and one can’t be provided to me. I have spent several hours, several weeks trying to resolve this issue. Today I asked to speak to a supervisor once I received a bill and was transferred to Brad. Brad stated that the charges would be removed within 72 hours. Unfortunately I don’t believe a word these representatives say.  If you would like the call log as well as the Facebook messages I’d be more then happy to provide them.

I am requesting a “final bill” that shows a 0 balance; the unauthorized hard inquiry removed from my Equifax credit report removed; and some form of compensation (e.g.; monies) for the negative impact on my credit report and the numerous hours and weeks I have spent to try and resolve the issues. Thank you!

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I've been thinking about posting something in regards to my experiance with Sprint as well. I switched to them a few weeks ago to take advantage of an unlimited data plan they offer if you buy an iPhone 6 upfront at full retail price. I was paying Verizon $100 per month for 3GB of data, which would have gone up if I had gotten a new iPhone with them. Instead I'm paying just under $55 per month going forward.

Here's the bad part of the experience. The guy in the story told me it would be an Equifax pull on my credit. I frankly didn't get care if it was hard or soft since I had 0 inquiries with EQ and I planned to garden. Instead of Equifax I got an Experian pull, which is who EVERYONE but Barclays has been pulling for me. So I may have been double pulled on both Experian and Equifax to see if I can pay a $50 per month bill. Awesome.

The first issue was just stupidity of the guy in the Sprint store. The other issue was more shady. He tried a couple times to get me to sign up for their Total Equipment Protection plan, which I declined very clearly. When I got my first bill he had signed me up for the protection plan anyway. I went back into the store when I got the bill and he showed me on his screen how he was crediting my account and cancelling the plan. I asked him point blank how that could have possibly happened and he played dumb on purpose. He knew I knew that he tried to sneak it in. My guess is for a bonus of some sort.

I waited 5 days and I was still geting charged for that. I got it cleared up within 15 minutes using their chat feature. I debated going back in to talk to the guy after they cleared it up for me, but decided it wasn't worth it.

Bottom line is that they are cheaper for a reason. I think I'm in the clear now and I'm going to be happy in a handful of months once the savings make up for the out-of-pocket to buy the phone upfront at full retail price. However, I don't think the people at their stores are particularly helpful or knowledgable (especially re: credit), they are arguably shady, and their 4G coverage is less than stellar. The CSR I chatted with had her stuff together. That's the only route I'm taking if I ever have another issue.