I NEED HELP! OK SO I JUST GOT MY SPRINT CONTRACT AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS MONTH MARCH 2010, I WANT OUT!!! CAN I DO IT? OR AM I STUCK BECAUSE IM NEW? THANKS

These operators were very friendly and cooperative. I had no problem terminating the contract even though I had already moved to Verizon and thought I'd just have to pay the EFT. They credited it to me, so that I didn't even have to pay it!
Hello Droid:-)

canceled 3/11/2009. They said you had until 3/15/2009. Took about 20-25 mins, be polite and professional.

Hey guys I just did this and it worked with sprint on 03/08/10. Gave me no trouble and credit me back a portion of my bill. One thing sucked, the termination was effective immediately so I won't have a phone for a day or so.

BUT I WORKED MUAHH AHHAHHAHHA

HELLO DROID

Called Nextel. Explained that I wished to cancel my contract due to the recently added Regulatory & Admin. fees.

Rep. said no deal... You have 30 days to cancel. Time expired.
Escalated to Mgr. - Same response. I explained that the 30 day limit is not noted on any of my bills, she said "that's our policy".

Guess I'll have to ride this out until contract ends in Nov.2010
Then, we're done w/Nextel who's phone selection is very inferior to those of other carriers. They may have good pricing plans but they are WAY behind times when it comes to phone selection. As for Sprint- forget it! Great phones but HORRIBLE coverage.

Chalk another one up to big business. Pretty sneaky.

I thought I did everything right in cancelling the contract, yet there's a $200 ETF fee on my account.

Additionally, there are 3 surcharges listed on my most recent bill:
$7.32 for the Federal-Univ Serv Assess Non-Ld
$1.12 Virginia State-GRoss Receipts Surcharge
$.21 Virginia State-Special Revenue Surcharge

One or some of these surcharges are the basis for my right to cancel, correct? Does anyone know which surcharge in particular I should reference in my phone call to Sprint?

Any help is much appreciated. Sprint has been an awful company to work with for the last decade that we've been with them. I'm not surprised they're making leaving unpleasant as well.

sprint is the best love them

Quickly busy all day...scum...

I am so HAPPY I found this site. I've been wanting to switch to US Cell for a while now but last summer signed a 2 yr contract with sprint. (hate sprint by the way) I called sprint this morning and asked what it would cost to terminate early.....$10 for every month early which would have been $150. Came home, found this site, called sprint and less than 10 minutes later I'm out of my contract and heading to US Cellular. Lucky for me today was the last of my 30 days! Luck is on my side!!! Thanks and good luck to everyone else!

Called 1866-235-1185 and was able to cancel 4 lines with no ETF it worked!!! I cancelled on 2/21/10 which was less than 30 days after the .40 regulatory charge appeared on my 1/24/10 statement.
CSR tried to find out other reasons for my cancellation, but I said I wasn't gonna go into other direction and just stuck to the fact that Sprint had made a material change to the contract by increasing the fee from .20 to .40.
HE offered me a $16.00 monthly discount if I didn't but since I've had soooo many problems with the service for the last 6 months I wasn't gonna go for it.
After trying to persuade me, she finally gave up.... and went ahead with the cancellation.
Thirty days to port number, and they will drop any ETF......easy as that!! (Make sure to get the service reps name and confirmation number!!
Im a Happy Camper!!!

I have been a Sprint customer since 1996. Anytime I needed to suspend my son's phone due to him being grounded, Sprint has helped me on the spot. Whenever my son abused his privileges by buying ring tones, Sprint credited me the charges. I just called to cancel one of my phone lines and since I have been a long time customer, they were great about it and no ETF. I have always been with Sprint and will continue to stay with Sprint. I have always experienced the best service. On the other hand when I first got a cell phone I had Cingular (prior to ATT merger) and before that I had Nextel (prior to Sprint merger). Cingular overcharged me multiple times and when I called CS I was transferred over and over again and placed on hold for hours and never got anything resolved. Nextel just placed me on hold and forgot about me. I have nothing but the best support from Sprint and their Everything Data plan is way cheaper than ATT $119 plan that nickel and dimes you for the additional services which rack your plan up to $150 or more. I pay 129.99 for two phones and that includes everything, text, video, pictures, data, 1500 minutes to anyone at anytime. I have one additional phone I pay $9.99 a month that includes everything as well. Sorry guys but Sprint is the best!!!

thank you
thank you
thank you
this was so easy and it WORKED!
i cant believe it

my bill says "Sprint will charge a monthly fee of 4.99 on all spending limit accounts" can i use this as a way of not paying my 200 dollar shut off fee? also last month i changed my plan from the everything to the everything data 450, will this hinder me from getting out from paying? i need the 200 for a crib by the way...

I called and the lady I spoke to was a bit rude. She said I can't cancel without the EFT because I don't have a spending limit account.

I shall try again today.

i still have 6 months on my contracts but i paid through my bank and not sure if i can cancel since i already paid on billing date jan26...so can i still cancel even if i already paid thourgh the bank?

Is it too late in the game to cancel without the ETF now?? Feb 17th?? I I really want to get out of my contract but I want to port my number. Any suggestions on how I can go about this?

Just to give you a little background on my situation....
I signed my contract with Sprint in August, since then I have swapped my Palm Pre 5xs because it constantly has a "device malfunction" (that's what they call it anyways) I call it a crappy phone....Anywho
I continued to have the same problem so I told Sprint I would like a Blackberry and they told me I would have to wait until my phone messed up again. I had just recieved my replacement phone on Friday and sure enough by Sunday it was freezing up....I especially got upset when I wasn't able to make calls to let my friends know where my bday party would be.....Sprint did not care. I asked them could they at least give me a loaner phone and they told me I would have to pay for it...I finallly reached a nice agent who found a loaner phone for me, however I would have to drive all the way out to Arlington Heights when I stay in the West Suburbs and I don't have a car....My phone froze all last night could not make or recieve calls or txt msgs....it did not work til this morning....
I was told that since I had recieved 5 replacement phones for the same problem that I would be able to get a new phone no problem.....I was on the phone with Sprint on 4 different occassions this morning. The first agent/ manager did not listen to my problem and transferred me straight to a store who told me to come in which I had done all last week. The killer part was that it was in Elston another suburb for which I have no transportation to. The 2nd phone call lasted for over an hour and the manager a male raising his voice at me . The 3rd call I spoke with a woman manager who told me that she had plenty of staff ppl that have the Palm Pre and were perfectly happy with their device. The 4th call was another woman who said her manager would call me back within an hour.
After spending most of my morning complaining to Sprint about my Palm Pre and being transferred from department to dept. I finally waited long enough....their manager was suppose to call me back in an hour which never happened so after 3 hrs of waiting I looked online.....all I can say is Thank you...I've wasted too much time on Sprint...I called back and told them because of the administration fee and the new regulatory fee I was cancelling my contract....It took less than 10 min and I have no early termination fee...I am sssssooooo happy!!!

Talked to Don, very nice fellow, went over my monthly statements and account noted various charges, he made me an offer and I refused. I think my service is going to Verizon.

Thanks to ucan I was able to cancel my nextel contract and it only took about 10 minutes. I still cant believe it.

I was able to put my phone number on standby until March 15, 2010 without paying a ETF. After March 15 I will have to get a new cell number to avoid ETF charges.

THANKS UCAN!!!!!

I recently called Sprint customer service and was on the line with them for over an hour. I've been having many problems with Sprint lately and just recently signed a new contract a few months ago and purchased the HTC Hero. Since then its been a nightmare and I want out!! One of the reps finally told me that they will waive the ETF if I send them the phone. So this means I just spent $200 on a new phone and now I have to send it to them to waive the fee?? The way I see it is that their trying to trick me!! Its just like paying the ETF if I send the phone! Does anyone have any tips for me? I'm planning to call them back and tell them NO, I will not send them the phone!! Please post suggestions. Thanks!

its all very expensive for me!

I called Customer No-Service first, which was my mistake. *2 from my sprint phone, and '0' from the eventual options. The woman I spoke to wouldn't even acknowledge there was a new charge! I also didn't have my bill in front of me, though I knew the name of the new charge (the regulatory charge). She kept insisting I was talking about state taxes that Sprint had nothing to do with. I told her I'd just call back when I had my bill in front of me, and she hung up on me. Typical.

When I called back, I connected straight to the cancellation operators. I spoke to a young woman named Natasha, who was very lovely and gave me no attitude at all. I told her I'd like to cancel my contract and why, she made that standard offer of reduced prices and I declined politely. She then outlined for me that she was noting in my account my reason for cancellation being the increased fee, that there would be no EFT, and to be sure I either signed a new contract or ported my number out by the end of this current bill period.

And that was that! And I'm already into my second billing month of the year, though I told her (honestly) that I was away, did not receive a letter telling me about the increase, and did not notice it on my bill until I got back to check it.

Ten minutes with this young lady and it was all over!

I have had Sprint for approx. 6months. The account is in my mom's name, since I'm only 18 and have no credit (at the time--now I am establishing credit with my secured credit card!!! i love to mention that because how many high school kids do you know already on the road to that well desired 700 credit score!).

I HATE SPRINT. I didn't want to stay in her AT&T line because she was so controlling about what I could add on (messaging, web, etc), and I didn't have a job, so I couldn't really complain.

When I finally got the hang of paying all of my expenses(I worked at 15, and all I had to pay for was any clothes and shoes I wanted, 16 I had to pay that, and car insurance, 17 I had to pay the water bill, car insurance, and clothes and shoes) at one time, AT&T's media plan was so expensive, and it was MY money,so i researched and saw that sprint had a better suiting plan for me at a price lower than at&t.

So I pay the bill(usually in cash at the store)even though its in my mom's name, I was late twice( 2days first time, and 4days 2nd time), but never disconnected.

I HATE SPRINT WITH A PASSION STRONGER THAN THE ONE I FEEL FOR SHOES AND MAKEUP!!!!!!!!!!!

I want to cancel, but the termination fee will kill my pockets. I hate the reception, hate the CS, hate the phones...HATE HATE HATE!!!

What legitimate arguement can I use to cancel the plan all together?? No fees. I don't want to be offered the world, just let go, no fees!

After I cancel, I want to go to T-Mobile, but I want my same number. How can I go at this successfully??

HELLPPPPPPPP!!

--material girl?

I got it done. Month to Month and I do not have to pay the extra $10.00 a month for the month to month service..

i just got off he phone with a representative. He was very helpful and waived the fees no problem. My husband and i have a shared plan as well as a broadband cards and all early termination fees were waived. I was also informed that after the call you are given 30 days to find another provider before your service will be terminated so this allows youtime to make your decision. i was onthe phone for less then ten minutes and am very relieved to be out of my miserable sprint contract. i renewed my contract just 6 monthsago and have had my phone replaced three times since and my husband has a different phone entirely and had his replaced 4 times. it is definitely worth your time and your phone call .good luck

So after a 20min phone conversation, that $.40 increase in regulatory fee...that was supposed to get mailed out in the form of a letter...just so happens we didn't get that letter...gets me out of my contract. I'm now on a month to month basis with Sprint. Our numbers can get ported out at any time....which at that time will end my service with Sprint. Now its time to go get my iphone.

That $.40 increase went into effect 10 Jan, and after 10 Feb you can not get out of the contract due to this increase.

Any one who is having problems getting Sprint yo listen to you here are two Directors and the CEO's contact information.

Sprint Corporate management contact information

Lance Brown

Director Customer Care

+1.800.829.0965

lance.brown@sprint.com

Sprint Nextel Corporation 6500 Sprint Pkwy
Overland Park, KS 66251-6108
USA

Daniel Hesse

President and Chief Executive Officer

+1.800.829.0965

daniel.hesse@sprint.com

Sprint Nextel Corporation 6500 Sprint Pkwy
Overland Park, KS 66251-6108
USA

Rick Beuthin

Director, Customer Service

+1.703.433.4000

rick.beuthin@sprint.com

call them, and call them and call them until they give in!

Netwerkjim

I just canceled my Business account with Sprint. I was connected directly to a supervisor after waiting approximately 10 minutes (I selected the "disconnect service" option from the automated menu). He was very nice and tried to offer $25 per month rebate...like that is really going to work, Buddy! :-) I just reiterated that I wanted to cancel my service b/c of the 40 cent increase in regulatory charges that were showing up on my latest bill.

Thank you so much to everyone who posted here, this site was such a help.

THE RULES REGARDING ETF ARE IN BOLD PRINT.
COPY THIS POST TO KEEP FOR YOUR DEFENSE, SOME DAY YOU MAY WANT IT FOR REFERENCE WHEN DEALING WITH YOUR CARRIER

PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Rules Governing Telecommunications Consumer Empowerment and Fraud Protection

Adopted _______; Effective _________

(Decision __________ in Rulemaking 00-02-004)

IT IS ORDERED that all Commission-regulated telecommunications utilities shall comply with the rules set forth in this General Order

Consumer Empowerment Rules

A. Applicability

I. These rules are applicable to telecommunications services subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction offered by telecommunications carriers, including wireless carriers when expressly included in these rules. Each carrier shall observe these rules when dealing with the public, including small businesses (as defined herein).

II. Compliance with these rules does not relieve carriers of other obligations they may have under their tariffs, other Commission general orders and decisions, FCC orders and federal statutes.

III.

IV. These rules do not limit any rights a consumer may have to pursue remedies for conduct that is not addressed by these rules. Any civil action that purports to hold a carrier liable for conduct that complies with these rules interferes with and undermines the Commission’s policies and jurisdiction and therefore would be barred.

V.

VI. For services offered under the Universal Lifeline Telephone Service program, carriers shall also comply with the requirements set forth in General Order 153, Procedures for Administration of the Moore Universal Telephone Service Act where they apply. The requirements of General Order 153 take precedence over these rules whenever there is a conflict between them.

VII. The Commission intends to continue its policy of cooperating with law enforcement authorities to enforce consumer protection laws that prohibit misleading advertising and other unfair business practices.

VIII.

IX. These rules shall not be interpreted to create a private right of action or form the predicate for a right of action under any other state or federal law.

X. The standard to be applied in the construction and application of these rules is that of a reasonable consumer.

XI.

XII.

B. Definitions

XIII. Agent:

XIV.

XV. One who represents another in dealings with third persons [Taken from Civil Code §2295].

XVI.

XVII. Basic Service:

XVIII.

A. A minimum level of telecommunications service, as defined in D.96-10-066 and as may be changed by later decisions, which each carrier offering local exchange service is required to provide to all of its residential customers who request local exchange service. Also referred to as “basic exchange service.”

XIX. Carrier:

A.

B. Any telecommunications provider subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction. “Carrier” also includes all entities offering telephone services via telephone prepaid debit cards that are required to obtain operating authority or register with the Commission as specified in Public Utilities Code Section 885.

C. “LEC” refers to local exchange carriers; “ILEC” refers to incumbent local exchange carriers; “CLC” refers to competitive local exchange carriers; “IEC” refers to interexchange carriers; and “CMRS” refers to commercial mobile radio service carriers.

D.

E. Clear and Conspicuous:

F.

G. A statement is clear and conspicuous if it is presented in a manner that is readily noticeable, readable, and/or audible, and understandable to the audience to whom it is disseminated.

H.

I. Commission:

J.

K. California Public Utilities Commission, unless otherwise noted.

XX. Consumer:

A.

B. Any individual or small business which purchases or subscribes, or may potentially purchase or subscribe, to any product or service provided or billed by a carrier.

XXI. Consumer Affairs Branch (CAB):

A.

B. The Commission office where California consumers may complain about a utility service or billing problem they have not been able to resolve with the utility.

XXII. Day:

A.

B. A calendar day unless otherwise indicated.

C.

D. Employee:

E.

F. One who is deemed under California law to be an employee of a carrier.

XXIII.

XXIV. Rates and/or Charges:

A.

B. Any amounts to be paid by the subscriber of a telecommunications service by whatever name, including charges, surcharges and fees, that are collected and retained by the carrier. Unless otherwise indicated, “rates” includes any subscriber line charges (also known as the end user common line charge) authorized by the Federal Communications Commission.

XXV. Small Business:

XXVI.

A. A business that subscribes for not more than ten telephone voice grade switched access lines from any single carrier, or an individual who subscribes directly for not more than ten voice grade switched access lines from any single carrier for business use or combination business and personal use. As used in these rules, Small Business does not include a business or individual subscribing to T-1 or greater-capacity services A business is defined by a billed account.

XXVII.

XXVIII. Subscriber:

A.

B. Any individual or small business that purchases or subscribes to any telecommunications service subject to Commission jurisdiction. Also referred to as a “customer.”

XXIX. Tariffed Service:

XXX.

XXXI. A service provided by a telecommunications carrier under tariffs on file at the Commission. Tariffed services also include services otherwise tariffed with the Commission but provided under contract.

XXXII. Written; In Writing:

A.

B. Both “written” and “in-writing” describe materials intended to be read, either in hardcopy document form (including fax) or transmitted through electronic media. For purposes of these rules, whenever anything is required to be provided “in writing” or in ”written” form (e.g., a disclosure, a notice, or a confirmation), the requirement may be satisfied through the use of electronic media if both parties to the communication have agreed to do so. If they have not, a tangible, hardcopy document is required. Carriers’ electronic communications with customers must satisfy the requirements of the federal Electronic Signatures Act, 15 USCA §§ 7001 et seq. and/or the California Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Cal. Civil Code §§ 1633 et seq., as applicable.

C.

C. Rules

1. Rule 1: Carrier Disclosure

a. (a) Every carrier offering tariffed services whose annual gross intrastate revenues, as defined in Public Utilities Code Section 435(c) and reported to the Commission for purposes of the Utilities Reimbursement Account exceed $10 million, shall clearly and conspicuously publish, and shall thereafter keep up to date, its currently effective California tariffs on a World Wide Web site on the Internet. The site must be freely accessible and the tariffs viewable and printable without charge. Carriers newly exceeding the $10 million revenue threshold in future years must comply with this rule not later than 180 days after the due date to file their first annual report to the Commission showing they have done so.

(a) (b) Non-Tariffed Services: For each generally available retail rate plan offered to new consumers carriers shall make clearly and conspicuously make available to consumers in collateral or other disclosures at the point of sale and on their web sites, at least the following information, as applicable: (a) the calling area for the plan; (b) the monthly access fee or base charge; (c) the number of airtime minutes included in the plan; (d) any nights and weekend minutes included in the plan or other differing charges for different time periods when nights and weekend minutes or other charges apply; (e) the charges for excess or additional minutes; (f) per-minute long distance charges or whether long distance is included in other rates; (g) per minute roaming or off-network charges; (h) whether any additional taxes, fees or surcharges apply; (i) the amount or range of any such fees or surcharges that are collected and retained by the carrier; (j) whether a fixed-term contract is required and its duration; (k) any activation or initiation fee; and (l) any early termination fee that applies and the trial period during which no early termination fee will apply. This rule 1(b) is applicable only to carriers offering non-tariffed services whose annual gross intrastate revenues, as defined in Public Utilities Code Section 435(c) and reported to the Commission for purposes of the Utilities Reimbursement Account exceed $10 million.

b. (c) Every carrier shall provide the following upon request by any subscriber or former subscriber for whom charges or credits are still pending:

(1) (1) A description of each service for which charges appeared on the subscriber’s bill, and sufficient information regarding that service to respond to the subscriber’s inquiry.

(2) (2) A toll-free telephone number the subscriber may call to reach the carrier for inquiries, disputes and complaints related to the bill or to any other aspect of the subscriber’s service.

(3)

(4) (3) For any charges the carrier has placed on the bill on behalf of any other entity, but for which the carrier does not handle inquiries, disputes and complaints: the name of the other entity, a toll-free telephone number the subscriber may call, and, for inquiries, disputes and complaints related to those charges.

(5) (4) The toll-free telephone number of the Commission’s Consumer Affairs Branch

(6) (5) A copy of the carrier’s privacy policy.

c. (d) A carrier providing basic service in an area shall provide or cause to be provided the following emergency and customer disclosure information either in the alphabetical telephone directory provided to its customers in that area or by other means that meet the carrier’s and customer’s needs.

(1) (1) The procedures which the carrier will follow during emergencies, how telephone subscribers can best use the telephone network in an emergency situation, and the emergency services available by dialing 911.

(2) (2) Information regarding state and federal laws that protect the privacy rights of telephone subscribers with respect to telephone solicitations.

(3) (3) Telephone number(s) to contact the carrier for any purpose related to a customer’s account or service.

(4) Basic service rates and information, including those for Universal Lifeline Telephone Service.

(4)

(5) The carrier’s legal name, and the names under which the carrier offers regulated telephone service in California.

(5) (6) The carrier’s prefixes within the directory boundaries; where each is located; and for each prefix, a list of all other prefixes which can be reached as a local call.

(6) (7) Accessibility information for non-English speaking and deaf and disabled customers.

(7) (8) For carriers having tariffs or other customer disclosure information on the Internet, the carrier’s Internet address for accessing that information.

(8) (9) The Commission’s Internet address where this General Order is posted.

(9) (10) Information explaining the availability and effect of Caller ID and pay-per-call number, such as 976-numbers blocking options.

d. (e) Service agreements or contracts may not incorporate other information by reference, except for (1) rates, terms and conditions from Commission approved tariffs, (2) information contained in referenced material that is provided simultaneously with the service agreement or contract, or (3) information that is used with formulae identified in the agreement or contract in order to calculate the applicable rate or charge, where all necessary components are readily available from the carrier at no charge. In each case, reference to rates, terms and conditions is permitted provided that the document (tariff section or other publication) containing such rates, terms and conditions is cited in the service agreement or contract.

e.

2. Rule 2: Service Initiation and Changes

a. (a) Carriers shall provide consumers initiating a service with sufficient information about that carrier’s services to enable consumers to make informed choices among services, including availability and rates of the least expensive service responsive to the customer’s inquiry and, in the case of carriers providing non-tariffed services, availability and cost of pay-as-you-go or other service plans that do not require long-term contracts.

b. (b) Carriers offering basic service shall provide consumers initiating service with the following information whenever applicable:

(1) (1) Availability, eligibility requirements and discounts associated with the Universal Lifeline and Deaf and Disabled Trust Programs.

(2) (2) Availability and effect of freezing the pre-subscribed carrier assigned to the account.

(3) (3) Availability and effect of restricting toll calling.

(4) (4) Availability and effect of deleting access to 900 and 976 pay-per-call telephone information services.

(5) (5) Availability and effect of blocking options for pay per use.

(6) (6) Availability and effect of blocking non-presubscribed carrier (e.g., third party) charges from being billed on the telephone bill.

(7) (7) Availability and effect of Caller ID blocking options.

(8) (8) Availability and rates of the least expensive service responsive to the customer’s inquiry.

(9)

c. (c) A carrier offering non-tariffed service shall provide consumers initiating service with information regarding the availability and cost of service plans that do not require a long term contract, if the carrier offers such plans.

(1)

d. (d) For services offered on a tariffed basis, the carrier shall provide the subscriber a written confirmation of the order not later than seven business days after it is accepted, or seven days after the carrier providing the service is notified of the order, whichever is later.

e.

f. (e) For non-tariffed services offered under a term contract by carriers, including wireless carriers, the carrier shall provide the subscriber with a written contract, either at the point of sale or no later than seven business days after the order is accepted. The contract shall include applicable rates terms and conditions for each service ordered, other than those incorporated by reference as permitted by these rules.

g.

(f) Wireless trial period for new service:

(1) When a subscriber initiates service with a wireless carrier, the subscriber will be informed of and given a period of not less than 14 days to try out the service. The carrier will not impose an early termination fee if the subscriber cancels service within this period, provided that the subscriber complies with a disclosed applicable return and/or exchange policies.

(2) This rule 2(e) applies only to early termination fees and does not affect other fees and charges the subscriber is contractually obligated to pay, such as air time charges, governmental fees and taxes and roaming charges for actual use of the phone outside the provider’s network.

(g) No carrier whose service has been cancelled at the subscriber’s request shall re-establish service for that subscriber without a new subscriber authorization. Authorization may not be founded upon any term in an agreement for service that binds the subscriber to again take service from the carrier.

h.

i. (h) When a carrier denies an application for a telecommunications service subject to Commission jurisdiction for credit reasons, the carrier shall inform the applicant of the reasons within 30 days thereafter.

j.

(i) All disputed charges for any telecommunications service are subject to a rebuttable presumption that the charges are unauthorized unless there is (i) a record of affirmative subscriber authorization or (ii) a demonstrated pattern of past use.

k.

l. (j) When establishing an installation or repair appointment for which the subscriber must be present, the carrier shall offer the subscriber a four-hour or shorter period during which it will arrive to commence work. If the installation or repair is not commenced within that period, the carrier offering the repair or installation service shall provide a $25 minimum credit to the subscriber unless the appointment was missed because (1) the carrier was denied access to the premises, (2) force majeure, or (3) the carrier cancelled or rescheduled the appointment no later than 5:00 p.m. two business days prior to the appointment. This credit is independent of any remedies available to the subscriber under Civil Code §1722(c) or elsewhere.

3. Rule 3: Billing, Late Charges and Back Billing

a. (a) In accordance with the Federal Truth in Billing Act 47 C.F.R. Section 64.2401(a)(3)), telephone bills shall be clearly organized and may only contain charges for products and services the purchase of which the subscriber has authorized.

b.

c. (b) Where charges for two or more carriers appear on the same telephone bill, the charges must be separated or clearly identified by service provider.

d. (c) Where a telephone bill contains both charges for basic residential or single line business service and other charges, the bill must note the minimum amount the customer must pay to avoid disconnection.

e.

f. (d) Carriers will distinguish (a) monthly charges for service and features, and other charges collected and retained by the carrier, from (b) taxes, fees and other charges collected by the carrier and remitted to federal, state or local governments. Carriers will not label cost recovery fees or charges as taxes.

g. (e) Telephone bills shall, at a minimum, contain the following information: (1) billing carrier’s name; (2) period of service covered by the bill (excluding services for which back billing is permitted); (3) when payment is due ; (4) late payment charge (if applicable) or the amount to be paid if the payment is late and the period after which it may be applied; (5) how to pay; and, (6) the carrier's toll-free number.

h. (f) Where the subscriber has arranged with the carrier to access the telephone bill only by e-mail or the Internet rather than by regular mail, the provisions of this Rule 4 shall apply to the bill so presented. In that case, the carrier shall in addition provide e-mail or web site addresses for billing inquiries and complaints.

(g) In addition to the billing requirements above, each bill shall include the appropriate telephone number of the commission that a subscriber may use to register a complaint.

i.

(h) A carrier shall not apply late fees from and after the date the carrier receives payment.

j.

k. (i) A bill shall not include any previously unbilled charge for intrastate service furnished prior to three months immediately preceding the date of the bill, four months in the case of intrastate wireless roaming charges on a system other than the subscriber’s home system, and five months for collect, third-party, and calling card calls. This limitation on back billing does not apply in cases involving subscriber fraud.

l.

(j) Carriers shall prorate charges for basic service for partial months. A 30-day month may be used for prorating in lieu of calendar days.

m.

(k) Bills must be based on the rates in effect at the time the service was used. With specific reference to wireless service providers, roaming charges shall be billed at the per-minute charge in effect at the time of use regardless of when the charges appear on the subscriber’s bill.

4. Rule 4: Slamming

5.

A. Purpose and Scope

The purpose of these rules is to establish carriers' and subscribers' rights and responsibilities, and the procedures both must follow, for addressing slamming complaints that involve California's regulated telecommunications carriers. Slamming is the unauthorized change of a subscriber's presubscribed carrier. These California-specific rules are designed to supplement and work in conjunction with corresponding rules issued by the Federal Communications Commission.

The California Public Utilities Commission is the primary adjudicator of both intrastate and interstate slamming complaints in California. A subscriber may request that the FCC rather than the Commission handle an interstate slamming complaint, in which case the FCC would apply its rules, and these rules would govern any related intrastate complaint. Where these rules differ from the FCC's slamming rules, the differences are in recognition of California-specific issues and are consistent with the FCC's mandate to the states.

Compliance with these rules does not relieve carriers of other obligations they may have under their tariffs, other Commission general orders and decisions, FCC orders, and state and federal statutes. Nor do these rules limit any rights a consumer may have.

The Commission intends to continue its policy of cooperating with law enforcement authorities to enforce consumer protection laws that prohibit misleading advertising and other unfair business practices. These rules do not preclude any civil action that may be available by law. The remedies the Commission may impose for violations of these rules are not intended to displace other remedies that may be imposed by the courts for violation of consumer protection laws.

These rules take precedence over any conflicting tariff provisions on file at the Commission. The remedies provided by these rules are in addition to any others available by law. Prosecution, whether civil or criminal, by any local or state law enforcement agency to enforce any consumer protection or privacy law does not interfere with any Commission policy, order or decision, or the performance of any duty of the Commission, related to the enactment or enforcement of these rules.

B. Definitions

Authorized Carrier:

Any telecommunications carrier that submits a change, on behalf of a subscriber, in the subscriber's selection of a provider of telecommunications service with the subscriber's authorization verified in accordance with state and federal law.

Commission:

California Public Utilities Commission, unless otherwise noted.

Consumer Affairs Branch (CAB):

The Commission office where California consumers may complain about a utility service or billing problem they have not been able to resolve with the utility.

Days:

Calendar days, unless otherwise noted.

Executing Carrier:

Any telecommunications carrier that effects a request that a subscriber's telecommunications carrier be changed. A carrier may be treated as an executing carrier, however, if it is responsible for any unreasonable delays in the execution of carrier changes or for the execution of unauthorized carrier changes, including fraudulent authorizations.

FCC:

Federal Communications Commission.

LATA:

Local Access and Transport Area.

Submitting Carrier:

Any telecommunications carrier that requests on the behalf of a subscriber that the subscriber's telecommunications carrier be changed and seeks to provide retail services to the end user subscriber. A carrier may be treated as a submitting carrier, however, if it is responsible for any unreasonable delays in the submission of carrier change requests or for the submission of unauthorized carrier change requests, including fraudulent authorizations.

Subscriber:

Any one of the following:

(1) The party identified in the account records of a carrier as responsible for payment of the telephone bill;

(2) Any adult person authorized by such party to change telecommunications services or to charge services to the account; or

(3) Any person contractually or otherwise lawfully authorized to represent such party.

Unauthorized Carrier:

Any telecommunications carrier that submits a change, on behalf of the subscriber, in the subscriber's selection of a provider of telecommunications service but fails to obtain the subscriber's authorization verified in accordance with state and/or federal law.

Unauthorized Change:

A change in a subscriber's selection of a provider of telecommunications service that was made without authorization verified in accordance with the verification procedures described in state and/or federal law.

C. Authorization and Verification of Orders for Telecommunications Services

Authorization and verification of orders for telecommunications services shall be done in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.

D. Carrier Liability for Slamming

(a) Carrier Liability for Charges. Any submitting telecommunications carrier that fails to comply with the required procedures for changing carriers or verifying subscriber authorization shall be liable to the subscriber's properly authorized carrier in an amount equal to 150% of all charges paid to the submitting telecommunications carrier by such subscriber after such violation, as well as for additional amounts as prescribed in Part 5.H. The remedies provided in this Part 5 are in addition to any other remedies available by law.

(b) Subscriber Liability for Charges. Any subscriber whose selection of telecommunications services provider is changed without authorization verified in accordance with legally-required procedures is liable for charges as follows:

(1) If the subscriber has not already paid charges to the unauthorized carrier, the subscriber is absolved of liability for charges imposed by the unauthorized carrier for service provided during the first 30 days after the unauthorized change. Upon being informed by a subscriber that an unauthorized change has occurred, the authorized carrier, the unauthorized carrier, or the executing carrier shall inform the subscriber of this 30-day absolution period. Any charges imposed by the unauthorized carrier on the subscriber for service provided after this 30-day period shall be paid by the subscriber to the authorized carrier at the rates the subscriber was paying to the authorized carrier at the time of the unauthorized change in accordance with the provisions of Part 5.G(e).

(2) If the subscriber has already paid charges to the unauthorized carrier, and the authorized carrier receives payment from the unauthorized carrier as provided for in paragraph (a) of this section, the authorized carrier shall refund or credit to the subscriber any amounts determined in accordance with the provisions of Part 5.H(c).

(3) If the subscriber has been absolved of liability as prescribed by this section, the unauthorized carrier shall also be liable to the subscriber for any charge required to return the subscriber to his or her properly authorized carrier, if applicable.

E. Procedures for Resolution of Unauthorized Changes in Preferred Carrier

(a) Notification of Alleged Unauthorized Carrier Change. Executing carriers who are informed of an unauthorized carrier change by a subscriber must immediately notify both the authorized and allegedly unauthorized carrier of the incident. This notification must include the identity of both carriers.

(b) Referral of Complaint. Any carrier, executing, authorized, or allegedly unauthorized, that is informed by a subscriber or an executing carrier of an unauthorized carrier change shall direct that subscriber to CAB for resolution of the complaint.

(c) Notification of Receipt of Complaint. Upon receipt of an unauthorized carrier change complaint, CAB will notify the allegedly unauthorized carrier of the complaint and order that the carrier remove all unpaid charges for the first 30 days after the slam from the subscriber's bill pending a determination of whether an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, has occurred, if it has not already done so.

(d) Proof of Verification. Not more than twenty days after notification of the complaint, the alleged unauthorized carrier shall provide to CAB a copy of any valid proof of verification of the carrier change. This proof of verification must contain clear and convincing evidence of a valid authorized carrier change, as that term is defined in Parts 4.F through 4.G. CAB will determine whether an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, has occurred using such proof and any evidence supplied by the subscriber. Failure by the carrier to respond or provide proof of verification will be presumed to be clear and convincing evidence of a violation.

F. Absolution Procedure Where the Subscriber Has Not Paid Charges

(a) This section shall only apply after a subscriber has determined that an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, has occurred and the subscriber has not paid charges to the allegedly unauthorized carrier for service provided for 30 days, or a portion thereof, after the unauthorized change occurred.

(b) An allegedly unauthorized carrier shall remove all charges incurred for service provided during the first 30 days after the alleged unauthorized change occurred, as defined by Part 5.B, from a subscriber's bill upon notification that such unauthorized change is alleged to have occurred.

(c) An allegedly unauthorized carrier may challenge a subscriber's allegation that an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, occurred. An allegedly unauthorized carrier choosing to challenge such allegation shall immediately notify the complaining subscriber that: the complaining subscriber must file a complaint with CAB within 30 days of either: the date of removal of charges from the complaining subscriber's bill in accordance with paragraph (b) of this section or; the date the allegedly unauthorized carrier notifies the complaining subscriber of the requirements of this paragraph, whichever is later; and a failure to file such a complaint within this 30-day time period will result in the charges removed pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section being reinstated on the subscriber's bill and, consequently, the complaining subscriber will only be entitled to remedies for the alleged unauthorized change other than those provided for in Part 5.E(b)(1). No allegedly unauthorized carrier shall reinstate charges to a subscriber's bill pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph without first providing such subscriber with a reasonable opportunity to demonstrate that the requisite complaint was timely filed within the 30-day period described in this paragraph.

(d) If CAB, under Part 5.I. below, determines after reasonable investigation that an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, has occurred, it shall notify the carriers involved that the subscriber is entitled to absolution from the charges incurred during the first 30 days after the unauthorized carrier change occurred, and neither the authorized or unauthorized carrier may pursue any collection against the subscriber for those charges.

(e) If the subscriber has incurred charges for more than 30 days after the unauthorized carrier change, the unauthorized carrier must forward the billing information for such services to the authorized carrier, which may bill the subscriber for such services using either of the following means:

(1) The amount of the charge may be determined by a re-rating of the services provided based on what the authorized carrier would have charged the subscriber for the same services had an unauthorized change, as described in Part 5.B, not occurred; or

(2) The amount of the charge may be determined using a 50% Proxy Rate as follows: Upon receipt of billing information from the unauthorized carrier, the authorized carrier may bill the subscriber for 50% of the rate the unauthorized carrier would have charged the subscriber for the services provided. However, the subscriber shall have the right to reject use of this 50% proxy method and require that the authorized carrier perform a re-rating of the services provided, as described in paragraph (e)(1) of this section.

(f) If the unauthorized carrier received payment from the subscriber for services provided after the first 30 days after the unauthorized change occurred, the obligations for payments and refunds provided for in Part 5.H shall apply to those payments. If CAB, under Part 5.I. below, determines after reasonable investigation that the carrier change was authorized, the carrier may re-bill the subscriber for charges incurred.

G. Reimbursement Procedures Where the Subscriber Has Paid Charges

(a) The procedures in this section shall only apply after a subscriber has determined that an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, has occurred and the subscriber has paid charges to an allegedly unauthorized carrier.

(b) If CAB, under Part 5.I. below, determines after reasonable investigation that an unauthorized change, as defined by Part 5.B, has occurred, it shall direct the unauthorized carrier to forward to the authorized carrier the following:

(1) An amount equal to 150% of all charges paid by the subscriber to the unauthorized carrier; and

(2) Copies of any telephone bills issued from the unauthorized carrier to the subscriber. This order shall be sent to the subscriber, the unauthorized carrier, and the authorized carrier.

(c) Within ten days of receipt of the amount provided for in paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the authorized carrier shall provide a refund or credit to the subscriber in the amount of 50% of all charges paid by the subscriber to the unauthorized carrier. The subscriber has the option of asking the authorized carrier to re-rate the unauthorized carrier's charges based on the rates of the authorized carrier and, on behalf of the subscriber, seek an additional refund from the unauthorized carrier, to the extent that the re-rated amount exceeds the 50% of all charges paid by the subscriber to the unauthorized carrier. The authorized carrier shall also send notice to CAB that it has given a refund or credit to the subscriber.

(d) If an authorized carrier incurs billing and collection expenses in collecting charges from the unauthorized carrier, the unauthorized carrier shall reimburse the authorized carrier for reasonable expenses.

(e) If the authorized carrier has not received payment from the unauthorized carrier as required by paragraph (c) of this section, the authorized carrier is not required to provide any refund or credit to the subscriber. The authorized carrier must, within 45 days of receiving CAB's determination as described in paragraph (b) of this section, inform the subscriber and CAB if the unauthorized carrier has failed to forward to it the appropriate charges, and also inform the subscriber of his or her right to pursue a claim against the unauthorized carrier for a refund of all charges paid to the unauthorized carrier.

(f) Where possible, the properly authorized carrier must reinstate the subscriber in any premium program in which that subscriber was enrolled prior to the unauthorized change, if the subscriber's participation in that program was terminated because of the unauthorized change. If the subscriber has paid charges to the unauthorized carrier, the properly authorized carrier shall also provide or restore to the subscriber any premiums to which the subscriber would have been entitled had the unauthorized change not occurred. The authorized carrier must comply with the requirements of this section regardless of whether it is able to recover from the unauthorized carrier any charges that were paid by the subscriber.

[Comment: Nothing in these Part 5 rules is intended to prohibit a subscriber and an alleged unauthorized carrier from making mutually-agreeable arrangements for compensating the subscriber and restoring the service to the authorized carrier without the subscriber's having to file a complaint with CAB; provided, however, that the alleged unauthorized carrier must first have informed the subscriber of the 30-day absolution period and the subscriber's right to file such a complaint.]

H. Informal Complaints

The following procedures shall apply to informal complaints to the Commission alleging an unauthorized change of a subscriber's preferred carrier, as defined by Public Utilities Code § 2889.5 or the FCC's slamming rules.

(a) Address: Complaints shall be mailed to:

Slamming Complaints

Consumer Affairs Branch

California Public Utilities Commission

505 Van Ness Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94102

(b) Form: The complaint shall be in writing, and should contain: (1) the complainant's name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address (if the complainant has one); (2) the names of the alleged unauthorized carrier, the authorized carrier, and the executing carrier, if known; (3) the date of the alleged unauthorized change, if known; (4) a complete statement of the facts (including any documentation) showing that the carrier changed the subscriber's preferred carrier without authorization; (5) a copy of the subscriber's bill which contains the unauthorized changes; (6) a statement of whether the complainant has paid any disputed charges to the alleged unauthorized carrier; and (7) a statement of the specific relief sought.

(c) Procedure:

(1) The CAB staff will acknowledge receipt of subscriber's complaint and inform the subscriber of the procedures for resolving it.

(2) The CAB will notify the executing carrier, the authorized carrier, and the alleged unauthorized carrier of the alleged unauthorized change.

(3) The CAB staff will require the alleged unauthorized carrier to produce evidence of authorization and verification, and any other information or documentation the CAB staff may need to resolve the subscriber's complaint. The alleged unauthorized carrier shall provide evidence of subscriber authorization and verification within ten business days of CAB's request. If evidence of authorization and verification is not provided within ten business days, a presumption exists that an unauthorized change occurred, and CAB staff will find that an unauthorized change did occur.

(4) Upon request by the CAB staff for information other than the subscriber authorization and verification, the alleged unauthorized carrier shall provide such information within twenty days of CAB's request or provide a written explanation as to why the information cannot be provided within the required twenty days and an estimate of when it will provide the information.

(5) The CAB staff will determine whether an unauthorized change has occurred. CAB's investigation may include review of the alleged subscriber authorization, verification, solicitation methods and materials, and any other information CAB staff determines is relevant to the investigation.

(6) Upon concluding its investigation, the CAB staff will inform the subscriber, the executing carrier, the alleged unauthorized carrier, and the authorized carrier of its decision.

(d) Appeals:

(1) If the subscriber is not satisfied with the CAB staff decision, the subscriber may appeal the decision to a Consumer Affairs Manager. The subscriber shall present new information or explain any factual or legal errors made in the CAB staff decision.

(2) If the subscriber is not satisfied with the resolution of the complaint by the Consumer Affairs Manager, the subscriber may file a formal complaint with the Commission according to the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure, Article 3.

(3) If the CAB staff finds that an unauthorized change has occurred but the unauthorized carrier disagrees and pursues billing or collection against the subscriber, CAB staff will forward this information to Commission's enforcement staff and advise the subscriber to file a formal complaint.

I. Reports

Carriers shall provide to the Director of the Commission's Consumer Protection and Safety Division the reports carriers submit to the FCC in compliance with the FCC Slamming Rules. Carriers shall provide these reports to Consumer Protection and Safety Division at the same time the reports are provided to the FCC.

6.

7.

8.

Rule 5: Contract Changes

a.

A carrier shall not modify a subscriber’s term contract in a manner that is materially adverse to the subscriber without providing reasonable advance notice of the proposed modification and allowing the subscriber at least 14 days after receipt of the notice to cancel the contract with no early termination fee.

b.

9. Rule 6: Service Termination

a. (a) Providers of basic service shall provide notices in writing to subscribers whose payments are overdue not less than 7 calendar days prior to terminating service for nonpayment. A minimum of one written termination notice shall include:

(1) (1) Information sufficient for the subscriber to identify what service(s) are to be terminated, and the delinquent amount(s). If basic service is to be disconnected, the notice shall state the minimum amount that must be paid to retain basic service.

(2) (2) The date by which payment, or arrangement for payment, must be made to avoid termination.

(3) (3) A toll-free telephone number to reach a carrier service representative who can provide subscriber assistance.

b. (b) Basic exchange service may not be disconnected on any day carrier service representatives are not available to assist subscribers.

c. (c) The notice and disconnection requirements of Rules 6 and 8 do not apply where the subscriber’s acts or omissions demonstrate an intention to defraud the carrier, or threaten the integrity or security of the carrier’s operations or facilities.

d. (d) Carriers of last resort may not disconnect basic residential or single line business service, either flat rate or measured rate, as defined in D.96-10-066, Appendix B, page 5, for nonpayment of any charge other than non-recurring or recurring charges for that same service, including mandated surcharges and taxes calculated on that service. Mandated surcharges do not include charges that the carrier may elect to recover.

e. (e) Where a provider of basic service offers and a subscriber agrees to an alternative payment plan, the provider must provide confirmation of the terms in writing, if the subscriber so requests.

f.

g. (f) Every provider of basic service shall comply with the rules adopted by the Commission in D.91188 regarding service denial or disconnection for use of telecommunications service in violation of the law.

10.

11. Rule 7: [Reserved]

12.

13.

14.

15. Rule 8: Billing Disputes

a. (a) In the case of a billing dispute between a subscriber and a carrier, the carrier shall investigate the charge(s) the subscriber has informed the carrier are in question, and shall communicate with the subscriber within 30 days. From the date the customer notifies the carrier of a billing dispute and during the time the carrier’s investigation is pending, no late charges or penalties may be collected, the charge may not be sent to collection, and no adverse credit report may be made based on non-payment of the charge. If the subscriber prevails, then the subscriber shall not be liable for any late charge or penalty on the amount in dispute.

b. (b) A provider of basic service may not disconnect service to a subscriber by reason of non-payment of the disputed amount before seven calendar days after the date the carrier notifies the subscriber of the results of its investigation. In no event shall the carrier disconnect service prior to the due date shown on the bill, except when the carrier is in possession of substantial, credible evidence of fraudulent use.

c. (c) A carrier shall not provide, as a term or condition of service, for a choice of law other than that of California, for a forum for the adjudication of disputes located in a county other than the California county in which the subscriber is billed or which is the subscriber’s primary place of use of the service, or for any limitation of the right of subscribers to bring complaints to the commission or any other agency. Carriers shall not by contract hold subscribers liable for carrier costs resulting from complaints before the Commission, or another agency.

16.

17. Rule 9: [Reserved]

18. Rule 10: Consumer Affairs Branch Requests for Information

a. (a) Every carrier shall designate one or more representatives to be available during regular business hours (Pacific time) to accept Consumer Affairs Branch inquiries and requests for information regarding informal complaints from subscribers. Every carrier shall provide to the Consumer Affairs Branch and keep current its list of representative names, telephone numbers and business addresses.

b.(b) To the extent permitted under state or federal law, every carrier shall provide all documents and information Consumer Affairs Branch may request in the performance of its informal complaint and inquiry handling responsibilities, including but not limited to subscriber-carrier service agreements and contracts, copies of bills, carrier solicitations, subscriber authorizations, correspondence between the carrier and subscriber, applicable third party verifications, and any other information or documentation. Carriers shall provide requested documents and information within a reasonable period of time.

c. (c) Nothing in these rules shall limit or expand the lawful authority of the Commission or any part of its staff to obtain information or records in the possession of carriers when they determine it necessary or convenient in the exercise of their regulatory responsibilities to do so.

19. Rule 11: Employee Identification

a. (a) Every carrier shall prepare and issue to every employee who, in the course of his or her employment, has occasion to enter the premises of subscribers of the carrier or applicants for service, an identification card in a distinctive format having a photograph of the employee. The carrier shall require every employee to present the card upon requesting entry into any building or structure on the premises of an applicant or subscriber.

b. (b) Every carrier shall require its employees to identify themselves at the request of any applicant or subscriber during a telephone or in-person conversation, using a real name or other unique identifier.

c. (c) No carrier shall misrepresent, or allow its employees to misrepresent, its association or affiliation with a telephone carrier when soliciting, inducing, or otherwise implementing the subscriber’s agreement to purchase products or services, and have the charge for the product or service appear on the subscriber’s telephone bill.

20.

21. Rule 12: Emergency 911 Service

All carriers providing end-user access to the public switched telephone network shall, to the extent permitted by existing technology or facilities and in accordance with all applicable Federal Communications Commission orders, provide every residential telephone connection, and every wireless device technologically compatible with its system, with access to 911 emergency service regardless of whether an account has been established. No carrier shall terminate such access to 911 emergency service for non-payment of any delinquent account or indebtedness owed to the carrier.

I've been on the phone for an hour and most reps are nice but clueless about corporate accounts. I'd like to switch from business to consumer on a month to month , then port numbers over with no ETF. I thought there was no ETF on month to month plans, could this be my loophole? Please advise if any one knows!

I'm FREE!!!! I"m Free!

I call into the regular customer service number and asked the rep to verify the notes that were written on the case. She read them back, apparently the previous rep, Tequila said that I just wanted to have my terms changed, that I wanted my rates changed, but did not say anything about the material charges. I asked Tamara to please note my case to reflect the REAL reason I was leaving. She did and stated that she will still have to transfer me to the cancellation department. *Now this is key, when they go into the whole spiel about receiving an issued resolved call, ask them to send you an email instead. Then you have a record of who you spoke with at Sprint and what time you called... just in case their records do not reflect the same thing. Also you have a DIRECT email to that reps supervisor.* She was very nice, I told her that since I was porting my number, I wanted to make sure that she got credit for her great customer service. She sent the email IMMEDIATELY. I was transferred to Gil (#GVILA02). He went into the whole retaining script " blah, blah blah." Told him that yes I was leaving over .20 cents.
He said "that can't be the whole reason, I think that you just want out of your contract. I think that I could offer you free service and you would still want to go."
I told him that "I have the right and I want out. You can't offer me free service anyway. It's just the principle of the whole thing."

He said that it was notated.

I have transferred my serivce to Straight Talk (verizon) until I can find a new provider.

I'm free!! Once again, just stick to your guns and let them know that you HAVE THE RIGHT to be released from your contract.

I bet they wish they wouldn't have done that 4.99 thing now... I can't wait to see what the earnings for the first qtr. look like.

So long SPRINT! It's been hell.

I called and told the guy what I was doin and why and he must have just got off the phone with 20 other people doingthr same thing as he told me what is the real reason on why I am leaving and I told him sprin sucks and I thik it's messed up hey are changing somethig on there contract so he let me do it and he said I would have to dispute the ETF . So I called 20 min later and told another guy what's up and I am porting y number out tomorrow and to note it on my account. I went and go 2 iPhones wiu AT&T and it is great service! So icalledthr next day and asked to make sure I was done corrctly and the lady told me just the guy already waived the ETF and he wasn't supposed to as your supposed to dispute it. So now I have nothig to wiry about. They of course offered me all kinds of things the first guy offered me to take 10 bucks off my bill for 12 minus and I said No hankyou lol

very easy. Everyone say goodbye to sprint there wireless signal sucks so bad

So, first, I have to start out with the fact that I was happy with Sprint, no issues with them at all. The only thing with them is for a number of years, while Treos were dominating the market, Sprint had the best phones. Since then, they are always getting outbid on phones, and never get any cutting edge technology IMO.

That being said, I decided to cancel my contract with them so I could start a clean slate. I first attempted through CHAT, which as others have noted, they were unwilling to do. Here is a snippet of the chat.

9:07:56 AM : thompson: I note in the contract I signed with you, it states that I am not responsible for paying an Early Termination Fee when terminating Services in response to a materially adverse change we make to the Agreement as described directly below. Below it states that if a change Sprint makes to the Agreement is material and has a material adverse affect on me, I may terminate each line of Service materially affected without incurring an Early Termination Fee only if I: (a) call us within 30 days after the effective date of the change; and (b) specifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement that we have made. Since my bill date is January 7th, I am within that period. I note that I believe I currently have a $180 Early Termination Fee as of right now. I would like to terminate my contract without an Early Termination Fee and move to a month to month contract with you. Is that possible?

9:09:19 AM : Bruce K: Thank you for being online. Beginning 1/1/10, the Regulatory Charge is increased from $0.20 to $0.40 per subscriber, per month.

9:10:29 AM : Bruce K: You need to contact our account services department at 888) 211-4727 for further assistance as this department deals with Early Termination Fee issued.

9:10:56 AM : thompson: OK. Thank you. I will do that.

Before calling the number that they provided, I attempted to call the 888 567-5528 you listed above. That number was no longer working. Calling the (888) 211-4727 they gave me, I spoke to a rep and asked if I could get out of my contract with them and get into a month to month. He said they would not do that, and I had to cancel my service to get out of the contract. I understood that, because the writing of the contract does state "pecifically advise us that you wish to cancel Services because of a material change to the Agreement" CANCEL not CHANGE. However, me being on the everything plan for $100 a month having been with sprint for years, never being late or missing any payments, and upgrading my phone once a year like clockwork, you would think they would want to keep me. I thought it weird that they would let me go so easily, but again, I am assuming they figured I wasnt going anywhere.
Well, I called Verizon, and while they are more expensive, at least they have some better phones. Coupled with the fact that through my wifes work, I have a few phones to use at my disposal, I could get into Verizon without a two year contract. I got set up on a month to month, ported my number over, and within a couple of hours, my phone with Verizon was now working and my Sprint one was done.
I called Sprint today and spent less than ten minutes on the phone with them. They are letting me out of my contract, no early termination fee, and because my account has a zero balance on it right now, I will not receive any other bills from them.
I will of course update you if anything changes, but I do have to say, it was completely painless on my part.

I called and talked to Tequila (user id# TE321564) who stated that you can't opt out of your contract until you are going to port out your numbers. She stated that people were opting out and saying they were going to go to another carrier and never left, so that's why they will not marked your contract as fufilled. I am not giving up. I will call back and see if I can get another rep.
I am not posting this as a horror story, I just posting this so you know what you may be dealing with when you get someone on the phone. The good thing is with Sprint is that two different representatives will give you two different answers. Hang in there and stick to your guns.

i have a different story..

recently i had a big night mare w/sprint...someone had been hacking and using my service to call international...other words i've been a victim of a big fraud...last monday i called them to check a certain call..just to make sure if i'm familiar w/that number or something....anyways the CS she really nice to me...i kinda play around w/her...i told her,i really want my son to have a phone...i know i have this plan that they don't offer any more (free income calls)....so my problem if i add service..i have no choice is to change my plan.....and i don't want that.......anyhow i told her maybe as a courtesy...maybe they could offer me something WITHOUT affecting my current plan....anyways so she offer me $9.99 for additional service....so i told her to please make a note on my accn't that she offer me that(like a evidence)...so she did....anyhow.....a day after things change....they said that they had a mistake(BS)..i was pissed cz i spend hrs of hrs to get a new phone and that plan...grrrrr...so i told them cancel both of my service..without me costing a thing...cz they are playing games w/me...i mean thank godness i told that rep...to make a note on my accn't atleast they know...i'm not just dreaming that they offer me that.....trust me i speak w/their supervisor....seems like he doesn't care if i cancel.....so i went back to their store to return their phone....they give me my money back....STILL have to cancel my main line....so i have to called them AGAIN......GUESS what?? another story again.....they were trying to save my business....the last CS.told me that their CS cannot treat me that way(oh well they did)..she told me that she will talked to their main boss(whatever?) and they will get back w/me....and promise me that they will do there best to give what they offer me....if they had mistake its not my fault..but they still have to honor it......anyways they said they will get back w/me within 24hrs....so they have 5hrs from now to responce.......if ever, i have no choice is to cancel them.....if they charge me w/ETF....i will probably file a law suit against them.....wish me luck :)

I called yesterday. I was on the phone for about 20 mins. I explained due to the increase in rates and the new $4.99 spending limit charge I would like to cancel my plan. I was polite and the lady was very nice. She offered other options but I still insisted on canceling. That was all.

Hey all -

Trying to get out of my Sprint plan, I spoke with a rep at Sprint who stated that since I am not cancelling both lines (husband and I are divorcing, I already have a new #) I am not eligible to waive my cancellation fee due to the increase in regulatory charge.

Has anyone run into this problem and been successful cancelling without having to pay?

Thanks.

I sent an email to sprint after getting nowhere with the CSRs I talked to. I got this reply today

I do see you spoke to someone on the 19th. Regarding the ASL fee. Now if you do enroll in auto pay Sprint will waive the fee. If you choose not to enroll in auto pay we can waive the ETF for you within 30 days of the bill you were first charged.

After 18 months of service and 12 consecutive current payments you can be removed from the ASL program.

Please let me know if you would like to cancel service but be aware that we can not remove the contract.

www.sprint.com/termsandcondtions

After getting this email I decided to call account services and see if instead of canceling they could just give me some kind of deal on the unlimited plan, they want 99.99 and I'm seeing other companies offering their plans allot less. They wouldn't bite on that one, said that its just voice unlimited and they come out more expensive than sprint with all the data charges. How can I get them to upgrade my 69.99/month to the 99.99/month plan but stay at 69.99 a month or less?? Anyone have any advice?

I've been with Sprint 1.5 years. I just called Sprint and pressed the appropriate numbers for service disconnect.... I stated that I wish to terminate my service with sprint due to the increase in regulatory fee's and also the spending limit fee. He placed me on hold and came back on the line telling me that I would have to call back when I port my number. I told him that I've already signed up with AT&T and chose not to port my number. He placed me back on hold and told me that i may have to call in if it show's on my bill!

also....i do receive sprint empl. discount for military & home depot employment (except they originally denied me b/c I had their simply everything plan)

THIS IS WORTH THE CALL!

That was so easy! 10 quick minutes to avoid over $300 in cancellation fees! The customer service rep was very nice - did offer to lower my monthly bill to get me to stay with sprint (unfortunately, my problems were more related to spotty coverage). Also offered to let me keep my number free of charge. No problems whatsoever!

20 minutes and done! A 20 minute call is all it took! They offered me the world, offered to lower my $129 monthly bill down to $39 a month to keep me. But I'm so sick of Nextel I said no. Zero ETF!

Anyone who is looking to cancel there Sprint Account can call me at 209.598.6551 and I will put you or your business on the best plans on the market today offered by T-Mobile saves money ove Sprint, AT&T and Verizon.

ray.bragg@t-mobile.com

On friday i called and the rep offered me a $20 credit a month if i sign a new contract. i declined and asked if i could cancel be switched to a month to month. I told him i wanted to shop around and there is a possibility i would be coming back. He checked with his manager and said no problem. then said if i do come back and sign a contract they would still give me the $20 a month credit. When i hung up i checked my contract exp. date online and it said full filled with fridays date on it. Just be nice and usually the rep will be nice. REMEMBER MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO CALL IN THINK THAT SPRINT WILL TRY TO SCREW YOU! JUST BE NICE AND STICK TO YOUR GUNS!

I'm the one who wrote "that was easy!"

Just wanted to add that they didn't "offer me the world" as some other people said they would. I wanted to get them to just reset my eligibility dates, so I could get better phones - but they wouldn't. and they wouldn't put me on a month-to-month either. My only option was to cancel.

So be sure that you are ready to cancel before you call. They may not be making deals.

Holly Sh....t people!!

I had no idea that this was all about and then I looked at my last Sprint bill and saw the note that says that my regulatory charges are going up. I dialed Spint's Customer Service and told them that I'm calling about these charges and that I want to cancel. They said OK. That's it!!!

They also said that Sprint customers are being given until March to cancel. So that gives me time to look around and find something better.

However. as people said earlier you need to tell them to make a note on your account and then call them once you get your final statement to waive the ETF.

i just got off of the phone with the fourth sprint person they all tried telling me that it wasnt true and that i couldnt cancel and if i wanted to cancel that would b a 200 dollar fee i said thats bs ur adding this outragous fees just bc im not allowing u to dip into my bank account when ever the hell u want that is uncool then i pay insurance for my phones then have to pay a deductable when the phone gets messed up and not my fault i am deffiently telling everyone that i kno that is un happy with there phones with sprint about this fee crap. oh and then the representative tried to shove down my throat that i have had my new phone that i shouldnt have purchased three days over thirty days which by the way crapped out with in the thirty days and tried to have me pay for a deductable even tho it was with in the thirty days when it happend plus i was paying the insuranc what is the point of insuranc if your going to make me pay for a new phone ne way..... no becareful when u call to cancel expect some delays and being put on hold bc there are alot of ppl pissed off and canceling i tell u id rather b put on hold then spend any more time with sprint.....

Ive been with Sprint for 6 years, never really had a problem with them..but when they started sneaking stupid little charges here and there it took the 4.99 asl fee to send me overboard. TIME TO LEAVE.

Heres what I did. I first chatted online with a rep, and basically she told me what some of you said on here, you have the option to get rid of that fee if your account is on autopay... Its like Im being charged extra for something I can do myself! NO THANKS!! I like to be in control of my money..at all times. Im grown and can pay my own bills. I don't need to be charge 5 freaking dollars if I choose to do so!

Then they told me that ASL are credit based...meaning if you have crappy or no credit youre going to have one of these. REGARDLESS how long you have been with Sprint! So basically you have to be a billionaire with a mountain of money in order to not have this added to your bill...I don't know about the rest of you...but isn't that discrimination? I THINK SO! If your gonna add a charge like this to ASL holders why not do it to ALL sprint customers...Hell I think those people who have the money can afford to dish out the extra 5 bucks. I mean I know its just 5 bucks, but Its like robbing from the poor and giving to the rich. What the hell are these companies coming to! So needless to say, I told them I was offended by their decision to charge those with ASL (coz a credit bureau decided you weren't good enough to have enough credit with sprint) and I felt like this was a discrimitave decision and I didn't want to do business with them anymore! As of the 31st. I will NO longer be a customer of Sprint and I wasn't charged an ETF...for either phone lines under my account :)

The account rep tried so hard, he really did...but I just wasn't having it. It WILL work. Good Luck.

I would like to thank all the people who helped to gather this info and get me out of a terrible contract!!

called 611 from my sprint phone, took about 20mins offered me everything to stay said no....bye bye sprint

Does the same apply to the new $4.99 charge for having an account with a spending limit? That went into effect for me on 1/10/10.

I called 888-567-5528 several times tonight (11 January 2010) from my Sprint phone and got a busy signal. This was both with and without a preceding "1."

Anyone else have better or different luck?

They must be getting a tom of calls on this. No hassel what so ever. Gave me a confirmation number and stated that when I get the bill for the ETF to call back and they will waive it.

My grandmother and I are on a shared family plan. She wants me off of it, and to pay for the bill on my own. I can't afford the plan on my own. So if she just drops me off the plan, will there be a termination fee?

Yes-

I have 2 employment discount- military and university.

The rep even mentioned both when I said I wanted 20% discounted on my bill, so I am sure they are giving you the g0-around.
call again

I just called and the customer service agent said that I cannot cancel because since I use an employee discount, this increase doesn't affect me.

Has anybody else who used an employee discount with Sprint been able to terminate their contract without an ETF?

I have a contract with Verizon that I need to be released from, will this now regulation work for me? Has anyone else out there tried this with Verizon?

How does this affect Verizon customers? can I end my contract too because of this new regulation?

I called 3 times and all 3 times they were willing to cancel my contract. Since Im happy with sprint, I kept calling to see if they could one-up their offer. I ended up getting my $70 plan cut down to $40!

Eventhough my will doesnt say my fees went up, I just called them and said so....all 3 times they said it was ok and were willing to cancel my contract.
good luck

We have a business account with 15 lines. has anyone canceled their Business account with this clause yet?

We have a business account with 15 lines. has anyone canceled their Business account with this clause yet?

It worked! and only took about 20 minutes and two calls! Talked to Nancy Berry. They really will offer you everything under the sun to stay but just be strong!

I've tried to call the number proivded, but it just rings busy... is there another number? I want out of Sprint and this was almost like a sign.

I called up Sprint twice and chatted with them online twice. The second phone call worked and the rep canceled my service without even pushing back at all. She setup my contract end date as 1/4/2010.
OK- Now here is my question for you more experience folks. If I change my mind and decide to stay with Sprint, will there be a problem if I keep my service active, even though they changed my contract end date to be expired and I told them I was going to port my numbers out. I don't want to risk losing my phone numbers, so I'm looking for some advice. Thanks!

Hello Everyone,
I just open an account with sprint some time in November of last year. I really don’t have much problem with sprint since they offer me a good rate for 3 lines with everything included. I have an 8300 series BBC and it’s really, really bad. I'm constantly dropping calls and sometimes I don’t even get a reception inside my work area. Sprint usually gives you 30 days to try it out; I’m already past that mark. My only question is how can I change my cell phone to a different name brand with out paying the full price for the phone

Hello Everyone,
I just open an account with sprint some time in November of last year. I really don’t have much problem with sprint since they offer me a good rate for 3 lines with everything included. I have an 8300 series BBC and it’s really, really bad. I'm constantly dropping calls and sometimes I don’t even get a reception inside my work area. Sprint usually gives you 30 days to try it out; I’m already past that mark. My only question is how can I change my cell phone to a different name brand?

I called Sprint about a week ago and tried to cancel or get my account changed to a month to month because of the change of the terms of agreement. The guy I talked to of course tried to tell me that I can't dispute anything until it actually shows up on my bill, which would be in the middle of January. So I decided to wait until at least after the first of the year to try again. I called today and got Nick, customer #ED472877 and I explained that I either just want to cancel my account or change it to the month to month because of the changes, he was the first person to not try and agrue with me and said "sure, let me get a manager." I was placed on hold for about 3 minutes and when he came back he said that everything was taken care of and my account was changed. He gave me his employee number and our conversation number just in case I have future problems. He even got his manager on the phone to absolutely verify that everything was changed, the manager gave me his first and last name and direct number and they sent an email for my records. I was surprised and amazed that I actually got through the process without trouble, this employee should definitely be a manager and I hope you all have such an easy process too. Good luck

After extensive research that only lasted 1 hr. I called Sprint and told hem exactly what I found on various sites:
As of 1/1/10 they are increasing regulatory fees from .20 to .40, and if you have a flex spending acct, you wil occur a fee of 4.00 if you dont choose automated biling. I said bub that and went to another major carrier. Thanks all for the GREAT ADVICE!!!!!!!!

I called today to cancel my account because of changes in the current contract. I was told I couldn't do it until my next bill came in. In the subscriber agreement and on your TOS page it says that I have thirty days from the effective date of change, which is today. I called again and stated this, then I was told the change didn't apply to me. I asked to talk to a supervisor and was told it was take 2hrs to call me back. I said, ok. Apparently the supervisor was ready to take calls because after I said ok, I was transfered and it took about a minute. The supervisor then told me the same thing but then added on that the change was to corprate only. He went on to read me what the changes were. An ASL change was one thing he listed. I told him I have one and so that is reason enough to cancel my account. He back peddled and said that the "icon" was not on my account. Yet, in plain bold letters it states that I have a spending limit of 600. After his yelling and talking over me when I was trying to ask a question. I finally said, "please just cancel all my accounts." He then said ok but you're going to have to file for a wave of these fees after you get your bill. I'm now also not able to chat with a rep on the sprint website any longer. I'm tried of sprint reps lying to me and denying me my rights. I know I'm right, I have proof that I am right, and I will be taking action if my fees are not waved.

I have a Nextel corporate account with (7) phones and (1) connection card. The service around my area has decreased over the years. The amount of drop calls have increased tremendously. I have been complaining to my representative for months now and have been giving the answer that they will "pull a trouble ticket" to fix the problem. I can not run a business anymore with the dropped call problems. Would anybody know how to get out of my contract without paying the huge termination fees. I have been a customer of Nextel for 7 years now.

We tried to cancel our contract tonight but ran into a small problem. The supervisor stated the only way he would cancel our contract without the ETF was to terminate our service completely. We asked for month to month but were told it was not possible. Pretty dumb move on their part, they are supposed to at least try and keep you as a customer!!

A little setback but at least we know it can be done. The customer service rep actually told me to take my number to a different carrier believe it or not. Now we get to shop around to see what kind of deals other carriers can offer.

I was told that I must wait until the charges actually appear on my bill, which will not be until Jan 26, 2010. Is this legit or not? Because I really do not want this opportunity to pass me by, Im so done with Nextel...

By the way, how would I be able to keep my phone number when I change to AT&T?

I called Sprint NUMEROUS times because of this issue as Julie suggested. I actually don't get tons of dropped calls, but I do get some but overall I don't like Sprint's Cust Svce, nor do I like the fact that EVERY month there is an issue with my bill. I even found an address with "FAIR" coverage and they STILL said that they could NOT waive the ETF. I spoke with Account Services, Escalation, their Supervisor, the Supervisors Supervisor and NOTHING. I haven't even been with Sprint that long and I HATE it. HELP?!?!??! I have a baby who has been in the hospital for quite some time, I CANNOT afford $400 for the two line cancellations. Thank you in advance

i'm on the sprint family plan and when i just now called the sprint cancellation desk, they said that they would not waive the termination fee because i had a corporate account, which didnt make any sense to me. so, be weary of those who have corporate account. the cancellation only exists for people who are on individual accounts.

In my sprint bill there was a statement on the back that stated the Regulatory Fees will go from .20 per line to .40 per line. This is a Materially Adverse change and you can cancel without and ETF. The fee is set to start 01/01/10. You normally have 30 days after that. I just called and had my account switched to a month to month contract so I can switch now without an ETF fee. Here are the details of what is going on. Many many many people have now canceled before this fee has went into affect.

http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1725657

http://www.phonenews.com/sprint-to-increase-per-line-regulatory-fee-to-0.40-changes-to-tcs-on-january-10th-2010-9712/

Happy canceling!

its a rainy Sunday afternoon, decided I would give it a shot and try to cancel my two sprint lines. The woman on the phone tried to offer me $20 off a month to keep my contract going. I didnt want that. Just have the contract in front of you and a little patience and it will work.

Please give me advice... I don't want to work with them any longer. My store is below

The original problem is that the phone does not always ring when connected to Airave. You can see incoming call but ringer is on silent on its own. There is no pattern to the problem, happens randomly. Works flawlessly with other devices including Blackberry Curve which is connected to it on a daily basis.

• 4/21/2009 – Purchased Sprint Airave from corporate store for $100 + tax due to extremely poor / no reception in home. Problems begin to occur with incoming calls not always ringing. Also subscribed to $4.99 monthly charge.
• Avoided problem for months by setting phone on vibrate when at home which drained battery life and still caused missed calls due to not feeling or hearing the phone vibrate and vibrate disabling when phone is on charger.
• Swapped phones couple times (insurance & troubleshooting) since due to other issues, but same problem continued to occur with every Instinct device.
• Around week of 11/1/2009, contacted Airave support to troubleshoot device due to the missing to many calls and causing personal problems. I should not have to stare at my phone when sitting at home to receive a phone call. Technician did some adjustments. Seemed to be working during test calls but problem continued to occur later on.
• 11/6/2009 - Contacted Airave about same issue, technician issued replacement device.
• 11/10/2009 – Received replacement device, problems continues to occur.
• 11/19/2009 – Contacted Airave support, spoke with technician by the name of Dave. He reviews notes, tells me problem is a known issue with device and Instinct. (At this point, I have done online research and seen multiple forums stating the same problem with the Samsung Instinct and Airave) He states that engineers are working on a solution. Told Dave that doesn’t solve my current issue. (It is at this point that a replacement Airave device should have been sent to see if that is the problem, not 4 weeks after the problem has been escalated) Dave speaks to supervisor, comes back, and gives me reasonable offer. Specifically explains that I can get a new phone for New Price listed on website, instant rebate, and add the additional $75 off the new price listed. To make me understand better, he specifically uses the HTC Hero as an example and tells me it would be $104.99 out the door. I accept offer but notify Dave that I do not know what phone I want. He offered to call back in an hour after getting chance to look over phones. I did some comparison shopping and decided to purchase the HTC Hero. I got psychologically excited to purchase a new phone and after almost 2 hours without a call back from Dave, I called tech support back to get a hold of Dave. I try to get Dave back on the phone but tech representative insists she can assist with the issue and reviews notes. She states it says I was choosing a phone and I was to select one. She then accepts my request for the HTC Hero for $104.99. She asks for credit card information to process order. Then she places me on hold. She comes back after speaking with a supervisor and tells me she cannot offer the phone for that price, it would have to be $179.99. I asked to speak to supervisor, AND from my previous emails I have sent to sprint, I should not have to explain how this conversation went. She basically told me my options were either A) Buy the phone at $179.99, B) Stick with the same phone, or C) Cancel service. She then offered to call me back the next day with a possible solution.
• 11/20/2009 – Sent email to Sprint through sprint chat and “contact us” page about the previous days scenario and how supervisor handled me. Also receive a call from Dave again, this time stating that the emails were received and supervisor has authorized to give me the HTC Hero for $104.99 again. I rejected offer and asked to speak with a superior supervisor over the one I spoke with the previous day. Dave said he will set that up. Nobody ever did.
• 11/23/2009 – Received call from Customer Survey department after doing a survey over the phone about level of customer service. Stated my argument to her and she said she would have management contact me. Nobody ever did.
• 11/23/2009 – Filed complaint with the FCC and the BBB about current conflict with Sprint.
• 11/24/2009 – Emailed sprint notifying them of my complaints that I have filed and received email stating a member from executive services would be contacting me shortly.
• 11/30/2009 – Never got contacted so I obtained Sprint Executive Services number and contacted them. Spoke to representative who informed me the William had been assigned to my case and transferred me over. William explained that they have received the complaint from the BBB and have initiated an investigation into the problem. Customer service issue was never addressed. Primary focus was to find out source of problem. William said he would call back within 24 to 48 hours. Accepted explanation.
• 12/2/2009 – Haven’t heard back, called William left voicemail. Still no callback at towards end of day, called William, he informed me the investigation is still going on and will need another day. Accepted explanation.
• 12/3/2009 – Haven’t heard from William towards end of day, called and spoke to him. Informs me the investigation is still ongoing. Patience is worn down and conversation escalates. William also states that Sprint cannot offer me the Airave for $104.99 at all, which then makes me look like I’m lying about the quote Dave gave me. I state I need something done right now and William informs me he will talk to management and call me back 12/4/2009 in the morning hours.
• 12/8/2009 – 5 days after promised callback, still have not received call back. Spoke to William who was speaking to management at the time and comes back and tells me they are still investigating the problem. I tell William to speak to someone in management. He informs me that management will be contacting me in 24 to 48 hours. He also tells me Airave tech support is going to contact me to troubleshoot some more. I agree. Tech support contacts me, does tweaks, and problem continues to occur. I write emails to Dan Hesse, Jerry Adriano, Bryan Digiorgio, Kim Garvey, Meagan Land, Bill White. Jerry Adriano reply’s to email stating a member of his team will be contacting me.
• 12/9/09 – William contacts me and says they have done some more tweaks and tries test calls. Problem continues to occur. William informs me management will contact me on 12/10/09.
• 12/10/09 – Carmen from management contacts me. Explains procedures and policies and states they are sending out a replacement Airave device. She also states that there is no documentation about the HTC Hero being offered to me for $104.99. I state I am no longer in the position to use up my time to troubleshoot the problem. I state I will be canceling my service due to not solving the numerous issues (Instinct & Airave, extremely poor customer support and satisfaction, causing emotional stress, denial of information given, delaying solution due to internal investigation for over a month, and focusing on one problem and avoiding other issues) and contacting Sprint about EFT’s. Carmen calls back and states her manager may offer a resolution on Friday morning 12/11/2009.
• 12/11/2009 – Carmen contacts me and states that nothing was done by an actual technician and want to send out an Airave device. She also states if I cancel that they will not waive ETF’s.

The following link is from the Sprint Community website.

http://community.sprint.com/baw/thread/14968

They call me today and tell me their office claims the problem with the Instinct and Airave is unknown. They also tell me to take my devices to a Sprint store so a technician can see if the problem does actually exist. The link has posts from 2008 about the same problem. Airave tech support also told me the problem is known.

Proper Policy and Procedures
• Customer calls with problem
• Attempt to troubleshoot
• Send replacement device to troubleshoot
• Send airave replacement device to troubleshoot
• Supply valued customer with different device with preference
• Problem solved with customer without using anymore time from them
• Initiate investigation with devices for future references and fixes
Policy and Procedures of Sprint???
• Customer calls with problem
• Tech support attempts to troubleshoot problem
• Issue continues? - Tech support issues replacement device
• Issue continues? - Tech support offer new device at discounted rate
• Tech support denies customer of discounted rate – Customer issue continues
• Tech support supervisor leaves customer with no reasonable resolution - Customer issue continues
• Executive service investigates problem - Customer issue continues
• Executive service delays investigation further - Customer issue continues
• Executive service ignores promised callbacks, quotes, and mishandling of customer and refers customer back to tech support - Customer issue continues
• Executive service tries to troubleshoot themselves - Customer issue continues
• Executive service tries to replace device airave device weeks after tech support should have tried that solution – drive customer to switch carriers
Con’s of canceling with Sprint
• Good rate plan
• Good phones
Pro’s of cancelling with Sprint
• Don’t need extra device with monthly subscription to have service in home
• Get new free phones for new activation
• Avoid problems like this in the future
• Don’t have to guess if future problems with Sprint will involve filing complaints and jumping through hoops to get your issue resolved for the time and effort you have put into it
Customer Record
Number of lines? 3
Always pay on time? Yes
Monthly Rate after taxes? $130 - $140
Valued customer? Unknown at the time.
Losing customer would cost sprint – About $3240 over next 2 years, possibly more if customer stays longer

Hello everyone,
My husband and I share a plan on Sprint and we have decided to move to France next summer but we are still tied in the 2-year contract with sprint. Is moving out of the country a good enough reason to cancel without ETF? I'm asking because we do have reception in France when we travel with our phone (costs extra of course).

so... no telling sprint that you dont want to pay a .20cent charge on your bill does NOT get you out of your contract with sprint. and whoever did cancel your line is an idiot....ALL COMPANIES HAVE SURCHARGES!!!! the reason why your bills are so high is because YOU singed up for the wrong rate plan. just because something seems inexpensive does not mean that its going to benefit you. dont sign up for a plan that gives you 200 minutes and is only 29.99 a month and plan on using 1000 minutes per month. and sprint is not expensive... take it from a person that has had VZ, AT&T and T-Mobile. Sprints shared plans are the best. they are the only company that offers ANY MOBILE ANYTIME!!!! dont know what that means??? you could call ANY person with ANY cell phone provider and it wont deduct ANYTHING From your minutes... oh and how many companies do YOU know that offer 4G network for your data service. Dont believe I WORK FOR SPRINT!!!

someone has used a flaw in the pay by phone billing system and charged over $1,000 to my own account using my bank account with only supplying sprints pay by phone system my phone number. i walked two sprint reps through the loop hole using two of my family members phone numbers with there permission with just there phone number i was able to get there balance on the account and could have payed any amounts to the debit or credit card the user had on file. this is a breach of every sprint/nextel users privacy it also could wreck havoc to every user on there network. and is also a BREACH of contract to EVERY sprint/nextel user that has signed a privacy agreement with the company. with just your phone number a 3rd party can access your account and make payments and more. it is my feeling ( i'm no lawyer ) that this flaw would void any user agreement held by sprint/nextel users. over the past 4 days since the two charges to my account from my bank account for over $500.00 each i have spoke with over 17 reps from sprint most dont know what to even say and forward me to the fraud department. most of the fraud reps and there support teams are up in the air about what to do ( yes i have filed a police report and they are following through with it ) the sprint rep did tell me that the payment was made via *3 on a sprint phone but because of privacy laws and policy's at sprint they can not tell me who made these charges even tho they broke my privacy agreement by letting someone make payments after accessing my account with only my phone number via *3 on there sprint phone. rep james from the fraud dept. said today after i walked him through the steps i found that breaches any sprint/nextel users account integrity said that " no one would do this in there right mind because it was wrong... is it fraud he said no.. does it happen he said yes... but very rarely. ) and our conversation then turned to the stopped payment on the checks payed to my account with out my knowledge and that my account would be canceled and i would lose my phone number in the process. i then was connected to paul a finace rep out of mesa arizona. after explianing all to him and walking him again through the steps using a sprint account of a user in my family who works as a TV executive out of Florida he was in shock. i could almost hear his jaw drop as we made it through the last steps of breaching someones account with the pay by phone system sprint/nextel has set up. theres much more to this story then i can even type im so upset about this. im still working to clear up my account but i think i may have the tools to press this issuse to the top if i can get the word out. i feel this maybe the biggest beach of user info for sprint/nextel to date. i will NOT give out the process on how to do this to anyone so do not ask. if you would like more info about my story feel free to contact me at my email address listed in this post

thank you for your time in reading this
Mike
a very upset sprint user!

We ordered 3 TP2’s on the 2nd of October and received the phones on the 5th of October and all have been activated. Originally our plan was the Fair & Flex for families($109.99) which included 2200 anytime minutes for 5 phones, web and picture mail for $10.00 on two  phone’s,  500 free text messages on two phones and  3 phone lines where free. However, after viewing our account online this morning (November 5th) I discovered Sprint changed the plan to “Everything Data Share 1500” @$129.99 for the first two phones and $19.99 for lines 3-5.

My gf called sprint and spoke to a rep who informed her that a sprint technician changed the plan on October 22 ’09 for an unknown reason and without notification. The rep further stated he could not change the plan back.

She’s currently awaiting a call from a sprint supervisor to resolve this issue.

I am  curious what options we would have to get out of sprint.

 

Thanks

 

HI MY NAME IS JESSICA! I HAVE HAD SPRINT FOR 3 YEARS.

Ill statrt off by saying this is a yr. long story so I am giving you the short and not-so-sweet version. My bill is crazy high……!!! That’s where is starts…..

Although, IT WAS ALWAYS VERY EXPENSIVE DUE TO THE FACT THAT THEY(sprint) "NEVER" HAD MY BILL RIGHTand everytime I attempted to correct the problem they were so rude I would just let my x husband handle it at the time. BUT….MY X-HUSBAND WAS NOT CONFRENTATIONAL.

HUSBAND LEFT ME AFTER 12 YEARS OF MARRIAGE AND WITH A MENTALLY DISABLED CHILD . But that’s not the worst part! …….Later you soon see…

FOR THE LAST YEAR I hsve attempted to go over bills that were waaaay wrong but not according to sprint.

I am wondering if I have maybe a loophole somewhere thst they have violated the contract in someway, they also since june I just realized had been charging me 59.99 a monthfor a line I had put on sleep when my husband left.

Needless to say… THEY HAVE BEEN CHARGING ME FOR THE WRONG PLANS I AM ON UNLIMITED EVERYTHING YET I STILL GO OVER SOMEHOW EVERY MONTH MY BILLS ARE AROUND 300…. ?? UP OR DOWN BY 50. I TRIED TO CALL EACH TIME WHEN THEY STARTED TURNING MY PHONE OFF 2X A MONTH RUNNINGat the mouth to me after theyre the ones that have it so damn screwed up im paying reconnection fees over something that they need to get right with India iraq California and who ever else they have had talk to me. Might also help if we all spoke the same language , nothing racial just a simple language barriar. Im kinda getting real sick of the whole JUST answer yes to any question an American asks! Smile and say yes polcy needs to be re-written! FAST!!!

Back to what I was saying… CHARGES ON AN ACCOUNT I HAD PREVIOUSLY CLOSED 4 AND 5 TIMES, ENOUGH TO GIVE ME NSF CHARGES WHICH THEY QPULD NOT REFUND. THEY ARE VERY RUDE ALSO! THEY JUST WANNA ARGUE AND ACT LIKE KNOW IT ALLS! IVE SO HAD IT! MY.

 

Tough time for me I don’t need this crap I am another foreclosure and ike victime, I AM being FORECLOSED ON. (MY HOUSE that I just finally got rid of mold from the hurricane)NEXT MONTH (LUCKLY THE HOUSE WAS IN HIS NAME NOT MINE CUZ HE HASNT PAID ME A CENT SINCE HE LEFT. I RECENTLY FOUND OUT I HAVE CERVICAL CANCER NO BIG DEAL JUST NEED A QUICK OUTPATIENT SURGERY BUT UNFORTUNATELY I NEED MY MONEY FOR THAT! SO… HERES THE DEAL, I CALLED SPRINT AND SAID JUST WHAT I TOLD YOU, I HAVE CANCER AND BEING PUT OUT ON THE STREETS WITH A MENTALLY CHALLEDNGED CHILD AND ALL I AM ASKING IS NO HANDOUT JUST FOR THEM TO DO THE RIGHT THING.I HAVE NO ELECTRICITY IN MY HOUSE AND HAVE BEEN CHASING THE REPO MAN FOR SOME TIME I NEVER THOUGHT MY LIFE WOULD COME TO THIS. BUT I AM A YOUNG 31 YEAR OLD SALON OWNER WORKING 6 DAYS A WEEK WHILE MY CHILD FEEDS HIMSELF DINNER EVERYNIGHT BY HIMSELF. WE GOTTA DO WHAT WE GOTTA DO! I HAVE NOT EVER NOR WILL EVER TAKE CHARITY HANDOUTS OR GET ON GOV. ASSISTANCE. I MAY BE DUMB BUT I AM TOO PROUD, I GREW UP ON THAT nd I dont want my son isaiah embarrassed. anyways dont need advice on my life need advic on how to get out of this contract. they have over charged me and cut my phone off so many times ive lost business over it.they are heartless. I have a hard time knowing i give up my food everyday for my son and yet i pay 300 a month on a cell phone bill that is incorrect. I feel like I am loosing control of my life and my ways of handling situations!  bottom line by the grace of GOD will someone please help me before i give up and ruin my credit over this ! I dont have family here they all live in other states and I have no parents, wouldve been a great time for me to call one of them up at a time like this……..The worst part about sprint is that no one knows what anyone is is talking about EEVVERYYbody is a “supervisor”, Im too smart for that old trick! And they will never call me back always hang up on me or put me on hold till I hang up or give me a credit that pops up on my next months bill, lastly then I ll shurt up going back up to when they charged me for the bill w/o authorization for like…331.00 on a bad acct. they wouldn’t even pay the fees from my bank!! This is so wrong how thay are treatingpeople!

Thanks for taking the time to let me vent really,,,,,any advice or assistance would be so very much appreciated!

 

Thanks again and God Bless Everyone with their phone problems,, life is so short and here we are wasting precious valuable time fighting over money and  a cell phone co..? am I the only one that feels cheated and down right over it??

                

 -Jessica TX.

I would like to switch to Verizon because my cell coverage is extremely poor with Sprint. I drop a lot of calls, and when I called customer service they confirmed that my dropped call percentage was 12% of all my calls! They sent me an Airport at no charge and that did NOTHING to improve my signal. I would like to keep my same number and switch to Verizon, and would not like to pay the ETF. Should I call Verizon first and switch to keep the number? Or should I call Sprint first and get out of the contract? I'm affraid if I cancel with Sprint first, Verizon won't be able to keep my old number. Any advice?