Switching Phone Accounts is a Pain!
Posted on February 29, 2012 7 Comments
My phone, aka my personal assistant
Of all my possessions, my smart phone is probably the most important to my daily life. It is my business center, my social hub, my entertainment during long commutes, my link to the outside world, and my connection to my family. As such, I pay more than $100 per month to keep my service going. Last fall I found out I was eligible for a 15 percent discount on my cell phone bill because I work for a University. That’s huge!
The phone wasn’t in my name, though. Man-friend and I share a phone account, and he was the primary account holder (he’s been with Sprint longer than I have). This made us ineligible for the discount. We decided to switch the account to my name to qualify, which Sprint said would be easy to do. Boy were they wrong!
Three months later we’re getting billed for two accounts, my online payments are getting credited to the supposedly closed account, I’m getting texts from Sprint threatening to turn off my phone, and I still have no discount. How frustrating.
We’re trying to resolve the situation but it’s difficult when the store employees’ hands are tied, and we’re supposed to do all our business via global call center. We can never call and talk to the same person, we have to explain our situation anew to every customer service agent, and it’s not uncommon to speak with three employees in one call that lasts for an hour.
I walked into my apartment after work today and found another new bill for the closed account sitting in my mailbox. More calls to Sprint and visits to the store.
I just want my discount!
If there’s a lesson in this story, I haven’t found it yet. But if I can make this work I can potentially save hundreds on my phone bill this year. That’s a savings I’m willing to keep working for.
Category: Money
Tags: Spending
Comments
7 Responses to “Switching Phone Accounts is a Pain!”
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March 1st, 2012 @ 11:35 am
I would complain. That’s such horrible customer service. I would threaten to close the acct and move to somewhere else. Does any other provider offer a discount you are eligible for?
March 2nd, 2012 @ 10:24 am
Oh good grief — how incredibly frustrating! I feel your pain — it sounds rather like what I went through with Target on having them give me the 0% interest they promised…it took MONTHS and HOURS of phone calls to finally get sorted properly. *sigh* Good luck!
March 5th, 2012 @ 9:56 am
I was in the same situation but interestingly enough I was able to apply my company’s discount to my husband’s plan as long as my name was on the second line (which it is). I’m with Sprint as well.
March 5th, 2012 @ 11:15 am
Tanja, Sprint told us we couldn’t do that. My name was on the 2nd line. I don’t think anyone at Sprint knows anything, actually. They all just make crap up as they go along. One woman in a store actually took all my info down and said, “There, now you’re accounts are switched and you’ll get the discount.” When we got our totally incorrect bill the next month, we called and the customer service agent said “People in the stores can’t do that. We have to do it on the phone.” It’s absurd that the company actually functions.
March 5th, 2012 @ 11:15 am
Allison – We’ve complained, they just don’t care.
March 5th, 2012 @ 4:22 pm
How stupid … why was I able to do it and you cannot? I would just keep calling and eventually there will be someone there who knows what they are doing.
Also ask for Retention Department next time you call or call 800-235-1185 or 888-211-4727(not sure if these numbers are correct any more) once you are there they should be able to fix your issues and hopefully give you some more credit for your trouble.
March 6th, 2012 @ 11:04 pm
Ugh. I’m planning on switching my carrier this summer when my contract is up, and I’m really not looking forward to the hassle.