;
  • Report:  #204235

Complaint Review: T-mobile - Bellevue Washington

Reported By:
- southern, New Jersey,
Submitted:
Updated:

T-mobile
12920 SE 38th Street Bellevue, 98006 Washington, U.S.A.
Phone:
800-318-9270
Web:
N/A
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good? What's this?
In May of 2005, my wife wanted to get a new phone (handset in the current terminology) from T-mobile. We had been customers for 3-4 years, since the days of Voicestream. She called the T-mobile customer service number and arranged to get a newer model phone. The CSR helped her decide on the model, and made all the arrangements to have the new phone sent to our home. It was to have arrived in 3-5 days. Everything at this point had gone well, and even though the CSR failed to mention that the new phone would add an additional year to our contract, we had no plans to discontinue service with them since our service seemed no better or worse than that of friends with other carriers.

The problem started about 2 weeks later. No phone had appeared, and when my wife called to find out why, she was told that the phone she wanted was back-ordered indefinitely and no one could say when it might become available. The cSR then suggested that she might try the local T-mobile retail store at the mall, and even called them with my wife on hold to confirm that they had stock. The store did, and she had them reserve one for us and then cancelled the order for the first phone from T-mobile. We picked up the phone the next day, and my wife had a new toy to play with. Several days later, she came home from work and found a box from T-mobile on the step. Not expecting anything, she opened it to find the first phone that supposedly had been cancelled. She called T-mobile customer service to inform them of the mistake, and while they acknowledged that the phone had been sent in error, stated that since she had it, it was hers and that they expected payment.

Over a period of several weeks, she called a number of times, asking that they provide her with an RMA and pre-paid mailing label to return the phone. Some promised this to her, but nothing ever materialized. Others yelled at her, calling her a deadbeat and other insults. One stated in no uncertain terms You will pay for this phone. We took the phone back to the retail store where we were told not our problem. Each month the charge was on our bill, and each month we paid the plan fees and subtracted the charges for the phone, and now the mounting late fees.

Because of this issue, and a continuing degradation of their quality of service, we closed our account with them at the end of the contract period. We received the bill for the final charges and even though it was only a partial month, the charges were quite high, and yes, the phone was still being charged as well. Within 2 days of receiving this bill, the phone calls started. Their collection agents were very insistent that the bill be paid immediately. They didn't want to hear anything about mistaken charges; they only wanted to know when to expect payment. After 2 weeks of getting these daily calls (sometimes they skipped a day), I stopped being polite, stopped trying to explain the situation, and while not getting nasty, told the agents that the harassment must stop.

Since the final bills charges were much higher than I would expect for a partial month, even with the addition of the phone in question, I asked one of the agents for an itemized copy of my bills for the previous year. He seemed sympathetic, and promised that I would receive this information within a few days, and that collection efforts would be put on hold pending my response. When the next agent called 2 days later, I told him that I was waiting for copies of my previous bills and that collection had been placed on hold, He stated that no collections agent had the authority to send me this information, and that not even his supervisor had that authority. There was also no indication on my account that collections were to be placed on hold.

When the next agent called, I became very insistent that she provide me with a name and address, since I had now decided that the only way to communicate would be via registered mail with return receipt. She refused to give a last name or any address where such mail could be sent. Even after continued insistence, she gave no useful information, although she finally stated that even if I had a name, no one at T-mobile would ever sign for anything. She did, however, escalate my call to someone who claimed to be a supervisor, but again, no personal information that could be verified. I again asked for a copy of my previous bills, and she arranged for them to be sent, and they were indeed received within a few days. While on the phone, I asked for a means to send registered mail, and was told that T-mobile did not accept registered mail. I was told to send any correspondence to the PO Box and that it would be routed to the proper individual.

After reviewing the itemized charges, I discovered that since our plan had no provision for text messaging (the old phones did not support it), T-mobile was charging $1 for each incoming text message. Because we had a family plan, did not go over our minutes, and rarely used any service other than an occasional call to directory assistance, the bill was on automatic payment so the text message charges were adding to the unpaid amount every month. During this time the collection calls continued, and I told the agents that the bill was being disputed and that they were to cease communication as per the terms of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Each time the agent stated that this information would be added to my account, and the next calling agent said that there was no such note in my account. I also sent several letters to state my position, and according to them, none was ever received. Seems pretty convenient that my account only contains the information they want it to contain.

I paid the bill minus the charges for the phone and associated late fees, even though I wasn't happy about the excessive charges for incoming messages, something my wife had no control over. T-mobile has cashed the check and despite the fact that I stated with the payment that cashing the check constituted an implicit acknowledgement that the account was paid in full, the calls continue. I believe that it is corporate policy not to acknowledge an individuals request to cease communication, in violation of federal law, where that cessation would interfere with their ability to collect money. I am angry that T-mobile can ignore my requests, manipulate their logs to strengthen their position in any dispute, and continue to harass customers even in violation of existing consumer protection laws. I guess the next step will have to be legal action.

Patrick

southern, New Jersey
U.S.A.

Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on T-Mobil


Reports & Rebuttal
Respond to this report!
Also a victim?
Repair Your Reputation!
//