Complaint Review: VoiceStream - Nationwide

A few months ago I was taking a walk in Harvard Square and noticed that a Voicestream Wireless store had just opened up there. I decided to walk in and take a look at all their "great deals".

I spoke with the customer sales rep that took the time to answer all my questions. I explained to him that I was a consultant for a major Software company and was on the road 90% of the time. I required reliable service across the US and Canada and was looking for a service that would provide me with an all-inclusive plan for all of North America. I also explained to him that I required a plan that was flexible and if I knew I required extra minutes a particular month, I would have the option of easily changing my plan. After being convinced that Voicestream did all that, I signed up.

Within the first 2 months after I signed up, I had already traveled to several locations including Maine, Vermont, Illinois, and upstate NY. I was unable to get any service in any of these locations.

Knowing that I was going to be at my customer in upstate NY for most of the month, I decided that I would change to a plan that included less minutes as I was unable to use my phone anyways. I phoned customer "service" and explained my situation. She advised me that they had removed all their plans that included Canada and that although I would be allowed to remain on this plan, I would not be able to change to another plan of the same type (that included Canada). I politely explained to the Customer Service lady that the Service Rep at the store (who is a representative of Voicestream) and made several promises that proved to be untrue and as such I requested a cancellation of service without penalty. She informed me that they would have to charge me the $200 cancellation fee. I again explained to her that Voicestream had made verbal promises to me about what type of service they were able to provide and failed to do so. In my opinion I should not be responsible for the fee.

I was then informed that she did not have the power to waive this fee, however Customer Relations may be able to help me. When I asked for the number, she told me that they do not have phones and I would have to write them a letter. I found this to be quite strange that a Telecommunications company would deprive their employees of telephones, but I played her game and sent them a letter. Within the letter I explained my situation and gave specific instructions to please call me back so we could discuss in person.

Two weeks later I was back in Boston (one of the few places where my phone actually works) and my phone informed me that I had a new message. I found this strange because my phone was on and I had full service. The message was from Voicestream Customer Relations who informed me that they could not help me, and if I had any other questions to please write them another letter.

I was extremely frustrated at this point. Voicestream had deliberately taken a back door to leave me a message and avoid speaking with me in person. The irony here is that they call themselves "Customer Relations" yet avoid cost having any relations with any of their customers at all cost.

I phoned Customer service back to explain to them that I filed my complaint with Customer Relations, and that they did not provide any help at all. Customer Service advised me to write them another letter. I could not believe this! Having a conversion via letter (with a 2 week delay for even a response) would be a really slow process. After speaking with several people in Customer Service, I finally convinced someone there to give me an e-mail address for Customer Relations.

Again I took the time to politely write another letter (this time via e-mail) and asked them to please have someone contact me.

One week later I received an e-mail from Customer Relations. They informed me that this e-mail address was not to be used by customers, and that I would have to send them another letter if I wanted a response. I e-mailed them back and informed them that someone from Customer Service had given me this address, and that I just wanted to speak with someone in person to address some of the problems I have been having.

Once again I received an e-mail from them with the exact same response...please send us a letter to have any complaints addressed.

At this point I was just frustrated and extremely pissed. I know that they are just giving me the run-around. They figure that if they can make it as difficult as possible for me to speak with someone, eventually I would just give up. They were right. I sent them one final e-mail telling them that I would be terminating my contract as soon as my 1 year term was up and that I would make it a point to tell as many people as I can about the lousy service and support that Voicestream has to offer. They do not realise that their name will be dragged through the mud in the effort to save the company $200.

I have experimented with several wireless companies through the years and have never had the misfortune of dealing with such a mismanaged, unprofessional compnay prior to Voicestream. I would strongly advise that anyone who is contemplating signing up with Voicestream should definitely think twice. It is not worth the aggravation.

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