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MCI Wireless

MCI • Billing Non-Customers • Long-Distance • The Neighborhood • DSL • Wireless --- News • MCI Chairman Gets "Scrooge" Award • MCI Stockholders Approve Purchase By Verizon • Calif. Investigating MCI's Billing Non-Customers • MCI Reloaded

Kitty of San Francisco (3/15/04):
I received a collection notice from Progressive Asset Management Serices, Inc., for $137 on March 13, 2004. The amount relates to my MCI Worldcom Wireless phone account during 2002. MCI Worldcom is the worst service company I've ever dealt with - tons of wrong billings and bad customer services. I closed that account in February 2002 and had my balance paid off. Because of my unpleasant experience with them, I asked for a paidoff statement and they denied to provide one. In October 2002 - 8 months after I terminated MCI services, I got the first collection notice from Progressive for about $170.

I called this collection company, and they couldn't produce an MCI invoice of any sort. I called MCI. After several phone calls, they promised to notify the collection company that I had paid off the balance in February 2002. I thought it was over. IT WASN'T! After one and half years, the collection company now billed me again. Same as the first time, I called them, they denied to provide me any MCI invoices as they said they would in the collection notice.

They said that they would close my case only if I send them $137, or a paidoff statement from MCI. They didn't bother to hear my explanation.

Hector of Bronx, NY writes (12/22/01):
Worldcom suspended our cellular phone service for nonpayment despite the fact that we paid our bills on time and made made numerous unsuccessful calls and sent faxes in attempts to prove payment and restore service. Our attempts went unnoticed and unresolved. We cancelled our contract so we could receive cellular service with another company and suddenly Worldcom started contacting us - for their early termination fee!

We were charged an early termination fee of $195.00. We cancelled the contract because we use the cellular phone for personal and business purposes and were in dire need of restoring it. We have since made several attempts to have the fee waived and have been told we will have to pay them. Their Customer Service and billing is TERRIBLE. We felt we had no other recourse than to cancel and to have to pay them after having been serviced so poorly is inexcusable.

Alberto of New York, NY (12/19/01):
In July of 2000 I had signed a contract for one year in which I would get 200 anytime minutes a month for free, and weekend minutes were also free. I got the first bill after three months. I didn't mind since it was the first one. But what I didn't know was that this was a regular routine. Then I started to notice that my bills were exaggerated, and that many of the numbers listed on the bill I didn't even know.

Karen of Lake Worth FL (12/19/01):
The problem began when I moved from New York down to Florida. I had used their service up north. After I moved here in May, I tried to contact the company to get a local phone number. I have been put on hold for hours, given three phone numbers, requested a new phone since mine wouldn't work here.

I am still waiting.

After a lifetime of holding online to talk to a person, in August I started to write letters to their customer service dept in Texas. I have not used their service to date. I wrote to them complaining of their lack of sevice and proper training of their staff and for the abnormal holding time on their customer service line. Since August, I have sent two more letters to Worldcom and to the collection agency but the bills keep coming in and they have a collection agency sending me letters for payment.

Danielle of Maspeth, NY (12/18/01):
Their billing is 3 to 4 months behind which causes the bills to be in the hundreds of dollars, which a normal working family can not pay all the time and if you do not pay them off right away they terminate service. Most of the time the bills do not make it to my home address, but the deliquent notices do, then they claim that they don't have the correct address, which I do not understand because the deliquency notices make it.

They have cut service off on my cell phone a number of times and you have to stay on hold for hours to try and find out what and why this happens, when you finally get a representive they tell you that in order to help you they have to issue you a new cell phone number, I have a yearly contract and I have had two cell phone numbers because of their billing problems!

Once I called them to pay off a balance in full on my credit card and 2 days later they still cut my service off. When I called them back they claim that the person who took my information never put it through, which now caused me to be without service again and only to find out that I needed a new cell phone number!

Doug of Vienna VA (12/17/01):
Early in 2001, Worldcom Wireless failed to bill my cellular phone account for a period of several months. When an aggregated bill was produced, it failed to detail the calls that were made, however the bill was for a much higher amount than a normal three-month period. In addition, several incongruous bills bombarded me during the same month, making it impossible to discern which if any bill was accurate. This was Worldcom's first violation of their contract.

Regardless, I paid the bills in good faith. The next violation occurred in August of 2001, when Worldcom first shut off the phone service for a day, then shut off the Caller ID and Voice Mail feature for a period of weeks (in fact, they still don’t work even though I am still getting billed full rates for the account). This was apparently due to some internal billing system problem.

In my line of business as a network engineer, I can’t afford to miss calls or messages for these periods of time, and thus the phone service being provided was not only unacceptable but infringes the contract to which both parties are held. Thus, in September of 2001, I telephoned customer service and informed them of the breach of contract, after which it was agreed upon by both parties that the cellular phone service would be terminated and no further charges would be incurred.

Since then I have continued to receive full rate bills even though the phone has not been used and was presumed to be inoperative. Certainly, the additional features of ID and Voicemail that are charged for, still do not function. I called and was able to speak with a “collections” operator on December 10, 2001, a conversation in which I revealed their shortcomings and agreed to pay up until the September bill but no additional charges, and furthermore would not pay anything on the account until the billing was corrected and the additional charges removed.

To this I was met with a disdainful operator who rebelliously replied, “you can either continue to pay the monthly bill or pay $200 (deactivation fee)”. I then repeated that Worldcom had breached their contract and my subsequent offer to pay through August services as soon as the bill was corrected. The haughty operator then told him to call “customer service”.

Unfortunately, the “customer service” number had a recording which claimed there was an “unusually high call volume” and therefore a “customer service” representative would not be available to speak with. This went on for a period of a week, and it has been concluded that it is not possible to speak with a representative from such department. This runaround is also unacceptable, and it is obvious that Worldcom doesn’t know the concept of customer service.

Damages: Missed phone calls, "the phone just kept ringing" according to clients who were trying to reach me. This equals both missed business and strained existing customer relationships.

Sheila of Trenton, NJ (12/17/01):
I received a offer in the mail for their cell phone. I called, was approved for three phones in 11/2000. The offer advertised the features the phone has. One of the features was voice mail. I have been trying since 1/2001 to get voice mail. When I called the representative on the phone kept telling me they have to fax over paperwork to Cinqular, because they are the ones that handle voice mail and it would take 48 hours. I would wait 3 weeks call back and each time a rep would go thru the process of ringing my phones to see if it was set up and each time it was not, they would tell me they have to fax over the paperwork.

One time I spoke with a supervisor and tech support went thru the same process, the supervisor gave me a $50.00 credit on my accounts. It is one year later and I still do not have voice mail. On top on everything else, I was paying my bills until I stopped receiving them in 4/2001. I kept getting a letter in the mail stating they are updating their billing system and I will received a bill in the next 3 weeks to catch up my account. When I didn't get a bill I called and was told how much the bill was and to wait because the bill was being sent out. Instead I received another letter just like the first letter.

I finally received a bill in September for $53.95 and $58.95, which I paid with a debit card over the phone. I called, spoke with a rep from their facility when I realized after 3 weeks they never took the money from my account. I also asked him when will I receive another bill and how much was the bill. He quoted a $90.00 figure for both accounts. He informed me that a bill just went out. I verified the correct address with him because the bills were going to a neighbor, even though I called numerous times about that and they claimed they corrected the address in their system. I received two weeks ago, not a bill, but yet another letter stating they are sorry for the incovenience, I will receive 3 bills in the near future to bring my account up to date.

When I checked my bank account on 11/15/2001, they put a hold for 2 charges for $53.95 (which I only authorize for 1) and $58.95 (this amount is okay). I called to talk to a rep about the double hold on my account, my voice mail and when will I receive another bill when he transfered to an account rep (Ms. Shepard), she was very unprofessional and nasty when I informed her about the duplicate hold on my account. She stated my account is 5 months past due and when will I pay it. She said I have another account which is also past due. I told her I never received a bill only letters about them updating their billing system. I explained to her this was the only bill I received. She said "we were getting a new billing system and you are still 5 months behind, your phone will be shut off soon, if it has not already been shut off".

I could not get anywhere with her, she didn't want to hear anything else. I ask to speak with her manager. She put me on hold and never came back to the phone. Due to me being at work I had to hang up.

Albania of Brooklyn, NY (12/17/01):
I have been harassed and fraudulently overcharged by MCI Worldcom Wireless. First, they tend to not bill you for months, even 3 months at a time, and then they bill you supposedly for those months in extremely high amounts and then refuse to review it. I had two accounts with this company, both I have cancelled and paid their fraudulent bills, and still they bill me saying I am delinquent and even call me and harrass me about this.

I have called them and sent faxes proving I paid them their balances and they still say they can't clear my accounts because they take time to clear although I have paid them, and meanwhile I still get their calls and letters, and even threats to ruin my credit. I paid them $655.75 for the first account, and $762.75 for the second, the money was charged to my bank account and my American Express respectively and they credited it accordingly but I am still delinquent in their records. I know I shouldn't have paid such excessive amounts but I was afraid to have my credit history affected by this, but my mental health is now on the line, I am frustrated and depressed about this whole issue, and I know am not the only one.

Hong of Flushing, NY (12/14/01):
I joined a cellular plan with MCI Worldcom on 2/26/2000 for a monthly plan of $49.99 (500 minutes weekdays and 1000 minutes weekends). I have never received a phone bill from MCI. About 2 months ago (end September/early October), MCI contacted me with a deliquant and outstanding bill of $1243.00. My plan is a $49.99 plan per month and I am being billed for $1243.00 for 7 months. Plus, I never received a phone bill.

I paid the sum of $1243.00 to avoid my cellular service from being stopped. When this amount was paid it was agreed that MCI will review the charges and credit my account accordingly. If I used more minutes than my orginal plan, I was to upgrade to a better plan with a better rate. Now, again, MCI is trying to bill me for an additional $2000.00. So I am paying about $400 a month for my cellular service and I am under a contract for $49.99 a month. I already paid $1243.00 and I am still waiting for come kind of credit. Plus, I still have not received a cellular phone bill yet.

I paid the first sun of $1243.00 without a phone bill, trusting MCI to send me copies of my phone bill and crediting my account. I need help as they are again billing me for an additional $2000.00 and I am still waiting for a credit. If I am under a $49.99 plan and use thier service since February, total of 10 months, my phone bill should not exceed $600.00 (which includes all taxes, etc.)

Anthony of Hoboken NJ (8/27/01):
First off, let me start by saying that I have never dealt with more unprofessional people then I did when I was dealing with MCI Worldcom. From the beginning of my contract for my cell phone, receiving a timely and intelligible billing statement that detailed the calls that I had made seemed like a near impossibility. In fact, I received one bill for the wireless services that I received when I first joined with MCI and then I did not receive another bill for approximately 6 months! This is a blatant and direct violation of the terms of the contract that I signed with MCI.

When I finally received another bill they requested payment in the amount of $1,600! This bill did not even detail the calls that were included in the bill and I had no way to verify if I was being accurately billed. Even if they were to give me a billing statement at this time, there would be virtually no way that I could recall the calls I made 6 months ago! The only way one can be sure that he is being billed accurately for phone service is if he is being billed contemporaneously with the calls that he is making. I can not be expected to remember the calls I made a half a year ago!

On numerous occassions (before and after being billed) I attempted to contact MCI Worldcom and each time I tried to call them it required approximately 1-1/2 hours of my time as they kept me on hold for an unsconscionable duration. Please keep in mind that an hour and a half of my billable time at work is very valuable to me. On one specific occasion I got bounced back and forth between customer service and accounts payable three times before a recording finally told me that there were too many callers and then they proceeded to hang up on me! I have never heard of a situation where a customer had to badger a seller to provide the customer with accurate information as to how much they owed!

When I finally was able to speak to someone they informed me that they knew about all the billing problems and admitted that this was their fault but informed me that there was little they could do about it. The best that they were able to do was to upgrade my plan retroactively for three months which "supposedly" covered some of the calls I had made. The reason I say supposedly is that I have never seen a statement that lists the calls that I made. When I asked to finally be billed with a statement indicating the calls that I had made the customer affairs supervisor indicated that it would take 8-10 weeks to be provided with such statements! This virtually runs through the end of my contract. Why bother?

On top of this, I was informed that if I chose to cancel my service there would be a $200 deactivation fee. I understand full well that the $200 deactivation fee is a term of the contract. However, MCI has violated their contract by failing to provide accurate detailed bills to their customer. The company would not waive the deactivation fee and as such I am trying to find a resolution to a terrible situation.

I felt a need to report this problem to put other cell phone customers on notice so as they will not be defruaded and mistreated as I was. Not only do they not have their own act together, but they are completely incapable of fairly dealing with customers in an attempt to find a fair resolution to an unfortunate problem that they created.

Aarica of San Jose CA writes (8/27/01):
Back in October of 2000, I got a call regarding a special with MCI Worldcom and a new phone offer. I got the phone, and found out while trying to get through to a customer service agent that not only did their customer service suck, when I finally did get a hold of a live person - that they did not have any accessories available to go with the phone I had decided to try out.

I had a certain time frame in which to return the phone - so I did so, using the box and prepaid label they mailed to me. In November I recieved a bill for more calls on it than I had made, which also exteded out past the time frame in which I had sent back the phone. When I called customer service, and spent over 20 minutes on hold, and being bounced around from place to place - I finally had someone tell me they would take care of this.

It has been almost a year now, and every single month I waste too much time waiting on hold and calling these people who tell me my account is closed and that I do not owe them anything, yet I still get bills in the mail. It went from being $20.90 to now $240.78

I am extremely angry that such poor business can still be IN BUSINESS and that people are being cheated and taken for granted. It's very frustrating when we sit on hold and listen to their recorded advertisments telling us how important our business is to them, and how great of a company they are - yet you read tons and tons of letters of complaint about all the same problems on your Consumer Complaints newsletter. I am very worried that this could effect my credit eventually.

As stated above, I have spent literally hours and hours between hold times and explaining my situation to different representatives every month, over and over. And I am very concerned that this will effect my credit - which is extremely unfair.

Aarica should send a certified letter to Worldcom stating her case and demanding that her account be straightened out. So should other consumers with similar problems. Be sure to retain copies of all correspondence.

Tonya of Jamaica NY (7/24/01):
I purchased a cell phone in June 2000 with the service provider listed as MCI Worldcom Wireless. I did not know that the service from MCI would revolve around the word "less". I called MCI and spoke to a rep briefly to confirm the services I was offered. I called MCI again to get help setting up my voicemail and to ask other general questions.

The NIGHTMARE begins. I only received one bill. I have been calling MCI for months, but to no avail. Is the company with the exception of the sales dept. run by mindless (there's that word again - less) tree people, that can't answer a phone. Finally changing from tree people to humans, someone called me. Now realizing that I have not paid my bill (not received) and they want the money.

Finally, on 07/24/01 I call again, someone answers. I explained to the rep my reasons for calling and to complain about the bill (the extortionate amount due). She said the bill was high because it has late charges which have been billed to me, because I have not paid the bill. I have not been getting a bill. She said well, the billing department has been backed up and they are now catching up the billing files so I'm going to have to pay it.

I asked to speak to a Supervisor, she said no one can help me. I'm going to have to pay it. I immediately starting writing this complaint. I should have gone to the Consumer Affairs Website to check for this companies name on the Extortionist Society list. I see that there have been a number of complaints about MCI wireLESS. It also seems (from there no service attitude) that MCI puts great Emphasis on the word "LESS" in their company name.

Christopher of West Hempstead NY (6/11/01):
I Just got off the phone with an account services rep from MCI Worldcom Wireless and canceled the 2 accounts I had. It all started 6 months ago when I signed up and immediately asked for a consolidated bill. This process took until last Friday to complete. It was the first consolidated bill I received. In the meantime I made payments to them for both accounts separately. This was not even taken care of properly.

They lost my first check issued to them directly from Citibank. Needless to say a week after my first correct billing statement, they shut off both mine and my wife's phone. This in my opinion is a default in there contract with me to provide a reliable and competent cellular service.

So now I'm curious. Does a company like this have the right to mess with its customers and then still charge them $400 for an early termination fee of a service they failed to provide?

Scott of Brooklyn (7/11/01):
From the beginning of my using WorldCom I was not billed for many months. When I called them, if I was lucky enough to reach a representative, I was told the computers were down, not to worry, I would get a bill soon. When I received my first bill, it was high, but I paid it. However, i still did not get monthly bills. The second phone acct with MCI WorldCom was not a problem and I paid that as it was received, although it too was months late.

When I finally received another bill it was for over $1,000, which advanced over the next several months to over $1,900. When calling to question calls on the bill, I was told the computers were down or I was unable to reach a representative. This has gone on and on. Finally, when my year was up I wrote on a bill statement I received that I wanted both phone contracts terminated. However, I am still receiving bills and I have not used the phones for months.

Jane of Eagan MN (5/8/01):
I was thoroughly happy with my cell phone service company for several years (Marathon Communications). I was able to obtain a low minutes, low priced monthly cell phone deal and it worked well for me and only $9.95 per month. I recommended this company to everyone I knew because of their low rates and good service.

At the beginning of the year (2001) I decided to look into purchasing a new cell phone as mine was pretty old, not keeping a charge, and really cumbersome. I contacted my company, Marathon Communications, and was thrilled to find out that they would sell me a phone on a contract basis with the usual low rate attached ($9.95 per month). In total, I would be paying $19.95 per month for the phone and service. Unfortunately, this meant a one year contract with MCI Worldcom Wireless. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

The first problem occurred when I still was with Marathon right before the switch to MCI. They attempted to activate my phone and, at the same time, another customer's phone was activated with the same number. As a result, my phone never was actually activated. When I realized my phone was not working, I called Marathon and they gave me a new number. At that point I was switched to MCI.

I received my first bill with MCI a month or so later. I contacted them because the phone number on the bill was not my new number it was the number that had never activated. I could not make the person understand what I was talking about. I don't know how they train their customer service bunch but they are impossible to deal with.

After contacting them about the new phone number, I continued to receive my bills with the old number on them. That would not change, I was told. Then I realized shortly after the first call when I tried to make a call on my phone, it wasn't working again. I called three more times, being put on endless hold many times over and talking to customer service reps that had no clue. When I asked to talk to a supervisor, I was told that there was no one available. I finally called again about one and a half months or so ago and felt like maybe I finally got some help. I talked to a customer service representative, even though I was on hold for 45 minutes, I refused to give up until she did something about this problem. She said she would put a job order in and that should solve the problem within a week. After about a month, my phone was working again. Now after two weeks of a working phone, it is again not activated and unusable.

I can't cancel my contract or I have to pay a $200 fee. I've given up contacting them and now I'll be out at least $100 or more for the next year for service that I'm not getting. I am totally disgusted with these people and with Marathon Communications for working with them. I'm going to write to Marathon and let them know what has been happening. It probably won't make any difference but I don't think I'll go back to Marathon when this ordeal is over. I feel like they screwed me over in hooking me up with MCI.

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