|
Nextel, now that it's part of Sprint, has a lot going for it -- flexible terms, favorable contracts and fool-proof insurance. Problem is the terms are only flexible for Nextel, the contracts are only favorable for Nextel and the insurance is fool-proof for Nextel.
The customers? They never know when their service plans will change, the contracts are almost impossible to cancel and the insurance has a bad habit of not paying off. Oh, there are plenty of other problems too, including "free trials" that aren't exactly trials. They're more like kangaroo courts. Then there are the billing disputes that always seem to be resolved in favor of ... you guessed it ... Nextel. The company's use of rapacious, commission-only sales people doesn't help matters, as Uma explains.
Nextel already faces at least one consumer class action suit charging that it raised rates without proper notification.
Christopher of Port St. Lucie FL sums up the "flexible terms" problem nicely:(8/26/03)
I was told that the Nationwide Nextel feature was free for three months. Heard it from a friend. I was told by Nextel that they had informed me about it months ago and that it was my responsibility to read all of that junk they put in with my bill. Sorry, I don't. They state that they have the right to put anything they want on your bill and then it is your job to catch it and only cancel the service. No credits because they have the legal right by the FCC to assume that you want whatever they have to sell and I have to catch it and then cancel it.
It's kind of like going in for an oil change and finding out they also put on 4 new tires. You have to keep the tires, they just won't put them on again when you come in for the next oil change. Their customer service is poor at best. I have yet to have them do anything for me or to be nice to me. It is very much their-way-or-the-highway mentality.
Some recent complaints on various topics ...
Michael of Kihei HI (07/03/08)
I am with nextelsprint. My complaint is this I do not receive good service any more. I asked for a new phone in which they sent to correct my service, it did not. So for the last two days I have tried to return that phone and for them to just put my old phone back to to its working condition so I wont be in contract any longer than I have two.
Each day I have talked to nextelsprint they pass me from one agent to the next. Both days I have spent well over an hour trying to get my problem resolved, with no avail. I do not know what laws protect a consumer or what my next move should be. I do no think this is the way a buss. should act any help or comments would be wonderful.
I am so stressed out that I feel like I can explode.
John of St Petersburg FL (07/03/08)
I am been a customer with Nextel for since 2004. With the illness of my father I purchased an additional line for emergency reasons. The second line was never used and the air time/minutes really were not used. On Jan 8, 2006 my father died and again the phone was never used.
I live in Tampa and have received updated phones and signed contracts for me. At no point did I travel to Ocala to sign another contract for the second phone nor did my mother/father receive and new equiptment. I am now currently unemployed and renewed my contract in Tampa for additional 2 years. Nextel will not allow the second line to be cancelled for 2 additional years or the penalty.
In reviewing my personal bills they ranged from $150-$400. I feel considering I didnt renew the second contract and there has been a death in the family I would like to have the second line cancelled (Fathers death certificate can be provided if requested). Please assist me and let me know how to forward this letter.
Economic Damage. Approximately $30-$40 additional payment per month since my fathers death and now the cancelation fee and additional charges. The final bill has not been received. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.
Kacie of Summerfield NC (06/25/08)
Have complained to them numerous times. phones never work right and i keep telling them this. they keep getting black spots and over heating cuting off for no reasons. i have to pay 100 dollars everytime because i keep being told that i dont have insurance even though i purchased it when i activated the phone and have called numerous times to request it and told i do have it so im not suppose to be paying the 100 dollar fee.
customer service is terrible and no will offically answer questions. they call harrassing me about a bill that is 1 day late and they receive it only a day late because the check is cashed.
Princess of Aransas Pass TX (05/20/08)
Im very hurt,my husband and i had phones with nextel for four years,a little over two months ago,i fell short of paying them the full amount,my amount was like 480 in march 2008, paid 200 in april 2008, during that time my phone was disconnected.
I thought that i had 280 balance,call a few weeks later ,to find out, my account was canceled without my permission and an extra 200 was added for cancellation.Mine you that my contract was up in august 2007 ,so by right i could have canceled any time with out me having to pay an extra 200.Does charging for cancellation make any sense.
Charlotte of Brunswick GA (05/18/08)
Last year my son was having a problem making a payment on his Nextel. So to stop his phone from being turned off I made a payment with my American Express. I called and made a one time payment. They continued to use my card for over a year, before I saw the charges and found out what was going on.
These charges were done without my approval or knowledge. I had to close my account to stop them from using my care. They wouldn't stop even after I told them that I didn't have a Nextel account. A YEAR WORTH OF CHARGES! I won't stop until this unjustice is corrected.
Christine of Flushing MI (04/30/08)
We are customers of Sprint/Nextel and have been for the past 10+ years. The past three months I have had to call on our bill. Each month they have had a printing error and have overcharged us. This month the overcharge was well over $100.00. They again said I'm very sorry, it is a printing error. My question is how many printing errors have occured over the past 10 years!
I tried to cancel our phone however we have five so it would cost me $1,000.00. Does anyone have any suggestions on getting out of the early termination fees? I called Sprint/Nextel and tried with no luck. They stated that they fixed the printing error and there was nothing I could do. Help. Thanks
Claudia of Orlando FL (02/25/08)
On 6/30/07 I decided to terminate a number I had standby (1 out of 3) and called Nextel. Also I decided to downgrade my plan from Business Essentials 2000 to Business Essentials 1000 per representative suggestions. He sent me a confirmation email stating the services he had given me $59.99 etc, etc (I have the letter). He also stated the bill would not reflect changes until the next bill cycle -sometime in August 2007. I received my bill in August for $471 which was their error because they were charging me a deposit fee, they took time to reimburse me, but did. I still can't understand which are the new charges because it read BE 2000.
I waited for the next bill. Sept $349. Oct $306 Nov 206.96. During this time I called and called with different representatives about the issue with the plan and text messages, mobile-to-mobile etc. No one wanted to help or some would say I needed to pay what I owe. No one understood there was an error and it needed to be fixed. Nextel changed my plan without my consent and they wanted me to pay the bill as they had changed it. They refuse to honor the original plan I requested on 6/30/07 (letter of confirmation). At this time they claim I should have notified them 90 days after the change. I explained to several parties no one was doing anything, and I had to explained the same story to everyone. Also, on 6/30/07 they cancelled one of the numbers I asked to keep and opened the number I wanted to discard. I believe (although they don't accept) this is what changed my plan, the person who made the mistake of cancelling the wrong number didn't realize she also changed my plan. I paid about $100 per month to keep my numbers on, but I refuse to pay the wrong amounts. I never had a problem with Nextel before until now. In addition they claim they cannot block text messages coming into my numbers - ever since I had Nextel this was never a problem. They claim they have to take away my voicemail in order to do so.
Nextel is charging me $431.07 for Jan/Dec in addition have closed down my phone lines. They offer me $50 compensation and will not honor the plan as I requested on 6/30/07 as long as I pay the $431.07.
Frank of Monument CO (02/11/08)
My construction company has been with Nextel, ten lines for about 3 years, and never signed any contract or commitment. Six months ago my foreman got an upgrade/new cell for most of the lines without signing any agreement. Now Nextel says we incurred a two year commitment even though we did not sign any agreement. Are we bound to the two year commitment even if we did not sign any contract?
Clara of Monticello KY (01/20/08)
I have not gotten usable service for the last year. I have called Nextel, but they won't do anything about it. They offer 10 percent off for next year, but I do not have service with this company because they do not have good reception here in Monticello, KY. Please help me get out of this mess. I do not get any good service anywhere in my home.
Paula of Haiku HI (01/07/08)
I had been unhappy with the cell phone service that Nextel was providing me with and knew that my contract was about to end so I called customer care to find out the date that it ended. When I called I was informed that my contract had ended three days before. I asked the customer service representative about the charges that I would incur if I switched service providers. He informed me that since I did not have a contract with Nextel any longer, I would only be charged for the minutes that I had used to date. I specifically asked if I would incur any other charges related to switching providers and was assured that I would not. When I asked him how much my charged would be he told me around $10 because it was only three days usage. One month later I get a bill from Nextel for a full month of charges. I called their customer care and was told that even if I used one day of usage in the new billing cycle I would be charged for one full month. When I informed them that I called to make sure I wouldn't be charged for one full month and had been reassured that I would only have to pay around $10, I got this reply I'm sorry that someone told you that, but you were misinformed.
I now have to pay for one full month of service.
Joe of Lindenhurst NY (12/30/07)
I've had nextel for a year. I've lost/damaged my phone more than 3 times so Asurion, the insurance company, discontinued my insurance on 10/02/2007, but nextel billed me until 12/30/2007 until I noticed their mistake and informed them, but they refused to return my money paid for Sept, Oct, Nov for which I was receiving no insurance service but paying for it. When I called customer service the supervisor PEGGY was very rude, has a disgusting attitude and refused to return my money, claiming it would be insurance fraud, and finally when I asked for the cancellation dept hung up on me.
3 months of insurence paid for but not recieved totalling $21.00.
Yasmin of Joliet IL (12/14/07)
Almost every month I have to call Nextel customer to complain about charges that are applied to my bill. Each time I speak with a rep they have me on the line for more than a hour before they are able to resolve my issue. This time, 12/14/07, I called because I had called on 11/24/07 to have my text msg plan upgraded, and I was informed by the rep that my plan would be prorated for the month on my current plan and will be charged the $20.00 for the combined family text msg plan for all three of my lines. I called to complain about the overage charges and requested to speak with a manager and I asked her to go back and listen to the recordings to see exactly what was explained to me and she told me that they had no way of going back and listening to the call that I made.
This results in me having a phone bill that is way over what I should be paying, when I have other bills.
Emma of Radford VA (12/11/07)
I got a new phone from Nextel that I have to pay for (a whole other issue there), after being a customer for years. Less than 6 months into my new phone I realize it doesn't ring. That's strange, it's never been droppd or anything. It's been my baby because I hate paying for new phones. I call Nextel and get tech support on the phone. We do some resets and other things and then we get cut off (also on a nextel phone). I look on my phone to find the number to call him back and realize there are NO CONTACTS! So as soon as I got the guy back on the phone, I told him I had no contacts and he said, "really?" and laughed. I also have two Ms. Pac-man charges per month, which are not on my phone and charges for a 1ktv which also does not exist. Menu-java apps-the only option I have then is java system which leads nowhere. I don't have a calculator which I used to have before calling Nextel. I don't have a TV which I used to have and I definitely don't have any games because I never had any other than the demos. I don't play games or watch TV on my cell phone.
I pay $70/mth (which is a lot for a college student with no parental suppport), for a phone I can't hear ring, I don't have any numbers for and I get charged for ms. pac-man and a 1ktv every month which the tech guy couldn't even find on my phone. He was baffled.
Mary of Columbus OH (12/09/07)
I have had this service for a while now. I am very unhappy and I want out of my contracts with no cancelation fee. This year my 2nd line was going to expire, so I called and said to cancel it when the time was up. Then I called back and said not to cancel the line, just give me the 2 new phones and I will sign up again for 2 more years. I got the phones, and then when I got the bill it had a Cancelation fee of $200.00. I called and talked with so many people and they all told me that I canceled it. I told them I just got 2 new phones, so why would I cancel it when I just got the phones. It took a while for that to be taken care of.
Then I was having money problems and I had my phones shut off. I got it paid up and told them to turn the phones back on. They said the 2nd line was canceled. I was mad by now. I told them I needed my second line. They told me that I would have to order a 2nd line. I told them I was not paying again. Well, I got the second line and they were sending me another new phone. It was more than a week and I did not get my phone. I called and they said the phone was shipped to a lady in Texas that had the same account number as me. I called and complained and they gave me a $74.00 credit and I got the new phone.
I got the first 2 phones in April and the screen on one of them is hard to see. I took it to a store and they said that I did not have insurance on it. This is a ic402, and I said I can't see this screen can I use the other ic402. After talking with many people, I was told that can't be done. Now the new ic502 has not worked since we got it. You have to take the battery out then put in back in for the phone to work. I am so tired of this. I need my phones to be reliable. I have a son who has mild mental retardation and my other son has ADHD and I need to be reached at any time. I want out of my service with no cancelation charges. I will even send all 3 phones back.
Edward of Scottsdale AZ (12/04/07)
I have had the ability to access the internet blocked from my kids three lines for years. With out my permission, access was changed and I suddenly was hit with $30.00 in internet charges. A conversation with a customer service rep, Netty and Jolanda, revealed that the service was activated and there is nothing that they can do to credit this. Upon further inspection, unlimited test messaging that was $5.00 per month is now $15.00 without any approval or notification. I also find it interesting that both customer service reps claimed phone problems on their end when I requested a supervisor. Netty claimed that she could no longer hear me although I heard her chuckle when I screamed at the phone. She then disconnected. Jolanda claimed that her wires were acting funny and that she would have to switch wires after my call. I am interested in hearing if this is consistent behavior and an intentional act on the part of Sprint.
On my Oct/Nov bill, these charges amounted to $61.00 extra.
Patricia of Wilmington CA (11/14/07)
I have been a Nextel customer for over 5 years. I still have and use the phone I originally bought. The beginning of this year, I contacted Nextel to see what they could do for me to lower my monthly payment. I have paid $150.00 a month for 5 years; I was looking to lower my monthly bill. I then asked about getting a new phone, some thing more updated and that wasn't going to cost a whole lot, perhaps free. The customer service representative told me they can help!. I said OK, so he did what ever he wanted. I never got my phone, and now I am binded into a two-year contract that I have to pay even more: $200 a phone to disconnect my service.
I have to continue with a service that I don't want anymore because of that representative's actions. I feel that Nextel is trying to get all the money that they can; they don't feel that $9000 of my money is enough.
Joscelyne of Derby CT (11/12/07)
I bought 2 hybrid phones and got a Nextel family pack deal for $79.00. I had the phones activated Feb. 14, 2007. I started receiving my phone bills and none were under $150. I assumed I was using my minutes for the plan which allowed 700 minutes. I would look at my bill and see I was being charged for the family pack deal ($79.00), and one of the phones was itemized at $49.00. Last week (11/08/07) my boyfriend got a call on one of the phones from Sprint telling him we could save an extra $20.00 a month, cost us no additional fees, and a free phone--and the plan we have would go up to $99.00. He agreed and called me to tell me we would save money monthly. His name is not on the bill, the representative gave him my pass code to change the pass code, and gave him authorization to change the plan. On top of that it would be another charge of $99.00 for the new phone we can't use, $79.00 for the family plan that just one phone is on, and his phone for $49.00 which they had separate.
Bottom line: I was on a family plan but with just one phone on the plan. Today I called to cancel the phone that was shipped, which I cannot use with my hybred phones. Since 2/14/07 I have been paying for a family plan--plus his phone that was supposed to be on the family plan, paying for 2 phones separately for 9 months now. They would credit me only for $160.00.
Andres of Flushing NY (11/04/07)
I received an invoice from (Nextel) now known as Sprint for the amount of $1,323.99, Which my service was shut down from Nextel. I then called the customer service to find out why the service was shut down and they informed me that there was Web usage on the phone. I told them that the Web was never used and explained to them that if it had been used it was not done intentially.
When I had called the first time on October 25th to inquire why my phone was shut off they explained to myself about the web (internet) charge which I had told them no one was on it or using it, They were going to put in a dispute which was to take five to ten days to solve. I then called again on November 3rd. to find out what was the status and while speaking to one of there Customer service reps I was disconnected. I then called again to speak to a superisor and they informed me that the dispute was never put in and they were going to switch me to another person. I was then disconnected again.
Danielle of Wyandotte MI (05/22/07)
For the last 7 days my cellular phone has been unable to make or receive a call that is not dropped. I have contacted the customer service department every day and the options provided to me are to purchase a new phone or pay Sprint/Nextel 200.00 to get out of my contract.
Jose of Winter Garden FL (03/19/07)
I have an account with Nextel. In the past 3 months I have purchased 2 phones from Nextel. They said I would be getting a discount on the phones because they had a promotion but because I have a flexible spending account with them that I would have to pay for the phones with my credit card for the full amount then they would credit my nextel account for the difference of the discounted price. When I received my bill that had not only charge my credit card but also billed the phones to my account and used the credit I had on my account to put towards the phones. I am paying for the phones twice.
This is not the first time this has happened. A year ago I purchased a phone and they did the same thing. It took me 3 months to get them to fix it. Now every time I call Nextel I spend 2-3 hours on the phone and when they can't give me an answer or explanation of why I am being over charged they disconnect me. Even the Supervisor has hung up on me.
Keith of Ventress LA (03/10/07)
I purchased a service plan and insurance on my phone. In May '06, my i730 quit working. The Nextel store sold me a new phone (i870) and told me to just transfer my SIM card and it would work fine. It did. On 3-8-07 I lost my i870. Nextel had me call The Signal (the insurer). The Signal asked me to fax a copy of the receipt on the i870 since they showed I had an i730. (They also had my home address of 7 years ago.) The next day I was advised my claim was denied because I didn’t tell them I switched to an i870.
The Nextel rep didn’t tell me I needed to do this. Nextel billed me for insurance for 8 years without a claim. Nextel's rep said the insurance rate was the same for the i870 as the i730 I had.
Spencer of Welaka FL (02/14/07)
I called based on mail solicitation and spoke to a gentleman who told me I did not qualify for the offer. He insisted that I pay full price for the phone and that it be charged to my credit card. He placed this order. When I stated I did not want to go through w/ the full price purchase he stated that I must call back and cancel the order. I called back and cancelled the order. The 2nd rep stated that I could in fact get the reduced price listed in the solicitation. She placed the order correctly and charged the discounted price to my phone account. The next day I received a phone. Two days later I received another phone - the original order was never cancelled.
I called Nextel/ Sprint and spoke to Christina who was rude and unhelpful. I asked for a supervisor and was given Shannon. She was unhelpful as well and refused to offer any options. Not only will they not refund the charge to my credit card, but the one option available will take 2 to 3 business cycles after I send back the second phone. After several years as a Nextel customer this lack of service and respect is unacceptable. It is shameful that because one agent failed to accurately cancel an order that I am being penalized.
Peter of Honolulu HI (01/25/07)
Purchased 10 Nextel phones which are advertised as free but turns out you have to mail in rebate forms. Completed all forms and mailed in Sept. 26/06. Contacted rebate dept. by phone Jan. 11/06. They stated "your forms were lost". I followed procedures to fax them copies of forms which would be processed in one week.
Jan. 24 called backed they stated system was down. Called back Jan. 25 in the middle of our conversation I was cut off 3 times. Fourth call placed through customer service. Individual at rebate center said and I quote again "we never got your fax". As with fax machines if transmission fails it prints a report which in this case it didn't. They are claiming the US Postal service lost the forms and also are claiming fax machines also don't work.
Greatly concerned about how this is playing out. We are owed $800.00 in rebates.
Andrea of Key Largo FL (01/02/07)
The girl at the Nextel office told me that she pretended to be me (the wife) when she called Nextel to set up my husbands phone. How do I know that she doesn't "pretend" to be me again now that she has SS#'s and such? Are we even under contract seeing as she imitated me to make a contract?
Thomas of Albuquerque NM (08/24/06)
I have been a nextel subscriber for 3 years. Recently a phone was purchased for me by my wife as a surprise birthday gift. It was more of a surprise to find out that they extended my contract for 2 years. My wife is not on my account nor is she an authorized user. They refused to take the phone back and they refused to let me out of this 2 year agreement. Eric in account services was extremely rude to me and told me anyone can make changes to my account as long as they have my information. He refused to let me speak to a supervisor and told me the supervisor was on vacation.
It ended up costing several hundred dollars to get out of this contract that i never agreed to in the first place.
Laurie of Hopkinsville KY (04/17/06)
I purchased a phone at the local store and when I got home it had no signal. I tried to return the phone to the store in Hopkinsville, Kentucky where I bought the phone. They wouldn't take it back. They told me I had to mail it to the company. Which I did. They say they never received the phone and because I didn't have a tracking number I was responsible to pay for the phone and late termination fees. After much haggling, they waived the termination fees but say I still owe for the phone. I refuse to pay for the phone because I returned it exactly as they said to. 6 months went by and I assumed it had been taken care of. In the last two weeks I have been getting numerous calls. They have turned it over to a collection agency.
Jennifer of Carpentersville IL (04/05/06)
I have been a customer with Nextel for two years. Since they have merged with Sprint I have had nothing but problems. I added a second phone to my account in December of 2005 with extras such as mobile to mobile calling, which has not worked for the past three months. When I received my first bill with the two phone #'s I realized my package did not have enough minutes. I paid the bill and upgraded the packages on both phones. The mobile to mobile minutes have not been working properly. I also noticed that I have been being charged for Direct Connect miutes, even though I have an unlimited amount included in my plan. all of the extras I signed up do not seem to be working properly.
My next bill was over $500. I immediately called and was told that the mobile to mobile did not seem to be workinig. Nextel customer care, Chris, said they would have someone look into it and I would receive a call within the week and my bill would be revised. I received no such call and my next bill was for over $600, making the total almost $1200 for two months. Even though, many customer service agent had agreed with me that my phone service and the extras I was paying for were not working properly, no one could help me. I was told at one point to "write a letter". I called again and Lauren ID# 78876 told me how sorry she felt for me, but she could do nothing and my phone service would be shut off no matter what I did.
She did transfer me to a tech support agent, Fred #1012656, who tried to help me be able to view a complete list of the phone numbers we had called from both phones in the last three months, which was unavailable on the website. Their website does not even work properly! I was told to go through every one of my calls and highlight which ones were mobile to mobile and let them know, because there is not a way for Nextel to identify who is a nextel/Sprint customer or not. I was also told that the mobile to mobile minutes were not working properly again, but I would have to figure out why.
Fred ID# 1012656 was not able to help me with the tech problems I was having and said he would "transfer me to the next tier" in tech support. I was put on hold for more than 50 minutes until a woman answered and asked me to explain my situation all over again. I asked her why I had to wait 50 minutes to be "transfered" to another tech just to explain my situation all over again. Apparently no had put any notes in the system. I asked her for her name and ID # and she refused and hung up on me. I called back and the office was closed.
I have been trying desperately to resolve this issue with no help from Nextel/Sprint. I have recently printed a list of all the phone numbers that have been called within the last three months and am working through every number. There are numbers I do not recognize, which also leads me to believe that they may have my number crossed woth someone else's. It would be impossible for me to have talked for over 3000 minutes in a month to people who are not included in mobile to mobile, while also having free nights and weekends. I do not use my cell phone for work, nor am I allowed to use it there.
When reviewing my past bills, I have come close to using about 1000 minutes each month and that was when I did not have mobile to mobile. I have never come close to 3000 minutes nor gone over even 1500 minutes in a month. I have no where else to turn. Nextel has threatend to shut off both phones and send me to collections. No one from their customer care department even wants to take the time to find out what the problem is, let alone fix it. I absolutley need to take legal action as I have been a customer of good faith and want this problem resolved. I am prepared to go to any lengths to resolve this matter.
Michael of Lancaster CA (04/05/06)
I am moving 6-8 miles from my current home and my nextel phones do not work at my new home. They said too bad you are under contract and you can not terminate even if you can't use your phones.
We have to pay 400 dollars to end our contract so we can switch to another provider and actually have working cell phones
Patricia of Sarasota FL (04/04/06)
We have 2 Nextel phones. Until 2 months ago they worked "ok." Since then we have had problems with calls being dropped, static calls that no one can hear, can't direct connect each other. My husband was rushed to the hospital 3 weeks ago with a serious health issue. We need our phones to work. What happens if he needs emergency care and can't call. As of yesterday his phone was out of service 18 hours.
I have repeatedly called Nextel. Now I'm told it will take 48 hours to find a problem out that I called about last week. The customer support people are rude & uncaring. I told them I would like to get another phone service since I feel that an emergency is always imminent. I can cancel my contract for $400 for both phones. They don't make exceptions. I asked them what they would do if they were in my situation. The reply I got was that a contract is cancelled if you can find someone to take over your account or if the person dies and you send in a legitimate death certificate.
Thank you Nextel for your care and concern. They won't answer what they would do because they would probably go find a reliable network for their loved one to be able to make a call for help. These people are all like little robots that read off of cards. How do you deal with robots or people that don't have feelings and can't answer on their own? I was told that even if Nextel per the contract moves from the area that I would still have to pay a $200 cancellation fee per phone - give me a break! I asked them if they would pay a service person the full amount for something that was supposed to be done in their home and it was left unfinished. Oh yes, they would pay if it had been approved by the FCC. Give me a break.
We use our phones for business also, my husband is self employed and I sell real estate. We have missed calls because of the poor service with Nextel.
Matt of Cambridge MA (03/17/06)
Nextel is charging me for an extra billing cycle when I called and cancelled my service a few weeks before it ran out. There rep told me my service would expire on the last day of my contract and would not be charged another month. He asked why I was leaving, I explained I was going to another company and taking my number with me. I ported my number two days after my service ended to my new provider. Nextel chargded me another month becuase they say that rep had no rights to end my service and that porting my number constitutes the final day of my service according to my contract.
My contract was signed three years ago before porting was enabled. They reps told me they would prorate it for two days, I disagreed but said fine I would pay it to be done with the issue. They apologized up and down for their employees rudeness who tried to make me pay the full bill. I called back two weeks later to see why the bill was not prorated and another employee told me too bad, you have to pay it or it goes to a collection agency.
Paying for a month of service never used.
Marc of Fort Washington MD (03/08/06)
My mother had purchased three Nextel phones (because they don't have a Family Plan) less than two weeks ago. The sales rep told us that we could use the phone for 14 days (a trial period) and if we didn't like it, we could return the phones and cancel our accounts for a full refund, no cancellation fee. We talked to the sales rep on a Tuesday and received the phones, by mail, that Friday. We eventually ended up not liking the phones and wanted to cancel the service. When we gave them a call, the customer service rep tells us that the 14 day trial period started the day we established the account and that we would have to pay the $200+ cancellation fee. Why would the 14 day trial period start the day we order the phones if they're not even in our possession!! Were we trying out our phones that Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before we recieved them? NO.
Laurie of Fremont, NH (02/24/06)
Under the contract with Nextel, the monthly charges were supposed to be $69.99 a month for a family plan. The first phone bill was $376!!!!!
I'd received a letter from Nextel telling me to not be alarmed when I got my first bill and it was higher than anticipated. That was because they bill one month in advance. Well, the 2nd bill was about the same amount- about $370. I was really panicking at this point. The 3rd bill I've received from Nextel is for $1466!!! The phone bill is 7 pages long and most of those pages are an attempt to explain the phone bill. Among other things, I've noticed a 40 cent charge for when people leave me voice messages. I am wondering if there are charges on my bill that don't even belong there.
The Nextel clerk at the mall never told us the rebate forms needed to be sent within 2 weeks. Now Nextel is charging us $200 for 3 phones, which were supposed to have been free.
My bill with T Mobile had only been $59.99 a month and we never went over our mintues. I was afraid to use my Nextel phone so I ended the service and went back to T Mobile. I know there is a termination fee, but I figured it would be well worth it.
Will of New Orleans LA (01/31/06)
After Hurricane Katrina Nextel's service was ravaged as were most other cell companies. Even 200 mi from New Orleans it was hard to get a line in or out. By October, still 200 miles away service improved enough that I forwarded my Bellsouth office phones to my Nextel. Of course they require the renew of the contract for another year. Now that I'm back in New Orleans and things have somewhat leveled out I need to reduce my expenses so once again I have to 'renew' with Nextel for another year. Because of this disaster Nextel has been able to extend my contract twice. Most companies have been quite helpful but not Nextel.
Nextel says they discounted the bills to their customers in Sept and Oct to compensate. Their service didn't work. They should 'discount' the bill. But that has nothing to do with requiring people in a disaster area to extend their contract in order to have the most economical service. They get you in charges for excess minutes or by renewing your contract. One way or the other.
Michele of Seaford NY writes (1/29/03):
We have been charged the "service fee" for several months without realizing it. We called yesterday to have our most recent charge removed but they told us that we have to show previous charges in order to get them credited properly. We do not keep old statements so we do not know how to go about getting these fees credited properly.
|
