Complaint Review: Freedom Pop

So before getting Freedompop I had made sure to find out how much data is used for different activities.  So I knew that I could not watch movies, youtube or play games without incurring high data usage.  This was going to be just for checking and responding to email and getting in grades and doing some web surfing.  So I ordered the Franklin Mobile Hotspot and their ordering page was a little confusing, which ended up having me order two hotspots instead of one.

The issues have been the following:

-my plan beginning from the moment I ordered the Franklin mobile hotspot.  Even though I did not receive it for about 10 days after ordering it and that it did not work when I first received it.

-To get it activated I had to pay $5.00 to get to speak to a technician.  That is right.  If you want to bypass the automated ready made answers you have to pay.  You can choose to pay once or to pay a regurlar $5.99 monthly fee for the priviledge of getting online or phone help when you need it.

-So I got one of my other devices activated (more to come about the second device).  so how I have paid $19.99 + $5.00.  And I start surfing the web and doing some light Youtube watching.  I keep checking the freedompop usage dashboard to see how the datat usage is accumulating, but it never shows any usage at all being used.  Ever!

-Now because there was a promo I ended up with a couple of extra gigs for the first month and took advantage of that by watching some shows.  I still never saw the usage amount go up.  Not after 3,4,5,6, etc. hours.

-Eventually I saw in my email that they were toping off my account automatically as I was using extra data, which was not showing up on their account.  This cost me an extra $45.  I was frustrated but chalked it up to inexperience and found where I needed to turn of the automatic topoff in the fredompop site.  

-by now I am a little leary.  I turned my device off until the next billing cycle.  It's ok, I have other internet venues.  I am patient.

-Next cycle I turn on the device and it just doesn't work.  Well fine I really wasn't feeling good about it anyway since I felt I should not have to pay for customer service.  I turn off the device and decide to downgrade my plan and chalk it up to experience.  Now it gets interesting.

-I downgrade and suddenly realize that they had me on a $9.99 premium service plan I had not agreed to obtain, so now I am charged $29.98 instead of $19.99 for a device that does not work and that I will have to pay $5 to have a person reactivate.  No thank you.

-but that is not all.  Remember that second device I accidently ordered because the ordering process creates a bit of confusion?  well I thought that since I had not had it activated it was not being charged. OH NO.  It was being charge and not only charge another $19.99 but also the premium service $9.99 AND the premium VIP service for $5.99 so in total this month I have been charged $70 without any service working.  Of course I quickly deactivated everything and am calling my debit card company to make sure they are blocked in the future. 

-I guess their business plan is to nickle and dime the populace which can still amount to a fair little petty.  I will say that I will call Sprint, who is my carrier, and tell them that if they continue to do business with them I will stop recommending them.

-you live you learn.