Complaint Review: MCI Worldcom Wireless

Six months ago I foolishly responded to a telephone offer of a free cell phone along with a $29.99 deal (12-month contract) for monthly service for 120 anytime minutes plus 200 bonus minutes for the first year. The first problem that I discovered was that the fully charged battery only lasted a few hours, even when I was not speaking on the phone. Later, the wire that I used (way too frequently) to recharge the battery no longer fit into the battery, I needed to replace this wire. That's when things got really bad. I could find no service centers that handled the Ericsson phone, and when I called MCI Worldcom Wireless, I reached a taped message telling me that "due to unusually high call volume . . ." This happened at all times of day and night. And when I finally got into the "queue", I waited for 20 minutes before I finally hung up.

Tonight was the first time I was able to speak to a customer service representative, after two months of trying. I cancelled my plan and demanded that I not be assessed any charges. I was told that no further charges would be assessed, nor any penalties for cancelling the plan. I was told that I would receive notification of this with my next bill, to be mailed around Dec. 25. In the meantime, I will be checking my account on the website to make sure no charges have been added. The representative with whom I spoke gave me his first name and direct line phone number. I'll file an update with the Rip-Off Report when I can confirm that no charges have been assessed. Stay tuned.