Complaint Review: QLink Wireless

I received my phone in March 2017 for the lifeline program due to disability. One would think that despite being disabled, one is still treated with some dignity (I am, after all, a disabled university professor - but all of us should be treated with courtesy!). QLink sent me their standard ZTE Uhura smartphone (nothing 'smart' about this 4GB memory phone that barely hold any apps and is impossible to root). The problems that I encountered began immediately... I was *constantly* contacted for someone who must have either previously had the number, OR STILL HAD IT!

Check this out people... In January 2018, while suffering from influenza, I was asleep and was awoken from my phone ringing not once, but THREE TIMES! Every time this happened the caller told me they were returning a call from my number that they had received within the past few MINUTES. "What are you talking about?" says I, "I've been asleep the entire morning." The final person to whom I spoke told me that he had heard about this before - something about cloning mobile phone numbers or some such thing and that I should alert my carrier immediately.

I then called QLink customer service and after taking at least 15 minutes to explain to the dim-wit what I was on about with my number being possibly cloned (not to mention several of this former - or current? - person's family members saying horrible things to me in messages "I hope you die, b***h", "F*** you lady", etc...for absolutely no reason) the representative wanted to charge me to change my phone number! I explained to him that there was no way that I was going to pay for a mistake on their part and asked to speak to his supervisor.

It took me over a half-hour to finally get his supervisor on the line. (I had to count to 10 many times to remain calm and pleasant as anger will not get one anywhere.) Finally, I spoke with the supervisor who reiterated the same line about me having to pay the reissuance fee to have the number changed to which I eventually replied that I would have an attorney contact them for fraud and for allowing me to be harassed. THAT finally did the trick!

I was eventually granted a new phone number but only *after* threatening legal action! Can you imagine? And not many people think of this! Prior to garnering my Phd, I worked for civil law attorneys so I *knew the law* regarding such matters, thank goodness.
So this isn't as much of a 'reporting a scam' herein as advice to those of you who read this as to how to get what you want from this awful company!

Now that my year with this pathetic company is at its end, I am switching to TAG Mobile as QLink participates in awful customer service, low talk time minutes per month and false advertising with their statement of 'bring your own phone' (just try that! I went through seven newly purchased phones and not one of them worked on their network! How is one to know unless opens the box, the phone and enters the internal numbers into the website, if the phone will work?!?! ARGH!!!). At least TAG Mobile states up front that they allow you to brig your own phone as long as it is a GSM phone and they offer 750 minutes a month of talk time on their lifeline plan. SOLD!

Best of luck to everyone who has to deal with QLink; you have my sympathies.