Complaint Review: Virgin Mobile USA

I have been a  customer of VM since the only thing that they had to offer were cell phones, and catered primarily to teens. I do minimal talking on my cell and did  not wish to get locked into a contract. Upon research. I found that VM had and still has the best deals around.

Now, fast forward to modern times where they now offer smartphones, broadband and wifi. Before they offered wifi, I purchased a Broadband-to-Go USB device through their website for $79. It took over 3 minutes to connect and once connected, it took even longer for pages to load. By the time that I was able to get going, the battery in my brand new laptop was flashing red every single time. I wound up having to keep it plugged in.

I had to call Bombay or wherever their call center is out-sourced  often. As usual, it was the same scripted advice, "remove the unit, wait a few seconds, then plug it back in". Believing that I would receive better internet service, I foolishly purchased their MiFi2000 wireless device for $129. If you remember the days of dial up, or have ever owned a WebTV, believe me when I say that the  connection speed is TWICE as slow.

Once connection is established, as soon as try to go to a website, up pops "no internet connection" message. I tried my e-reader, same message, my daughter's e-reader, same message. Their solution to this one is to remove the battery while it is on, reset the device with a paper clip and they would reactivate it at their end. Today was the final straw, I logged on at exactly 12 noon,  by 3:02 pm I had successfully connected to one site. Now I did not say that I got to surf it.

My phone is another issue. No bars, no service. Virgin Mobile advised me to remove the battery for FOUR days and if the problem persisted to call them back. There is nothing wrong with any of my devices since they all work without issues when connected to other wi-fi providers and I finally get to see that my phone can crank up all of it's bars. Who knew?

A number of times I have asked them to check my zip code to ensure that Sprint has towers in the area for sufficient coverage. Of course, the answer is always, "yes, there is coverage in your area".

I am paying VM for my phone service, my daughter's (same poor reception), another user not in this area and has no complaints as well as for wi-fi. I may as well just hand the money over and not even bother turning on any devices until I leave home. Also, I am not surrounded by buildings, or structures, and my house is not concrete. So peeved!