Andrew
Corona,#2Author of original report
Fri, April 01, 2005
I have had cellular service since 1988 when you phone was either mounted in your automobile or you carried a setup much like the military did in WWII. I have been with L.A. Cellular, Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. Customer loyalty meant nothing to any of them if you were canceling service. I paid an extra month's service with the first three and the first month's service with their replacements. During the 5 years that I had this National Business Account, I never spoke with a customer service rep. Changing services, as well as reporting defective units and return authorizations were done via their (very sophisticated) support email system that links every email together so you have a picture or a story of the issues. I simply transacted business with them as I always have. The call they want you to make to complete cancellation is a ruse to get you to cancel again into the next billing cycle, and there they have you. I had bought into that nonsense I would have participated in screwing myself. Everything in life is a judgment call, weighing the benefits and consequences of every decision. The important thing to remember is to make sure that you act in a way that works for you and your principles. Never cut off your nose just to spite your face. There are many battles in life. Pick those that you can win or at least not hurt you if you lose or until the battle is over. My attorney has only sent them one letter. Their main collection agency dropped the collection after I submitted my documentation. UPDATE!! I spoke with the new agency this morning and faxed them my documentation this afternoon. I anticipate like results. I am waiting until their derogatory has a negative affect on me. Thus far, it has not. I refinanced from 30 to 15 years @ 5% this past September and purchased a new Corvette convertible in November and added another company credit card in March with an extremely high limit. On the refinance I had to submit a brief letter of explanation for the collection account. My credit score dipped somewhat after the refinance but it is back in the high 700's now. The % of my balances to limits is very low and I don't have too many of them. Every account except AT&T shows "never late." I am just mentioning these elements to demonstrate my last points. I thought this out before I made my decision. Can you image what their bills look like with no usage on them? For three months? Coupled with the chain of their emails? I never say, Never say "never" and never express an opinion about a situation I have no knowledge of. I never suggest to someone that they should have given in to a rip-off. Those that do not are the very ones that pay the price to make the changes that the ones what don't have the guts to stand up for themselves benefit from. I believe that's what this web site is all about. Knowledge is power! Be smart, be powerful. However, I may be wrong. Think about it and decide for yourself.
Tracy
Anoka,#3Consumer Suggestion
Wed, March 30, 2005
That really sucks that this happened to you, but I have also tried cancelling things via email and most companies do require you to call. I don't mind having to call them when I want to cancel only because I know it's being done when I am on the phone with them. Every time you send an email to Customer Service, it goes to a different person, if you would have called, you would have been able to cancel right then and there. Just some advice for the future!