- Report: #150845
Complaint Review: Cingular ToGo - Nationwide
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Cingular ToGo
http://www.cingular.com Nationwide, U.S.A.
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800--331-0500
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Cingular ToGo ripoff. Without permission turned off my phone and tried to keep a $70 credit. Nationwide
The following are two emails I sent to the president, CEO, VPs, and legal counsel for Cingular on July 21 and July 22. You can get the email addresses at http://www.cingular.com/about/meet_us
Dear Cingular Executives:
As I write this email, I am on hold with Cingular waiting for a "financial specialist." I bought the prepay plan because I was planning to move out of the country and did not want to be in a contract I could not use.
This morning I called Cingular and asked that my account not be debited until I return from Mexico. I was informed by the Customer Service Representative in Alabama that the phone would work in the state of Mexico. She said with a prepay plan that there are no roaming charges. I told her it was my understanding that one must have a Mexican service to use while in Mexico. I tried to explain that Mexico is a country not a state. During this discussion she also said the phone would work in the state of Canada.
To make things the worst possible, she cut the phone off. I called back while at the doctor's office to get the phone back on. You have my $70 plus dollars.
Finally the nurse at the doctor's office had to wait on the phone for me while the next Customer Service rep was trying to straighten it out. He got the phone back and said I have a $40 credit. I know that it was over $70 because I checked the day before and I never use the phone. I later discovered that my money shows up on the computer but it will not be activated until I pay another $39.99 to reactivated the account. What's wrong with this picture?
I have to pay you more money to be able to use the money that belongs to me because you turned my account off without any authority to do so.
I am disabled. I have a minimum of 9 herniated discs. I explained to the male CS rep that I was driving alone through Mexico and if I have car trouble it could be dangerous without a phone.
I had car trouble while in Texas. Luckily I was in a parking lot and some men helped me but if I had been on the highway with a dead alternator I could have been in serious trouble.
If your people screw up, why must the customer pay extra to get his/her service reconnected? Why was my service disconnected at all?
I will be in the state of Mexico tomorrow and my phone better be working. Please have your legal department explain to you the Deceptive Trade laws in Texas. This might also be considered outright theft under the Texas penal code. I will send you the Codes if you need them. If the phone is not working when I leave to cross the border at 8AM, I will file suit. I will send you a certified letter making the demand.
You will probably never read it. I will sue for treble damages, plus any and all other damages you have caused me. The suit will probably not be worth $5000 but it will cost you over $10,000 to defend it. How do you defend it? I asked not to have my account debited and you turn my phone off demanding that I pay more money to be able to use the money you already have.
I think this will be an easy suit to win. Maybe I can get more than $5000 especially if I have any problems on a Mexican road. Read the papers. The Mexican roads are very dangerous especially for an attractive blond female (me) who tries to travel safely by having a cell phone with her.
You need to fire the woman I spoke to this morning. She is a vindictive moron. Please give her a map and explain to her that Canada and Mexico are not states. She probably thinks that Europe is a state.
Pamela D.
Dear Cingular Executives:
This morning I finally got the phone back on at 8:30. Since I was told the phone works in the state of Mexico I expect that that promise is kept. You might want to put a map on the wall of the CS area with a big red line drawn around the US explaining that anything outside the red line is not a US state.
I am including a link to a web site that I should have visited before I chose your service. I know that Texas has regulations about ripoffs like Cingular and I will ask my congressman to look into US regulations.
Trust me, I am disabled, mad about it, read extremely well, get my point across extremely well and I have nothing better to do than go after companies like Cingular. I might be a mosquito on you but as a mosquito I carry every illness a mosquito can carry.
I am your worse nightmare. I will not get a web page to complain. I will email the US Congress and Texas Legislators until Cingular is punished or operating like a normal business and not like the pirate it is now.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff149959.htm
Again, I expect this phone to work throughout Mexico and I want all of my money applied back to my account. The amount lacking is around $30. I think I can easily prove that I had over $70 on the accountn when your CS rep turned it off but only around $40 has been applied. Sad that stealing $30 from a disabled person is so important to Cingular.
Pam
Cc: Stanley T. Sigman
Ralph de la Vega
Joaquin R. Carbonell III
Edgar L. Reynolds
Kathleen L. Dowling
Pamela
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Cingular Wireless
Dear Cingular Executives:
As I write this email, I am on hold with Cingular waiting for a "financial specialist." I bought the prepay plan because I was planning to move out of the country and did not want to be in a contract I could not use.
This morning I called Cingular and asked that my account not be debited until I return from Mexico. I was informed by the Customer Service Representative in Alabama that the phone would work in the state of Mexico. She said with a prepay plan that there are no roaming charges. I told her it was my understanding that one must have a Mexican service to use while in Mexico. I tried to explain that Mexico is a country not a state. During this discussion she also said the phone would work in the state of Canada.
To make things the worst possible, she cut the phone off. I called back while at the doctor's office to get the phone back on. You have my $70 plus dollars.
Finally the nurse at the doctor's office had to wait on the phone for me while the next Customer Service rep was trying to straighten it out. He got the phone back and said I have a $40 credit. I know that it was over $70 because I checked the day before and I never use the phone. I later discovered that my money shows up on the computer but it will not be activated until I pay another $39.99 to reactivated the account. What's wrong with this picture?
I have to pay you more money to be able to use the money that belongs to me because you turned my account off without any authority to do so.
I am disabled. I have a minimum of 9 herniated discs. I explained to the male CS rep that I was driving alone through Mexico and if I have car trouble it could be dangerous without a phone.
I had car trouble while in Texas. Luckily I was in a parking lot and some men helped me but if I had been on the highway with a dead alternator I could have been in serious trouble.
If your people screw up, why must the customer pay extra to get his/her service reconnected? Why was my service disconnected at all?
I will be in the state of Mexico tomorrow and my phone better be working. Please have your legal department explain to you the Deceptive Trade laws in Texas. This might also be considered outright theft under the Texas penal code. I will send you the Codes if you need them. If the phone is not working when I leave to cross the border at 8AM, I will file suit. I will send you a certified letter making the demand.
You will probably never read it. I will sue for treble damages, plus any and all other damages you have caused me. The suit will probably not be worth $5000 but it will cost you over $10,000 to defend it. How do you defend it? I asked not to have my account debited and you turn my phone off demanding that I pay more money to be able to use the money you already have.
I think this will be an easy suit to win. Maybe I can get more than $5000 especially if I have any problems on a Mexican road. Read the papers. The Mexican roads are very dangerous especially for an attractive blond female (me) who tries to travel safely by having a cell phone with her.
You need to fire the woman I spoke to this morning. She is a vindictive moron. Please give her a map and explain to her that Canada and Mexico are not states. She probably thinks that Europe is a state.
Pamela D.
Dear Cingular Executives:
This morning I finally got the phone back on at 8:30. Since I was told the phone works in the state of Mexico I expect that that promise is kept. You might want to put a map on the wall of the CS area with a big red line drawn around the US explaining that anything outside the red line is not a US state.
I am including a link to a web site that I should have visited before I chose your service. I know that Texas has regulations about ripoffs like Cingular and I will ask my congressman to look into US regulations.
Trust me, I am disabled, mad about it, read extremely well, get my point across extremely well and I have nothing better to do than go after companies like Cingular. I might be a mosquito on you but as a mosquito I carry every illness a mosquito can carry.
I am your worse nightmare. I will not get a web page to complain. I will email the US Congress and Texas Legislators until Cingular is punished or operating like a normal business and not like the pirate it is now.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff149959.htm
Again, I expect this phone to work throughout Mexico and I want all of my money applied back to my account. The amount lacking is around $30. I think I can easily prove that I had over $70 on the accountn when your CS rep turned it off but only around $40 has been applied. Sad that stealing $30 from a disabled person is so important to Cingular.
Pam
Cc: Stanley T. Sigman
Ralph de la Vega
Joaquin R. Carbonell III
Edgar L. Reynolds
Kathleen L. Dowling
Pamela
Austin, Texas
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Cingular Wireless
5 Updates & Rebuttals
Steve
Phila,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cingular
#2Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
I didn't get to read all the comments by everyone but Cingular isn't that great either. Heres why: My plan says $39.99 per month plus taxes and the rate plan. I have ins for $3.99 a month which comes in handy. Heres where the company gets me. I didn't realize it until a friend of mine that works for tmobil stated that they are stealing $26? from me. When they say 5000 free minutes nite and weekends I'm paying for it. Total usage charges. 5.99 for online billing which means they are charging either the internet providers or making money off someone. 1. is 911 system which I understand that. 11.33 is what they take from me. Does anyone else have this. The reason for the free phone is that the govt gets chunk change for text messaging and Cingular sent me an offer for a free phone.Samsung c207 and I was told don't get it b/c they are trying to get rid of all their stock of phones. My contract ends 10-21-05 and I will switch to Tmobil. Get same rate plan but pay less from what I'm told.
Steve
Phila,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cingular
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
I didn't get to read all the comments by everyone but Cingular isn't that great either. Heres why: My plan says $39.99 per month plus taxes and the rate plan. I have ins for $3.99 a month which comes in handy. Heres where the company gets me. I didn't realize it until a friend of mine that works for tmobil stated that they are stealing $26? from me. When they say 5000 free minutes nite and weekends I'm paying for it. Total usage charges. 5.99 for online billing which means they are charging either the internet providers or making money off someone. 1. is 911 system which I understand that. 11.33 is what they take from me. Does anyone else have this. The reason for the free phone is that the govt gets chunk change for text messaging and Cingular sent me an offer for a free phone.Samsung c207 and I was told don't get it b/c they are trying to get rid of all their stock of phones. My contract ends 10-21-05 and I will switch to Tmobil. Get same rate plan but pay less from what I'm told.
Steve
Phila,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cingular
#4Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
I didn't get to read all the comments by everyone but Cingular isn't that great either. Heres why: My plan says $39.99 per month plus taxes and the rate plan. I have ins for $3.99 a month which comes in handy. Heres where the company gets me. I didn't realize it until a friend of mine that works for tmobil stated that they are stealing $26? from me. When they say 5000 free minutes nite and weekends I'm paying for it. Total usage charges. 5.99 for online billing which means they are charging either the internet providers or making money off someone. 1. is 911 system which I understand that. 11.33 is what they take from me. Does anyone else have this. The reason for the free phone is that the govt gets chunk change for text messaging and Cingular sent me an offer for a free phone.Samsung c207 and I was told don't get it b/c they are trying to get rid of all their stock of phones. My contract ends 10-21-05 and I will switch to Tmobil. Get same rate plan but pay less from what I'm told.
Steve
Phila,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
Cingular
#5Consumer Comment
Wed, August 03, 2005
I didn't get to read all the comments by everyone but Cingular isn't that great either. Heres why: My plan says $39.99 per month plus taxes and the rate plan. I have ins for $3.99 a month which comes in handy. Heres where the company gets me. I didn't realize it until a friend of mine that works for tmobil stated that they are stealing $26? from me. When they say 5000 free minutes nite and weekends I'm paying for it. Total usage charges. 5.99 for online billing which means they are charging either the internet providers or making money off someone. 1. is 911 system which I understand that. 11.33 is what they take from me. Does anyone else have this. The reason for the free phone is that the govt gets chunk change for text messaging and Cingular sent me an offer for a free phone.Samsung c207 and I was told don't get it b/c they are trying to get rid of all their stock of phones. My contract ends 10-21-05 and I will switch to Tmobil. Get same rate plan but pay less from what I'm told.
Jon
Scotia,New York,
U.S.A.
Cingular Is Better Than Most
#6Consumer Suggestion
Fri, July 22, 2005
Pamela, You didn't state a reason why your phone was turned off, so you have me confused. Perhaps it was just a mistake, it seems you contacted an inexperienced rep, which happens all of the time everywhere. Cingular isn't so bad when it comes to problems, if you want to spit nails try Sprint, they really SUCK! I've had Cingular pay-as-you-go for several years now, and Customer Service has always been very pleasant. Also, Cingular coverage is very good. Cingular can turn off your phone if the time limit on the minutes purchased has expired, and you have not purchased new minutes within a specified term after that. They don't need your permission to turn the phone off. And a re-activation fee does apply to get your phone turned back on. I don't know if this is your situation. Any Cingular store will give you a map of their coverage areas, so if Customer Service is of no help providing that info, why not get the map? You can also ask to speak to someone else if your not getting satisfaction with the rep that answers your phone call. Cingular has a new GO-phone that only charges 25 cents a minute, or 10 cents a minute plus $1 for each day of actual use. Since you use the phone infrequently, the latter plan would probably fit you the best. I'm switching over since I now pay 45 cents a minute, and I will save money over the long run. There is no activation fee and a new phone is only $40 on the web, and I'm told the phone includes free $10 air-time. You can keep your present phone number. Not a bad deal, even if you're still angry with Cingular. You will still need to use your minutes within a specified time frame, and be subject to being turned off if more minutes aren't purchased. But this is true for all of the prepay phones available from the different carriers. If your present phone has GSM and a smart chip, you can probably change over and keep it. There might be an activation fee if you use your present phone, I don't know. Due to your situation with Cingular, if they have wronged you, maybe you can get the new prepay Go plan using your present phone with no charges. Negotiate is the best strategy, the litigation approach is usually not worth it, and no lawyer will take your case since the money involved is too small, so you're on your own if you elect that route. Mexico can be a dangerous place, so if you have health problems, it is not a good idea to travel alone, even with a cell phone. There is no guarantee that you will be in a coverage area should you have an emergency; that would be the same case for the US. Coverage can be spotty anywhere, or a cell tower might be down for repairs. Make sure your car insurance covers traveling in Mexico, and realize you are subject to arrest if you're involved in a car accident. Please, don't travel there by yourself. Good luck.
