- Report: #92613
Complaint Review: Cingular Wireless - Internet
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Cingular Wireless
Www.cingular.com Internet, U.S.A.
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Cingular Wireless Reocurring excessive overcharges for supposed "Free Incoming" calls Greenville Internet
My wife and I have been on the Cingular network for over 5 years until recently, and painful it has been. Originally both our phones were part of a group package awarded to Cingular by our firm. One of the many promises Cingular made in order to win this large contract was that ALL calls received on any of these cell phones would be *Free Incoming*. That promise got them the contract.
Cingular made the promise that, "As long as these accounts remained with Cingular, this Free Incoming feature would continue for anyone that remained a Cingular customer... even if our firm went out of business".
Well, our firm DID eventually scale down to a dozen employees from over 200, and ultimately we did not survive the 5th and 6th round of layoffs. And then in a very predictive way, the Free Incoming was becoming Free less and less. Month by month, our billing on both phones began to reflect that we were being charged for this supposed Free Incoming. This billing error required that I contact customer service to correct the mistake with calls to their customer service. These "correction sessions" would normally last 30 minutes to over an hour, not including the long periods of time being placed on hold.
The overcharges were almost always straightened out, and a Cingular associate would conclude the call by saying "Sorry for the problem". However, some of these "correction sessions" were never entered into the log by the Cingular associate, and the credits were never applied as promised. This would result in a *double mess* the following month, then having to correct two consecutive months worth of the same overcharge. The monthly overcharges ranged anywhere from $100-$200 dollars for both phones.
It was becoming blantantly obvious that Cingular had grown tired of maintaining their promise, and they were doing whatever they needed to do in order to *kill* the Free Incoming feature on any phone from this group account.... even if it meant intentional repeated billing errors in order to achieve their goal.
CONCLUSION: After 5 years of billing mistakes and poor service, Cingular finally got tired of crediting our accounts for their regular monthly billing errors... and so the "Dropped the Bomb" on us! Both accounts went haywire and resulted in overcharges so excessive in nature that "AN OFFIVCIAL INVESTIGATION" would have to be conducted. One phone bill was over $1,250 when it should have been no more than $300.
That phone was cutoff in the middle of the investigation... and when the next bill arrived it was over $3000. The other phone has a similar story. I was strongarmed into paying one account in excess of $600 what the amount really was... just to keep it off my credit report. However, while I was mired up in negotiations over the $3000 that should have been $300... they reported the other phone to our credit report. I am now begging Cingular to delete it from the credit report and I'll just pay them whatever they want!
THEY WIN! I LOSE... BIGTIME
Ed
Greenville, South Carolina
U.S.A.
Cingular made the promise that, "As long as these accounts remained with Cingular, this Free Incoming feature would continue for anyone that remained a Cingular customer... even if our firm went out of business".
Well, our firm DID eventually scale down to a dozen employees from over 200, and ultimately we did not survive the 5th and 6th round of layoffs. And then in a very predictive way, the Free Incoming was becoming Free less and less. Month by month, our billing on both phones began to reflect that we were being charged for this supposed Free Incoming. This billing error required that I contact customer service to correct the mistake with calls to their customer service. These "correction sessions" would normally last 30 minutes to over an hour, not including the long periods of time being placed on hold.
The overcharges were almost always straightened out, and a Cingular associate would conclude the call by saying "Sorry for the problem". However, some of these "correction sessions" were never entered into the log by the Cingular associate, and the credits were never applied as promised. This would result in a *double mess* the following month, then having to correct two consecutive months worth of the same overcharge. The monthly overcharges ranged anywhere from $100-$200 dollars for both phones.
It was becoming blantantly obvious that Cingular had grown tired of maintaining their promise, and they were doing whatever they needed to do in order to *kill* the Free Incoming feature on any phone from this group account.... even if it meant intentional repeated billing errors in order to achieve their goal.
CONCLUSION: After 5 years of billing mistakes and poor service, Cingular finally got tired of crediting our accounts for their regular monthly billing errors... and so the "Dropped the Bomb" on us! Both accounts went haywire and resulted in overcharges so excessive in nature that "AN OFFIVCIAL INVESTIGATION" would have to be conducted. One phone bill was over $1,250 when it should have been no more than $300.
That phone was cutoff in the middle of the investigation... and when the next bill arrived it was over $3000. The other phone has a similar story. I was strongarmed into paying one account in excess of $600 what the amount really was... just to keep it off my credit report. However, while I was mired up in negotiations over the $3000 that should have been $300... they reported the other phone to our credit report. I am now begging Cingular to delete it from the credit report and I'll just pay them whatever they want!
THEY WIN! I LOSE... BIGTIME
Ed
Greenville, South Carolina
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Edward
Easley,South Carolina,
U.S.A.
Cingular Wireless RipOff Tactics - additional comment
#2Author of original report
Sun, May 23, 2004
As a necessary addendum regarding the excessive overcharges we experienced, Cingular is now referring to any credits previously applied as "Courtesy Credits". Rather than Correction Credits, or Obligatory Credits... Cingular is now calling any and all of our past credits "Courtesy Credits". Boy! Are these guys slick or what?!? And the person that used coined that moniker also told me that I was darn lucky to have received those courtesy credits! This person is a smug self-righteous jerk that is one of their high-level managers down in Florida. Man... don't even try to state your position with this clown because he/she has been trained in *adversarial retort* methods... and when discussing anything with him it's either his way... or the highway! He's never wrong, and Cingular doesn't make mistakes according to this clown. Lastly(at least for now!), Cingulars coverage area in the upstate of SC is pretty bad too. In fact, their overall signal strength and modulation quality is inferior at best. I couldn't even use my phone while I was inside my house... unless I stood on a chair by a certain window in my kitchen and pressed my left cheek hard against the glass. You wouldn't believe the looks I got when family and neighbors came to visit! And then sometimes even that awkward *chair-perched cheek against the glass* contorsion didn't work... so then I'd have to go stand in the middle of the street in front of my house. AND when I say in the middle of the street... I MEAN THAT LITERALLY. Standing in the front yard or on the side of the street the call would not go out or come in. And if I went anywhere near the mailbox... the call would disconnect! I eventually got used to this incredible inconvenience, and it wasn't so bad having to go stand in the middle of the street... unless it was raining. I learned later that my neighbors were spreading rumors that I was having an affair and cheating on my wife... otherwise why wouldn't I be using my phone INSIDE my house like a normal person. Another rumor regarding my sanity started when I was seen talking under an umbrella in a downpour... while standing in the middle of the street! That rumor was actually pretty funny because sometimes I honestly feel like Cingular has just about pushed me over the edge!
