Sacramento Black Bird
Sacramento,#2Consumer Comment
Mon, February 22, 2010
Allow me to point a few things out.
I've been a customer of Metro-PCS for a few months now. I've had solid, clear service with no complaints whatsoever. True, I don't use the 'bells and whistles' that you can pay for, but there's really no charge that Metro throws down that the larger companies don't.
And let's be fair here, MetroPCS caters to those who don't have a good credit rating, and who can't afford the monstrous deposit that companies such as AT&T, Sprint, etc. ask for if you want to purchase a contract plan.
The only squawk that I've heard repeatedly on this is that they charge you to make a payment if you don't go through their online process. The fact that the whole focus of this "report" was because of $2.00 is downright silly.
If you don't like their service, try Trac-Fone - now there is a company that gouges for every minute you use. There really aren't any freebies through their service, and it's spotty at best.
Bottom line, nothing's free these days. And don't tell people not to use a service when you're still using it yourself.
The phrase (putting it nicely) is "Crap or get off the pot".
John Q Taxpayer
Antioch,#3Consumer Suggestion
Fri, April 11, 2008
To wolf, first off... you must not have read his report.. because in it he states that (like me) he does not have the wealth to afford a rediculous deposit that is required for anyone with a credit score less than 700 to obtain service with any other contractor. Which means, they have sort of a monopoly in place.. they provide service to people when nobody else will... obviously, this fact is nothing to take to court under the monopoly law, as there are prepaid phone services out there (that stink, but are there). But the fact is, a lot of people are forced to obtain service with them if they want a cell phone. Also wolf, he didnt sign any contract... you obviously know not of what you speak of, because you would know Metro's biggest montra: "unlimit yourself"... contracts pose a limitation... not to mention, "no signed contracts" is written all over anything with the metro pcs logo... And as for them having to pay people to take your payment, lets face it... EVERYWHERE YOU GO THAT REQUIRES YOU TO SPEND MONEY HAS SOMEONE TAKING IT FROM YOU!!!!!!! and Best Buy, McDonalds, Home Depot, Your local movie theater, the gas station down the street, NONE OF THEM charge you for their representative standing there and taking your money... and their actually standing up! their moving! their picking up items and bagging them and counting change and all kinds of stuff! not dealing with 1500 transactions daily, spending all of 30 seconds typing in a 16 digit card number, expiration date, and payment amount into a computer over the phone... AND YOU HAVE TO PAY EVEN FOR AN AUTOMATED SYSTEM OR ATM MACHINE TO TAKE YOUR PAYMENT! so "workforce" is no excuse here... Theres only one situation that would merit the charges associated with paying your bill... is if a live person CALLED YOU UP THEMSELVES to remind you to pay your bill, and then took the payment... why? toll charges... fact is, business like that is conducted in other states.. why? because california taxes are outrageous for businesses and unless it HAS to be localized (stores, and other on-site businesses) call centers are stationed in states like georgia, and elsewhere back east... so yeah, if they called me to pay my bill.. fine... ill pay their toll... but 9 times out of 10 someone is calling them on their metro pcs phone that they pay for... and are CHARGED to do so... there is no right in this... none whatsoever... there is no cause for it, there is no need for it, it should be illegal, and I for one am in the process of finding out if it is, and from there I WILL be proceeding with a class action lawsuit... i have my own complaint listed in this site about the same thing... So to the original author, I salute you! hopefully you, me, and the rest of those affected by this will reap the benefits once/if the suit closes.
James
Monrovia,#4UPDATE EX-employee responds
Thu, January 31, 2008
I think you are jumping the gun here Hector. MetroPCS was made to be simple. You pay X amount per month, and you get X amount of service. It's when you start adding things and expecting the company to do everything for you that you end up screwing yourself over. I know Billmatrix doesn't make ANY money from the payments you make in the stores...so why do you think they are asking you to pay at the location instead of through their system? Because something is wrong with your account and they don't want to take the chance of getting involved, which is very smart! MetroPCS tells you from the start that they charge to make payments because they must pay either the person who is taking your payment, or the company who is processing your payment. Instead of raising everyones rates, they keep their prices low by only charging those who wish to make payments in that method. No, we don't get much training at MetroPCS, but theirs not much to learn. In your situation, you need to be speaking with your bank, NOT us, about fraud. Why? Because a fraud issue is ONLY between you, your bank, and the person who commited the fraud...NO ONE ELSE! We assist as best we can to keep that from happening, as does Billmatrix, but nothing is perfect. The only reason a customer would be blocked and refered to a payment location is if they completely(pardon my language) F'd themselves. Also, instead of claiming that we're ripping you off, why not doing what we advise...it's not for our profit, it's for your benifit.
Wolf
Los Angeles,#5Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 24, 2008
You keep complaining over the fee Metro is charging you...yet you still decided to have them as your phone provider...hmm...sounds like SOMEONE didn't read the fine print when you agreed. In fact, I believe they spell it all out for you in the agreement you sign. I'm sorry, but I almost broke into laughter when you said that they are "Making Up Stories" to get you to pay the $2 fee...really...do you think payments are all processed by magical elves? No, it takes lots of people and machines working together to get your payments processed...so what in the world makes you think it's for free? COME ON PEOPLE!!! THINK BEFORE YOU SIGN! Nothing in life is free or easy...except love..and love doesn't have fraud...
Wolf
Los Angeles,#6Consumer Suggestion
Thu, January 24, 2008
Ok Hecter, now I do understand why you'd be upset about driving to a store to make your payment, as much as gas is now, but to blame a 3rd party like Billmatrix for your incompitence is just wrong! You said yourself that they are a THIRD PARTY PAYMENT SERVICE, so why would THEY have the ability to cancel your account when THEY are NOT MetroPCS? That's like me asking a cop to pay my speeding ticket...IT'S NOT THEIR JOB! As far as your unauthorized payment, I work at a bank, and it's NOT your job to get those payments canceled, it's ours! Also, if you don't mind me asking, why are you trying to pay a phone that has an unauthorized/fraud history to it? Sounds suspicous! Which brings me to the "too many attempts"...until you have your card stolen and see 13 charges of $85 going to a cell phone company that you've never heard of, you'll never appreciate the services that Billmatrix gives to customers. Understand, it's blocking the payment to protect US from fraud...DUH! If you weren't the one trying to make the payments on your phone, then someone is...it's not like computers think "hey...lets screw with this guys account today so we can't take his money to pay his phone bill!" It's not Billmatrix's fault that you can't keep tabs on who is paying your phone! Although, I don't think they have a program to prevent idiots from screwing up their accounts, so I guess you're screwed! You may be asking why I'm defending Billmatrix, and well, I'm really not! But I do know how business works, seeing as how I have a degree in it. If they are taking the payments of other companies, then they get paid by the company, not the customer, so the fee they charge is not for them, it's for the cost to process it electronically. I do use billmatrix for my electric bill, and I've never had an issue with them, in fact, they have the most intelligent customer service agents I've ever spoken with. Now, Hector, I know it's hard to accpet responsibility when you're wrong, but please don't try to blame others for your mistakes! You want to recieve, and I quote, "THE CUSTOMER service we deserve and that we are paying for."....from what I understand, MetroPCS is NOT exactly the most expensive cell phone provider out there...in fact, the whole company is based on paying less for less services...so I think you got EXACTLY what you paid for!