Complain about a product or service

America One

Sean of Goodyear AZ (1/3/03):
I used America One Cell Phone service and upon the termination point in one year they charged me a $99 termination FEE. I refused to Pay the fee because I did not want to renew with them and the contract had expired. It is now on my credit report and shows derogatory credit.

I am a Real Estate Broker and I use my credit nearly everyday to buy houses. It has costed countless hours of explaining to creditors Why I have a $99 judgement on my credit to the lenders/creditors. Im Sure It lowers my credit ratings causing me to have higher interest rates.

Julie of Madison WI (8/12/02):
I contacted America One because they were offering a great deal on cell phones. I had to place the orderover the phone and the phones were sent to me via mail. When I spoke to a representative over the phone I asked specifically if they had a pre-cancellation fee. I was told no. After receiving my phones I was disatisfied and received items on my bills that needed explanation. I phoned them and the customer service department did not assist me at all and I was fed up by then and requested to cancel the service. Then I was told I signed an agreement stating if I cancelled early I would receive a $200.00 fee, which I did. I have been fighting to have this removed from my credit report for almost 3 years without any luck.

Jerry of St. Clair Shores, MI, writes:
In my search for a cell phone I called America One due to their promotion for a FREE "Startac" phone, 120 minutes for $39.95, no obligations. All orders were placed via telephone and NO contract was signed. I received the phone in a couple of days and used it for several months.

My monthly bills began arriving only a few days before they were due and I was subsequently charged a late fee of $16.00 on one of my bills. I called to complain to no avail. I then requested to cancel my service and was told a $200.00 cancellation fee would be assesed to my account. I argued that I was never informed I was entering a binding contract and they told me that when my package arrived and when I signed for it that I, in effect, signed it. I told them that the package was dropped off at my door and I never signed for anything. They would not allow me to cancel and notified me that if I tried to cancel they would refer me to a collection agency for the $200. Can they do this? I have kept the phone until I could find out if they are allowed to do this.

Jerry could probably send the phone back and dispute the $200 charge. He should also file a complaint with the Michigan Attorney General.

Tom of Farmers Branch, TX, writes:
A year ago I decided to get a cell phone, my first. I selected America One since they had such a "great deal" and I have been sorry ever since. First of all, after the first 3 months of fighting with them over hidden and unexplained charges I told them I wanted to cancel the service. I couldn't cancel the service since they signed me up under a year contract which was never mentioned in the flyers I got or in any conversation I ever had with them either before I accepted their service or after.

This I accepted since all of the cell phone service providers have some sort of contract but I just thought it was very unprofessional of them to go out of their way to avoid mentioning the word "contract".

My main complaint comes after 11 months of service of which only one bill was actually correct. Every other month but that one I've had to call several times to talk to their operators or managers when they would let me talk to them. They will avoid letting customers talk to managers at all costs and I have even been told that there were no managers there that I could talk to. Every month my heart sinks when I see my America One bill arrive in the mail because I know it just means several more calls to them to no avail. Their phone answering system is impossible to make your way through so it's pretty obvious that they want to avoid talking to their customers.

They have a promotion that if you get a friend to sign up they will give you a month of free service. I've had 4 of my friends sign up and they only gave me credit for the first, and all they did was give me $3.00 credit a month for 12 months. If you don't continue your service you don't get any credit. After several phone calls about my additional credit, EVERY time they told me that it was taken care of but the next month when I got my bill they didn't give me any credit. Their tactic eventually worked because I grew tired of calling them about it. This has been such a horrible experience I intend to get rid of my cell phone as soon as I can and never get another one.

Gee, Tom, how do your three friends feel about you getting them hooked up with this outfit?

Michelle of Laurelton, NY writes:
I received a promotional offer from America One Communications which I accepted. A few months ago, I had a past due balance and my phone was disconnected, however I continued to receive monthly bills.

When I called I was told that although the phone was disconnected i was still responsible for monthly service fees. I was told by the customer service rep that if I paid the past due amount my phone would be reconnected.

This I did on 7/2/99 only to receive another notice dated 7/15/99 that my phone was suspended because the current month's payment was past due. The fact of the matter is that my phone was never reconnected so I am expected to pay for service that is not being rendered.

On 7/22/99 I reported that my phone was lost only to be told that I would still be responsible for monthly service charges.

Helen of San Jose, CA, writes:
On June 2, 1999 I received an offer in the mail from one of my credit card companies (Capital One) for a free Samsung cell phone for enrolling with America One's digital wireless service.

On June 3 I called and inquired about the program and signed up for not one, but two services (the second to be used by my children). I received the two phones June 4 and proceeded to use one. Since the beginning, the quality level of reception has been poor. Speech is ususally so broken that often it seems as if only every other word can be heard by both parties. Most often, calls are dropped. Most of the airtime is consumed in repeated conversations.

I tried for over two weeks to tolerate the poor quality, but it is simply unbearable. On June 14 I called the Customer Service number and spoke with Denise and Kathleen to complain about the poor quality of the network and that I would like to cancel my contract. I don't feel confident in this service, especially because I had added the second phone for security reasons.

They explained that not only would I have to pay the month of service for each phone, but an additional $200 (not sure if that means for each phone) for early contract cancellation. This is stated in their contract sent with the phones as well as the 15-day equipment refund. It was then 17 days, but they said phones are now considered used (unless I had only about 10 minutes used) and cannot be returned and that the $200 covers the cost of the phones.

They also said that all California customers in my area have never complained about the service. They said they are sorry the quality of my calls are so poor and maybe I could just "stick it out". I told them that I don't know how they can justify making customers pay for such poor-quality service, but they say I am the exception.

It will cost me at least $300 to end this contract and I will have phones with no value to me. Over the phone, we went over a programming sequence (with one of the phones) which might improve the quality, but it has not.

I am so angry that I will have to pay all that money and still be stuck with phones that I can never use again. I feel proud that I could afford a cell phone for myself and my daughters for our own safety. However, not only can I not afford to throw away that money, but I will feel absolutely cheated if I have to pay for something in which I have no confidence. I wouldn't feel so bad if I could return the phones and only pay for the service only. What can I do?