Complain about a product or service

Sprint Billing Problems

Sprint Nextel • Sprint PCS • "Wireless Web" • Billing Problems • Unauthorized Charges • Forced "Bundling" • Telemarketing --- News • Sprint Settles Lawsuit, Will Unlock California Phones • Sprint: Don't Call Us, We'll Call You • Texas Sues Sprint Nextel • Sprint Tops Our Wireless Broadband Comparison • NYC Sues Wireless Phone Companies for Deceptive Advertising • Sprint, Nextel Make It Official

Chris of Lafayette LA writes (10/31/02):
I was unemployed and at the end of my service agreement with Sprint so I called and asked to disconnect my service. The customer support person I spoke to offered me a hold plan for $10.00 a month at 10 cents a minute and no free minutes. He also said he would waive 2 months of the 10.00 charges.

When I received my first bill on this plan I saw that it was 50 free minutes and 1.00 a minute overage. I had a $350.00 charge in one month. After discussing the bill with a supervisor we agreed that I would pay half (only because I was tired of them sending me from one operator to another and leaving me on hold for 15 minutes at a time) which I did. I then started a reqular plan and thought everything was worked out.

A month later I looked online and noticed my bill said I owed $174, the amount that I had paid. I called Sprint to see why they had not cancelled the charges and found out that $100.00 of those charges were new charges that had been charged based on the faulty account which I thought had been changed to the new account. The supervisor with whom I had spoke agreed with me and said he would wipe those charges from my bill. Today I looked online again and discovered they had not, as we had agreed, removed those charges.

When I contacted them today the supervisor I spoke to said there wa nothing written down about that conversation and would just keep repeating, "There will be no more adjustments on this account" after anything I said.

I will have to pay about $400.00 dollars to cancel the account and keep from losing my good credit rating because of fraudulent practices, deceptive advertising, and just plain lying on the part of Sprint.

Kim of Austin TX (10/28/02):
On 9-25-02, I attempted to make a payment for my unpaid balance of $371.92 over the automated phone system. Each time I attempted to put that amount in, the system advised it could not take that large amount. I simply hung up the phone, without any confirmation being given. I then in good faith, mailed the full payment, due to the automated system rejecting my payment. On 9-26-02, I discovered both the phones on my account were turned off.

I then contacted customer service to advise them I tried to make a payment over the phone the day before and that I had mailed their payment of $371.92 that same day. Intially CS was rude and unwilling to listen and never confirmed a payment over the phone was accepted the day before, but I finally was able to get one Rep to note a payment was being sent in the mail and service was restored. On 10-03-02, upon checking my bank account balance over the phone, I discovered two amounts that looked very suspicious. I contacted my bank and requested a copy of the checks.

After putting two and two together, I realized that the amount of the checks were from Sprint ... dividing up my full payment of 371.92 into a payment of $121.92, and $250.00 through Customer Service. Enraged, I contacted Sprint, confronting them on the fact that they never had authorization to access my account and take the money out. I simply would have never sent them a check for the payment in full, and then turn around and make a payment over the phone. Sprint has never denied they took the money from my account (they have my bank account info from previous payments over the phone), however, they are contending that I made the payment over the phone.

I never received a confirmation number when I attempted payment over the automated system, and I never divided the payments up in those amounts when I did try. Furthermore, the two checks Sprint used from my account was one mailed to them for the full amount, and one made to another company. Sprint more than happily cashed the check I sent them in the mail as well, resulting in $743.84 received by them. Essentially, Sprint stole money from my account, then turned around and said I overpayed. Now, after countless phone calls, faxes, and letters, Sprint refuses to send me a refund for the amount that was taken from my account.