Tmobile SUCKS

[Becca]

So here is my ongoing saga with tmobile:

In August, my phone quit working for no apparent reason. The inside screen just broke- I could answer incoming calls and talk and dial the numbers on my speed dial (the buttons were a little tricky so I couldn't really dial a whole number without seeing what I was pressing). I took the phone into a tmobile store and they said since it was under warranty they'd send me another one and I could send this one back to them and be done with it.

They neglected to tell me they'd be putting a $10 s/h fee on my next bill, which was auto-withdrawn and overdrew my bank account. By $2. Because they didn't tell me they'd be charging me $10 for another phone, when this one broke for no reason.

So I get my new phone at the very end of August. They neglected to tell me it was actually a refurbished phone from someone else.

A few weeks ago it starts having problems with buttons- sometimes the buttons don't work. I am going to take it back to the store, and then miraculously it starts working again, so I decide to give it another shot.

On Friday during a call with my sister the voice cuts out on my end. Phone operates normally, but people can no longer hear me on my end. I give it a day to see if it gets fixed, it doesn't, I freak out yesterday and end up having to deal with it today on my lunch hour.

Luckily, tmobile is literally right across the street from my building. So I go over there and give them the phone and they say that since I "upgraded" to this phone the last time it broke they couldn't give me a different phone, only replace the one I had. And they'd have to ship it to me. Then they look at my phone and the stupid water indicator is on, so they say they can't do anything about it- even get me a new one of these phones- because it had "water damage."

They then tell me I can use their phone to call customer service, but there's nothing else they can do. Customer service dicks me around for my entire lunch hour and then tells me I have to buy a phone at retail cost, no discount, because I'd just gotten this phone and that counted as my "upgrade," because the phone I had before that phone was no longer offered or supported. I have had the phone a month and I did not get it wet. It had problems from the beginning.

Then the guy from the store tells me that the water damage indicator can change if you talk on your phone while it's raining, and that you should never do that. I look at him like he's a moron from another planet, because we're in Portland, Oregon and if it weren't raining here it wouldn't be October.

It's basically cheaper for me to terminate my contract early and go to another company who will give me a phone for free. Tmobile sent me a used phone and charged me $10 for it (without telling me there would be a charge) which was kind of funky from the beginning. If I would have known it was used when I got it, I would have brought it back right away, but I thought it might just be something I was doing wrong or low battery time or something. And now that it's broken, I have to pay around $200 to get another one of THE SAME PHONE (yeah right) or more for a comparable phone that they're selling now (they're not selling my phone anymore, so it would probably be another broken refurbished one).

So I got no lunch today because I spent the entire thing in there on the phone with customer service, who did nothing for me.

I cannot afford a $200 phone. I can't afford a $200 cancellation fee. The actual cheapest option for me would be to wait and not have a phone until January, when I'm eligible for another upgrade. But that means I'll have to go 2 and a half months with no phone. I could buy one off of craigslist, but it won't have any sort of warranty and so if it breaks I'll be in the same situation. Plus, I can't get a hold of anyone on craigslist because I don't have a phone.

And I have no phone and no way of contacting anyone on the "outside world" except for through the internet. And my life is otherwise in the toilet as well. So great. Just great. Super.

I hope Catherine Zeta Jones breaks a toe.

[LunaRufina]

That all really sucks a whole lot of ass.

I'm not entirely sure they aren't obligated to give you something. But I don't really know.

http://www.t-mobile.com/shop/addons/servic...p;InqSource=TMO

About upgrading your phone. You have to pay to do that, don't you? Like a little bit of something for more services. That is saying stuff about extending your contract, blah blah blah. So, like you would have had to do something specific to get a phone upgrade. And be aware of it, and not get someone else's refurbished phone. I think.

http://support.t-mobile.com/knowbase/root/...3.htm#defective

About what they do and how they say they don't suck.

I don't know if you returned the old phone, but I assume you did.

You needed to do stuff if you were to get a fancy ass upgrade and shit. Were you charged a replacement phone fee? Either way there seems to be something wrong.

Doesn't it seems like they are all wrong in the beginning?

You should be able to get your upgrade. There must be something in there that can be put together to equal "TMobile is stupid and Becca gets her working phone now."

They should be able to send you a copy of paperwork saying the upgrade phone you got and when and all of that.

[Velvet Elvis]

Check out the virgin mobile pay as you go web specials here:

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/phones/home.do

We've had the V5 slider things for a while and had no problems. It's pay as you go so no contract. If you talk a lot you might want to go for one of the month by month plans.

http://www.virginmobileusa.com/rates/month.do

Either way there is no long term contract crap to get locked into. The phones are dirt cheap and they let you vote on TRL for free or some shit like that.

[Becca]

Let's see if I can make the timeline a little clearer.

Last year I had a different phone. I had it for awhile.... and then I dropped it in a glass of wine on NYE. Totally my fault, not a problem.... I'd had that phone for a long time, so I was eligible for an upgrade and basically "had" to upgrade because my phone was old and they didn't carry it anymore. The new phone I had worked until.... August? No.... I think I had another phone in there somewhere- another one of these phones that broke. Then this phone (black phone) broke. Got the replacement, which has now broken.

You're only eligible for one upgrade every 11 months or whatever. So I might be able to get the upgrade price in January. But until then I have to pay retail.

It's not covered under the warranty because the water damage sticker has changed color; which the guy informed me could happen if I used my phone while it was raining outside. Now I have clearly done this, because it is raining outside ALL the time. However, I don't think talking outside while it was raining caused the problem- I was inside in my bed when the problem started happening. So they're unrelated... but the stupid sticker has changed color (for all I know I got it changed color, because they acknowledged that this phone was a refurbished one).

I'd rather just stay with Tmobile since I've been a customer forever and they've bumped up my minutes a couple of times, so I get 700 anytime and unlimited nights and weekends for $40. But if they think I'm going to pay them $200 for another one of those shitty-ass black cockroach phones, they've got another think coming.

Not to mention the prices quoted to me online are different to the ones quoted to me in the store. I want to call and bitch at customer service, but I don't have a phone to do it with. So I guess they won't be getting their bill paid for awhile while I work off what they're charging me for the phone.

[lilie]

yep I've had virgin mobile for years-no trouble at all-and you can pick from an assortment of phones- I use Nokia

lilie

[lachesis]

It's true. They are cockroach phones. My friend worked at a telephone company and had to go into the warehouse to pick up some refurbished phones. Well she took some apart and guess what came out? Sorry I don't have any advise to offer about what you can do.

[susanlynn]

When the phone is dropped in the toilet, dry it our in front of a fan. Good luck.

[lilie]

Cockroach phones LOL that is so true I had a job with a chain electronics store a few years back and a lot of our stock came from overseas before being shipped to the store and had all sorts of creepy crawlies and if it came in for service the item would sit out in the warehouse bubblewrapped for who knows how long and all kinds of things would go in there to live. We were swapping out phones right and left. a lot of the trouble with dropping your unit in the toilet is not always just the water its also the corrosives that can be in toilet water (bleach,cleaners, etc) that will corrode the circuit board. If you dry it at the least go in on a busy day and ask for a replacement they'll usually be so busy and stressed they'll only take a cursory look and swap it out. You are allowed usually to ask for a different brand as long as it's in the same price range.

lilie

[Latin Girl]

I didn't read everyone's replies.

But if you buy a cingular or virgin mobile pay as you go phone you just take out your t-mobile sim card and put it to the pay as you go.

and the phone will be cheaper.

I have a Motorola V400 phone that is great. If you want it let me know.

It was from cingular works great but you might not get all the t-mobile fuctions.

(I am kinda cell phone crazy)..........it's just sitting in the door.

I have t-mobile and usually customer service is good. But this sounds like it sucks.

I hope this helped.

[wifezilla]

1. Go on ebay.

2. Get a used phone compatible with your service* (should cost you about $20-25).

3. Finish out your contract.

4. Tell TMobile to go fuck themselves and get a new FREE phone with a new service provider.

*Reputible sellers will give you the serial number on the phone so you can check and make sure the last owner did not leave a balance. I have finished out contracts twice this way when my phones blew up.

[Latin Girl]

1. Go on ebay.

2. Get a used phone compatible with your service* (should cost you about $20-25).

3. Finish out your contract.

4. Tell TMobile to go fuck themselves and get a new FREE phone with a new service provider.

*Reputible sellers will give you the serial number on the phone so you can check and make sure the last owner did not leave a balance. I have finished out contracts twice this way when my phones blew up.

I think the ebay sounds good. But how can you be sure that it will be good???

My friend just bought a pay as you go phone and used her sim card from her old phone and works great.

(her dog has a habit of chewing up her phone and glasses)

[wifezilla]

When using EBay, always check the seller's rating. It should be well over 95%. If they do have a few negetives on their record, check the comments section to see what the problem was and how it was taken care of. Some buyers are just jerks and will give you a negetive rating to be an asshole. Some sellers are just stupid. The comments section usually tells the story.

See how long the seller has been a member of eBay. Rip off artists usually don't last long.

Some sellers offer limited warrantees. Consider that when you are bidding...it may be worth a few bucks more for a gaurantee of some sort.

Check shipping rates. It should be at or only a buck or two more than actual shipping costs. Some rip off artists lure you in with low prices then slam you on shipping.

Check the serial number on the phone to make sure there isn't a balance owed. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND GOOD SELLERS WILL OFFER THIS WITHOUT DELAY.

Make sure the phone has been tested to make sure it powers up and holds a charge. New batteries can be expensive and you don't want to deal with that if you are just trying to get by until the contract is up.

Don't be afraid to ask a seller questions. There is a button right on the auction page specifically for this purpose.

Check for a return policy. There is usually one shown right on the auction page. If one is not spelled out, ask for it.

Use your common sense. EBay can be a great place for bargains if you pay attention to the important stuff.