I could come up with several reasons. But foremost in my mind right now are the following:

• They LIE. All of them. Not just the random sales rep. No. They ALL do it.
• They CHEAT.
  
• They BEAR A GRUDGE.
  
• They DON'T CARE about their customers.

I know. The whole communications industry is rife with cons 'n crooks. But Sprint takes the prize. Followed by AT&T as a close second, of course.

So why do I have a problem with Sprint?

Well - 3 1/2 years ago, I moved to Bend. Hubby needed a new cell phone, so he went down to the Sprint store and signed up with them. That was after the rep there had told him that he'd have coverage in La Pine (30 miles south of Bend, for the unintiated). When hubby got back to La Pine, there was NO coverage. So he went and brought the phone back and cancelled the service contract.

25 days later, we get a bill for $75. That was for one month of service, and for an "activation fee" of $35. We call them to tell them that we never used the phone and had cancelled the contract. The service rep is extremely unpleasant and insists that we'd at least pay for the service. After some negotiation, we agree.

2 months later, we get a notice from Sprint, saying that the fee of $35 is now outstanding. We call them again - and this time, the (somewhat nicer) rep says: "Oh, ok. No problem. I'll expunge the charge. Please disregard all future notices and calls." (I know this verbatum, because I always make notes - with dates - when talking to phone customer service reps. Experience has taught me that over the years.) So we indeed ignored the next bill. Then we never heard from them again.

That was 3 1/2 years ago. Well, yesterday, hubby got a look at his credit report for the first time in years. And guess what? Yepp, there was the Sprint charge, staining the page like a cancer on his otherwise flawless record. Ergo, the bank denies him a much-needed loan for his new business.

So we call Sprint last night to yell at them. We have to call them not once, but twice, since they hang up on us. The second time around, we're on hold for a solid 20 minutes before somebody even picks up. Then, the most unpleasant rep I've talked to in a long time (outsourced from India - of course) tells us that we HAVE TO pay the outstanding charge. Says he doesn't care what the circumstances are. We demand to speak to his boss. That guy says it's out of his hands, he can't do anything (not even accept payment) and that the bill has gone to collections (odd, really. Just minutes earlier, the first rep tried to get us to pay up...) The collections agent is nicer, but doesn't show a glimmer of humanity either (I'm convinced that in the near future, all remaining customer service reps - apparently, there are few enough of them now as it is, otherwise I suppose I wouldn't be on hold for 20 minutes - will be replaced either by robots or aliens). So we pay up, just to get the damn thing off the record.

What's unbelievable to me is the fact that they told us all those years ago not to worry about the charge, that it'd be wiped out - but then still put it as unpaid into the system, in essence tarnishing hubby's credit for years to come.

What's the point, Sprint? Are you really so intent on carrying the title of Biggest Prick in the business? If you are, then congratulations - you've achieved it.

Crap like that is exactly why I use a pay-as-you-go phone. It cost me a fortune to get out of my last phone contract when we moved.

Did you get tp speak to the Automated phone assistant? Geez, i hated tnat feature about Sprint PCS. The other I found is when you cancle with them, they offer you a much cheaper rate. Why not offer that once your contract expires? Nope, that would be too nice.

monkeyinabox