Cell Phone Portability

Doot · Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 11:58 am Post subject: Cell Phone Portability

Behold the joy of more Cingular BS.

I have been waiting as a result of Cingular for my portability of my number to be changed from Cingular to Sprint. I went in on Friday, November 28th to get what was aforementioned a 2.5 hour process to switch my phone number from one phone company to the other. Turns out it'll take longer than that. Fine and dandy. I just want to escape the shitty clutches of a hack company who touts customer service when indeed it's no service.

So I call Cingular to see if I need to close my account and they inform me a) that my phone number is pulling up as a George Martinez and b) if I close my account my cell number will be lost. I have no clue why the number is pulling up as someone else as when I call my cell number it has my voice mail still attached to it.

So I say ok, I won’t close the account yet. I give Sprint a call and see if they may be having any trouble with the portability due to the name. Not the name they say, just the address. Turns out, Cingular was not allowing the release of my cell number because THEY had not updated my address from 3 years ago and the new address from Sprint didn’t match up. So I have to call Cingular yet again. (Please keep in mind each time I call them I get put on a 9 minute wait – not to mention listening to them advertise for each of their plans and extras amidst cropping the hell out of music, no they don’t wait until a song is over they fade in and out through the entirety of the song to mouth off about how great their service is). So I finally reach a rep and tell him to change my address. So I call Sprint back and tell them the address is changed and the lady tells me it’ll take until the 3rd of December to fix it. I call back on the 4th because my Cingular phone is still ringing when I call my cell number and my Sprint phone is acting as a beautiful paperweight. I am then informed that the addresses didn’t match up and that I need to re-verify all of my information and due to my calling it will take an additional three days to switch over from Cingular to Sprint. So I am beginning week 2 waiting for my phone to switch over.

Well lucky for Sprint, they actually kept their end of the bargain and got my phone switched over finally on December 7th. So I call Cingular this morning to close out my account and clear everything up. They tell me the phone has already been closed but it looks as though I have a balance left of $45 to pay for this month’s bill. I go on and check the bill online and it says the billable days are 11/25 – 12/25. Here it is the eighth of the month and the customer service says they don’t prorate the amount and that I must pay for the full month. This does not bode well with me. So they say they will send me over to customer accounts. They put me on hold and the auto voice says my hold time will be 9 minutes. At the end of the horrible hold music/ads I hear a phone ring and the line goes dead. So I call back again, go through the automated menu to get to customer service, wait 9 minutes, give the rep my info again (name, number, social, address, email, home and work number, blood type, family genealogy as far back as my 2nd uncle twice removed, urine sample and the Gettysburg Address backwards.) I get put on hold for another 9 minutes to get to Customer Accounts and the phone goes dead AGAIN! So by this time I am a seasoned veteran on how to get through the automated menu and am quite curt with the woman who answers again as I rattle off my information and then tell her she needs to be sure I am connected to Customer Accounts as I’ve been disconnected twice. So I get put on another 9-minute hold and finally get to talk to Customer Account. I tell the man there that I refuse to pay a full month bill for service I have only used for less than half the time. He tells me he can’t prorate it and there is no way anyone else can. I heighten my sternness (bitchiness) and tell him there is no way I am paying a full month and, after 20 minutes of talking with him, that if he cannot help me then he needs to put me in contact with someone who can. He puts me on another 9-minute hold as he gets his manager. He pops back on the phone all chipper sounding and says his manager has found a way to prorate my bill from the $45 to $18. I thank him and apologize to him for being so stern but it has been a difficult enough process already and I hate that he had to get the worst of it. He then proceeds to tell me the biggest lie I have ever heard “It’s been a pleasure speaking with you.” HAHAHAHAHA Ok, well hopefully all will be well on the Sprint front as I am now in their able hands. ~le sigh~

Moral of the story? Stay FAR away from Cingular. And if you are going to partake in the portability of your phone number, wait until they have it a little more perfected.

GAAZ · MOD Black Sheep Commander Gender: Joined: 14 Oct 2002

I woulda just switched and taken that new number...At least then I can only give the number to A)People I KNOW will actually USE the number B) NOT give my number to people who call me too much and C) Avoid dickheads.

Ming · DOOM! Gender: Joined: 13 Jan 2003

I don't mean to go against everything here, but I have Cingular, and for the most part, I really enjoy the service. The actually phone service is pretty good, I get a lot for what I pay. I guess the customer service needs a little work, but I think all I would ask is that they have slightly more accurate minute counters. I mean, I wanna see my minutes as of today, not 4 days ago. They could be a little quicker coming to the phone when you call also. But again, like I said, I haven't had too many other problems. I think that part of the problem you're having spawns from the fact that the government instated that crazy law in the first place. Did you honestly think that this process was going to be nice and smooth and fast? Think about it...the US government got involved. Plus, these cell phone services are probably pissed off to no end that they have to give up customers and now do extra work. Also, there is probably still a lot of bugs involved with switching numbers, as this is pretty new. I think if you give it some time, it'll get better. Finally, EVERY is probably switching their number right about now and taking advantage of this thing, which probably clogs up the system. But whatever...you have every right to be pissed. Regardless, you should be treated well.

GAAZ · MOD Black Sheep Commander Gender: Joined: 14 Oct 2002

Well, Doot's problems are worse than that..When we visited her cell-phone didn't even work in her apartment...Let alone the car, the van, the airport, the hotel, the convention, and of course the Sushi Bar. So yeah..Apparently in GA Cingular blows.

Doot · Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2003 11:38 pm Post subject:

I can base my opinion on my experience, and my dad's experience. As an overall my phone blew hard and it was top of the line. It was so bad that when it was fully charged it always pulled up a "No Service" signal. Then it would beep to let me know it's battery was dead and have service for 2 minutes as it died. When I took the phone in to get it fixed I was instructed that the phone I had was messed up and for them to fix it I had to sign another 2 year contract. They have always dropped signals.

I signed up for auto online bill pay. For months all is going well. Then all of a sudden they cut off my phone and tell me I have late charges. I set up AUTO pay. Where they take the money directly out of your account. They damn near refused to give me a refund for the late fee they LATER took out of my account as a result of thier process being faulty. Each time having to be put on hold for too long a time any person should be put on hold.

Yeah, their customer service leaves a lot to be desired but so do most cell phone customer service.

And today's incident wasn't any better. Especially with the 2 times the hangup and the fact I had to repeat giving all of my information over again only to get a guy telling me, no way no how was I gonna get a prorate. Had I been a spineless, let everyone walk all over me type person I would have folded the first time he told me that but I had to keep at him incessantly for 20 minutes. Never once did he ever ask what he could do for me to make it better. THAT would have been customer service. Instead he blamed it on me for waiting 3 more days after portability began to switch over (even though when you look at the time table it wouldn't have mattered due to their faulty information of my old address)

I never expected it to go as quickly as 2.5 hours. I'm tons more realistic than that, but I think their tactics of portability leaves lots to be desired when they never updated my resident address after I had changed it 2 years ago. I don't hold Cingular fully to blame for it as Sprint should have contacted me the moment there was a problem and been a little more accurate in their timing. I know this is a new process and with that comes the trial and error.

Lewis Black · Lewis M.S. Black Joined: 07 Oct 2003

I con't believe your name came up as George Martinez. Thats funny as hell Doot!

Ultrawolf · Mr. Roarke Gender: Joined: 04 Jul 2003

that reminds me of those @!#$!@#$# at toys'r'us who have no idea what you are talking about when you ask them if they have gameboys for sale.

Doot · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2003 8:39 am Post subject:

Gekko · I lurk therefore, I am. Gender: Joined: 02 Apr 2003

Muhahaahhaha errr hehe err that sucks........