What is the name of your state? Mississippi
Sorry that this is so long, I wasn't sure how much info to include.
I needed a cell phone to use while on-duty as a cab driver, to receive calls from customers. I explained this to the cell phone salesman. I gave him a list of necessities: I need free incoming calls, I need to be able to forward my calls to the dispatch office when I am not working, I need to be able to call back to confirm with customers who are calling me locally but using cell phones with long distance numbers, and since I work nights, I need free nights and weekends. I was sold a plan the salesman claimed offered free incoming calls, free nights and weekends, and free call forwarding. I was promised that as long as I called or was called within my local calling area at night or on the weekends, I would not be charged for the minutes. The salesman also promised that since I have free incoming calls and free forwarding, I would never be charged for minutes when calls are forwarded. To this day, I have never used my phone to place a call or receive a call from someone more than 20 miles away.
Then I get the first bill. It includes a page of long distance charges for the times I called people back who have long distance numbers, even though they were in my calling area when they called me. The list sites the phone number and the "city called". Yes, their cell phone has a long distance number because they are from out of town, but they are in my city when they call me, and when I call back a person with a phone purchased in California, I am not calling somebody in California. I also am being charged minutes for each forwarded call, because they say a forwarded call is a call made out from my cell phone to the forward destination, regardless of what the salesman said. These charges are even taking place for calls made within the nights and weekends range.
Upon calling customer service, I learn that the only way to settle this dispute is to talk to the manager of the store that sold me the contract. The only way to do this is through 1-800 customer service, as they are not allowed to give out the phone number of the store. Unfortunately, the 1-800 customer service people are unable to reach the store. All I can do is "try again tomorrow". However, the 1-800 people are able to credit my account for the long distance charges, and they do so. For months I call repeatedly, and they are never able to get anyone from the store on the phone, and they are unable to give me the store's phone number, and there aren't any supervisors at the 1-800 place who have the authority to do anything about my contract, but again they credit me for the long distance charges.
Finally I grow tired of the anxiety and the constant calling for answers, and I tell a customer service operator that something must be done to correct my service. I demand that either they correct the terms of my service plan or let me out of the contract, because I don't feel I should pay for a plan when I was told I would get something different. I apparently displayed attitude worthy of digging up a supervisor, because suddenly they find one. This supervisor says that it's now been several months since my plan began and I waited too long to voice my concern, so there's nothing she can do. I told her I had been calling since day one, but this didn't interest her.
I don't have videotaped proof of what the salesman said, but forgetting the salesman's promises, how can they charge me long distance for calling someone standing right next to me? Aren't local cellphone users using local towers regardless of where they came from?
Every month I have no idea what my cellphone bill will be, even though I strictly follow the rules of what I thought my contract was. Do I have any recourse?
Sorry that this is so long, I wasn't sure how much info to include.
I needed a cell phone to use while on-duty as a cab driver, to receive calls from customers. I explained this to the cell phone salesman. I gave him a list of necessities: I need free incoming calls, I need to be able to forward my calls to the dispatch office when I am not working, I need to be able to call back to confirm with customers who are calling me locally but using cell phones with long distance numbers, and since I work nights, I need free nights and weekends. I was sold a plan the salesman claimed offered free incoming calls, free nights and weekends, and free call forwarding. I was promised that as long as I called or was called within my local calling area at night or on the weekends, I would not be charged for the minutes. The salesman also promised that since I have free incoming calls and free forwarding, I would never be charged for minutes when calls are forwarded. To this day, I have never used my phone to place a call or receive a call from someone more than 20 miles away.
Then I get the first bill. It includes a page of long distance charges for the times I called people back who have long distance numbers, even though they were in my calling area when they called me. The list sites the phone number and the "city called". Yes, their cell phone has a long distance number because they are from out of town, but they are in my city when they call me, and when I call back a person with a phone purchased in California, I am not calling somebody in California. I also am being charged minutes for each forwarded call, because they say a forwarded call is a call made out from my cell phone to the forward destination, regardless of what the salesman said. These charges are even taking place for calls made within the nights and weekends range.
Upon calling customer service, I learn that the only way to settle this dispute is to talk to the manager of the store that sold me the contract. The only way to do this is through 1-800 customer service, as they are not allowed to give out the phone number of the store. Unfortunately, the 1-800 customer service people are unable to reach the store. All I can do is "try again tomorrow". However, the 1-800 people are able to credit my account for the long distance charges, and they do so. For months I call repeatedly, and they are never able to get anyone from the store on the phone, and they are unable to give me the store's phone number, and there aren't any supervisors at the 1-800 place who have the authority to do anything about my contract, but again they credit me for the long distance charges.
Finally I grow tired of the anxiety and the constant calling for answers, and I tell a customer service operator that something must be done to correct my service. I demand that either they correct the terms of my service plan or let me out of the contract, because I don't feel I should pay for a plan when I was told I would get something different. I apparently displayed attitude worthy of digging up a supervisor, because suddenly they find one. This supervisor says that it's now been several months since my plan began and I waited too long to voice my concern, so there's nothing she can do. I told her I had been calling since day one, but this didn't interest her.
I don't have videotaped proof of what the salesman said, but forgetting the salesman's promises, how can they charge me long distance for calling someone standing right next to me? Aren't local cellphone users using local towers regardless of where they came from?
Every month I have no idea what my cellphone bill will be, even though I strictly follow the rules of what I thought my contract was. Do I have any recourse?