T-Mobile Ripoff trapping customers into contracts Cincinnati Ohio

If you do not like being "forced" and having a commitment with something for 1-2 years...then i suggest you dont have a cell phone. When cell phone companies have a contract they are having you both agree to something. You agreeing with this phone I get at a discounted price I will have at least 1 year service with you....And they are saying we will give you this cell phone which cost a lot of money for us free if you have service for us for 1 year. Now stop whining that they asked you to go back in contract with you....all cell phone companies do this....and have fun with Cingular their customer service SUCKS! They are the meanest people around. I had a cingular rep cl in that had a Cellular One phone and she was saying how much she hated you guys calling in to her and how much cingular customers suck...I never say that about my customers....

Listen people, to have to pay for the phone was one thing. Take it or leave it, it wasn't the straw that broke the camels back.

What the main point of this was, if you go back to the begining, I was being forced into a contract to get the darn phone. I had been a customer for years without the contract, might possibly still would be. But that was like putting soap on your steak, it just tasted bad.

I naturally chafe at being forced to do anything, I do things of my own free will, or of nessessity, or not at all.

Now all of you, JUST GO AWAY.

Listen people, to have to pay for the phone was one thing. Take it or leave it, it wasn't the straw that broke the camels back.

What the main point of this was, if you go back to the begining, I was being forced into a contract to get the darn phone. I had been a customer for years without the contract, might possibly still would be. But that was like putting soap on your steak, it just tasted bad.

I naturally chafe at being forced to do anything, I do things of my own free will, or of nessessity, or not at all.

Now all of you, JUST GO AWAY.

Listen people, to have to pay for the phone was one thing. Take it or leave it, it wasn't the straw that broke the camels back.

What the main point of this was, if you go back to the begining, I was being forced into a contract to get the darn phone. I had been a customer for years without the contract, might possibly still would be. But that was like putting soap on your steak, it just tasted bad.

I naturally chafe at being forced to do anything, I do things of my own free will, or of nessessity, or not at all.

Now all of you, JUST GO AWAY.

I am sorry to hear aout your problems with t-mobile.I know some of them are good, but others give the company a bad name. Were you not aware that with your new phones that you got, you can take them back within 14 days, and have your conract extension waived? That should have been on your receipt, and 14 days should have been ample time to see if you could make a call. Sim cards would not have affected this situation, but if it was a concern, t-mobile can switch one out for you nd have it working within 2 hrs. Cingulars sim cards are the same size. They sell the same phones, just different model numbers which identifies them for the individual carrier. The tower that you speak of that is within site, is it a t-mobile tower, or does t-mobile have roaming agreements to use it? For future use or readers of this article you can do a personal coverage check to see if t-mobile services are right for you at t-mobile.com.

T mobile knowingly sold nokia phones that they knew had had techincal malfunctions and barely lasted the year they were gaurenteed for. If they didn't last the year, they were replaced. If they lasted 13 months, we are trapped into making a contractual agreement to replace the phones.
I don't mind paying for the new phone, but I hate being trapped into contractual agreements after being a loyal customer for several years.

If you don't think they intentionally sold defective phones, check into their records of how many were replaced and for why. But what really ticked me off was, as I said, when the tower was down, we were promised credits which never happened. The straw the broke the camels back. And as I said, we had several phones replaced because they did not last a full year.

T Mobile knew this about their phones and yes I do say they intentionaly sold defective phones to trap people into contracts.

As for cingular, no problems with the phones (yet) and I have added another phone to the family plan (5 now) and I still save money as compared to T Mobiles bill. I get reception where T Mobile did not work (off of the same tower) and customer service has been quite good. I did not rant and rave at T Mobile customer service, I was quite polite until forced into another contract. Fact is, I would probably still be with them but I don't like things being forced down my throat. We were with them for 4 years (maybe more)without a contract but for being only able to use the phones sporadically from Seattle to Everett to Gold Bar, we were quite happy. Imagine settling for that and being over charged and being content with it. We was smart then, duh.

The only thing I can say is the proof is in the pudidng. You haven't tried Cingular, paid less for more minutes, taken advantage of roll over minutes with phones that (although from akia and look the same outside, but the chip is different inside) have lasted longer (still keeping it in my pocket), then you can believe what you want.

But, I look at it like this. You drive a Nash Rambler all your life and think there is nothing better, refuse to try anything else, even when offered a Lambrogini. You know your car is best. So drive it and be happy.

I have to say, even though the coverage area with T-Mobile is lacking, T-Mobile customer service is one of the very best.

I have been a 48 state/OTR trucker and also in the Military 10 years. My needs changed frequently and whatever it was I got it handled on the first call every time with T-Mobile.

I usually have at least 2 different cell phone from different carriers at the same time so I can be assured coverage anywhere I go.

If you really wanted piss poor cutomer service and a take it or leave it attitude, you should have been an ATT wireless customer! Absolute Nightmares and multiple calls to get one little thing resolved. Cingular has the same cust svc as ATT did.

Verizon is my overall favorite for best combination of customer svc and coverage. They have gone way beyond what i was entitled to on several occasions.

I think as the saying goes applies here. "You get what you pay for" Verizon is not a bargain, buth they stand behind every product or service they sell.

T-Mobile always treated me right too, and also went above and beyond what was required. I think it is how you talk to them. Those cust svc people have people screaming at them all day long and you might have got one that had enough that day.

Good luck with Cingular! I hope you never have the need for customer service!

First of all, I want to apologize for your experience. But, from the very first post, I read that you had been with T-Mobile for a number of years and never had a problem until the last issue of your phones not working. You had mentioned that even in the past when your phones stopped working you would simply call into customer care and get a replacement for free with no extension on the contract. Well, I want to explain a couple of things to you being that I have knowledge of the wireless world that you may not be familiar with. First of all, consumers need to stop focusing on free or the cheapest. While some of these phones are good, they are not always and price should not be the only reason someone picks a phone. Two, at the end of a contract or when signing up for service, a consumer will get the best price possible on a new phone and it ALWAYS requires a contract. Phones are not FREE to the company. They actually cost money. More money than most might think. The idea of the free or discounted phone is something they offer when at the end of a contract or as a new customer and is at that time a loss to the company. This is why a contract is required so that the money can be made up for on the back end. The USA is the only country that is infatuated with FREE phones. Go to Europe and you will find that people often have more than one phone and that they pay hundreds of dollars for each. Third, T-Mobile and Cingular do not use the same towers. They are totally different companies. The only thing they have in common is they are both on GSM. Forth, phones are electronical devices and are not meant to last forever. The average life of a phone depends on the care the owner has for it and also on the individual handset. At T-Mobile, a customer new or old qualifies for discounted pricing ever 11 months. Try that at Cingular. You will be required to carry that phone you have now for at least 22 months before you qualify for such pricing. If you want to buy a phone before then, you better take some cash because you will be paying retail and that means some bucks. Escpecially once your LIMITED manufacturers warranty expires after a year, so be prepared to have to buy another phone. Fifth, tecnology is constantly changing, which is another reason phones do not work forever. SIxth, to qualify for a class action law suit, I believe you would have had to actually pay for a NOKIA, and as you stated you got them for FREE. So, I really do not see a claim there. But nice try. Most people these days seem to want everything for nothing and there is an old saying that still rings true today and that is you get what you pay for. You constantly take a free phone and you get what you pay for. Seventh, good luck getting customer service on a Sunday with Cingular. They are closed! We are all entitled to make whatever choice we want and with wireless it is a love hate relationship. But, there is no way I believe that you are getting a better deal with Cingular and that is not because I work for T-Mobile. I am saying this from an informed consumer perspective. Good luck to you and I would start saving some cash because at about month 13 you will probably need to take a wheelbarrow into Cingular to get yourself two new phones.

Wow, I must say, I just read the entire back-and-forth conversation that started in March, and it was like watching a train wreck... I feel exhausted now.

First of all Mr. "Richie - Na, Illinois" - I can tell you are either a current or former employee of T-Mobile and just because you aren't at work doesn't mean you can talk to one of our long-time customers however you want! How rude! You're demeanor in your rebuttals on this site shows me that you obviously don't have a girlfriend to go home and vent your frustrations to at night. You apparently had nothing to do with us winning the JD Power and Associates awards.

Don - I wish I had read this earlier, back in March when you cancelled your service with us. I would have offerred to take a look at your account and tried to do something to help you or sort things out for you. However, I understand your decision to change providers - I have family that lives in Index, WA and the coverage out there is a little spotty, though I haven't been there to visit in a little over a year. Best wishes.

First of all if you were offered a phone at one time with no contract this was a reward for your tenure. Do you really believe that someone or anyone would give something away without something in return? In reguards to the towers we do not always use the same towers as other providers. We have our own and no they do not take only 2 weeks to put up they take about 6 months to a year. T-Mobile spent well over 1 million on towers last year. As for the plans T-Mobile's family plan is 1000 min with unlim nights weekends and mobile to mobile for $69.99 with each additional line being $9.99 and yes nights start at 9pm and oth companies have overage rates of $.40 per minute. With Cingular's plan I can only say that at this point it is $79.99 for 1000 minute with the nights weeknds and mobile to mobile minutes and is $14.00 additional to have the earlier nights. Nights for Cingular run 9pm-6am and T-Mobiles run 9pm-6:59am...almost one hour longer and still only a one year contract. You will also need to be careful with you roll over minutes because if you go into default or change you plan then your rollover minutes expire. With the contract, no one held a gun to your head and "forced" you to sign the contract. You live in America and you have choices. There is the option of purchasing a phone with no contract. T-Mobile is not a non-profit org but we would not lie to you to get your money. If you have overage charges every month and you call for assistance we would not tell you to stay on the same plan because it's not like the money is going into our pockets. I can tell you that if I myself can save customers money I will do it. Sim cards will last a long time if treated correctly. I have had mine for more than 4 years as well as some of the phones I have. I am very happy with my T-Mobile service and have 4 lines with the company myself. The phones that are sold with T-Mobile service are not made by T-Mobile, they are made by the same companies that make phones for the other carriers and if you would like to be technical the service being prvided by T-MOBILE is the phone SERVICE (meaning the connection you need to make and receive those phone calls). The exchange process is a courtesy provided by T-Mobile to make our customers hapy since going thru the actual manufacturer would take 2-3 weeks for you to get your phone BACK. And as for you Richie I would like to say thank you. I have had many many compliments for T-Mobile but this is the first time I have seen a customer argue T-Mobile's point.

Be Careful when reporting a "defective phone" from Nokia.

Nokia has never recalled any of their phones (DESPITE known problems.. they will tell you that there are no known problems with their phones, but that's BULLSHIT. Being a rep there, and hearing the calls for a while, I heard the same problems over and over again. not to mention a specific model number if you turn it on and off 10,000 times will never turn on again. The 6255i their new flip phone has weak hinges and are GOING to crack at some point or another. The NGAGE QD'S rubber rings pop off... etc.. etc.. etc.. the list does go on!).

Go for it though... more power to ya.. Nokia's Business Ethics suck.

While reviewing Class Action Newsletter on their website, I found out that Nokia has been selling Defective phones nationwide for a long time.

If you have any problems with your cell phone, got to class action news letter.com, find Nokia and file your complaint. You might be entitled to a settlement.

When they were working on the cell tower out here our service went out in this area for awhile. We called and asked T-Mobile what was happening and THEY told US some work was being done on the tower. Two weeks went by. T-Mobile kept telling us the same story. Personnally I think you should be able to build a new tower in two weeks, whatever.

Maybe two months went by and we still couldn't pick up service in this area. Then our phones died. I just wanted to replace them. As I said before we had fulfilled our contractual obligations and had been without a contract, but were still with T-Mobile.

As for the location of the tower, you can drive down the road and see the silly thing so don't get pissey and call me a know it all.

And yes Cingular/ATT and T-Mobile do use the same tower here. They have both told me that. Call them up and ask yourself and get off my back.

Also when I did get the phones replaced, we got the upgraded model. Still could not get reception. The only difference I could see in the T-Mobiles phone and Cingulars phone was the size of the SIM card. I am not a phone engineer or a techno geek so I don't know how they work, I only know what I have now works and what I had before didn't. So just go away.

When you were 'forced' into signing a new contract, they were working on the cell tower out there? First of all, service impacting work on towers and equipment is only done during nighttime hours, and no store is open that late. If you couldn't get service during the day, there are many things that can factor into this.

A down T-1 for instance, which would not be the carriers fault, but the local telco providing that line. Also, your friends could get service off the same tower? Consider your phone model ( I don't think it was mentioned). Every phone has a different dynamic range, and although they can be similar, a mere 3 db on the uplink can make a huge difference. I am gong to assume you have a tower map, there is only one tower within 5 miles of where you and your friends were callng from, or you have enginnering software on your phone, and know how to use it. How else would you know what tower you were on? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you said with cingular you get service from the same tower you used for T-mobile, and Cingular worked, T-mobile didn't.

Are you sure it's the same tower? Sure, multiple carriers can be on one tower, but if there is only one perch up top, you aren't using the same tower. I just wanted to know where you got the information on what tower you were talking on. The general public usually is not given information regarding site locations, so I would tend to believe you are either misinformed or a know it all.

My CORRCETED charges are as I stated, there is no $14.95 for starting at 7:00. Maybe the charge is for other time zones, for example, the mid west is 7:00pm, its 5:00pm here so maybe they are trying to defray costs. 7:00 here is 10:00 in New York, way past peak hours there. Who knows?

But the extra 50 minutes a month (not to mention rollovers) saves me a lot of money.

Anyway this is all beyond the main point which was I feel I should have been able to at least buy another phone without getting trapped into a contract. I had gone for long periods of time with T-Mobile without a conrtact, why was it nessary to jamb me?

And I had called T-Mobile several times to find a better plan. The $10 for an additional 200 minutes would have saved me thousands over the years. But I was always told I had the most economical plan for my needs. Now that, it appears, was a lie, it was decietfull, it was fraudlent, it was unethical, and it is unforgivable. I'll have to pursue this by other means.

Sir,

This is way out of hand. I am sorry for any assumptions I may have made that offended you. Maybe you did sign up during a promotional deal or something. And I am not doubting that T-Mobile does not work in Gold Bar Washington and that Cingular does. I understand what your saying about free phone replacements and all, and your wrong about the sim cards. The sim cards actaully last throughout the life of your contract. A common way for sim cards to go bad is to get them wet or to set up a pin lock on your phone and then have other people try to figure out the pin lock code (then the sim will fry out). But for your sake, I hope you are right about your bill. According to the Cingular website, the closest thing I could find close to 850 minutes was was a plan for 900 minutes. In that plan, the base line is $59.99, and each additional line is $19.99. Therefore, $59.99 + 3 lines at $19.99 each = $119.96

http://onlinestoreb.cingular.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ES_PROD_RATE_DETAILS.jsp?maplvl=NationGSMFT&orderId=**&storeId=11701&catalogId=11701&langId=-1&storeAlias=seasea&svcAreaId=SBC&ratePlanId=214038&isFamilyTalkFlow=false&subOrderId=1&pageFrom=ES_PROD_RATE

The website also states that you can ADD early nights (starting at 7) for an extra $7 on an individual line, or for an extra $14 for a family plan.

Four phone lines with cingular sharing 900 minutes = $119.96 + free nights starting at 7 ($14) = $133.96 per month. 2 year contract.

Seeing how irate you get and how you soooooooo challenge me to respond. I won't even say how T-Mobile offers a better deal. It's pointless, T-Mobile does not work for you so it's pointless to let you know what kind of money you could be saving. As for an "audience," I do not know what you mean. If you mean other viewers of this website, I have posted a link for both offers from T-Mobile and from Cingular. If the link does not work, just highlight it by scrolling over it by holding down your left mouse button, right click, select "copy," go to your web browser's address bar, right click, select "paste."

http://www.t-mobile.com/plans/FamilyTimeRatePlanDetails.asp

While your on T-Mobile's website, do a Personal Coverage Check. At least T-Mobile lets consumers check to see if it will work for them. I didn't see this tool offered on Cingular's website.

The first phone IS $59.99 with each phone thereafter $9.99. My mistake. You were correct. However. with the extra minutes, rollover minutes, and a service I can use, my expenses are still substantially less.

Wether or not these phones/SIM cards last longer remains to be seen.

This still does not mean trapping a person into a contract to get a new phone is right. Why couldn't we just buy the phone outright and carry on, carry on? Then there wouldn't be the need for someone to defend themselves here. It's pure theivery I tell you.

The math still holds up, check it out if you are interested.

I have Cingulars bills and charges here. The first TWO phones came on the plan for $59.99, plus $9.99 for each phone after. Your research is still in error. AND there is NO additional charge for evening minutes starting at 7:00. Maybe things have changed since you looked into it, or its something regional here. I don't know or care. All I know is what I pay, and what I get. A better deal, more minutes, with better reception. Do you even know what the over minutes charges are T-mobile vs. Cingular? Please, tell the audience of your research. Quickly now, go check.

But still, I get service here (and there)using the same cell towers as T-Mobile where T-Mobile won't come in. On a NOKIA phone. You tell me the differance. Same phone, same tower, whats up? The only logical conclusion is that the service is lacking in quality.

I (we) take proper care of our phones. When they started dying we even took extra special care, but still they die. If you reviewed the symtoms explained, it would seem to be a programming problem. Or maybe a SIM card problem. Maybe the SIM card is programmed to die shortly after a year to keep us locked in a contract. I don't know. Like I asked before, why should a CONTINUED contract be an issue? Once the phone and service have been issued, bill for service used. If a phone needs replacement, take the old one in to one of the many stores and replace it. Keep the customer happy without trapping them. They'll stay longer and/or depart friendlier. You wouldn't have to defend yourself. But of course, I know nobody does this. Its just a manner of business to legally extort money.

Don't really care for your unsubstantiated allegations about phone abuse, thats a bit like me assuming you're a spousal abuser. Ask questions, get your facts straight. Will our new phones here last longer? We'll see.

Now my wife and I use the phones in the normal manner of phone usage, my mother-in-law has a phone to communicate with her daughter for free (and often), and the other is used by the kids to communicate with us for free (no pay phones or collect calls), and we can keep tabs on them. The minutes are quite adiquite for our needs, thank you for asking. We have plenty of minutes to go around. (More than T-Mobile). Don't make assumptions of our needs. Know what they say when you ASSUME something don't you? It makes a what?

You are so quick to calculate Cingular charges, can you do the corrections and include the minutes? Then do the same with T-Mobile and include the minutes? Side by side? How many more minutes per year does Cingular have? If you add 50 minutes overage to T-Mobile per month to equal Cingulars minutes, how much more is that? What? Can't hear you.

I don't know what your psyco problem with Ebay is, but its way WACKO out there. Get a grip, get some help, and get your facts straight.

I would not put a LIE on a public board. Statements, suspicions, opinions, and quireys maybe. But not assumptions or lies.

Is there any other information I can correct you on?

Sir,

Let me admit the mistake I made. When submitting my rebuttal, I did not check off any of the appropriate boxes which ask if I am a consumer, employee, ex-employee, or manager. I should first start by mentioning that I am a consumer, who would like to get a great deal just like you would. Which is why I chose to stay with T-Mobile.

Grant it, cellular phones are not gauranteed to work everywhere. Not even with Verizon Wireless, owner of the largest network, which also happens to be very expensive, from experience, and which is why I so choose to respond to your report which sounds more like anger and whining. I had Verizon and when my 2 years were up, I couldn't wait to swith. I realized I would never be in most of those areas where they had coverage. But of course back before I signed up I thought "WOW, my phone will work in Winchesterfieldville, Iowa!" I was tired of having to manually check to see if I was roaming. I was tired of paying fees for accidentaly launching the internet on my phone. Not only that, but I was tired of knowing for two years that I could have a 600 minute national plan for only $39.99, when all I had with Verizon was a 500 minute regional plan for 39.99. So, yeah I did my research. And after 2 years of being in a contract, yes I learned to ask every single possible question there is to ask before committing to another contract.

Sir, your claims about your rates do not add up here. 4 phones on a cingular family plan sharing 850 minutes for only 79.99 with free nights starting at 7 ?????? I know that is just a lie, because I previously considered all of this. Now, before you get even more heated up, let me just say that if T-Mobile did not work for you in your area, then by all means the best thing for you to do was switch to a carrier that did work, I would do the same thing. But from reading your report, it seems as if you'd like to make liars out of the company sir and the only liar here is yourself. Cingular charges 59.99 for the first line, and an additional $10 for each additional line. You say you have four lines, so $59.99 + $10 + $10 + $10, that's gotta be at least $89.99

Also, you say you have free nights starting at 7. On family plans, one must pay an extra $14 to have their nights starting at 7. So now it's $89.99 + $14 = $103.99 a month for your cingular family plan.

And it's a two year contract. $103.99 x 24 = $2,495.76 plus factor in all the taxes you will pay plus 4 phones sharing 850 minutes, that is not a whole lot of minutes to go around, factor in over the minute charges.

On the other hand, T-Mobile offers a plan with 2 phones sharing 1,000 minutes for $69.99. Each additional line is $10. So, with T-Mobile 4 phones sharing 1000 minutes is $89.99. Like I said before, more minutes, less money. And it is only a ONE year contract.
$89.99 x 12months = 1,079.88

Back to free phone replacements. Again, if you are still within your warranty, why wouldn't a cell phone provider give you a free phone??? Of course they would. It is not a matter of phones that are garbage, it is a matter of how as a consumer, how do you protect what you purchase? Your probably one of those people that take the phone into the shower to hear it ring, neglecting that steam will damage the inside of the phone. Or those who leave their phone in the car when it's blazing hot or freezing cold outside.

T-Mobile and Cingular have the same phones. Both companies carry Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, all of which are top notch. In the past T-Mobile carried panasonic and siemens, which they have gotten rid off due to complaints, while Cingular STILL carries phones made by LG which almost everyone I know with an LG phone wish they can just throw it against the wall.

Well good luck keeping your phones for 2 years. I guess it is your assumption now that Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia purposely make their phones better just for Cingular and make them cheaper for T-Mobile. If that is the case, then I guess you can take your next free phone and sell it on ebay. I'm sure Cingular won't mind not giving you a phone for free (outside of your warranty, which is also only 1 year with cingular)without you signing another 2 year contract. After all it won't be an electronic piece of junk THIS time, but rest assured an unsuspecting person will wonder how in the world people have so many phones for sale on the internet and think to themselves why in the world do sign another contract just to get a phone when I can just buy one of ebay.

Sir,

Let me admit the mistake I made. When submitting my rebuttal, I did not check off any of the appropriate boxes which ask if I am a consumer, employee, ex-employee, or manager. I should first start by mentioning that I am a consumer, who would like to get a great deal just like you would. Which is why I chose to stay with T-Mobile.

Grant it, cellular phones are not gauranteed to work everywhere. Not even with Verizon Wireless, owner of the largest network, which also happens to be very expensive, from experience, and which is why I so choose to respond to your report which sounds more like anger and whining. I had Verizon and when my 2 years were up, I couldn't wait to swith. I realized I would never be in most of those areas where they had coverage. But of course back before I signed up I thought "WOW, my phone will work in Winchesterfieldville, Iowa!" I was tired of having to manually check to see if I was roaming. I was tired of paying fees for accidentaly launching the internet on my phone. Not only that, but I was tired of knowing for two years that I could have a 600 minute national plan for only $39.99, when all I had with Verizon was a 500 minute regional plan for 39.99. So, yeah I did my research. And after 2 years of being in a contract, yes I learned to ask every single possible question there is to ask before committing to another contract.

Sir, your claims about your rates do not add up here. 4 phones on a cingular family plan sharing 850 minutes for only 79.99 with free nights starting at 7 ?????? I know that is just a lie, because I previously considered all of this. Now, before you get even more heated up, let me just say that if T-Mobile did not work for you in your area, then by all means the best thing for you to do was switch to a carrier that did work, I would do the same thing. But from reading your report, it seems as if you'd like to make liars out of the company sir and the only liar here is yourself. Cingular charges 59.99 for the first line, and an additional $10 for each additional line. You say you have four lines, so $59.99 + $10 + $10 + $10, that's gotta be at least $89.99

Also, you say you have free nights starting at 7. On family plans, one must pay an extra $14 to have their nights starting at 7. So now it's $89.99 + $14 = $103.99 a month for your cingular family plan.

And it's a two year contract. $103.99 x 24 = $2,495.76 plus factor in all the taxes you will pay plus 4 phones sharing 850 minutes, that is not a whole lot of minutes to go around, factor in over the minute charges.

On the other hand, T-Mobile offers a plan with 2 phones sharing 1,000 minutes for $69.99. Each additional line is $10. So, with T-Mobile 4 phones sharing 1000 minutes is $89.99. Like I said before, more minutes, less money. And it is only a ONE year contract.
$89.99 x 12months = 1,079.88

Back to free phone replacements. Again, if you are still within your warranty, why wouldn't a cell phone provider give you a free phone??? Of course they would. It is not a matter of phones that are garbage, it is a matter of how as a consumer, how do you protect what you purchase? Your probably one of those people that take the phone into the shower to hear it ring, neglecting that steam will damage the inside of the phone. Or those who leave their phone in the car when it's blazing hot or freezing cold outside.

T-Mobile and Cingular have the same phones. Both companies carry Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, all of which are top notch. In the past T-Mobile carried panasonic and siemens, which they have gotten rid off due to complaints, while Cingular STILL carries phones made by LG which almost everyone I know with an LG phone wish they can just throw it against the wall.

Well good luck keeping your phones for 2 years. I guess it is your assumption now that Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia purposely make their phones better just for Cingular and make them cheaper for T-Mobile. If that is the case, then I guess you can take your next free phone and sell it on ebay. I'm sure Cingular won't mind not giving you a phone for free (outside of your warranty, which is also only 1 year with cingular)without you signing another 2 year contract. After all it won't be an electronic piece of junk THIS time, but rest assured an unsuspecting person will wonder how in the world people have so many phones for sale on the internet and think to themselves why in the world do sign another contract just to get a phone when I can just buy one of ebay.

Sir,

Let me admit the mistake I made. When submitting my rebuttal, I did not check off any of the appropriate boxes which ask if I am a consumer, employee, ex-employee, or manager. I should first start by mentioning that I am a consumer, who would like to get a great deal just like you would. Which is why I chose to stay with T-Mobile.

Grant it, cellular phones are not gauranteed to work everywhere. Not even with Verizon Wireless, owner of the largest network, which also happens to be very expensive, from experience, and which is why I so choose to respond to your report which sounds more like anger and whining. I had Verizon and when my 2 years were up, I couldn't wait to swith. I realized I would never be in most of those areas where they had coverage. But of course back before I signed up I thought "WOW, my phone will work in Winchesterfieldville, Iowa!" I was tired of having to manually check to see if I was roaming. I was tired of paying fees for accidentaly launching the internet on my phone. Not only that, but I was tired of knowing for two years that I could have a 600 minute national plan for only $39.99, when all I had with Verizon was a 500 minute regional plan for 39.99. So, yeah I did my research. And after 2 years of being in a contract, yes I learned to ask every single possible question there is to ask before committing to another contract.

Sir, your claims about your rates do not add up here. 4 phones on a cingular family plan sharing 850 minutes for only 79.99 with free nights starting at 7 ?????? I know that is just a lie, because I previously considered all of this. Now, before you get even more heated up, let me just say that if T-Mobile did not work for you in your area, then by all means the best thing for you to do was switch to a carrier that did work, I would do the same thing. But from reading your report, it seems as if you'd like to make liars out of the company sir and the only liar here is yourself. Cingular charges 59.99 for the first line, and an additional $10 for each additional line. You say you have four lines, so $59.99 + $10 + $10 + $10, that's gotta be at least $89.99

Also, you say you have free nights starting at 7. On family plans, one must pay an extra $14 to have their nights starting at 7. So now it's $89.99 + $14 = $103.99 a month for your cingular family plan.

And it's a two year contract. $103.99 x 24 = $2,495.76 plus factor in all the taxes you will pay plus 4 phones sharing 850 minutes, that is not a whole lot of minutes to go around, factor in over the minute charges.

On the other hand, T-Mobile offers a plan with 2 phones sharing 1,000 minutes for $69.99. Each additional line is $10. So, with T-Mobile 4 phones sharing 1000 minutes is $89.99. Like I said before, more minutes, less money. And it is only a ONE year contract.
$89.99 x 12months = 1,079.88

Back to free phone replacements. Again, if you are still within your warranty, why wouldn't a cell phone provider give you a free phone??? Of course they would. It is not a matter of phones that are garbage, it is a matter of how as a consumer, how do you protect what you purchase? Your probably one of those people that take the phone into the shower to hear it ring, neglecting that steam will damage the inside of the phone. Or those who leave their phone in the car when it's blazing hot or freezing cold outside.

T-Mobile and Cingular have the same phones. Both companies carry Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, all of which are top notch. In the past T-Mobile carried panasonic and siemens, which they have gotten rid off due to complaints, while Cingular STILL carries phones made by LG which almost everyone I know with an LG phone wish they can just throw it against the wall.

Well good luck keeping your phones for 2 years. I guess it is your assumption now that Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia purposely make their phones better just for Cingular and make them cheaper for T-Mobile. If that is the case, then I guess you can take your next free phone and sell it on ebay. I'm sure Cingular won't mind not giving you a phone for free (outside of your warranty, which is also only 1 year with cingular)without you signing another 2 year contract. After all it won't be an electronic piece of junk THIS time, but rest assured an unsuspecting person will wonder how in the world people have so many phones for sale on the internet and think to themselves why in the world do sign another contract just to get a phone when I can just buy one of ebay.

Sir,

Let me admit the mistake I made. When submitting my rebuttal, I did not check off any of the appropriate boxes which ask if I am a consumer, employee, ex-employee, or manager. I should first start by mentioning that I am a consumer, who would like to get a great deal just like you would. Which is why I chose to stay with T-Mobile.

Grant it, cellular phones are not gauranteed to work everywhere. Not even with Verizon Wireless, owner of the largest network, which also happens to be very expensive, from experience, and which is why I so choose to respond to your report which sounds more like anger and whining. I had Verizon and when my 2 years were up, I couldn't wait to swith. I realized I would never be in most of those areas where they had coverage. But of course back before I signed up I thought "WOW, my phone will work in Winchesterfieldville, Iowa!" I was tired of having to manually check to see if I was roaming. I was tired of paying fees for accidentaly launching the internet on my phone. Not only that, but I was tired of knowing for two years that I could have a 600 minute national plan for only $39.99, when all I had with Verizon was a 500 minute regional plan for 39.99. So, yeah I did my research. And after 2 years of being in a contract, yes I learned to ask every single possible question there is to ask before committing to another contract.

Sir, your claims about your rates do not add up here. 4 phones on a cingular family plan sharing 850 minutes for only 79.99 with free nights starting at 7 ?????? I know that is just a lie, because I previously considered all of this. Now, before you get even more heated up, let me just say that if T-Mobile did not work for you in your area, then by all means the best thing for you to do was switch to a carrier that did work, I would do the same thing. But from reading your report, it seems as if you'd like to make liars out of the company sir and the only liar here is yourself. Cingular charges 59.99 for the first line, and an additional $10 for each additional line. You say you have four lines, so $59.99 + $10 + $10 + $10, that's gotta be at least $89.99

Also, you say you have free nights starting at 7. On family plans, one must pay an extra $14 to have their nights starting at 7. So now it's $89.99 + $14 = $103.99 a month for your cingular family plan.

And it's a two year contract. $103.99 x 24 = $2,495.76 plus factor in all the taxes you will pay plus 4 phones sharing 850 minutes, that is not a whole lot of minutes to go around, factor in over the minute charges.

On the other hand, T-Mobile offers a plan with 2 phones sharing 1,000 minutes for $69.99. Each additional line is $10. So, with T-Mobile 4 phones sharing 1000 minutes is $89.99. Like I said before, more minutes, less money. And it is only a ONE year contract.
$89.99 x 12months = 1,079.88

Back to free phone replacements. Again, if you are still within your warranty, why wouldn't a cell phone provider give you a free phone??? Of course they would. It is not a matter of phones that are garbage, it is a matter of how as a consumer, how do you protect what you purchase? Your probably one of those people that take the phone into the shower to hear it ring, neglecting that steam will damage the inside of the phone. Or those who leave their phone in the car when it's blazing hot or freezing cold outside.

T-Mobile and Cingular have the same phones. Both companies carry Motorola, Samsung, Nokia, all of which are top notch. In the past T-Mobile carried panasonic and siemens, which they have gotten rid off due to complaints, while Cingular STILL carries phones made by LG which almost everyone I know with an LG phone wish they can just throw it against the wall.

Well good luck keeping your phones for 2 years. I guess it is your assumption now that Motorola, Samsung, and Nokia purposely make their phones better just for Cingular and make them cheaper for T-Mobile. If that is the case, then I guess you can take your next free phone and sell it on ebay. I'm sure Cingular won't mind not giving you a phone for free (outside of your warranty, which is also only 1 year with cingular)without you signing another 2 year contract. After all it won't be an electronic piece of junk THIS time, but rest assured an unsuspecting person will wonder how in the world people have so many phones for sale on the internet and think to themselves why in the world do sign another contract just to get a phone when I can just buy one of ebay.

T-Mobile has replaced phones for me in the past for free without renewing my contract, past the warranty . You call customer service and they will tell you if they are running a promo on phones or they have a surplus of a model. The model they were no longer selling was the phone we had, AND we got their promo phone also. They were for free without contract renewal. We've had to replace half a dozen phones, most all to some kind of falure, only two voluntary upgrades to try to get better service. If you have been there very long, you should know more about proceedures.

If T-Mobile wants to keep paying customers, they might consider replacing phones without stings attached so people will use their service and T-Mobile could keep billing them.

BUT, from what I'm begining to read between the lines here is maybe these phones aren't supposed to last for much more than a year, so we CAN be forced back into a contract. Why else would there be an issue? Why else sell such junk? Normally we would keep the phones and keep using the service with it. Like we were doing. And, I would not sell an electronic piece of junk to an unsuspecting victum on Ebay. Make note, two phones received at the same time, died at the same time, with the same symptoms. Screen came up upside down and backwards, sometimes in Chinese or something. We couldnt pull up the menu or see who we were dialing. I have the phones here, you want them?

Now you say Sprint clarity is horrible. Well I have now lived in two areas now where I could not get T-Mobile service in my home, yet other people could use their phones here off of the same cell tower. You call that service good?

Also Cingular IS CHEAPER with better service. For what I had with T-Mobile, 3 phones, family plan, 800 minutes, $79.99, night minutes didn't start till 9:00. Cingular, better service, four phones, 850 minutes, $79.99, and their night minutes start at 7:00. The differance in our bills was from average, $210, T-Mobile, to $120, Cingular. I call that less expensive. You dont keep tabs on your competition, and your "research" is bullshit. Your service out here sucks so don't be putting down anybody else.

Maybe your contributions to J D Powers blinds their perspective. Why don't you put a transciever on their backs and send them into neighborhoods where your competition functions. See how many awards you get then. Or better yet, let them look at your disatisfied customer list.

I switched to new service to get the service I pay for, not just to get a new phone as you suggested. I had your new phones when I switched, I just couldn't see paying any more for such lousey service.

Ok, first off T-Mobile does not offer free replacements. What they DO OFFER is a one year manufacturer's warranty on cell phones, effective the day you purchase a phone. As a consumer, it is my responsibility to know when that warranty expires. It's obvious that this warranty has worked for YOU in the past, as you say that they have replaced your phones in the past.

If your contract is up, and your warranty is up, then how in the world do you expect a free phone or discounted phone without renewing your contract??? Do you really believe that some people will not take the free phone, cancel service the next day, and then sell the phone for profit??? How in the world are there so many phones for sale on EBAY????

The only company that does give free phone after free phone is Sprint, and if you've had Sprint you will agree that they do that to keep you but their customer service and call clarity is HORRIBLE.

I love how you say that Cingular suited your needs and that they offer more minutes for less money. WHAT A LIE!!! If you look it up, it's actually the other way around. The only need you truly had was new cell phones. Which any company will provide you with a free phone just to get you as a customer. I have done my research and T-Mobile actually offers more minutes for less money. Check it out on the company websites yourself. Plus, how can you be complaining about trapping you into contracts??? T-Mobile is the only wireless company in which a 2 year contract does not exist!!! With Cingular, usually the only way to get a free phone is to sign a 2 year contract. T-Mobile won 4 J.D. Power awards. FOUR! No wireless company ever gets more than ONE award from J.D. Power. T-Mobile got FOUR. But hey, why do the research when you can just jump on the net and bad mouth the service you had for quite some time (which you mentioned) and switched to a service just to get a new phone. You may as well have switched to Mars-Tel or Milky Way Wireless, they would have given you a free phone too.