Cricket Communications Cricket Communications Fraudulent Billing and Deceptive Business Practices Internet

I contacted Cricket on the morning of Dec. 4, 2009 to cancel my wireless service.  This was 7 days before the end of my billing cycle, and two full business days before my account was to be charged (I pay my Cricket bill using auto-pay).  It was a very quick and easy transaction, which should have made me suspicious; nothing with Cricket is ever quick or easy.  I was told by their customer service representative that my account was canceled and my phone would no longer work after Dec. 10, 2009.

The next day (Dec. 5, 2009) I checked my bank account and they had processed payment for service for January, 2010.  They entered it as a "credit" to my account, which is clearly in violation of their own Terms & Conditions (Cricket bills in advance and claims to not allow "credits" or overpayment).  This sent my account into a negative balance, which incurs fees.  It is worth noting that my account has never been debited before either the 5th or 6th day of the month, but they made QUITE SURE they put this charge through on December 4; the very same day they told me assured me my service was canceled.

I contacted Cricket three times over the next two days, and each time I was hung up on by their customer service representative.  I told them that I have all the evidence I need to prove that this was an unauthorized charge, including the fact that I record all conversation I have with Cricket.  (They tried to claim that I violated their privacy rights by doing so, until I informed them that they themselves record calls for quality assurance, which implies consent that their transactions may be recorded.  They quickly dropped that false pretense.)

Tomorrow I am filing an unauthorized charge claim with my bank.  Immediately afterward, I am filing complaints with the FCC, the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office (trust me, they don't want to mess with Tom Corbett) and I am considering bringing a class action suit against them based on the voluminous complaints of their deceptive business practices that are rife throughout the entire nation.  As a legal assistant, I'm well-connected to numerous attorneys in the Pittsburgh legal community.  Anyone interested in joining any complaint should contact me.