Metropcs Cell Phone Company Date Change Blues, Promotion Scam, and No Phone Service Bossier City Louisiana

In the month of April my check dates had been changed without much warning from my husband's employer. Knowing that we would be unable to pay the bill on time, I call the *611 (metro connect cust. service) and explained the situation. For the record, the pay date was changed from the 15th of the month to the 3rd wednesday of every month. My bill is due on the 16th of each month! I spoke with a representative and I was told that after the three phones on my account was disconnected for 10 days that we would be able to go and pay the bill on the day that we wanted the monthly charges billed. So, on the 27th of May my husband went and paid the bill and the clerk taking the payments at the local store assured him that the phone service would be restored, the due date would be changed, and that we would receive a text message a few days before our due date on June 27th. Well, the original due date (on the 16th) rolled around saying that the bill was still due on the 16th!!! I phoned in to the metro customer service and a representative named Jackie (Very nice!) told me that she would escalate this to a supervisor. I stayed on the phone nearly an hour and Jackie returned to the line and said that the date had been changed to the 27th and that our bill would be due. I was also told that I would be able to view this change online within 30 minutes when the system updated.

Okay, 30 minutes later I was not able to view the change. So, I spent another hour on the phone and was reassured that the change would be updating in the system and would reflect soon, within 24 hours. So, with that said, it was the 16th and all three phones on my account were disconnected at 1 o'clock in the afternoon!!! I was really upset and called customer service back. I was on hold waiting for a supervisor for 1 1/2 hours!!! The supervisor's name is Dexter. He told me that unfortunately he could not make any changes in the system and that I would have to go pay another fee ($5.00) to get the date changed and leave my phone disconnected until the 27th!!!!

I explained to Dexter that I am a heart patient with MS and that I need access to 911 in my vehicle and at home.I carry my cell phone on my person because I may not be able to get to the house phone (landline) in time to call myself an ambulance. Plus, I am a nurse and if I need to stop at the scene of an accident I really need that 911 access. He said he was "sorry" and "unfotunately" he is unable to do anything about my issue. It is the 18th today and I have tried calling the local stores here that you buy the service from. They do not answer the phone and you cannot leave a message because the mail box is full. My next stop is the Better Business Bureau and the Public Service Commission.

Also, early on I had another issue that bothers me as well.....The "4 lines for $100" scam. I signed up for metro service in February. I was told that I could add up to 4 lines (at any time) to my account and it would still be $100 (plus taxes) monthly. I started out with me and my husband's phone. Then a month later we went and added a phone for my step-son. Well, the lady at the local store charged $45 for the 3rd line which made my bill almost $150!!! I called the customer service and they had the nerve to tell me that the promotion had ended in December, 2008. I explained to her that the stores here still had the promotion signs and there are TV commercials on the local station advertising this promotion. Now there is a special advertising the up to 4 lines for $80!!!! I cannot believe how we as customers are told that we are getting one thing and get jacked for another. Yes, we all have personal freedom to go elsewhere if we don't like the service, but after you invest in the phones and everything else, then you are out alot of money and unless you have a money tree in your back yard you are stuck!!!

I am still without phone service and I have no rainbow in site. I could go pay the bill but the thing is that we did what we were asked to do by the company in order to get the due date that we need and we still do not have the date changed and we have no phone service.

This is very stressful and upsetting. I do not know where to turn. This is the last thing that I need to be dealing with. PLEASE HELP.

Angiem
Bossier City, Louisiana
U.S.A.