Virgin Mobile USA No Refund of Initial Payment on Cancellation Internet

Be aware if trying out Virgin Mobile service in the USA. The 14-day refund policy they brag about may NOT apply to your first monthly service charge (they don't mention this; the refund policy apparently is only for the phone).

I used my new phone for exactly 4 hours total and had several frustrations and customer service issues (they changed my phone number and didn't notify me! I had no idea why no one could call me).

I decided I wanted nothing further to do with the company.

When I called to cancel service and return the phone, I was told that I had downloaded 16.99 MB of data therefore I was not eligible for a refund on the data plan, as you can only download 1MB of data and receive a refund. (Why is this not stated in the refund policy on their site?)

I was puzzled as to where all this data had come from as I had not used the internet much at all - then I realized I had set up my gmail account (on an Android phone) and it had automatically downloaded all my contacts.

As setting up your gmail account on your Android phone is probably one of the first things you will do when checking out your new phone, be aware this will prevent you from receiving a refund on your data plan even if you cancel after less than one day of service.

I explained the gmail situation to the "customer service" supervisor stating that anyone buying an Android phone would experience the same situation. She just re-stated that the data was used and had to be paid for. Does 16.99 MB of data really cost $50 to download? It should be about $10 I think.

The company should be honest about it and just tell you that no refunds are given on the service plan once you activate your new phone.

So now I am out $55 for 4 hours of using their phone. I will be filing a dispute through my card company.