This letter is in complaint of Sprint PCS’ billing practices. At the end of August 2005, I transferred my cellular phone number (XXX XXX-XXXX) from Sprint PCS to T-Mobile. The following week I contacted Sprint to ensure that my account had indeed been cancelled, and that there was a zero balance- I was assured that my account had been cancelled, that that my account balance was zero. Furthermore, I was informed that I would receive a closing statement in the mail, with a zero balance, as my online account access had been terminated. Until today, I had never received any closing statement, so I had assumed that my account was in good standing. Today (10/6/2005) however, I received a past-due notice indicating that I owed $70.48, or service charges for the month of August plus a penalty charge. Not only does this bill directly conflict with what I had been told by a service representative, but also contradicts Sprint’s own billing policies
“Monthly charges for your service plan are billed one month in advance, but any additional usage charges are billed after the fact.”
In other words, my July billing period pre-paid for the August service charges. Additionally, prior to transferring my number to T-Mobile, I had paid Sprint for $1 in roaming charges prior to canceling my account, just to make absolutely sure that my account would be terminated with a zero balance.
I am not a deadbeat customer, and hopefully my due diligence to pre-pay Sprint $1 in roaming charges attests to this fact- I do resent the somewhat predatory, and confusing, billing practices that Sprint PCS appears to be undertaking however. I have attempted to resolve this matter by calling their toll-free number, however language barriers with their call center staff proved to be insurmountable. Failing to locate any additional means to contact Sprint PCS, I have decided to forward this matter to your office.
