What is Digg?120 Comments
- GreenLantern33, on 10/12/2007, -1/+66Yet another examle of how slimey cell phone companies are.
- Richjt92, on 10/12/2007, -1/+37I have been deployed with only 24 hour notice after 9/11. The estimated three week deployment turned into five months...
You have many things going through your mind...somethings slip and need to be taken care of after wards... - Ralphy, on 10/12/2007, -7/+36I strongly agree with mfratt's comment, "deleted, wrong section". It is sad to see that the phone companies have deleted, wrong section so many times in the past. But I guess deleted, wrong section will never stop due to the government.
- sylr87, on 10/12/2007, -4/+30Native Raver, have you ever been deployed overseas? Do you know what a person that is going has to go through? How much notice some of these people are getting before deployment? "tied up loose ends" before leaving is not as easy as you might think.
- SoccerBoy, on 10/12/2007, -5/+25He shouldn't have to pay the cancellation fee either way...
- themachina, on 10/12/2007, -7/+26This comment is useless. No information or anything new. Reported.
- craigtheguru, on 10/12/2007, -3/+19Increasing awareness of the issue and hopefully instigating change so that if you're drafted you won't get screwed with major cell phone bills.
I suppose in your mind this should only have been dugg if the soldier in question ran Linux on his phone. - Miyazaki, on 10/12/2007, -1/+17Yeah, but the millions of people here in the US that are locked into ***** contracts can still use their phone.
- Harmless, on 10/12/2007, -1/+16My supervisor got told on Monday he was leaving Friday. I'd guess that his cell phone bill was the last thing on his mind...
- lenwood, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13@reed311
The companies that reserivce soldiers work for lose out on productivity while they're deployed, too, but I know of several companies that still pay full wages for the duration of the deployment. Plus, this would be a business write off for the cell phone company (just like the apartment & car lease losses). He's serving his country, not galavanting across Europe. Its crap for our service men & women to have to deal with stuff like this. We should be thanking them for their efforts, not punishing them for costing us money. - Schmitty, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14I'm going to play devil's advocate here, and bring up a point. Sprint will always cancel a contract, either for the cancellation fee, or for circumstances such as deployment overseas. HOWEVER, if there is an OUTSTANDING amount on his bill (ie, he forgot about it when he deployed) then Sprint will not change ANYTHING on the account until the balance due is paid in full. Both my brother and me have worked for Sprint before, and had to deal with customers that wanted to cancel their contract with an outstanding balance. Would you want someone who owed you money to get out of it?
Sure, you could start complaining about "Corporate America is bending us over" (sophmoric excuse at best) rather than maybe think about how much that little piece of tech costs to run (not to mention the THOUSANDS of cell towers of which equipment needs to be purchased and maintained). That stuff costs MONEY! And that money just doesn't appear out of mid air! The company provides you with a service, that you don't have to do anything but pay them for the service rendered and use the service, and they handle everything else.
My point is, I have a feeling the soldier is not telling us the whole story about his situation, and rather ran to the press and hid behind the "Corporate Bullies" mythos. Just remember the old saying "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear" and remember to think a little bit about the things that possibly are not being said. - teamparadox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10"When you sign up for a cell phone contract, you are essentially just getting your cell phone at a discounted price; instead of paying full price for the phone. Whether or not you have to serve active duty or you are leaving the area, you still received that phone at a discounted price (i.e. $150-$200 off). It is only fair that the companies get their investment of that amount of money back if you choose not to fulfill your end of the agreement. It's too bad that he has to pay the cancellation fee, but it was something that he was fully aware of when he agreed to the terms and conditions and received his discounted phone."
This is total bull*** I signed up for Nextel/Sprint, I had a Nextel phone already but in order for them to give me service I either needed to get a contract or give them a $150 deposit which is the damn price of ending the contract! I have perfect credit so they couldnt use that excuse on me. Its all a load of crap, they leech from their customers and we put up with it. Its no different then ring tones and wall papers, people are insane paying for crap like that when we should be able to put them on free and easily. - flamingmb, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13they shouldnt be holding that over his head. I hate cell phone companies so much right now, they try to screw you out of everything.
- surfing, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9when my mom died we had to send in a copy of her death certificate before Sprint would cancel her plan. We didn't have to do that with any of here other services.
- Ralphy, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10That's the dumbest comment I ever heard. First of all, I agree, they shouldn't be over there but it's not his choice dumbass, the government sends him where they want.
- HarryBauzonia, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7It depends on how much notice he had. If he had a month or more, Nativeraver is right. But if he was called up on short notice, the guy deserves a break.
I've been deployed on just a couple days noitce, which caused some problems, but I was able to clear it all up after getting home. - deadlierchair, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9engalicorn
I don't believe that's the case in this situation. The guy has been called to service by the government, meaning he cannot legally stay home and continue to use the services. If the government chooses to take someone out of their living situation, they need to compensate them for that, and that is the case here. - Arramol, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Tied up his loose ends? If he made the contract before knowing anything about being called up, what do you suggest he do about it? Keep in mind some of these contracts last for years, so he may have had no idea it would have been an issue.
- HiddenLYNX, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9You are an idiot, he is supporting this country and defending its freedom, he has no F&^@ing choice to be there or not other than before he enlisted. You want to blame someone, blame bush, if you want i dont care, dont say ***** like that about the soldiers giving their life for a better cause than you can do anything for. America is so ***** uninformed, these kids are counting down the days they can go back to service if they are injured. Just cuz you dont support the war doesnt mean you can't support the troops, people like you make me ashamed because when we dont support the troops, their morale goes down and you think they want to come home to a bunch of ungrateful asswipes like your self.... go suck on your momma tit because that as mature you are not supporting the kids of my generation because you think bush is a jerk or bush put us into war.
- bergur1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6its the fact that he CANT David. Think about it.
You can cancel a lease on a house, car, payments, but if you are in a war for a year or so would you want to pay 68x(number of months) when you are not eveen able to use it?
now it didnt say how much the bill was as far as I read - Lewisham, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7WTF are you talking about?
You're justifying being an idiot as one in the name of "free speech"?
By the way, if he had resisted going to Iraq, he'd have been court martialed and imprisoned. You don't know why he's a soldier. Perhaps he wants to defend his country. Perhaps his father died in the army and felt he had to join. Perhaps he just needed a way of supporting his family.
But you *are* a jerk. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If they let this guy cancel his contract, soon EVERYONE will be signing up to go to Iraq just so they can cancel THEIR service too!
- stubbyperson77, on 10/12/2007, -4/+9even if it is his fault, it still is a hi price to pay $68 a month for a lil mistake.
- Harmless, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4He risks his life everyday so that you can post stupid ***** like, "He signed the phone contract. ***** him."
- rfunches, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Okay, so he got the phone at a discounted rate...all the cell company has to do is temporarily suspend his contract until his deployment is complete. Once he returns, his contract picks up where he left off, and if he decides to terminate it, then they can stick him with the termination fee. The cell company will get the cost of the phone back whether they suspend the contract or force him to pay the cancellation fee, so what incentive is there for the company to do the latter and lose a customer (and get bad PR)?
- Zekaer, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5^^ I think she meant 68 times (# of months)..
- Wyzard, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5No, bergur1 has it right: $68 per month times however many months the guy is in Iraq.
- quasipalm, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8It seems to me the DoD should be paying these poor kids enough to pay the cancelation fee.
It's not the phone company's fault he was shipped away (not that I like cell phone companies -- they suck). - Venkman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Yeah because that's totally what this is about.
Not. - himthatwas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I want my soldiers angry!!!
- card2570, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4"It doesn't matter....he will either be dead soon, or he will have become just another murderer....in either case, it is a moot point!"
I am deeply saddened that there are people out there who feel this insensitive about a fellow American. I really am. That is one of the most horrible, moronic things I have ever read. And no, I am not going to "mod" it down, you have every right to say what you like. The First Amendment grants you that.
Just remember, he (euphemistically, mind you) may be fighting/killing/murdering/protecting/whathaveyou in Iraq, but he could very well also be called upon to protect Oregon or Iowa or another place you actually do care about. Maybe even your back yard someday. I wonder what you would call him then? A Savior? A Blessing? God forbid you might even call him a Hero. Also remember I am not speaking about defending an attack, but he may be throwing sandbags on a levee or helping clean up after a tornado. Things that would/could affect you in the most personal of ways.
One last thing, there are too many people who have sacrificed all throughout America's history for you to have the ABILITY to say something that horrible. So yes, you have a right to say it if you choose... I am just very saddened by the fact that you would choose to say it anyway.
Thanks to everyone else for putting up with my $.02 :-) - Krutch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4I am in the service. Coast Guard to be exact. Although I have never been to iraq on duty, I have never had any problems getting out of my cell phone contract. I have used T-Mobile, Sprint, and Cingular and have been able to cancel all my contracts when I get orders to relocate. It does not matter if you move to an area where that particular company may service.
In this case though, I believe the problem may be that Sprint won't cancel the phone account without talking to the account owner, and teh account owner is in Iraq unable to get ahold of sprint. I am sure sprint will clear it up. - gandaar, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3When you are deployed for an extended period of time you should be able to end or at least defer any contract that you are not able to take advantage of during your deployment.
I'm sure anyone that ever spent time in the military would agree. - calderson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3I think the reason people are Digging this is that we have all been bent over by cell phone companies, and can sympathize with this guy's problem. It pisses people off. The act of Digging the article is simply a way to express how we feel about cell companies in general. At least, that is why I'm Digging it.
- flipzmode, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3umm... i used to work for sprint pcs tech support and they have a specific program for military people who get shipped out. all he has to do is call and tell them and (just like the article says) they will either close his account, or just suspend it. depends on how long he'll be gone.
but yea, they have no problem doing it.
PS- im not a sprint fanboy, and don't even use them. ;) - skeet07, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5hmm judging by what your comment said I doubt you could read the Constitution either. And like its been said before he does not have a choice of where he gets deployed to, and he can't dodge being deployed because he would be court martialed.
- spacebar14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Here in Canada, we have probably 6 major phone companies. Telus, the big one, it costs a maximum (and it usually is) $720 to get out of a contract. That's *****.
- Mcclenahan, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7I'm a former U.S. Marine and i never had a problem with sprint and my deployment.
- kf6zql, on 10/12/2007, -3/+6Ralphy,
Are you stupid? He was clearly deployed and Sprint cancelled his contract for him. When I was deployed with the Army T-Mobile gave me no problems, and when I got back they re-instated the plan I had when I left even though it was no longer offered. - elvisisdead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Don't know WTF happened to this guy, but every major phone service provider will put your plan on hold and save your number for you until you get back. SOP. Hoo Rah.
- bergur1, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3true true. Maybe this article needed a bit more info and ALSO I meant $68 TIMES the number of months. Reread my post.
I think we all learned you shouldnt sign any long contracts when it comes to cell phones - applehill, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3OK this is BS all you have to do is take your travel orders or deployment orders in a cellphone provider and they will cancel your contract. I am a civilian contractor for the military and they will do the same for us as well.
- HiddenLYNX, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4so why should he have to pay either the months hes out in Iraq or pay to cancel? thats a load of ***** and you people who are like waa i have a contract i have to get out of, your not being informed your going to iraq tomorrow... some people on digg are such selfish little *****... im so ashamed
- chrstphrbrwn, on 04/15/2009, -0/+2Something is wrong here. My wife and I cancelled our Sprint contract back in 2005 because she received orders to go overseas. All I had to do was take a copy of my wife's orders to my local Sprint store and they cancelled the contract immediately. We were even credited some money owed to us.
I'm not singing the praises of Sprint. I'm only related my "cancellation due to military orders" story. Perhaps this soldier has an account in poor standing? Whatever the case, this is fishy. Sprint cancels contracts when presented with military orders to markets they do not serve. I find it hard to believe they changed their policy within the past eight months, but who knows... - sfacets, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2These ***** (excuse the french) keep (insert french here) with us. Seriously sick of being a slave to their whims here.
- tech10171968, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@jnosanov: You call joining the military a "foolish decision" but I'll bet you're one of those ***** who asked, "where was the National Guard" during hurricane Katrina.
- FX14, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2You can legaly cancel any legal binding contract if your going on depolyment it's called the soldiers and sailors act. I know about it because I'm in the military.
- mjh2901, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Most of the companies allow service people to "suspend" there contract, you call up tell them your deployed they pause your service for the time you are away and allow you to restart once you return. However they are all over the place and customer no-service is clueless. A friend of mine at work has a son who paused his contract. Two months later they unpaused it and started billing again. Luckily his mother handles his bills when he is gone, she spent over an hour on the phone trying to get them to reinstate, they all of a sudden wanted copies of his orders (something a lot of service meant do not get at all) and so fourth. The worse part was he called and set up his phone to be paused for his deployment, was told by the rep that it was done then a few months later they undid it to him and most of the other guys on the base who where deployed. Our service men need protection from these greedy companies that basically are so inconsistent and have such poorly trained staff that even setting things up properly will get you screwed in the end.
That or allow service men to attach customer service requests to cruise missiles and send them in on there own power. - takeda, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I don't know about canceling, but I'm pretty sure Sprint actually allows to suspend the contract for deployed military. My brother was deployed to Middle East and he didn't had problems with suspending the service. He was using Sprint at that time (once contract expired he changed to different provider :)
- tidejwe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Agreed, I used to work for Sprint, and they always canceled accounts for military deployment. I still have a Sprint account, my Sister-in-law was on the account with our family plan, and when she was deployed to Japan Sprint let her out of the 2 year contract with no problems. She didn't even have to PROVE that she was being deployed.
This guy either got an idiot representative to tell misinformation or else he has a past due bill and Sprint wants him to pay off the previous months first. Who can blame them? -REPORTED as innaccurate because it is. -
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