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206 Comments
- sockpuppets, on 10/12/2007, -3/+232So leave it on and walk away, what are they going to do, ruin his credit?
If it were me I'd have you bury the handset with me. If they contact my relatives they can just let them know my new address. - shawnbttu, on 10/12/2007, -17/+207Sprint is THE SINGLE most horrible cell phone company in US of A and I have been with Tmobile, Cingular and Alltel.
I wont even go into my horror story with them (Just google and you can read literally thousands of horror stories)
Suffice it to say, go with ANYONE else..send carrier pigeons..send smoke signals or just get Cingular ot TMobile before you get Sprint - Shirk, on 10/12/2007, -1/+119Sprint is always expanding its PCS coverage range. Increasing coverage locations included Alaska, Canada, Heaven and Hell.
- GunbladeVIII, on 10/12/2007, -11/+125Dude, Google will give you thousands of horror stories for any cell phone company in America. People on the whole hate their cell phone providers, and everyone hates those damn contracts. Getting worse too; some companies don't even offer one year anymore, and those that do barely mention anything about them existing. So I would think that this situation would be routine.
For the record, I've never had a problem with Sprint customer service. I renew on a one-year contract every year (although they protest vehemently), and at the end of each year, I call up, threaten to switch, ask for retention, and they hook me up with a few more bucks off, or bumping my night and weekend time up an hour, or free text messages, or whatever else, to keep my business. Of course, I never actually intended to switch, but they don't know that. After five years of doing this, it's resulted in a bill so low that I doubt it's going to work again this year. So Sprint customer service has always been good to me. Course, I'm not dead... and apparently, the dead report that they get far worse service. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+86Wait . . . can't you cancel your cell phone contract if you move somewhere where they don't provide coverage? Well . . . I think you know where I'm going with this.
- laplacian, on 10/12/2007, -2/+53apparently they've done this before: http://www.consumerist.com/consumer/death/sprint-harasses-grieving-mother-for-two-years-209667.php
- snurfle, on 10/12/2007, -7/+57If you search for just about ANY product on line, you'll find thousands of horror stories...
People tend to share their experiences with a product only when they are having problems... very rarely will someone post a blog or contact the BBB or build a page that says
"We watched a movie last night with our DVD player, and guess what?!?! We watched the whole movie, and it never skipped or lost the picture or the sound once! And when my wife had to pee, I hit the pause button, and I swear, the movie froze INSTANTLY!!! And this is at least the fifteenth time we watched a movie since we bought the player, and it has acted the same way EVERY TIME!!!"
But if that same DVD player gets a dust bunny on the laser, and quits working, that's when you see people start bitching and whining on every blog site and consumer protection site and third-party vigilante lawer site...
I'm not saying Sprint is good, bad, or other... But just because people take the time to bitch about their service, doesn't mean that there aren't just as many people who don't take the time to post praises.
That said, this particular case is pathetic. - AriaStar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+40When my dad died, Sprint wouldn't cancel it without a letter from my dad's power of attorney, and the POA must have proof of the position. Usually that's be the WIFE. Sprint ignored my mother as POA because she didn't have verification of having my dad's consent. Um, my dad came home drunk and shot himself in front of us. I don't think he was thinking, "Well, I should probably write Sprint a letter so my cell phone will be canceled before I blow my ***** brains out." What we did was just let it go. They shut it off after two months. It's not like my dad had much of an estate anyway, and the worst Sprint would do is send it to collections, and a collection agency DID call, and I was the one who answered. I lucked out in that the agent was sympathetic when I told him (or was it her? I can't remember that part) about seeing my dad shoot himself and Sprint refusing to cancel. The agent said that they'd remove the debt. I guess they did because we never got another call for this.
- Raian, on 10/12/2007, -12/+51@GunbladeVIII
Sprint Customer service hasn't been good to you... you weaseled your way into that situation... most people don't have the time, energy, or capacity to do something like that, nor should they have to. - SteelChicken, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26sue the estate, rtfa
- yonnermark, on 10/12/2007, -1/+20Sprint welcome your feedback here:
http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASApp/care/WCGeneralQuestionsFeedbackServlet?audience=INDIVIDUAL&language=EN - zirtbow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Over the past few weeks on digg I have learned this about cell phone companies.
1. Verizon sucks because of their contract/idots/etc. ( See: http://consumerist.com/consumer/verizon/verizon-makes-canceling-over-their-txt-msg-hike-impossible-229065.php )
2. Cingular sucks because their generally a crappy service and you get a poor signal with them. (See any iPhone story where you are forced to use Cingular)
3. Sprint sucks becuase their customer service is garbage. ( This article )
So whats left in the world of cell phone providers? I know there are others but i'm lost as who might be the 'best' to go with since before all the digging many of the people I knew swore by Verizon. - taintparty, on 10/12/2007, -5/+20So, his brother (not a parent or spouse) with no death certificate and wants to cancel someone's account? Wow, I'm glad any random person who could steal my phone can't call up saying I'm dead and cancel my plan and lose my number.
- lowbot, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17"Creditors will ALWAYS go after the family if the debtor dies, thats how this capitalistic society works. "
Got a cite for that? If I die my debits are my own, and certainly not my brothers. Most people die with 30k or so in debt. Generally, debts get paid off before an inheretance is applied. This is assuming theres some kind of estate/money left. Creditors take the loss with broke dead people. Thats how finance works.
Part of the interest rate you are paying for your loans is padded so when this happens (default, death, etc) the creditors dont really lose any money. The same way things are more expensive at the grocery store because of theft. Thats how business works. - rheaume, on 10/12/2007, -0/+15Ariastar,
Im sorry to hear that brother... - Duston, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13@anonatron
No, the "family" is not liable for the debt. They may tell you that but they are lying. They can come after the estate an nothing else. Trust me, my father died DEEPLY in debt. - kkeith02, on 10/12/2007, -1/+14Here's a simple reason why they don't cancel accounts: fraud. There is too much fraudulent activity to go canceling accounts based on the whim of a person who doesn't own the account. I have seen it many times where changes are made only to have the account holder come back and say they never did anything.
Now, put yourself in the rep's shoes. A person calls in, has some account information, but is not the person on the account. You ask to cancel, but refuse to pay the early termination fee. To the reps, this is another example of someone wanting to change things to another person's account.
If you had the death certificate and was able to provide that to them, they would cancel, no problem. But like you said, you don't have it, so why should someone half way across the country be inclined to believe you? I know it's harsh, but this is the time we live in where fraudulent activity is rampant, especially in the cell phone industry. I will say it once, most problems people have with a company are their own fault, RTFM or RTFC in this case. - lnf69, on 10/12/2007, -0/+13To everyone talking about DEATH CERTIFICATES, Read the update at the end: "To clarify, my brother passed away in mid-December but the City of St. Louis Medical Examiner's Office will not issue a death certificate for 8-10 weeks, meaning late February because he passed in his sleep and there was no apparent cause."
- imnotspartacus, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15i'm based in the Uk, so i'm not up on US consumer rights etc, but over here that would be clearly illegal & the vast amounts of bad publicity it'd generate here would in no way justify the $6 a month they get from it.
- NikoKun, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15Wow... I always thought Death broke those kind of contracts... XD I guess Sprint doesn't think that way...
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+11T-mobile is OK in the USA, but surprisingly, as they are from Germany, they suck terribly in Germany (possibly because they are nearly a monopoly there).
I spent the summer of 2005 in Germany. I couldn't get broadband internet access because of goddamn 6+ month contracts with every DSL and Cable provider I could find. I couldn't get a long-term cellphone plan because T-mobile had minimum contracts, too. Bottom line, I had to get there things:
1. A phone line in my apartment in Germany
The rates? ~$150 in setup fees, $80+ in unspecified charges every month (the bill did not clarify and made many duplicate charges). I would then promptly get these Mahnung ("Warning") notices because I was in the middle of the black forest and the mail was naturally not getting to me in time, and they would never clarify my requests before sending me the Warning. after getting the warning, there would be a "Mahnungsbetrag" (=warning fee) which they would never remove, despite the fact that it was THEIR FAULT that they did not promptly resolve issues with me.
2. A cellphone
The prepaid rate? $0.50 cents a minute. Absolutely ***** terrible. Why can't a foreigner feel welcome and be able to get a better rate for being in a country for a short period of time?
3. Dial-up internet access because there is no ***** broadband available in the country for 3 months
Cost? ~$70/month for only 60 hours/month of access, PLUS phone charges. Holy *****.
When I signed up, here's how it would go - translated conversation between me and them:
Me: What plans would you have available?
T-com You can sign up for FORTY hours of internet access per month at 40 euros a month. Ding! [sound effect]
Me: What other plans do you have available?
T-com: You can sign up for SIXTY hours of internet access per month at 60 euros a month. Ding! [sound effect]... "would you like more or less"?
Me: Can you please tell me all your plans, not play games with me?
T-com: You can sign up for EIGHTY hours of internet access per month at 80 euros a month. Ding! [sound effect] ... "would you like more or less"?
Me: That is too expensive.
T-com: You can sign up for SIXTY hours of internet access per month at 60 euros a month. Ding! [sound effect] "is that plan ok?"
jesus *****. - Minnelli, on 10/12/2007, -2/+12Call this number:
shareholder.relations@sprint.com or Shareholder Relations 1-800-259-3755, press option 4
Tell them your problem and they will give you to people that can help you resolve your problem. These folks will NOT be the dumb-a$$ customer service folks that have no ability to do the right thing. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11They'll sue his "estate". People generally leave considerable sums of money behind after they die.
- ciram, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11Any time I hear anything about a cell phone provider it's "Provider X is the worst provider ever!"
The fact of the matter is... THEY ALL SUCK! They will all do anything to get as much money off you as they possibly can. Even charge a dead guy. - adidos, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13Sprint's contracts aren't any longer than any other company (2 years).
- phimu227, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10I don't doubt this happened, but coming from my own experience, my brother died last April and he had sprint. We contacted sprint to cancel the contract and they did not give us any hassle what so ever. I think that customer service at any company can suck b/c of the some people just suck in general.
- N00F, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12I've read someplace that if you operate your cell phone out of its native area, the roaming charges are greater than what you pay for use of the phone. The stories I've read are about how people get the host companies to cancel their accounts. These people continually operate their cell phones in roaming territory (by calling the automated time system or something) and just leave the phone connected, during the 'free time' in their contract (like evenings and weekends free). The phone company sees that they are losing a lot of money on the contract and then cancel the phone service.
A 'Google' for said stories will probably give you more detail than what I have told you.
Just saying, is all. - adidos, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9"Won't sending over a death certificate do the trick?"
This isn't Seinfeld :) - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10No, it doesn't have to be like that. If you've accepted that "it's how its always worked" then you've already bent over for the big one. Sprint's behavior in this is beyond reprehensible.
- lnf69, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Read the update at the end: "To clarify, my brother passed away in mid-December but the City of St. Louis Medical Examiner's Office will not issue a death certificate for 8-10 weeks, meaning late February because he passed in his sleep and there was no apparent cause."
- inkhead, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7Death does get you out of contracts, especially cellphone ones, as someone who has delt with that I assure you that the cell companies are REQUIRED by law to cancel upon notice give with a death certificate, or power of attorney form without cancellation fee.
I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the person who's having such hard time, call back, PRETENDING TO BE YOUR BROTHER (Yes I know I'm sorry) and say you wish you cancel, tell them you don't care about the free because your going to be dead in less than 24 hours. Or just tell them you don't care. It won't ruin his credit if you plan to keep using his cards (which loved ones often do, to build their credit, even though these seems weird).
If it helps any I hate Sprint and this was the last straw, I called the executive relations and cancelled 115?ish cellular contracts with them today. The max they can charge in California (thank God is $150), which I'm more than willing to eat for this injustist. I made them away of the digg post, I'd encourage the remaining family member to do research on "closing loved one's bills after death", and other similar stuff to get started.
IF NOTHING WORKS, OR YOU DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH SPRINT I'M PERSONALLY OFFERING TO DEAL WITH THE WHOLE ISSUE FOR YOU AND WILL EVEN PAY THE CANCELATION FEE IF REQUIRED. YOU SHOULD NOT BE DEALING WITH STUFF LIKE THIS YOU SHOULD BE CELEBRATING LIFE.
I AUTHORIZE THE ADMIN OF DIGG.COM TO Give the poster my contact info so I can pay the TERMINATION FEE AND THEN QUICKLY GO AFTER SPRINT - deadgoon42, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7They can't sue the guy, they can only sue the estate. If the estate is so small that that it can't pay the cell phone bill, then Sprint is just out of luck. If they continue to charge money to a dead guy, then they are liable for the charges. Personally, I'd consider them fairly warned. When the death certificate comes though in a few weeks, I'd call them back and find out how to cancel the account. I'd then demand repayment of any fees paid after the guy's death. If they refused to pay I'd sue them.
- Yorn, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9QUOTE
I'm not saying Sprint is good, bad, or other... But just because people take the time to bitch about their service, doesn't mean that there aren't just as many people who don't take the time to post praises.
/QUOTE
You can't use this same kind of argument for customer service, however, it is EXPECTED that they function flawlessly. - jcaino, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9they are absolutely horrible.
i can vouch for the problem with them
a few years ago i had a contract with them and wanted to cancel. due to some unforseen circumstances, i was out of the states and unable to really cancel it myself. however, my mother had power of attorney to deal with my affairs. despite faxing in a copy, they claimed they never got it, requested it to be faxed again and again.
eventually my mom decided that she would just use the cell phone until the contract expired.
and not to mention all their over billing and billing errors that required calls to customer service every month to fix
sprint blows. - Bob042, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6T-mobile has been working fine for me so far. The only annoyance I've come across is they don't allow Java apps on Samsung phones to access the internet, so no Opera Mini or Gmail.
However, I haven't really had to deal with customer service, so I don't know how bad/good that is. - underthelinux, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6The moral of the story is that all cell phone providers suck. But that's what the contract is all about - getting you tied in. It's one of those "Deal With It" situations.
- sunchild, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8Contracts are not negated by death. Now, enforcing a cell phone contract against a dead person's estate is a little silly since that person is not going to be making calls any time soon. It makes more sense when, for instance, a mortgage borrower dies -- would you expect the bank to forfeit the loan? Of course, the argument against Sprint is a little more compelling in this case. Aside from being jerks about it, Sprint can pretty easily build a death discount into its revenue projections, since death rates are pretty stable on a localized basis. This is what actuaries do, I think.
- felchdonkey, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Funny how last week Cingular was the worst phone company EVAR.
Right now Sprint is the worst phone company in the US. I'm sure a couple more stories could also make it clear that T-Mobile is the worst provider, and also that Verizon is the worst company in the world.
I'd like to hear from anyone who's dealt with both American phone companies and European or Asian providers. Are they all this bad, worldwide? - SlackerCSB, on 10/12/2007, -6/+12Their required contracts are so long, I'm surprised this doesn't happen more!
- JoPettitt, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5The number of idiots out there is baffling.
- Vlatro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5They WILL cancel a contract in the event of death. This guy must have been talking to an idiot. You need to send them a duplicate (not photocopy) of the person's death certificate. Here in New York State, that costs $35 - $40. Upon reciept they will cancel the contract effective as of the begining of the next billing cycle (next month usually). There is still liability for the month of death, as the contract was still active, so expect one more bill.
All in all, it'll set someone back $70-$130 total, rather than accruing the cost for months of unused service. Of course they would never be able to collect a dime anyway, but it does prevent the harassing mail and phone calls when payment stops.
You could also ask if anyone in the family would like to take over the contract, then just give them the phone. - Gryffydd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@dclowd
It worked for me once. - msgyrd, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Debts aren't always settled by death (federal student loans are!), but a cellphone contract isn't a debt. It's an agreement to pay for a service for a period of time. It could probably be argued that since the recipient is no longer capable of having cellular service provided (anywhere), that the rest of the contract would no longer have to be fulfilled by the person or his/her estate. The main point is, when you sign a cell contract, you don't sign at the bottom saying "I owe this company $1500 incrementally over 2 years" because at that point, nothing has yet been provided.
All that said, Sprint did the right thing here. "Show a death certificate or have his estate lawyer contact me or we'll keep charging his ass." - tavisjohn, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@ lowbot
Not anymore. Whomever takes over the estate, also aquires the debt. The crediters feel that just because the person dies, that they should not take a loss. So yes the debters (should) get first crack at any assets. However it is up to the person in charge of the estate to make these arrangements.
How do I know that this is true? Simple, all those commertials for cheap life insurance for people 65 and over. They all talk about the money that the policy pays of, and how it will pay off their bills when they are gone.
Once a long long time ago crediters gave the gift of forgiveness to those who owed them money. However now a days they charge you a fortune if you are 5 minutes late with a payment, there is NO WAY that they would forgive a debt just because you died. - ripcrd, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Interesting that Sprint wants to continue the contract terms even after death or only when it benefits them. They regularly cancel Contract worker contracts. They let all contractors go, then cancel open positions, before doing a major lay-off. I understand that it is in their best interest to let contractors go before employees, but none of the local contract companies ever do anything about it for fear of getting knocked to the bottom of the list for contracting positions.
I'm pissed because friends of mine and myself have been let go while under a contract to them. We all followed the terms and worked hard, but got let go before the end of the term and had to go look for work before expected. - krached, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4That is not uncommon, unfortunately. I used to run death certificates for a funeral home, and it can be a real problem getting a doctor to sign one. For whatever reason, they do not like to put their name down on one. In this case, it sounds like there was no treating physician, so the family cannot go that route. The other option is to wait for the coroner, and this can take months. A law in Illinois just went into effect to help correct this problem, as until that death certificate is done, no insurance gets paid.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4oh, and I'll add, as much as the conversation above reads as if I was talking to a machine, I was not. The guy coughed, said each in a different tone and speed, and the [sound effects] were the T-com guy actually making sound effects with his mouth, I think.
- Altotus, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Once the customer died, the contract with the individual is no longer in effect. A simple registered letter to Sprint noting that the customer is deceased is sufficient. At that point, the company is obligated to cancel service and stop charging. At that point, the estate is responsible for negotiating payment of monies due (including early termination fees, if applicable under the contract). The estate is not responsible for paying for the service once the provider is notified.
Until an actual executor is named and probate begins, after the company is notified of the situation, all payments cease. The companies, if they want to recover any money due, need to notify the probate court. If the money is available, the provider will be paid, if not, tough luck. - sjbdallas, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4T-Mobile has great customer service. My kid ran up a few hundred dollars in over limit text and voice charges and I got T-mobile to backdate an increase in my allowable minutes and wipe away some of the fees.
- fallenone05, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5@MadKennyP
Sprint has coverage in Hades -
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