My $25 a month Phone Bill (Part 1)

I’ve been trying to remember how Sprint has gotten me so riled up that I actually now my own phone company.

Should have written about the whole process during that time while everything was still fresh in my memory, but I’m sure that their hidden charges and their very vague bill explanation has something to do with it.

Moved to Las Vegas in 2003, had the house built in a new subdivision master plan community, and my phone line from Sprint was two months late in the installation, Sprint was nice enough to lend us a cellular phone while the work is finished, (and they were nice still to let me know that I could keep the phone afterwards for only $40), got my first bill from them and I remember I was pretty happy with them even after I have gotten my bill. What started the troubles was when I (of course) wanted high speed internet ASAP, and they couldn’t deliver not for another six months. So for half a year I was dialing-up. Got deployed in Iraq, got back and a month later (8 months after the inquiry) Sprint contacted me about their high speed DSL. Had the work done and found out afterwards that EarthLink was the ISP for the DSL. Not too shabby since I was actually pretty happy about my previous EarthLink’s service when I was still living in Tucson, AZ. Two months down the line started having connection problems, contacted costumer support and was told by EarthLink that I need to talk to Sprint since they provide the lines, And was immediately bounced back by Sprint explaining to me like I was a mental deficient that I need to be talking to EarthLink. Finally got to somebody who knows what the *&(*$ is happening and promptly connected me to EarthLink 2nd level of support…. In INDIA. I was way past boiling point 45 minutes ago waiting on my wife’s Chicago area code cell phone burning minutes (I returned the Sprint cell you see and for some reason during the tech support talk my Sprint Land line Tango Uniformed {Tits Upped [Died on me]}) and this poor guy tech support guru instead of solving my dilemma was adamantly trying to convince me that actually s located in phoenix somewhere instead of a tech support farm in India. I asked to speak to the supervisor to get some resolution and was leveled up to the third level of hell tech support, This guy decided to let me know that I should be talking to Sprint, I slowly explained to this dude how I got to talk to him in the first place and he seemed to understand and placed me on hold (or so he thought). No background music or anything I could hear him talking to someone in his office in Tagalog talking about me. (pretty much the same way we techies made fun of stupid “ossifers” and clients who keep breaking their PC cup holders) I just blew up. And waited asked to speak with his Super, But this guy said he didn’t have one, I asked to be sent to billing so I could cancel my service, and he just would not stop talking to the point of being threatening, telling me that they know my account info and I would be very lucky in the future to ever get out of dial-up hell ever again. That was it. I told him I born and raised in the PI and told him his local time in Manila. The next day I didn’t have land line, and of course DSL also.

10 days later, After arguing with Sprint about my extra charges for early cancellation and explaining to them what I have to go through they have decided to waive the penalties. THANK YOU SPRINT!

No landline no internet, my lovely wife still has her cell phone and keeps bugging me if I was cheating on her since I was pretty much talking to someone for 2 hours non-stop according to her bill.

What to do now… (Stay tuned next post.)

BTW: Tagalog = Philippine Language, Ossifers = Non-enlisted military