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Alltel wireless

  • Thread starter Ozzy
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Ozzy

SirKristoff is a poopiehead
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I just wanted to share a letter I wrote to Alltel. I also filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureua. I wrote this letter through planetfeedback.com. It's a great site, that will help you when a big business treats you unfair. You should check out alltel's feedback on planetfeedback.com and (Better Business Bureua) bbb.com They do the same thing to alot of other people that they did to me.

Here's the letter.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]July 21, 2004


TO:
Joe T Ford, CEO
Alltel Communications Services
1 Allied Drive
Little Rock, AR  72202-2013

FROM:
Mark Todd
XXX XXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXX ,XX  XXXXX
voodoodancer@hotmail.com

   RE: PLANETFEEDBACK REFERENCE NUMBER 2182112

Dear Mr. Ford,

The world thrives on communication today, which is why I'm so upset with the
customer service at Alltel Communications Services. Quite honestly, I'm furious
about this issue. Just for the record, here's my telephone information: ### ### ####.

Here's my complaint: I am very annoyed at alltel. I feel that I have been conned
by the company, and my money has been stolen from me twice.
The problems started as soon as I got my new phone. The phone worked ok for two
days. Then it said I had no service. I called customer service and they told me
that they must have a tower down and to wait for a day then my service should be
restored. I waited the problem was never fixed. So I called back, again they
told me they had a tower down and I should wait. Again I waited. The next day I
called back, they told me that there was no tower down, there must be a problem
with my phone, and told me to take it back to the store where I bought it. I
informed the technician that I bought the service over the phone with them. He
then went through my info and found that my service was turned off.  I can
understand things go wrong and mistakes happen, so I let it slide.
The next problem happened after I had the phone for about two months. My phone
was destroyed by my dog. I know that was my fault, but that is no excuse for
what happened next. I went to an Alltel dealer and asked to buy another phone. I
was told it was cheaper to cancel the service and open another one. So I did.
When I made my last payment I (in good faith) overpaid by $4. I was planning to
use your service for many years, so I knew that in time I would use that money.
You told me that it is your policy to not refund money from a prepaid account.
The $4 was mine that I worked for. You did not provide me any services for it. I
think if you cared about your customers you would not steal money from them.
Like I said I was wanting to be a longterm customer, so I let this slide too.
The next problem happened about 2 weeks after I got my new phone. All of a
sudden I couldn't get any reception in the town that I live in. The phone would
say no service. When I was near a tower I would get maybe one or two bars of
reception. I called customer service and they told me once again that a tower
was down. I waited a day and then called back. I was told that there was no
tower down but they would put in a work order to see if there was a problem with
the towers. I waited another day. I called back. I was told that there was a
problem with my phone. They said the software needed upgraded. Like I said this
was a brand new phone, why would the software need upgradeing? But I wanted my
phone fixed so I let him try to upgrade the software. He said it didn't work and
I had to take it in to a dealer to be upgraded. This was Saturday on Memorial
day weekend. He told me that the closest dealer to me would be open on Sunday. I
already knew that they were closed on Sundays, and I asked him to check and see
if they would be open on Monday. He told me yes. I went there on Monday and they
were closed. I went back on Tuesday. The dealer tried to upgrade the software
but said he couldn't. I had to take it to a dealer in the next town. So I drove
to the next town. They upgraded the software. I left and I still had the same
problems. So I once again called customer service. I told them all I had went
through and my phone still didn't work. They told me I had to take it back to
the dealer. I went back to the dealer where I had bought the phone and told him
the phone still didn't work. He told me that he would have to send the phone off
to be repaired and that could take six weeks. I said what do I do while the
phone is being fixed, I need to have a phone. He said he would give me a loaner
phone but he was out of them. He told me that if I go to the store in the next
town they may have a loaner for me. So I went back to the other dealer. They
told me since I didn't buy the phone there they couldn't give me a loaner. Again
I had wasted my gas because of misinformation your agent gave me.  So I once
again called customer service. I told them all I had went through and my phone
still didn't work. The response I got was I'm sorry there is nothing I can do. I
asked to be compensated for all the time I had been without a phone, the
misinformation I had gotten from your customer service, the wasted gas I had
used going back and forth to one dealer to the other. They told me that since I
was a prepaid account they couldn't reimburse me. They said since I was prepaid
there was nothing that they would do to make it up to me. I almost canceled the
service right then. You should realize that I don't have a contract, and since I
don't I can close my account with you at any time and go to another phone
company. You should work harder to make me happy instead of treating me like a
second class customer. I went back to the dealer I bought the phone from and
demanded that he either fix my phone, give me a loaner phone, or give me a new
phone. I refused to leave the store until he did one of the three. After about
10 mins he saw I was serious, and he agreed to give me a loaner phone.
What happened next was the final straw, it not only made me cancel your service
but proved to me that you don't care at all about your customers, and you are
nothing but a common thief.
I got a call from the dealer that sent my phone off to be repaired. He said my
phone was in. I went to pick it up. He told me that the phone had moisture
damage and it couldn't be fixed. He told me I had to buy another phone. I told
him that this phone was brand new, I used it less than two weeks. There was no
way it could have moisture damage. There was no signs at all of any moisture in
the phone. The screen was perfectly clear. I figured that was just a trick by
you and the dealer to make me buy another phone instead of fixing the phone I
had. I told him I refuse to buy another phone and I want to cancel the service.
I had paid my bill in full two days earlier. I told him that I wanted my money
back. He spent 45 mins on the phone and then told me that a supervisor was going
to call him back. He said he would call me when he hears something. He called me
about an hour later and said that I couldn't have my money. The money I work
hard for. You didn't do anything to earn that money. You took it and then
refused to fix my problem. In my opinion that is the same thing as stealing. I
just want you to know that I will not go away quietly. I'm also going to contact
the Better Business Bureau. You need to do the right thing here. Before this
happened I was going to get another account for my wife, so you have already
lost two customers. I read your feedback on Planetfeedback.com and I see that
you have stolen alot of peoples money. This is no isolated event.
I'm not surprised, and do you know why? I've been very dissatisfied with your
company in the past. But given the nature of this problem, I'll take my business
elsewhere from now on. And I'll definitely tell other people about my negative
experience so they can avoid it in the future.

Here's what I'd like to see happen: I want you to refund the $4 that you kept of
mine from my first account, I want the $40 from the second. I want you to pay
for the miles that I had to travel because all the misinformation that you gave
me. (135 miles x .50 a mile)I also want you to pay for the brand new phone that
I can't use and the days that I couldn't use my phone (10 days - $15).
I would also recommend that you make a policy change so this doesn't happen
again. Just because somebody chooses not to have a contract, doesn't mean that
you should treat them with any less respect. They still pay their money just
like you customers with a contract. You should do more to keep their business
because they can at anytime drop you and go to another carrier, just like I did.

I hope you get back to me soon. In this age of modern communication, seemingly
simple things should not go unresolved. I'll expect a response within 10
business days.

Sincerely,
voodoodancer@hotmail.com

CC:
mark
Marcy Kaptur
Mike DeWine
George Voinovich

I'll post their reply when and if I get one.
 
Wow, long story. Filled with lots of crap from them. I hope you get something for it all. The way I read it... this is just the warm up round. hehe
Good luck,
Andrew
 
tell him if he doesn't do wat you said you'll do voodoo on him.. like your email.
 
WE HAD THE SAM EXACT PROBLEM WITH AT&T WIRELESS!!!!
they stole our money, and thne they cancelled our cell phones without warning, which could have been dangerous because I use it when I go biking and fishing and stuff, and my sister uses it when she goes on trail rides on her horse for about 4 hours.
 
Its really sad when a company doesn't take care of their customers. I would be interested in knowing if the phone was truely damaged by moisture. Do you happen to know anyone in the cell phone business that might do a free checkup on the phone? Does the phone look like it was even taken apart? There is usually some signs that the phones were taken apart due to pry marks or damaged screw heads.

You may also want to look into sending your complaint to the Attorney Generals Office.

http://www.ag.state.oh.us/index.asp
 
Why should you expect civil and equitable treatment - you should know by now that it never goes right for the little guy. You need to calm down. Go watch some TV and have a Bud and forget all this stuff like a good cow. Have a Prozac and quit harassing the hardworking taxpaying companies Ozzy, or you are going to find yourself in another jam like you did with those nice folk at Paypal. The problem with the American consumer is that they still believe in the old BS that the consumer has some sort of rights and protection. Everybody knows how the story goes, so just lie back and accept it as your lot in life: unless your son is a Lawyer you can expect to be screwed.

Frankly, I have considered having some fake lawyer envelopes printed up just for moments like these. A registered letter from a Lawyer would likely be all that is needed for a speedy resolution of this problem. Other avenues to explore are to see if any of the other customers are considering a class action against the company, and to throw in with them on that if there is such.

Someday the guy responsible for this treatment will find himself DOWN BELOW standing in a river of molten gold. He will be promised that it is only a temporary thing until proper placement is found. He will be given a cel phone and told to await the Call. It will be your phone that they hand to him.
 
Our business use to have Alltel but we did not have any big problems like that. Good grief! That would tick me off..We switched to Verizon and they are not much better *Can you hear me now? no!*. I think customer service is very important.

I pesonally do not own a cel phone becuase I think it is a nag line when you are out. People can not use a pay phone any more, only cost 50 cents or so. I thought Americans were bad with there cell phones but I think the Italians take the cake. Cant we just live by the KISS principle.
smile_m_32.gif
 
Wow. That is a horrible story. You definitely need to get away from Alltel. That is who I have my cell phone with but I haven't had any problems other than finding out they will not repair a phone that is over a year old (out of warranty). They make it so that it costs so much to repair a phone, that you are basically FORCED to buy a new one every year. I think this is ridiculous. Like you said, what kind of customer service is that? They just want to keep the consumer buying phone after phone after phone. I was pretty pissed off when I found out that they wouldn't repair it...I wasn't told that when I signed up for their service. They should tell you right up front your phone is only good for a year because they won't repair it after that.

I hope you get satisfaction from them. But they are a "corporation" who doesn't care about their customers.
 
What a load of rubbish!!
mad.gif

"Im sorry, a tower is down!" What a bag of rubbish!!
They were using you, Ozzy!!
mad.gif
Those stupid people!!
mad.gif
All they want is money, nothing more!
mad.gif
 
  • #10
Well I have been calling Alltel and I will not give up. I have been giving the run around which is normal for Alltel. I was passed from one dept to the other until I was mysteriously disconnected. So I placed a call to the home office in Little Rock Ak. I talked to Sharon Dumas. Same old story, it's not our policy to refund prepaid accounts. I said you need to change your policy because It's wrong to steal peoples money. She said that will be up to Joe Ford to decide. So I asked, Can I speak to him? She said no. I asked why not, because I'm not important enough because I was a prepaid account? I also invited her to the forums to read what people are saying about them. She declined. I told her it would be cheaper to pay me the money that they owe me so I'll go away.
Nick, thanks for the link, I didn't think of them.
Tamlin, You're right on everything you said except
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]You need to calm down. Go watch some TV and have a Bud and forget all this stuff like a good cow. Have a Prozac and quit harassing the hardworking taxpaying companies Ozzy, or you are going to find yourself in another jam like you did with those nice folk at Paypal
You need to write them a letter and tell them that they don't want to get into fight with me like I had with paypal. Paypal never knew what hit 'em. After they refused to give me my money I just went to the bank and told them that paypal withdrew money from my account with out my permission. It was that simple. Then about 5 months later they sent me a check for $40. I called them and asked what the check was for they told me they didn't know. So I cashed it. LOL
 
  • #11
what complete and utter crap! you're getting screwed with, mark. the sad truth is this happens everyday, in every town, in every state, in every country. you, the little guy, are getting the short end of the stick from corprate america. the companies that do business this way count on the fact that you will do nothing about it. really, most people would bite the bullet and just pay them (as you did), be pissed about it (like you), and simply change to another wireless provider (as you will). and what would these companies do if you didn't pay them? they'd be on the phone to the credit reporting agencies and really stick it to you!

my understanding on the BBB is simple and basic. none the less, it also tells me that the BBB is a joke, and benefits the retailer more than the consumer. as i understand it, the BBB will contact the retailer in question after a complaint has been filed. in turn, the retailer will attempt to resolve the matter with you. after the attempt has been made, i believe, they can then let the BBB know that they have tried to resolve the problem, and the complaint is labled as "resovled" or something similar. as i understand it, the person making the complaint and the company in which the complaint is filed against do not have to actually agree to anything, nor do they have to actually resolve anything. they just have to make an attempt.

personally, i like tamlins idea of the fake lawyer letter. that could back fire on you should alltel decide to take it to court. by my account, you're asking for them to give you $126.50. sounds like you might have a good case for small claims court.

have you thought about calling carl monday and the FOX i-team yet? i would. i bet you'll have your cash in no time flat...

good luck and keep us posted!

tech...
 
  • #12
Brian, All I asked for was the $40 that was left on my account. but sisnce they want to play this game I'm now asking for everythiung I'm owed. $234.50 I think. I'm going to attack them on every front I can think of, the BBB is just one of the weapons. Planetfeedback is different from the bbb, they post their response and I decide if the matter was resolved.
 
  • #13
Like I said I would give an update when this is settled. Here's what's happened since I posted this.
Planetfeedback sent the letter I wrote and I got an returned email notice. So they changed their email. Then the Better Business Bureau sent me an email and told me that their address has changed and they are searching for a new address. I know that if a company suddenly changes their address it's a major warning flag. I went to the local alltel store and sat down and told the manager that I wanted my money and I wasn't leaving until I get it. He said "Do you want me to call the cops?" I said go ahead and call them. He picked up his phone and dialed some numbers and said no you're going to call the Alltel customer service and settle it with them. I talked to them and they gave me the same bull. They said we'll have a manager call you and they will settle it. It was just more lies to shut me up. I agreed to give them one more chance to settle it. So I went home and waited for the manager to call. He called and told me it wasn't their policy to refund my money. I'll save all the young ears here from what my reply was but I'm sure you get the picture.
I continued my phone assaults. I kept getting the same answers.

Then last week I got an email from the BBB. They gave me a phone number of Cary Johnson in Cleveland. I called him Thursday. He told me it wasn't a good time to talk to him, but he said he could call me Friday morning. I told him I would be working Friday. So he gave me the number of Shawn Panyard. He told me that he was the Alltel representative area and that he would help me. I was thinking yeah I've heard that before.
Anyway I called him today. He said he read the letter and he wants to know what I wanted to settle this matter. I told him that it was all in the letter and I wanted the money that Alltel owed me. He said that he didn't have the letter in font of him and asked would I be happy if he gave me a new phone and put some money on my account. I told him I would settle for that. So he is suppose to fed ex me a phone. My question is why they couldn't do that in the first place. They know it's the right thing to do. I almost told him no because of the way they treated me. I'm a forgiving person and I guess if they do what they say I should give them another chance.
I'll update this as soon as I get my new phone.
 
  • #14
Finnaly! That took long enough to get your money!
confused.gif

Im glad its all settled now, Mark.
smile_m_32.gif

Dino
cool.gif
 
  • #15
Well, Shawn Panyard made good on his promise. I didn't get home until about 1:30 am, I went to Ozzfest yesterday, there was a fed-x package in the door. It was from Shawn and it was a brand new phone with $40 on the account. I set the account up this morning. I've already had problem number 1. I chose the 200 anytime minutes and 2000 nights and weekend. For some reason I decided to to check how many minutes I had. I only had 187 anytime and 1800 nights and weekends. I couldn't believe they shorted me over 200 minutes. So I called them up and asked what happened. The women told me she don't know why but she credited me the minutes I was short.
I truly think there will be a round two to this fight, but I'm going to give them a fair chance. If something happens and I'm not happy with the service, I'll cancel them and I'll leave with a brand new phone.
Thanks to all of you that has listen to my rants about Alltel.
 
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