.•*ღ Entire Board of T-Mobile Execs Reviews Customer Account in less than 24 Hours?

Yeah right.

But that is what the T-Mobile customer service representative expected me to believe when he left me a voice message earlier today.  After sending out a massive EECB to the following people:

Robert Dotson
President and Chief Executive Officer
Robert.dotson@t-mobile.com

Cole Brodman
Chief Technology and Innovation Officer
Cole.brodman@t-mobile.com

Brian Kirkpatrick
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Brian.kirkpatrick@t-mobile.com

Dave MillerSenior Vice President and General Counsel
Dave.miller@t-mobile.com

Larry Myers
Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer
Larry.myers@t-mobile.com

Denny Post
Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer
Denny.post@t-mobile.com
John Birrer (The only person who actually responded)
Senior Vice President Customer Service
T-Mobile
12920 SE 38th Street
Bellevue, WA 98006
Desk 425-383-6072
John.Birrer@t-mobile.com

Neville Ray
Senior Vice President, Engineering Operations
Neville.ray@t-mobile.com
Executive Response Team
ExecutiveResponse@T-Mobile.com

and also...

Investor Relations
Investor.relations@telekom.de

René Obermann
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)Rene.obermann@telekom.de

Hamid Akhavan
Board member for T-Mobile, Product Development, Technology and IT
Hamid.akhavan@telekom.de

Manfred Balz
Board member for Data Privacy, Legal Affairs and Compliance
Manfred.balz@telekom.de

Reinhard Clemens
Board member for T-Systems
Reinhard.clemens@telekom.de
Guido Kerkhoff
Board member for South Eastern Europe
Guido.kerkhoff@telekom.de

with CCs to:

their PR company
Waggener Edstrom
rrt@WaggenerEdstrom.com

plus some news outlets... why not?

CONSUMERIST.COM
tips@consumerist.com
ABC News
audiencerelations@abctv.com
wcvbnews@thebostonchannel.com
gma@abcnews.com
Dateline
Dateline@NBCUNI.com

Today
Today@NBCUNI.com

NBC Nightly News
nightly@nbc.com

Newsweek
Letters@newsweek.com

Fox News
newsmanager@foxnews.com
AskFox@fox.com
CNN
cnnmoney@money.com

So with all the information I have provided on this blog, and through my conversations with an entire flock od incompetent customer service representatives- Ralph, expects me to believe that the entire Executive Board reviewed my account and agreed that they did nothing wrong.

The following images are visual representations of what I think of this statement:

I'm sure T-Mobile thought this guy is a deadbeat too right? All us loyal customers are.

T-Mobile CSR Lies About Making Changes To Account, Causes $75 In Overage Fees

Yeah you can... go stick it.

.•*ღ Extra Extra! Read All About It! - Time to hit the MEDIA

T-Mobile/Deutsche Telekom

warns of lower profits for 2009

No surprise there.

Since first posting  about my experiences with T-Mobile, including my experiences with the belligerent, condescending, and completely disrespectful customer service representative, Vin Rozzi who told me he'd see me in court.... 

Why is he still employed?  Our country is suffering from a recession where good, hard-working people are getting laid off left and right, and this person, who lacks professionalism in every sense of the word, and finds pleasure in ripping off customers is still employed?  How is that even fair?  This man is making a living out of destroying people's livelihood.

Sorry... side tracked for a moment.  What a douche... yeah.

Since first posting about my experiences with T-Mobile on various forums, message boards and other media outlets, I have received several email responses including one from Harold Cameron of HaroldSays.typepad.com, a consumer advocate who graciously offers his services to victimized consumers.  Throughout the period of this dispute, Mr. Cameron has submitted information about my experiences to FierceWireless and has also contacted various individuals from the T-Mobile corporate office.

Unfortunately, despite both Mr. Cameron's and my best efforts to amicably resolve this issue, my concerns have fallen on deaf ears.  So after weeks of trying to get T-Mobile to admit accountability for their actions and fix my account, we have decided that it's time to move on to the next step.  T-Mobile doesn't care about their customers, nor do they feel the need show them any ounce of respect.  Money talks, and they've already taken yours and mines, so why would they want talk to us anymore?

So in response to Mr. Vin Rozzi's statement, "I'll see you in court", it's about time I did just that, and file a Complaint with the court as I am allowed pursuant to M.G.L. ch. 218 sec. 21-25.

As for Ralph, who so kindly repeated Mr. Rozzi's notes to me over and over again, rather than address anything I actually said to him, I will file my complaints with the Attorney General, FTC, and FCC.  Ralph of course, informed me that I could go ahead and do just that, since it'll probably ignored anyway and that my account was going to collections.... which he lied about, since I was already getting harassed by collection agencies 3 days after I closed my account.  I had barely remembered my new Verizon number when I started getting harassed.

While I work on drafting my complaints to the the FTC and FCC; and my 93A letter to the Attorney General and to the Massachusetts District Court, I thought it would be nice to inform the corporate execs of T-Mobile USA and Deutche Telekom in Germany of the awesome quality of their staff.  

>

> Dear Sir/Madam:
>
> I am writing to you with regard to text messaging overage charges that were
> erroneously billed to my account.  Approximately two months prior to
> receiving these charges, I contacted T-Mobile customer service, requesting
> to have my text messaging service changed back to unlimited following some
> overage charges I incurred in the previous cycle.  The customer service
> representative confirmed these changes and stated that it would be reflected
> in the next billing cycle.  Imagine my surprise, when I found out my credit
> card was billed hundreds in excess through EasyPay.
>
> I have attempted several times to resolve this matter with T-Mobile
> representatives.  However, to my surprise, your representatives were both
> rude and condescending, refusing to listen to me.  They denied
> accountability before I could even get a full sentence out.   Each time, I
> was offered a partial settlement, which I declined, as I refuse to pay for a
> mistake made by a representative of T-Mobile.
>
> I was promised a service by a customer representative of T-Mobile, which I
> did not receive and as a result incurred substantial charges.  In addition,
> I was extremely disappointed by the poor treatment I was given by the
> representatives of T-Mobile.  As a loyal customer, utilizing your services
> from 2002-2009, I would think at the very least, I could’ve been shown some
> respect.  Instead, I was yelled at and repeatedly disrespected.
>
> In response to T-Mobile’s refusal to address my complaints concerning the
> unfair overage charges and their poor customer service, I have decided to
> share these experiences with other consumers on my blog.  I have also posted
> my experiences on several other sites, which can be found on the right side
> of my blog.
>
> http://t-mobilefails.blogspot.com/
>
> In addition, I was also told by one of your T-Mobile customer
> representatives that he would “see me in court” and by another to go ahead
> and file a complaint with the Attorney General as I will likely be ignored.
> So as such, it is my intent to do so.
>
> Perhaps to you, it may appear to be another deadbeat customer trying to
> escape paying my bills, but this isn’t the case.  As I stated previously to
> your customer representatives, if you look into my account; I am a customer
> who does not complain, and pays her bills on time, even when overages were
> incurred.  Simply requesting a company to show their customer some good
> faith after years of taking their money isn’t a lot to ask for.
>
> Therefore, I would like to request one thing of all of you.  Would the
> consumer in you, pay for something, that you knew, was not your fault or
> your responsibility? No right?  So why would you expect your customers to do
> that for you?
>
> I hope you enjoy the light reading, and have a lovely day.
>

I forwarded the above email to various executives of T-Mobile USA and Deutsche Telekom.  I also CCed Consumerist.com, and other other news outlets.

After that email, I also thought it would be nice to share my experiences with other consumers, and what better way than to share with media outlets.

Corporate America tries to Survive Struggling Economy by Ripping Off Struggling Consumers

Dear Sir/Madam:

With the current state of the economy, people have never been more aware of their own finances than now.  The recession has brought on a wave of anguish and anxiety that has affected the entire country, but none more than the average working class American-  people with mortgages, loans and a family to care for.

Amid all the fears concerning job stability and making ends meet, why now, does the average American have yet another reason to worry?  While consumers continue to toil in this unstable economy, Corporate America has continued to exhibit deceptive business practices at an alarming rate.  More and more, corporations are demonstrating deceptive billing practices and other dishonest behavior in an effort to maintain profit margins in this failing economy.  This appalling behavior became much more apparent to me after being overcharged hundreds of dollars by my long-time wireless carrier, T-Mobile.

From 2002-2009, I was a loyal customer who paid her bills on time and was pretty much content with the service I received.  This all changed this past March, when I discovered I was billed for ~$500+ in overages for text-messages.  This charge came as a surprise to me since I had contacted customer support to have this service reverted to unlimited, which was confirmed by the representative I spoke with at the time.

When I contacted T-Mobile customer service, I was stunned to find that I was met with adversity, where the representatives refused to listen to me, or rationally address any of my concerns.  To make matters worse, the higher up the corporate ladder I went, the more I was ignored.  The T-Mobile representatives were rude and condescending, constantly speaking over me and not allowing me to speak.  Instead of the courteous and understanding treatment, you would come to expect of customer service, I was yelled at, and spoken to like a child.  To my astonishment, when I stated that I really hope to resolve the issue without having to resort to litigation, the representative scoffed at me and told me he would see me in court, amongst other things.

After my mind-numbing encounter with this belligerent representative, I decided to do a little online investigation to see if any other consumers have experienced similar situations.  Like me, a number of people have been victims of deceptive billing, lying customer representatives, and have even encountered similar rude representatives.  Most of these instances have resulted in T-Mobile unfairly tossing the accounts of many loyal customers of several years into collections.

In addition to my ongoing dispute with T-Mobile, I have also experienced many other examples of deceptive business practices, which is becoming more frequent.  In the past month alone, I can name two instances of business deception that would disgust any consumer.  In one instance, I received a check in the mail from a company where I used to buy and sell my textbooks.  I found it strange that I was receiving a random $5.00 check and upon further inspection, I discovered a block of fine print, written in light gray, situated beneath the endorsement line.  The fine print stated that upon endorsement of the check, that the endorsee authorizes the company to withdraw $150 from their checking account, every month, for the next two years. The most appalling part about this is the fact that the company is known for selling and buying textbooks; that in itself implied that they were aiming at college students.

The need for Corporate America to rip off the average consumer doesn’t end with hitting people at home, but also at their offices.  While at work, our office received a call from a company we had done business with, stating that they received our package but that there was no check enclosed.  This was strange since we make it habit to staple the stubs to all correspondence to verify the checks were mailed.  We confirmed this to the caller who denied finding any check but hung up any way.  After this call, we received a letter from the company, reiterating what the caller had said before.  Our office made the decision to write another check and charge the company for the stop payment fee. 

While in the process of writing the new check, we also call the bank to stop payment.  Upon speaking with a bank representative, we discover that the company had already cashed the check, and that it was cashed, before the date of letter, and even before the date of the initial call.  When we call to inform the company that we would not issue a second check since it was cashed, they claimed having no knowledge of it, but we also never received another call from them either.

The lengths these corporations are taking in order to maintain their profit margins is not only disgusting, but also illegal.  I think it would be beneficial to people everywhere, if these corporations are investigated for these underhanded dealings.

Since my T-Mobile dispute is ongoing, I have started a blog to chronicle my experience with them in hopes that it will help warn other consumers of the company’s dishonest practices.

The blog can be viewed at http://t-mobileFAILS.blogspot.com

I truly do believe that this story will catch the attention of consumers and corporate executives everywhere.  As consumers, we have given these companies a great deal of our hard-earned money.  At the very least, they could have shown us a little bit of respect.  It is disheartening to know that these companies care so little about the customers who helped built their companies.  This is why I implore you to further to look into this story and help the voices who are often ignored, get heard.

I forwarded the above correspondence, to CNN, BusinessWeek, ABC News Investigates, Good Morning America, Fox Undercover, CNN Money, MSNBC, DateLine, 20/20, Primetime and... I honestly can't remember at this point.

All I know is, I'm sick of getting ignored, disrespected and being ripped off.  We as consumers should have the ability to do business with a company without the fear of being deceived or defrauded.  Our hard-earned dollars helped keep these companies alive, so why are they going to such lengths to make it hard for all of us to live.

.•*ღ Consumers Spread the Word on T-Mobile

Since my dispute with T-Mobile began, I have been treated pretty badly by the customer service representatives. It really makes you wonder how the heck JD powers and Associates can award them with the best customer service for telecom company. Either the other companies really suck at customer service or, T-Mobile is being judges for their awesome automated customer service.

Wow... I can totally see why they deserve the award... not.

So since no matter what I do, T-Mobile is choosing to ignore me and glaze over me as a deadbeat ex-customer. How nice of them, right? After all those years of taking my money, all of a sudden I'm not important. What a great way to show how much you appreciate your customers.

Since they won't listen, the only thing left to do is to try to get myself heard anyway possible.

Here are some of the places I've shared my experiences with T-Mobile thus far...

StockHouse

iripoff.com

Google Finance

CNET

My3cents

MeasuredUp.com

Digg

Complaints.com

ComplaintsBoard.com

Yahoo! Finance

HaroldSays Consumer Advocate

Yahoo! Finance

And these are just the posts I've made thus far. I intend to continue spreading the word on how horrible of a company T-Mobile is. Consumer ought to know what they're getting themselves into if they are even considering doing business with the deceptive company. They make most of their money by screwing over customers.

As long as we're on the subject of consumers who have been screwed over by T-Mobile. Here are some examples below:



This is one of my favorite examples of T-Mobile's awesome customer service



An example of how much T-Mobile actually appreciates "Loyal Customers". Another big Up Yours from T-Mobile to their customers.



Another loyal customer who can vouch that T-Mobile is by far one of the worse cell phone companies.

You try to be civil with these customer service representatives and they treat you like ass. They are so condescending and rude to you and all they do is repeat out of a manual and don't listen to anything you have to say.

He sums it the best, for all the effing money they T-Mobile charges us, the least they can do is treat us with a little respect. Years of giving them our money and all they do is ignore us and rip us off. Seriously #@!$#@%$@# you T-Mobile~!

Other Complaints to read from T-Mobile Customers:

T-Mobile CSR Misleads Customers

T-Mobile Lies About Making Requested Changes to Account

This is pretty much the same situation I'm in. I bet this is how they make most of their money.

T-Mobile Reps Lies and Harasses Customers

Ex-Customers Sign Petition verifying that T-Mobile Sucks

Another loyal Customer is Overcharged and Ignored


................


I'm sure all of consumers who have spent well well over years paying T-Mobile are just a bunch of deadbeat liars who doesn't want to pay... just like what the T-Mobile customer service representatives said we are....

Yeah... right... Calling all consumers out there....

DON'T GET T-MOBILE!!!

that is all.

.•*ღ Denial is Corporate America's Best Friend

After launching my EECB to T-Mobile, I waited patiently for a response. I remained hopeful that I would be able to resolve the dispute since there was so much positive feedback from other consumers who experienced similar situations themselves.

The way I see it, my record should speak for itself. A loyal customer of many years, who paid her bills on time, and didn’t make frequent calls to customer service to complain. The fact that I was a customer should’ve been enough to warrant being treated with good faith let alone the fact that I was a loyal customer for several years. How ironic, that I was offered the “Unlimited Loyalty Plan”, the same time I was canceling my account. Even the representative who made the offer me laughed at himself for even asking, but it was protocol.

Judging from my experience so far, I have my doubts about how much T-Mobile actually cares about their “loyal customers”… scratch that. I don’t doubt it, I know they don’t care. They’re just looking for more ways to screw their customers over so they can “GET MORE” for themselves.

Well anyways, back to the EECB. About two days after the email went out; I received a voice mail in response to my email. This started a series of emails back and forth with another customer service representative who also proved to be unhelpful.

Ralph Gutierrez
Executive Representative

T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Executive Customer Relations
Office 877-290-6323 extension 3418022
Fax number 505-998-3796

In the series of emails, Ralph essentially repeats whatever is “noted” on my account, stating that T-Mobile will not change their position on the matter. He then offers to settle the matter with a $250 goodwill credit, which I decline again. I guess T-Mobile doesn’t want to look like a bunch of hypocrites by going against what against what another T-Mobile rep already determined.

So much for speaking to a rational T-Mobile employee who would actually listen to me.

As I stated before (like a broken record), why should I have to pay because someone else’s mistake? I was promised a service which I didn’t receive, and now I’m expected to pay because of it? I also find it insulting how these T-Mobile representatives keep speaking to me like they’re the ones doing me a favor, by offering their one-time goodwill credits. It’s like a smack in the face.

Although Ralph didn’t speak to me as rudely as the previous representative, Vin Rozzi, he still proved to be unhelpful. Ralph didn’t address any of my issues or even my complaint about how I was treated by Rozzi, who yelled at me, and essentially accused me of being a deadbeat.

I bet T-Mobile has a policy where representatives are only allowed to respond to customers using a set of prewritten responses, most of these representatives are not better than talking to an automated machine. That would explain why every rep I speak to just ignore and spit out the same responses over and over regardless of what I say.

Well long story short, after a slew of emails, nothing was resolved. Ralph maintained that T-Mobile was not at fault since they had no record and that T-Mobile considered the matter closed. It was seriously the same thing that the other representative said, so I think it’s safe to say that T-Mobile customer representatives read from the same book with a fill in the name slot for the names of their customers.

So in response to Ralph’s redundant and unhelpful reply, I emailed him the following:

April 13, 2009

Dear Ralph,

Like I said before, I have contacted T-Mobile regarding the requested changes and the fact that T-Mobile has no records of my call shows no fault on my part. I have been a loyal customer for several years and have never made any complaints against T-Mobile before. I have incurred overages in the past which I paid without an issue, since I knew it was my fault. However, I will not pay for charges that I am not responsible for.

Can you verify without a shadow of a doubt that the system which T-Mobile utilizes to monitor customer service calls works 100% of the time and is 100% accurate. If it is in fact as accurate as you have implied, then I see no reason why you would not be able to track my calls, or note that fact that I did not request to have my service updated to unlimited recently, but that your representative said she would change my plan to prevent further overages upon hearing my situation. In fact, if your system was so accurate, the representatives would not have told me they had no record of me checking my account online since November when I had indeed checked in earlier that week which compelled me to call in the first place about the erroneous charges.

I am not a one to make false claims when I am the one at fault. A T-Mobile representative confirmed my requested change, and promised me a service that I never received. As a result of an employee of T-Mobile, my account was unjustly billed for overages that I would've not incurred otherwise.

Throughout my attempts to resolve this matter, T-Mobile has shown me nothing but bad faith and disrespect. It pains me to think that I spent so many years doing business with a company that cares so little about their customers.

Please be advised that if you forward my account to collections resulting in late fees and/or harm to my credit score, I intend to seek compensation for those damages as well. I have posted about dispute on numerous consumer blogs and will continue my claim through the small claims court.

Regards,
XXXXXXXX

Ralph, of course ignored my question and said that I should pay it before my account is thrown into collections.

But once again, a Customer Service Representative of T-Mobile are full of Sh…

I say this because I started receiving harassing calls from a collection agency about 4 days of closing my account; which was about 2 weeks before I Ralph and I first spoke. Upon receiving the first call from the collection agency, I was a bit stunned since I specifically asked the rep who I talked with to close my account, to make a note about the billing dispute to prevent it from being thrown into collections.

The collections rep who called only proved to further irk me when he introduced himself rudely to me as if I had done something wrong. Of course, by that time, my frustration was through the roof and I wasn’t about to let some idiot from a collections agency who knew nothing about my situation talked to me like some deadbeat who refuses to pay her bills.

I informed this idiot of the situation which should’ve been noted on my account, which he says it wasn’t. Shock there… Then I told him that I am not surprised that another T-Mobile rep failed to do their job and for him to be smart, do his job and note my account appropriately and to not call me unless he wants me to sue him for harassment.

The following day I receive a collection notice dated 2-3 days after I closed my account.

Seriously… T-Mobile Customer service number 1 according to JD Powers and Associates my @$$.

They are poorly trained and unprofessional in every way. They can’t update customer accounts correctly, and they have this bad habit of lying to customers. Since they clearly don't seem able to listen or understand their customers, T-Mobile might as well outsource their customer service to India and save themselves a few bucks. I'm sure they level of comprehension and competency will be the same. At least then, T-Mobile execs will be getting what they paid for in their customer service department.

Following the email I received from Ralph, I decided it was best to contact the collection agency, ER Solutions, Inc. just to make sure my account was properly noted this time. I contacted a representative named, Ayesha who informed me that there was no notes or any information on my account other than I owe money.

Another failure by customer service representatives

So I repeat the situation again, ask her to put my account on hold and I sent the agency a letter via first class and certified to prevent any damage to my credit.

Here's a copy of the letter I sent to the collection agency:

April 14, 2009

BY CERTIFIED MAIL

ER Solutions, Inc.
49 Winter Street
Weymouth, MA 02188

Re: ERS Account No.: XXXXXXX
Balance: $568.74

Dear Sir/Madam:

I am receipt of your notice of collection for $568.74 in relation my now closed account with T-Mobile. Prior to closing my account, I spoke with a T-Mobile customer representative concerning a dispute I am having with regard to the balance and to note my account accordingly. As such, I am puzzled by the phone calls and correspondence I have received from your agency for the aforementioned matter. On April 13th, I contacted your office and spoke with Ayesha, ext.2218, informing her of the pending dispute and to cease all activities on my account.

In accordance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), I have the right to request for a validation of my debt. This is asking for proof verifying the debt you claim. As I am disputing this balance, you as a collection agency have the obligation to verify the validity and accuracy of this balance. Without proper verification, you must be aware that reporting such inaccurate information will result in defamation of character and negatively affect my credit report. You are supposed to stop all collection activities including reporting this information on my credit report.

Please attach copies of the following with the reply:

1. The agreement, which authorizes the creditor to collect debt on the alleged debt;
2. The signed agreement from the debtor conforming to pay the creditor; and
3. The documents regarding the payments made on this account validating the amount.

Please note that this letter will also serve as your legal notice under provisions of federal law, the FDCPA, to cease all communication with me concerning the debt referenced above. I have decided that I do not desire to work with a collection agency under any circumstances. I will contact the original creditor to resolve this matter directly, as circumstances warrant. You are also notified that should any adverse information be placed against my credit reports as a result of this notice that appropriate actions will be taken.

Please be advised that any non-compliance to this written notice will result in a formal complaint against you with the Federal Trade Commission who is responsible for enforcement of the FDCPA, the States Attorney General office and Massachusetts Bar Association. In addition, I will also not hesitate to take legal action against you, which will include charges of mail-fraud, which refers to any attempt to unlawfully obtain money using the U.S. Postal Service.

I have disputed this debt; therefore, until validated you know your information concerning this debt is inaccurate. Thus, if you have already reported this debt to any credit-reporting agency (CRA) or Credit Bureau (CB) then, you must immediately inform them of my dispute with this debt. Reporting information that you know to be inaccurate or failing to report information correctly violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act 1681s-2. Should you pursue a judgment without validating this debt, I will inform the judge and request the case be dismissed based on your failure to comply with the FDCPA.

Please give this very important matter the attention it deserves.

With regards,
XXXXXXXXX

CERTIFIED MAIL: RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED NO.: XXXXXXX

Corporate America never fails to amaze me with their overwhelming lack of concern for consumers. Why own up to their mistakes when they can deny everything and try to force customers to pay up by sending collection agencies after them.

It seems like the more the recession takes a toll on the country, the more Corporate America tries to screw over consumers. Regular everyday people, who are suffering the most from the recession. It is a shame how low Corporate America has sunk.

.•*ღ Fighting Back with Strategies from Consumerist.com

So after getting ignored by customer service, filing a complaint with the BBB and then getting yelled at by a so-called T-Mobile executive customer representative, I end up switching to Verizon and that ridiculous bill is still there.

What to do now?

What else? But to get tips from the most informative consumer blog on the web, Consumerist.com. After browsing through the blog, I found that one of the tactics, which got the most rave reviews for Consumerists fighting back, was the Executive Email Carpet Bomb, better known as an EECB. According to numerous consumers, there is no better way to get a company to acknowledge you and finally stop ignoring you, than to launch one of these.

The gist of an EECB is to get your voice heard by some top level people who might actually care about what your have to say. I was surprised to see how often people actually experience trouble with T-Mobile until I tried locating emails and found numerous blogs containing this information. This just goes to show how "awesome" T-Mobile's customer service is.... yeah...

So, I wrote my complaint and sent it to their Executive Customer Service Response team, and hoped for the best. The below is a copy of what I sent:

T-Mobile
Robert P. Dotson - President, CEO, and Director
12920 SE 38th St.
Bellevue, WASHINGTON 98006

Re: Overage Charges
Account: XXXXXXXXXX

Dear Mr. Dotson:

I am contacting you in relation to an ongoing dispute I have with T-Mobile regarding overage charges that were erroneously billed to my account. For the past month, I have contacted T-Mobile Customer Service repeatedly in hopes of resolving this matter but have been unsuccessful in my efforts.

In December 2008, after incurring some text messaging overage charges, I contacted T-Mobile Customer Service and requested to upgrade to unlimited Text messaging to prevent future overages. Following the confirmed service change, I did not encounter any problems until approximately two billing cycles later.

In March 2009, while checking my credit card statements online, as I often did, I was surprised to find that T-Mobile had charged me ~$300 more than usual through automatic bill pay. Figuring that the charges must be a mistake, I accessed my T-Mobile account online and was shocked to discover that the charges were text messaging overages and was also being charges another ~$200 in overages as another billing cycle had just ended when my payment was posted to my credit card.

I immediately contacted T-Mobile customer service to resolve the mistakenly billed overages to my account. The first representative I spoke with, after explaining my situation to him, informed me he was unable to help me and that he would find someone who could. I was bounced around several times before I was finally able to speak with another customer representative, Nicole.

During my thirty-minute conversation with Nicole, I explained that the charges were erroneous, as I had requested my text messaging service be upgraded to unlimited months earlier. Nicole then informed me that she was unable to locate any notes regarding my request but T-Mobile would be willing to offer me a $100 goodwill credit. I declined her offer, stating that it was an insufficient resolution to my problem. I then requested to speak with her supervisor and was informed that one would contact me within 24 hours.

When I did not receive a call from the supervisor as promised, I contacted T-Mobile again, where I was bounced around for another fifteen minutes before finally speaking with a representative named Jason. Jason, like Nicole, informed me that he was unable to help me, and that a supervisor would contact me in 72 hours.

After several days of waiting for a response, I contacted the Better Business Bureau in hopes of expediting a resolution. The following day, I received a call from a T-Mobile supervisor in response to my BBB complaint, a Mr. Vin Rozzi. I believed I would be able to resolve the issue with Mr. Rozzi but was surprised to find that Mr. Rozzi had no interest in listening to me or understanding my situation. Throughout our conversation, Mr. Rozzi refused to listen to me, repeatedly interrupting me and talking over me while vehemently repeating that the charges were my “fault”. The more I attempted to explain my situation, the louder Mr. Rozzi became.

Despite my best attempts to communicate with Mr. Rozzi, he made no effort to understand or rationally address the issue. Mr. Rozzi then offered a $200 goodwill credit, stating that it was a onetime offer despite the fact that T-Mobile maintains that the charges are my “fault”. I declined the offer, explaining to Mr. Rozzi that I felt the charges were unfair as I was promised a service by a customer representative of T-Mobile, which I never received and as a result, incurred substantial costs that would have otherwise been avoidable.

I went on to inform Mr. Rozzi that I had been a loyal customer for several years and hoped to resolve the issue without having to resolve to litigation. To my surprise and amazement, Mr. Rozzi responded with a scoff, stating that he would see me in court and that he would report my non-acceptance to the BBB and that as far as T-Mobile was concerned, my case was closed. Shortly after my communications with Mr. Rozzi, T-Mobile suspended my cell phone services.

Having been a loyal T-Mobile customer since 2002, it is difficult not to feel utterly flabbergasted by the treatment I was given. It truly was my hope to resolve this issue and continue my relationship with T-Mobile, unfortunately the sequence of events leading up to the suspension of my services, brought me to make the decision to end my long-running relationship with T-Mobile.

It is regrettable that this situation led the cancellation of my services with T-Mobile however; I hope we can resolve this problem without having to resort to litigation or arbitration. I look forward to your reply and resolution to this matter.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Email: XXXX
Mobile: XXXXXX

After sending this out, I felt a bit relieved, because I started to feel a tinge of hope that perhaps I'd find a rational person who could actually understand the situation. And how it is wrong to expect a customer to pay for a T-Mobile representative's mistake.

I got a call back two days later... but I'll save that for the next post....


........



T-Mobile contact info I've found:

Robert Dotson, CEO
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
12920 SE 38th St.
Bellevue, WASHINGTON 98006
Robert Dotson - robert.dotson@t-mobile.com

Stuart
Executive Assistant to the Vice President
1-877-290-6323 ext. 341-8025

Jennifer Bachus
Executive Customer Relatives Coordinator
877-290-6323, ext. 341-8083

Kelly Spindle
Executive Customer Relations Coordinator
877-290-6323 ext. 341-8082

Executive Resolutions Fax:
813-353-6545

ExecutiveResponse@T-Mobile.com

Source: ExecutiveBomb.com



......



Other T-Mobile Consumer Complaints:

Billing Complaints from ConsumerAffairs.com
Another Cheated Loyal Customer
Rep Screws Up, Customer Pays
T-Mobile Sucks at Math so Customer Credit Scores Have to Suffer
T-MobileFraud.com....enough said.
Denial & Collection Agencies: T-Mobile's #1 Solution for Incompetent Employees


.....



On another note... I stumbled upon this post from a former T-Mobile Customer Representative. I'm sure anyone who has been burned by T-Mobile billing and/or their customer service will see this as further validation to our disputes.

T-Mobile best customer service my @$$:

T-Mobile Informative
Customer Service - Sweat Shop Environment - Customer Service

Posted By: philmore on 11/11/2008

I was a customer service representative for T-Mobile. They claim to have the best service. It was the worse job I ever had. Management was rude and uninformed. They were unhelpful in resolving disputes and became inflamed if you transferred an unsatisfied customer to them. We were never allowed to give out corporate numbers, repair center numbers.

It was a total sweat shop environment. I was a long timer at 6 months.

Source: My3cents

.•*ღ My Response to T-Mobile's #1 Incompetent Employee, Mr. Rozzi

So the Battle Begins...

To Whom it may concern,

Following my telephone conversation with Mr. Rozzi from the T-Mobile Customer Relations Department, the company has failed to fairly address this matter.

I am also stunned and disappointed by the lack of respect and courtesy I was shown by their representative Mr. Rozzi who made no effort whatsoever to assess my complaint in a reasonable manner.

Throughout the conversation, Mr. Rozzi repeatedly interrupted me as I spoke, not allowing me to explain my situation. Instead of addressing anything I said, Mr. Rozzi spoke over me while rudely maintaining that "the charges are valid" and that it was my fault since I used the services.

After several attempts to explain my situation, Mr. Rozzi disregarded everything I said and offered me a $200 goodwill credit, stating it was a take it or leave offer. I declined the offer stating that I found the offer inadequate as I was reassured by the representative that the changes were made and that it wasn't right to expect me to pay for an administrative error.

In addition, I also stated that I did not wish to escalate the situation any further, however, I would file with the small claims court if T-Mobile was unwilling to fairly address the issue with me. Upon hearing my statement, Mr. Rozzi rudely responded that he would report that I declined the $200 to the BBB and that he'll "see me in court".

On March 28th, I canceled my account with T-Mobile after having used their services since 2001. I am appalled by how poorly T-Mobile customer representatives treat their customers.

I intend to make a formal demand pursuant to M.G.L., ch. 93A and to file this matter with the small claims court unless the charges to my account are resolved fully.

It is a shame that such measures have to be taken after having been a loyal customer for so many years. However, I think its an even bigger shame that such a large corporation would enjoy bullying hardworking consumers.

Yours Truly,

XXXXXXXXXXX

.•*ღ T-Mobile's Responds to BBB Complaint, But Leaves Out Important Details...

Belligerent Mr. Rozzi's formal response to my BBB complaint. Funny how he neglects to mention how he screamed at me on the phone and didn't bother to listen to anything I had to say.

The purpose of making a complaint to the BBB is so that the company and the consumer can discuss the situation and resolve the issue. Screaming at a customer and accusing them of lying, then expecting them to accept an insufficient offer of settlement after making no attempt to address their issues, is not "resolving the issue".

Return of....

Nominated for Douchebag Customer Service Representative of the Year:

Vin Rozzi
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Executive Customer Relations
877-290-6323 x341

March 26, 2009

FILED ELECTRONICALLY

Bureau Services Consultant
Better Business Bureau of
Alaska, Oregon & Western Washington
P.O. Box 1000
DuPont, WA 98327

Re: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Your Case No. XXXXXXXXXXX
T-Mobile Account No. XXXXXX

To Whom It May Concern:

T-Mobile USA, Inc. (''T-Mobile'') is in receipt of your letter dated March 24, 2009 regarding the above-referenced account.

T-Mobile has reviewed our records and they indicate no changes or calls to our Customer Care department for the month of December 2008 or January 2009. Additionally we have reviewed the charges on the account for the overages and have validated those charges. T-Mobile offers many ways to check usage such as our website, by dialing #MSG# and pressing send from the mobile phone. Our records also show that on Ms. XXXX's January 2009 statement which covers dates from December 20, 2008 through January 19, 2009, there was no unlimited messaging features appearing as part of the detailed plan she is subscribed to. This would have serviced as another reminder of the details of her rate plan and services.

In an effort to resolve this issue, T-Mobile offered Ms. XXXX a onetime goodwill credit of $200.00 for the valid overage charges that appeared on Ms. XXXX's account; unfortunately she has declined our offer. It remains our position that the overage charges on her account are valid and owing.

Based on the foregoing, T-Mobile considered this issue closed.

Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at the address below.

Very truly yours,

T-MOBILE USA, INC.

Vin Rozzi
Executive Customer Relations

.•*ღ T-Mobile's Awesome Customer Service Representatives... Not.

And the dispute continues...

So I get a response from T-Mobile after several days and a complaint to the BBB. To my surprise, I was yelled at, and accused of not accepting responsibility and pretty much disrespected by a T-Mobile Customer Service Representative who wouldn't even let me speak without interrupting me.

Customer Support at it's best, the below is a copy of a post I made on another blog concerning the incident... so it may sound redundant.

Nominated for Douchebag Customer Service Representative of the Year:

Vin Rozzi
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Executive Customer Relations
877-290-6323 x341-8063

For his utter lack of respect and common courtesy to customers. The man not only refuses to let you speak, but outright accuses you of being at fault before even hearing your side of the story. By the end of the conversation, I assure you, Mr. Rozzi will have yelled at you, accuse you of being a liar and imply that your idiot, all while also managing to tell you to pay for costs caused by the incompetence of one of his own.

And that is why, Mr. Vin Rozzi, earned the title of Douchebag Customer Service Representative of the Year.

... Okay... Sorry I couldn't help myself....


........................


03/26/2009

Shortly after filing with the BBB, a T-Mobile representative named Vin Rozzi, contacted me in response to the complaint I made with the BBB and repeatedly stated that the charges were valid and that it was my fault for not checking to make sure the changes I requested were made. Despite stating that I received confirmation from a representative that the changes were made, he continued to maintain that the charges were valid and that it was my responsibility to check my account.

I was both stunned and disappointed by the lack of respect and courtesy I was shown by Mr. Rozzi. Mr. Rozzi repeatedly interrupted me and spoke over me, making no effort to understand my situation. Mr. Rozzi’s refusal to fairly assess my concerns became increasingly frustrating. Furthermore, Mr. Rozzi also stated that it was my fault for not checking my account to make sure I didn’t go over my messaging limit and for not checking my account to make sure the changes were made. In response to this, I asked Mr. Rozzi if he was implying that I am a fault since I foolishly trusted a T-Mobile customer representative. Additionally, I stated to Mr. Rozzi that it didn’t make sense to check text messaging limits since I was under the impression that my services were unlimited. Instead addressing these points, Mr. Rozzi spoke over me and again reiterated that the charges were valid and that I was responsible for the charges.

As I attempted to speak, Mr. Rozzi yet again, rudely interrupted me, and repeatedly demanding to know whether or not I “used their services”. When I pointed out that this dispute was not over whether or not I used the services but the fact that I incurred charges because I never receive a service I was promised; he impolitely interrupted me again with the same question. Upon hearing my affirmation, Mr. Rozzi once again repeated that the charges were valid and that T-Mobile is not responsible for the charges. When I attempted to speak, Mr. Rozzi interrupted me and offered a $200 goodwill credit to my account despite it being my fault. Mr. Rozzi would not let me talk and instead repeatedly demanded to know whether or not I would accept the $200 credit.

I declined the offer, stating that I didn’t think it was a fair offer and it was my hope to resolve the issue without resorting to legal action. In response to my statement, Mr. Rozzi scoffed at me stated that he would report my unwillingness to settle with the BBB and told me, “I’ll see you in court”.

Several days following the unpleasant telephone conversation with Mr. Rozzi, I made the decision to terminate my account with T-Mobile after having used their services since 2002.

Now I know why BBB gave them an F, and why most complaints I see against T-Mobile are customer service related.

.•*ღ T-Mobile Overcharges Customer & Refuses to Fix It

The Dispute Begins....

I decided to create this blog in order to chronicle an ongoing dispute I have with T-Mobile. Since 2002, I have utilized the services of T-Mobile, first under a relative's name (as I was not of legal age yet) and then under my own in 2004. So from 2002-2009 I did business with T-Mobile, paid them for their services without ever making a single complaint. With so many years of customer loyalty associated with my account, one would believe that I would considered a "valued" customer... boy was I wrong.

In mid-March, 2009, while checking my credit card statement online as I usually did, I found that T-Mobile had charged my account an excess of ~$300 through easypay. Upon checking my T-Mobile account online, I found that the charges were from text messaging overages. To make matters worse, when the bill posted to my account, another bill had just ended with an other ~$200 overages to my account.

Why was I surprised? Because I had called customer service two months earlier to have my text messaging service upgraded back to unlimited.

For the majority of 2008, I used the unlimited text messaging service during November, I thought that I didn't use it as much anymore and requested to downgrade the service to 1000. However, the month following the service change, I began text more often again and incurred overages. Realizing how often I texted, I decided to first sign onto my account online to upgrade the service, but was unable to change any services on my account due to website errors. I then called 611 where I was told by a representative that they were experiencing server problems. The customer representative confirmed my requested change and said it would reflect my next billing my cycle but would not reflect on my account online for at least another week due to the server issues.

The following month, my account was billed as usual, with no noticeable issues. But then the second month following the requested change, was when my credit card was billed for substantial overages.

3/23/2009

I contacted T-Mobile Customer Service to inquire about the overages. After telling the representative about the requested change made months earlier, he informed me he could not help me and bounced me around until my call was taken by a "tier-2" customer representative by the name of Nicole. Upon speaking with her, she claimed that there were no such request and that T-Mobile "always" notes customer accounts when they call in and tracks when they check their accounts online. She informed me that the last time she checked my account was in November 2008. I challenged the accuracy of the system since I checked my account in December, where I saw the overages and decided to call in to request the change. I also mentioned it made no sense that it claims I haven't checked my account since November since I clearly checked earlier that day, which informed me of the overages in the first place.

Nicole then kept repeatedly telling me that "the charges were valid", "there are no footprints on your account", and that "there were no notes on the account". She then stated that she would immediately change my text messaging service to unlimited to prevent further overages to which I responded by stating that I made the request months ago and that it was not a new request. She then offered a $100 goodwill credit despite the fact that T-Mobile is not responsible for the charges.

Speaking with Nicole was very frustrating as it was obvious she was not listening to me. No matter what I said or what I asked, she would respond with one of the three phrases that T-Mobile seemed to program their representatives with as stated earlier.

I declined the offer stating that I had been a customer for several years, and have not made any prior complaints. In fact, I have incurred overages in the past which I did not dispute and paid for in full as I knew they were my mistake. I asked her to review my account as it clearly displays when the request was made as my phone usage changes dramatically during the time. After about thirty minutes, she sounded like a broken record repeating the same statements over and over again. It was clear I would get no where speaking with her so I requested to speak with a supervisor. Nicole told me she would make a note about my request and a supervisor would call me within 24 hours.

3/24/2009

Over 24 hours passed and still no call from T-Mobile. I decided to call customer service again hoping to speak with a more rational and competent individual capable of responding with more than three pre-programed lines.

Again, I was bounced around for a bit by confused representatives before finally ending up with a representative named Jason. Although Jason was unable to assist me, at the very least, he was probably one of the more competent customer representatives I encountered since the beginning of this matter. He apologized for the situation and said he could not help me since someone had tagged my account earlier that day with a note for a supervisor to call which would take at least another 72 hours. He then informs me that their records show that I had not accessed my online account since November which didn't make sense since I checked my account several times alone in the past few days since finding the overages.

Jason then apologized to me in advance, as he had a feeling that I'd heard what he had to say before and was probably sick of it. Jason then proceeded to say the phrases that T-Mobile has drilled into the brains of their customer representatives so well, "the charges are valid", "there are no footprints", and "there are no notes". The fact that Jason apologized in advanced at least gives me validation that customer representatives at T-Mobile are not ALL incompetent drones. However, I was still stuck with a bill drowning in overages as a result of an incompetent customer representative who failed to do her job and lied to me about doing it.

3/27/2009

Another few days, no surprise, no call. Being accused of owing money has a tendency to make people impatient and a bit irritable to say the least. I decided to make a complaint with the Better Business Bureau in hopes of speeding up the resolution process. While making my complaint, I was surprise to find that T-Mobile had an F with them, the worst possible rating. After reviewing the the report, the rating comes from a mixture of poor billing practices, false advertising and most notably poor customer service.

BBB Report for T-Mobile USA, Inc. : F

3/29/2009

The call from Hell from a T-Mobile supervisor in response to my BBB Complaint....