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.
Yes I know, I have been lacking in updates, but it does not mean I have thrown in the white flag. No way in heck I would do that, especially with the responses I have received from other wronged consumers!
harassment from collections, I have received a bill directly from T-Mobile. It was my final bill for the week of service I had before I canceled, they even charged me for the time they had suspended my service. These people are hilarious. They expect to pay for the bill, but... they canceled my access to my account online so I can grab any of my information. Who would think that my desire to help the earth by going GREEN and eliminating paper waste would result in T-Mobile trying to screw me over.
