Question about Sprint

I just recieved an email from them saying I will be put in collections in the next seven days if I don't "act now". any suggestions? I really do not want to be put in collections but I also do not have the money they need now.. :(

Once it goes into collections you might have better options in settling for less than full balance. Once it gets charged off, your chances are even better. I think that's about all you have for options right now.

Hope this helps

Are you out of contract? If you are out of contract they cannot refuse to cancel your account. Call the customer service number (800-639-6111) asking them to close the account, get the name and ID of the rep. If they refuse because you have a past due balance, ask for the document that shows you agree to these terms. They will tell you something to the effect that you received it when you activated your phone (you probably didn't because most of the times we don't give the Terms and Condition booklet) ask them to provide you with this document and the signed contract that acknowledges these terms. (Unless you activated at a Sprint Corporate store they won't have it.) Send them a letter, CMRR, stating that you talked to so and so and requested that your account be closed, and they refused. Don't send it to the address that the bill goes to but there should be an address on the bill somewhere that is for billing problems.

They don't want to close because they can keep adding fees every month. We had a dealer account with them and they canceled our license, thus making us inelligeble for the account and we cannot get them to close the account because NOBODY has the authority to do it. We have sent them 4 letters asking that the account be closed and finally said screw it.

thanks for both of your advice! I feel better because that's what's going on with me! they refuse to cancel it because of past due balance, since they told me that another $200 was added on to it!
my contract is def over. what happened was i was having problems with sprint so they said they will make changes and will not change the date my contract ends. so of course they tried to pull a fast one on me and said my contract is over in june! but i got it in writing that my contract is done but they say i cannot cancel unless i pay past due balance. so is this going to go on forever?
so should i just let it go to collections? should i call them tonight and ask to cancel the account? i cannot pay past due but can arrange like $200 in the next two weeks.. is collections my best bet? should i even call them at all? thanks..

oh another question, too.. should i make a payment? as i said i was thinking of like a $100-$200 payment, or should i just let it go to collections? i am not worried about credit at this point because i am more focused on my debt being paid and going away. i am scared that if i make a partial payment that they will continue to bill me every month for a phone that has been shut off since january! i am going to call as i believe keeping communications is best. should i report them to the BBB for not canceling my account? will asking them where i agreed to this work? thanks so much, i do not want to mess this up and i have never tackled debt like this before it reached collections..

i emailed them before as i like to keep things in writing (I have been burned by verbal promises of theirs in the past)
but they have wrote back (see below) but please bear in mind that my contract has ended they just will not let it go because of my past due balance ($200 of which was put on my account after my phone has been shut off!) I am guessing my course of action should be to wait to see if they write back and what they say? I am a bit leary of calling just yet as they have not always lived up to verbal promises :( Or should I call? After reading this thread I might let it hit collections because at least than they will stop charging me every month? I do want to pay up of course but do not think i will ever catch up if they keep charging me $150 or so every month :( (and i am still tempted by bringing the BBB into this, can they even do this if my contract has ended??)

Here's what they sent:

Thank you for your reply. I am sorry for the inconvenience you have experienced due to the suspension of the services.
The account has a past due balance of $620.59 due to which the services are suspended. Since, you are unable to make the payment, therefore, I have forwarded your concern to the appropriate department and our specalists will resolve your issue in the best possible way within next two business days.

Thank you again for contacting Sprint. We appreciate your business.

well, they got back to me.. here is what they said:
Thank you for contacting Sprint.

Your account is currently suspended due to non-payment. The past due balance is $620.59 (this amount consists of 3 overdue bills). Unfortunately, we are unable to offer additional payment arrangements at this time, if the letter you received has a phone number listed, you might want to call to find out what options are available. Your account is scheduled to be assigned to a collection agency on 02/17/09.

Thank you for contacting Sprint. Have a great day!

I wrote back saying that the letter came from the customer finance department and explained that they said i did have other options including a payment plan. i have until the 17th, should i just let it go to collections so they will stop charing me a monthly bill? should i call fiance department and see what they have to say??

Send them a letter certified mail telling them that you have repeatedly requested that your account be closed and they have refused.
Call the corporate office at 703-433-4401, (I just checked it and it is good). And explain the situation to them. Also you can send e-mail to the CEO Dan Hesse by using two email addresses dan(at)sprint.com or dan.hesse(at)sprint.com and explain the problem and I think you will have better results.

Sprint is on a big public relation campaign so if you have to go to a local paper or radio station they might be willing to get in on it. Also Sprint is generally regulated by state Public Utilities Commissions so you can complain there also.

Keep copies and records of everything you do because if it goes to collections they are going after the amount Sprint says which is more than what you owe.

You can also try calling Finance again and getting a supervisor and see what they will do. IF they give you the there is nothing that can be done crap then ask for the corporate number in Kansas.

Mostly get names and ID # of everybody you talk to.

thanks i cannot believe i was going to pay them just like that! because i do not have the full amount the cycle would not end, thanks for the advice.. if i had the $600 i would pay to get rid of them but since I do not have it i do not want the $200 a month cycle to start all over again :(
i will take your advice :)

okay here's the update, some say i can have a temporary payment plan but have not set me up (and i really want it in writing!) others have said there's no such thing. they insist it's contract rule for me not to cancel if i have a past due. this is not even making sense. should i go to BBB? i did not call corporate yet as I didn't have a free second yesterday but will later. i'm thinking collections is looking better and better??

well nothing new with sprint, i go into collections today i could not get anyone to work out something i could afford :(

bea2ls, did you try calling corporate like people have suggested? I would only be working w/ corporate at this point, not Customer Service.

i called corporate this morning and they said it is going to collections today :( i did call them before, left messages and nobody called me back. i think i will call them again now.. i do not see why this is such a problem! :(

Sprint is regulated by FCC right? (being phone service) I'd contact them and let them know they are not letting you cancle their service when your contract is up, regardless of if you owe a past due balance.

okay, i am on hold with corporate now..
Not to sound ignorant but what is FCC?

Federal communication Comission;

http://esupport.fcc.gov/complaints.htm

thanks so, so, much! your help is very appreciated, i will keep you posted :o)

Yes it would be much better to deal with corporate rather then customer service they can be a pain in the butt sometimes. Hope all works out with you. Keep me updated as i have sprint and would like to see how they work this out. I have heard they screw up alot of peoples bills.

Let it go into collections. They will offer a deal pennies on the dollar.

corporate said it was too late, it already went to collections. :( but as roadwarrior and others mentioned I can probably get a settlement offer. i feel kind of defeated.

im really so upset/stressed about this (longer, deeper story there..) that i am really about to pay collections no validation or anything. I already made arrangements and they are paid (lower than sprint was asking!!)
however get this, my account still is not cancelled! even in collections.. unreal. I was told when my payment posts to cancel it but this is unreal! it will be fine but i am amazed that they will do this!

hopefully this will be my final update. i closed sprint out. yay! lol, it was so awful. i paid collections everything they said i owed. i did not validate or anything. just paid them to make them go away. but than they said i still have to call and cancel! i called and was the phone for three hours! ok first they said i owed more money. whatever, i am so paid so i started to get loud. i was so upset i could feel my blood pressure rising. it worked out in the end but he kept trying to talk me into keeping sprint and bribe me with a new phone, lower rates, whatever. my contract is done, i am out, i do not like sprint.

sadly i have a new update, though they said my phone was canceled i realize that it still works and is not killed. so is it really cancelled? i do not have time to wait for an hour or so but emailed them. i will call on my lunch hour probably.

Another Update: Sprint is still telling me I owe $34!! I am reporting them to the BBB as we speak, this is so crazy. I refuse to give them any more money. I did report them to the BBB and will let you know how that goes. Thanks again for all the help and advice. I just cannot believe this nightmare!
I got a new phone, its TMobile Flex pay - no contract!

well sprint said i am going to have to pay for this month since i cancelled mid-month. for a plan where nothing is past due and for a phone i cannot even use! i told them i reported them to the BBB and since I was told i do not owe anymore money than i will not paying anything more.
i know it's $35 but i have in writing that they waived it! i mean enough is enough, i cannot keep giving them money because when will this stop?

I feel for ya.. they screwed up bf's account to the tone of almost 300 bucks. But the most they could "waive" was 50. Which I call bs. Apparently not only did they pro-rate his plan, but also his air card that he had to get a new one. On top of *that* they said they mailed out something that they would no longer be doing the unlimited usage air card so that's what got him too. to say he's peeved is an understatement.

They said they mailed out letters, but Bf's a truck driver and his aunt said he didn't get anything. That doesn't surprise me. A month or so ago we had to get sprint to do a overnight mail to his dad's place so he could go pick up the air card cuz the one he had just quit working. UPS said it was delivered, but his dad said it wasn't. So called UPS Ups said he needed to get a trace put on it from Sprint(I was dealing with it for him at the time because he was ready to blow his top off at them), so called Sprint, and three hours later still no one could do anything(I was getting frustrated and finally told him he needed to deal with it). Finally he got on the phone and was able to schedule a pick up one at one of their stores. Well 4 weeks later it finally showed up.(the one that UPS said it delivered).. who knows where it was.. he just told his dad to send it back.

He doesn't like confrontation. (He will if he has to) I told him to let me handle it, i'm good at getting things done.. I don't take no for an answer, but he's just going to deal with it (sigh). His bill should only be 100.

it's crazy this is the not first time they messed me up this badly.. they once said i bounced a check, which i did not (and faxed bank records to prove it) even though they cleared it out, i was not allowed to write checks or make payment arrangements for a year. due to their error!