Sprint Phone Returned Over a Month Ago, Have Not Received Refund

[jn89]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Mississippi

I started a contract with Sprint on May 14, 2012. Prior to setting up the contract, I was told by a Sprint representative over the phone that I was eligible for a 25% corporate discount because of where I worked. My monthly bill was to be $59.91 after the discount, I was told. When I went to the store, I informed the salesperson about the discussion I had with the representative and he said I was indeed eligible for the discount. I set everything up, and on May 14 my phone was activated. I got a text message alert the next day, my second day of owning the phone, informing me I was approaching my spending limit of $150. I called to get a breakdown of the bill, and it turns out I was being charged the full amount of $79.99 plus tax. Upon further digging I found that the salesperson never even applied me for the discount. Due to the discrepancy, I returned the phone on May 25- 12 days after the activation. Sprint's return policy states that if a customer returns an undamaged device within 14 days of activation, a full refund will be given, the contract cancelled, and no early termination fees will be charged. They also state that a refund (not a rebate, mind you- those work differently) will be awarded within 10-15 days of the manufacturer receiving the device. After 15 business days had passed with still no refund, I returned to the store to see what was up. I found that my phone was still in the store and had not been returned to the manufacturer. The store manager admitted that she was aware of the phone still being there, and said that the employee who sold me the phone was supposed to be handling the return. She said that they require a return kit to send the phone back and that the employee had claimed to have ordered it- except he hadn't actually ordered it. I had her get on the phone with Sprint, and she herself requested a return kit and told me after speaking with Sprint that one was on the way and that it should be in within a week, and that she would call me to let me know when the phone was on it's way to the manufacturer. That was June 16. It's now June 27 and I have not heard a word back from anyone. My ex-phone is still at the store. Also, today I received a letter from Sprint informing me that I have an overdue balance with them. I feel that this has become an absolutely ridiculous ordeal. I have never seen such negligence in my life. I'm out of ideas. I'm getting zero help from Sprint customer support (they told me there was nothing they could do) or from the manager of the store where I purchased the phone. Since no one is willing or able to help me, and I am out almost $300 for the phone, I am wondering if I need to consider legal action. I have all the documents to prove the information I have stated if it came down to that. Is there anything else I can do? Am I owed more than just a refund at this point? It's getting pretty dire because it won't be long before they send my bill to collections and impact my credit. I have got to get this straightened out, but I feel quite helpless to do so at the moment. ANY advice is appreciated.

[jk]

We love our products and services, and we think you will too. With the Sprint Satisfaction Guarantee, you can try your new product for 14 days. If you aren't 100% satisfied with your product, return your device to your original place of purchase and call us to deactivate within 14 days of activation (day 1 of the 14 days starts when the phone is activated) and Sprint will:

• Refund the device purchase price (as long as device is complete and undamaged)
• Waive the Early Termination Fee (ETF) (as long as the device is returned)

Customers are responsible for all their usage charges (included but not limited to Monthly Rate Charges, add-ons, casual or out-of-plan usage and related taxes and Sprint surcharges). However, if service is cancelled within 3 days of activation the activation/upgrade fee will be refunded. The 14-day return period starts the day the phone is activated in our stores, online or by one of our channels.

the refund consists of the purchase price of the device and waiving of the early termination fee.

Did you pay for the phone at the store or was it put on your bill?

If you paid in cash, we will refund in cash up to $175 at a Sprint store. For refunds greater than $175, we will issue a check within 14 business days.
If you paid by check, we will issue a check within 14 business days after your check clears.
If your account was billed, we'll credit the amount back to that account within 10 business days from receipt of the equipment at our warehouse. The device credit will appear on your next one to two billing statements based on the timing of your billing cycle.

I'm guessing the store was not a corporate store. If it was, I do not believe you would be having these problems. The problem comes from the fact Sprint has very little actual control over independent operators in many areas.

btw: sprint sends out their return packaging very quickly. Last time I got something it was either overnight or express (2-3 day)

You also need to realize that the billing is separate from the issue with the phone. There is no reason Sprint (corp. not the store) could not terminate the contract pending receipt of the phone at their warehouse (not the manufacturer which is probably Thailand, Taiwan, or some other far east country)

I would call Sprint Corp back. This really is their problem more than the stores. Once you sign the contract, the store is done. Everything from that point on is with Sprint Corp.

just for clarity: did you also terminate the service when you returned the device? Apparently if you just return the device, that does not constitute terminating the service.

If you're canceling service, don't forget to request deactivation or cancellation when you return your device to the store or when you call if returning by mail.

have you called this number:

Call 866-789-8292

that is the number given in this:

http://shop2.sprint.com/en/shop/why_...exchanges.html

[jn89]

the refund consists of the purchase price of the device and waiving of the early termination fee.

Did you pay for the phone at the store or was it put on your bill?



I'm guessing the store was not a corporate store. If it was, I do not believe you would be having these problems. The problem comes from the fact Sprint has very little actual control over independent operators in many areas.

btw: sprint sends out their return packaging very quickly. Last time I got something it was either overnight or express (2-3 day)

You also need to realize that the billing is separate from the issue with the phone. There is no reason Sprint (corp. not the store) could not terminate the contract pending receipt of the phone at their warehouse (not the manufacturer which is probably Thailand, Taiwan, or some other far east country)

I would call Sprint Corp back. This really is their problem more than the stores. Once you sign the contract, the store is done. Everything from that point on is with Sprint Corp.

just for clarity: did you also terminate the service when you returned the device? Apparently if you just return the device, that does not constitute terminating the service.



have you called this number:
that is the number given in this:

http://shop2.sprint.com/en/shop/why_...exchanges.html

Thanks, first of all. To answer a few of your questions, it is definitely not a corporate store and I agree that is why I'm having so many issues- I heavily regret not doing business directly with Sprint. I realize that Sprint Corp. has little affiliation with the store, and that's a problem to me- but that's neither here nor there. Also, I did end my contract the day I returned the phone. At least I asked to and was told it was canceled, but judging by the store's performance so far, I think I should be semi-skeptical of most anything they tell me. I paid for the phone in the store, it was not put on my bill. The phone also had to be ordered, which is the store manager's excuse for not being able to refund me from their register. I will try getting back on the phone with Sprint Corp., but my expectations for them are low. My experience so far has been nothing but telling the same story over and over to rep after rep and just being perpetually transferred because none of them know what to do.

[jk]

keep us posted but I would be really pushing sprint corp for this as it is their policy that is being smeared all over.

[jn89]

Hey all, finally got my refund. It took nearly a month and a half, a ton of phone calls to Sprint, 3 trips to the store (200 miles altogether), a lot of conflicting information, and a LOT of frustration. While there were definitely one or two customer service reps who obviously cared about my situation, dealing with Sprint was an awful experience overall. I urge anyone interested in signing on with Sprint to deal directly with the company. Buy your equipment and plans either on the Sprint website or in a corporate store. They have very poor oversight of their "authorized" dealers, and if you buy from an one of these authorized dealers and end up with a problem, you'll be dealing with twice the trouble. Special thanks to "jk" and expertlaw.com for advice that helped me finally get this situation straightened out.

[jk]

glad to hear it was resolved. It sounds like many typical corporate dealings where persistence is the answer.

[flyingron]

One thing that may help you in the future is to go to faa.gov and click on the link to file a complaint. I ended up needing to do this to fight an erroneous fee when Sprint sold me a non-functioning phone. Sprint by the way has the worst customer relations I've encountered in the telecom industry. The filed complaint gets routed to someone pretty high up in management who has the authority to put things right in order to get the complaint dismissed.