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I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

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Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#101

Post by dirkgently »

abrahamsen wrote: post #91
benjiweber wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why can't you buy your own devices? I live in the UK and have always bought my own devices, it often works out at about half the price over the term of the contract.

UK (like most of the world) uses GSM. With GSM your identity is linked to your SIM card. Put your SIM card in another phone, and "you" are still "you" as far as the phone company can tell. Verizon (and most of US) uses a competing "standard" called CDMA, where your identity is coupled to your phone. Which means you have to involve your phone company in order to switch phone.

> Verizon (and most of US) uses a competing "standard" called CDMA, where your identity is coupled to your phone.

And that's a pretty good reason not to go for Verizon. It's not that you don't have a choice.

I am with t-mobile ever since I remember, just because I refuse to give my money to AT&T or Verizon (and also to Sprint as they are CDMA).

It's your money, and it's your decision.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#102

Post by dirkgently »

InclinedPlane wrote: post #57
Steko wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure for 100% of mortgages people would love to just make a down payment and get the deed and not have to make any other payments for 15+ years but there's nothing ironic about the need to fulfill contractual obligations that aren't awesome for you.

This is true, but mobile contracts are much murkier than mortgages, and this is by design of the phone companies. Consider how much different things would be if people had month-to-month service contracts and they financed their phone upgrades separately (though the payments were rolled together). Imagine if people could just pay off their device debt, cancel their contract, and move to a new carrier. Or imagine if p…

You know there are enough options in the market for what you are looking for. Why are you not exercising your options?

This is at the of the US market conundrum. There are enough options for people not to go for the big two. They cost more money, they give less freedom and still people flock to them. I just don't get it.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#103

Post by dirkgently »

chimeracoder wrote: post #59
phaus wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. I was a T-Mobile customer off and on for about 7 years total. For the last contract I had signed with them, I made sure that I would be able to get out of my contract if I A: moved due to a military PCS, or B: Moved due to getting out of the military. The T-Mobile rep at the store assured me that I…

> The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. When was this? I was a long-time T-Mobile customer until a few years ago, and I always had excellent customer service experiences with them. The only reason I switched was because I moved to NYC, and they had terrible reception here at the time - I couldn't place calls in my own bedroom. Even then…

> if their customer service really has gone downhill in the last few years

I have no complaints for their customer service. It's been top notch every since day one. Recently, I got a 20$ off for my data plan (2.5G) without even asking, just because I was a "loyal customer".

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#104

Post by jordanbaucke »

I tweeted him a few weeks ago after I wrote a follow-up to a letter I dispatched to their legal department a few weeks ago over the $299 cancellation fee http://onemanmilitia.blogspot.com/2013/09/to-get-out-of-my-c...

I agree with the comments I've seen here - their customer service is helpless, and I explained so in my letter.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#105

Post by glesica »

dirkgently wrote: post #101
abrahamsen wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

UK (like most of the world) uses GSM. With GSM your identity is linked to your SIM card. Put your SIM card in another phone, and "you" are still "you" as far as the phone company can tell. Verizon (and most of US) uses a competing "standard" called CDMA, where your identity is coupled to your phone. Which means you have to involve your phone company in order to switch phone.

> Verizon (and most of US) uses a competing "standard" called CDMA, where your identity is coupled to your phone. And that's a pretty good reason not to go for Verizon. It's not that you don't have a choice. I am with t-mobile ever since I remember, just because I refuse to give my money to AT&T or Verizon (and also to Sprint as they are CDMA). It's your money, and it's your decision.

Not if Verizon is the only carrier with decent coverage where you live, which is more common than you might think.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#106

Post by phaus »

lancewiggs wrote: post #77
phaus wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. I was a T-Mobile customer off and on for about 7 years total. For the last contract I had signed with them, I made sure that I would be able to get out of my contract if I A: moved due to a military PCS, or B: Moved due to getting out of the military. The T-Mobile rep at the store assured me that I…

Did you read the contract? Few do, but the contract you sign is the only evidence that you have of the deal. A person in a store or at the end of the phone can't change the contract, so buyer beware.

Right. They had a clause covering active duty military personnel that was left intentionally vague. They cooperated and accepted my cancellation and then months later (after I had already moved) they decided that I owed them $700 after all.
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