I have been told that I misrepresented Sprint's plans and policies, that I was just trying to get something free from Sprint, and that there is no way I can get service with another wireless phone provider without giving them my social security number. There are a few things that I really do not know how to respond to i.e., "either I am not or never was a Sprint customer and I am just making all this up, or I am incredibly stupid." I guess I could say that you never know how people will respond to things they do not agree with or like.

I made some minor changes to the original pages to try to make it clear that almost all the information about plans and policies came directly from Sprint employees. If it wasn't an on-duty Sprint employee who told me, I made it clear where I got the information. I also realized that I may have included too much information about my problems, so here is a condensed version of some of my troubles with Sprint.

Since the year 2000 I have certainly had some troubles with Sprint, but recently it seemed that Sprint and I would be parting ways. I have been very patient with Sprint. I felt that since Sprint offered the best plans and phones for the money, it was worth wasting some of my time to resolve the problems. However, recently some Sprint reps would refuse to do business with me (because my daughter's name is on the account). I tried to transfer liablity to me, but was unsucessful.

In the past whenever a rep would tell me that they could not change anything because I was not the account holder, I would refer them to the note that says that I may manage the account - I can do anything with the account. Recently the reps acknowledged that they saw the note, but they still refuse to allow me to make changes. Perhaps the reason I have had so much trouble with this recently; in the past I was always making changes that resulted in a larger monthly expense, and now I was trying to put an old phone on a line after the phone on that line quit working. When I was unable to do that without extending the contract for another 2 years, I tried to cancel. Perhaps making changes that would result in the same or less monthly revenue for Sprint is more of a problem than increasing monthly spending. At least Sprint reps had to admit that although they will not cancel my phones, that there is nothing they could do to prevent me from porting my numbers to another wireless provider. Previously I explained why my daughter does not manage our Sprint account.

After I was unable to substitute an old phone for one that quit working, I called later to cancel a phone that had been out of contract for a year and a half, and then put it on the line that was still in contract. I was trying to allow Sprint to keep my business. When I learned that I could not do that without losing the number of the old phone, I decided that was not what I wanted to do either. I just canceled the broken phone and paid the $150 early termination fee.

In October 2006 I talked to a nice lady in the cancellation department about the material change (increase) in text messaging and casual data rates, asking about the details and timing of how I could cancel my other Sprint phones without having to pay early termination fees on them. She seemed to be willing to do business with me, but this was after talking to about half a dozen Sprint reps who could not help me. I should not have to escalate to cancellation in order to put an old phone on a line that has a non-working phone. At that point I thought it was too late anyway because I had already canceled that phone. And no, I was not able to cancel the phone without having my daughter (the account holder) on the phone with me.

There are always people who assume that anybody that mentions something they do not like is just trying to get something for free. The cancellation lady offered me 500 free text messages per month on 5 phones, but I declined it. I was not trying to get something for free, although the offer did make me think that maybe at least one person at Sprint would like to keep my business.

I later learned that the rep was wrong when she insisted on me starting a new 2 year contract if I put an old phone on a line that had a broken phone. This mistake or misinformation on her part almost caused me to give up on Sprint. I should not have to get to the point of canceling all phones just to find out that I can indeed substitute an old phone for a broken one.

I expect Sprint to have reasonable policies and be consistent in explaining those policies. If there is an upgrade or activation fee, I should be told up front about it. If changing something about my plan extends the contract, I should be told. I have come to realize that I must ask every time I make any change in plans or features if it will extend my contract.

Existing customer discrimination

No one has argued with the fact that new customers pay less for some phones than existing customers. The first week in November 2006, Sprint offered the Samsung MM-A940 for $50 to new customers. The price included a $300 instant savings. This includes stereo headphones and USB cable -- a good price. However, existing customers were only eligible for a $150 upgrade rebate making the total price $200 -- not a good price. Similarly the PPC-6700 was priced at $300 for new customers and $400 for existing customers. The message I get from Sprint is that as an existing customer, I am not as valuable as a new customer. Why wouldn't I switch to another carrier when I can buy a phone from them cheaper? I can keep my existing number and save money! As of November 2006, Sprint has made some improvments in this area. Previously about half their phones were priced higher for existing customers.

Social Security Number

Several people did not understand my refusing to give my Social Security number to Sprint. They seemed to ignore my main reason; "Now a days a lot of people probably know your social security number. Anybody can call Sprint and give them the last 4 digits of your social and then make almost any changes they want to your plan including adding a phone..."

Yes, I understand that Sprint might assume that my reason for not giving them my social security number is that my credit is bad. However, as I explained to Sprint in my letter, my wife and I have been paying that bill since the year 2000. They should be able to look at the records and confirm that we have paid every bill on time.

A forum poster says that the $500 deposit and limit of one phone for Sprint customers who do not want to give their social is incorrect. That is what I was told at the Sprint store. If it is wrong, then Sprint employees are giving out wrong information. I did find a reference from 2005 about a $150 deposit. Perhaps the policy has changed since then? Update: Just to satisfy my curiousity that perhaps I was told wrong about the "no social security number" policy, I visited the Srpint store again. This time I asked the supervisor to check with someone else to be sure that they were telling me the correct information. They refused saying that they already know the policy, and repeated what I had been told before. At least they were consistent.

The Terms and Conditions of Service do not say that that there is a limit of only one phone on a Clear Pay Program. It only says that "We may limit the number of phones you can activate on your account." If the store limits me to one phone, then that seems to override the official written Sprint policy. I would just have to take my business to another company.

I have received feedback that no other wireless phone company besides Sprint will sell a post paid plan without a social security number. I know from experience that usually the first person you talk to or Email will tell you that, but if you ask them to research it, they can find the correct information. Actually of the several wireless companies I contacted about this, Sprint Email and phone reps are the only ones who never found the correct information. I had to drive to the Sprint store to learn about Sprint's deposit policy. My Arkansas wireless provider comparison page shows the amount of deposit required by each company.

It has been suggested that I go with prepaid. I can certainly understand why prepaid is becoming so popular. However, with the number of phones and the amount of nights and weekend usage we have, it would cost us a lot more.

I have been told that the end of the contract has nothing to do with when you are eligible for an upgrade rebate. I thought a Sprint rep told me that the upgrade eligibily happens at the end of the contract. If you read very much in the wireless forums, you will see that I am not the only one who has been given conflicting information about Sprint policies. Please verify any information about plans, rates, and rebates for yourself.