Quick run down

April 2004 we got a HUGE bill with many hours on it that we never used. Disputed it, called, got huge attitude and junk from the associates. They wouldn't budge that they were wrong.

A few months later, I contacted the BBB. They took it in to their hands, contacted them. Cingular contacted BBB back saying they had sent me letters and tried to call me, but I never responded back. I never got these supposedly sent letters or phone calls. I did call the # on the paper the BBB gave me that the lady sent them and it was no longer in service.

Wrote BBB back letting them know this. Shortly after got another letter from BBB with a copy of a new letter stating well, they would remove all of the late fees (while we were in dispute, they were still charging me late fees, of course) and the breech of contract fee and just charge me the original disputed bill. :rolleyes: So I wait for a revised bill, honestly at this point just ready for it to be over and considering paying the original bill even though I knew we didn't owe it.

Nothing. So I check the mail today for the first time in 3 days and I have two letters in there, exactly alike from a COLLECTION AGENCY that Cingular turned us in to. The bill now? $794!!!

I am getting ready to contact BBB AGAIN, but my mom searched on-line and there are so many sites of people with problems with Cingular, it is scary. I'm not even sure what to do from there after contacting the BBB b/c obviously that doesn't do diddly against them and doesn't effect their performance. I'm so glad I have my original papers of her claims of smaller bill, etc. That's the reason we now use a Tracfone, tbh.

Meanwhile, I have this almost $800 charge against me, on my credit which is not even mine according to what the woman said originally! (Which was obviously blowing smoke up BBB's rear b/c they didn't do anything they said they would or send me a new revised bill without the other overdue and breech charges even.)

:hug: I have no advice other than to say I had a similar situation and had to pay the stupid bill. CINGULAR STINKS. I will NEVER do biz with them again for anything. :(

Edited to add - could you contact your state attorney general, their state of biz attorney general and the FCC? I dunno if it's do anything, but it sounds good. :D

i can't stand them. sorry I don't have any advice.

Never mind.

the good thing is..the BBB should still have all correspondence with cingular on file and that should help back it up.

and once it is resolved, it should be removed from your credit...

HTH--:hug: that really sucks! and I wouldn't contact anyone at cingular without talking to the BBB first.

The woman that originally responded via BBB was supposedly a higher up at Cingular so obviously that didn't do squat for me. EVery time I called, I'd ask to speak to a supervisor and either be told I couldn't OR the supervisor would be just as mean and argumentative as the "little people".

I think all phone companies suck in some department or another.

I have found that the best thing to do is keep calling. I had a problem with Sprint, I called everyday for a month. You know the "your call may be monitored..." message you hear? My call was monitored, someone listening called me back and said, I'm sorry, your problem has been taken care of, can you give me a fax number where I can fax you a copy of your resolution for your records.

I felt like she was an angel listening. After literally months, she was able to fix my problem when no one else could.

Be patient, ask names, keep a journal of your calls. Have them fax you thing if you can. Keep calling. Don't get mad, just state your case, ask them what they are doing about it and be polite. Maybe one day you'll get a sympathetic ear.

Good luck.

I thought it was funny when Cingular and ATT merged their cellular cos. Both were consistently at the bottom of the list for customer service every year they were rated. Get an attorney involved. It usually only takes a letter. BTDT.

Two things. First of all, I would call Cingular every single day and yell and scream and get nasty and ask to speak to the manager of everyone you get on the phone until you get someone to give you what you want. The thing with cell phone companies is they CAN do whatever they want (i.e. credit your bill, retract charges, send you a new phone, etc.), but you have to MAKE them do it, LOL. Seriously. I've been known to be *really* nasty on the phone to these people, and it works. It's stressful and involved, but call, call, call, call, call, until they all know you by name.


Number two: You can dispute this debt with the 3 credit agencies. The other thing you can do (after you file a dispute of the debt) is that ALL credit agencies are required to let you add a comment (I think it's, like, 250 words max, or something) in reference to a debt. Anytime anyone pulls your credit report the credit company is required to include your statement with your report. I know it doesn't help take the debt off your credit right now, but it's best to have a statement attached in the interim, that way other companies can see what's going on with that collection, kwim? It's a way to protect yourself since you don't have any control over what's being put on your credit report.


I stand by my first piece of advice, though, and call, and rant and rave, and speak to the supervisor of the supervisor, LOL, or the company VP, or whoever you have to get ahold of to get things done.


Good luck! :)

I am so sorry about your problem. I don't have any additional advice, but I just wanted to give you a *HUG*. That's just awful...

I'm glad I saw this. Dh is always flirting with the idea of switching companies, but we're with T-Mobile, and have been for 10 years and have never had a problem with them! So no Cingular or Verizon. Making a mental note...

That sucks! I have no words of wisdom for you though. Maybe you can do the "this call will be monitored for quality assurance" thing back at them.

We've also been with T-Mobile (Aerial-Voicestream-TMobile) for about 8 years and have never had a problem. :)

I've used Cingular for 3 years and never had a problem. I love it. My sister and bil use it. When their daughter was near death in the Children's Hospital they ran their cell phone bill up to over $600 in one month. They called and Cingular reduced it by 1/2. I guess maybe it depends on who you get when you call. I know this is common. When I was trying to get our medical bills reduced I would call and get someone who told me that they could not accept my settlement offer. I would call back the next day and get someone else and then get lucky. It sucks I know. I hope you can somehow manage to get it straightened out. I do know that once things get to the point of collections that it is much more difficult. Do you have an attorney in the family or one as a family friend who you could call for advice? Good luck

n/t

Two things. First of all, I would call Cingular every single day and yell and scream and get nasty and ask to speak to the manager of everyone you get on the phone until you get someone to give you what you want. The thing with cell phone companies is they CAN do whatever they want (i.e. credit your bill, retract charges, send you a new phone, etc.), but you have to MAKE them do it, LOL. Seriously. I've been known to be *really* nasty on the phone to these people, and it works. It's stressful and involved, but call, call, call, call, call, until they all know you by name.

Cindy,
You are getting advice all over the board here and I just wanted to chime in and say please do *not* go the route quoted above. I'm sure it has served the poster well in the past or else she never would have suggested it, BUT, anyone who works or has worked in a CS rep position will tell you that those callers are not the ones a rep will deal with politely... even the most easy-going ones.
Listen, those people are sitting in a call bank with many (Sometimes hundreds!) of other people all taking calls from people to rip them a new one for whatever the reason may be. Noone ever calls to compliment a company or say "hey! great job here!" ... they get nagged at and yelled at all day long. The nicer you are (no matter how hard it is) the further you will get - I promise! If you get a nasty rep then just hang up and call back. You will almost always get a new rep. Do call everyday, though.
Every day you should call and explain the situation and also describe what you'd like the resolution to be. Explain that you'd be willing to settle (if you are) for $xx and are willing to send the payment today. Make sure you send it certified and return receipt when you do mail it! Since it is in collections Cingular may not even want to deal with you and you'll have to deal with the reps at the agency. Same rules go for them, too... 'cept they like to be a little meaner ;)
Finally, if you take your story to http://www.creditboards.com/forums/ you will get the best help you can ask for in this situation. The people there are amazing at knowing exactly what to do and say, and sometimes even WHO you need to talk to!
Good Luck getting it all sorted out
-Heather

ETA: this link will really help you when dealing with the credit agency and the reporting agencies... http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2070

Thanks ladies :)

Honestly, I am beginning to wonder if calling them every day is worth the stress I will feel worrying about it constantly or if I should just pay the idiots, BUT then I keep telling myself that that's probably how they get a lot of people to pay. :( I did call every day for a while back when this happened and I honestly never got one nice rep the entire time, I assume b/c whether I'm nice or not, I am still challenging their word/company.

I'm going to talk to DH when he gets up and and let him read this thread and see what he thinks, but this account is in my name so he can't even talk to them for me if he wants to.

I'm going to talk to DH when he gets up and and let him read this thread and see what he thinks, but this account is in my name so he can't even talk to them for me if he wants to.

Actually, he should be able to if you just tell them you give permission for him to speak on your behalf. ;) Ask me how I know. I should have mentioned, that's how I resolved our issue and finally got them to drop the run-around, not send us to collections, and let us pay - DH got on the phone.

I never got nice reps either with them. :shake: I do NOT like that company, did I say that already?

:big hug:

I hear ya'.

I tell you, with everything going on right now, this was just the icing on the cake. I'm about to pack up my kids, pack my bags and run away to a cave somewhere (and throw my phone out the window as I go) to get away from EVERYTHING. :eyes:

I'd contact the state attorney general's office and see about filing a complaint.

We have problems with them too. They have my dh's name as "Carol" I've asked them to change it a few doz times, they say they do, but it never happens. :rolleyes:

cindy, dh and i both used to work for them. miserable company.

use the information provided for the headquarters here in atlanta. the glenridge office was the HQ when i worked there, so maybe still is. there is a big building up near there with a logo on it so?

LMK if you want me to dig a little. dh's best friend's dad still works there and i am sure we could get a name/number of someone up high...

have you talked to a district manager yet? or even a store manager? or are you dealing with the peons in the call center. you have to go through a store and get the managers.

you should be able to find the regional director's info pretty easily online...some good google sleuthing. i'd write certified letters, cc several people all the way up (again good googling will help here) and follow up with phone calls.

good luck.

Ugh, I'm sorry you're having to deal with this. :( I was so excited yesterday when my cingular contract was up and I could switch companies.

Good luck....you could always come hand deliver a letter to that Glenridge Connector address and then we could have lunch. :D

CINGULAR FREAKING SUCKS!!!

I am so sorry you have to deal with that.
We were sold a phone and plan with the salesman knowing we were moving to an area that had only one roaming tower in two weeks. We called to cancel the phone and they still made us pay the $150 cancellation fee. Never sent us a final bill til we got a call saying we had to call in 24 hours. Dh talked to them and was told it was okay if we made small payments because we could not pay the whole thing in one lump sum. The lady said no problem. Not even two weeks later and after paying $60 we were sent to collections and told we had til the end of the month to pay. They now have a hold on our account til the 31st.
CINGULAR SUCKS! Their people lie. All they care about is making money and ripping you off. Even in a day when customer service doesn't seem to count anymore...cingular really takes the cake.
If it was me, I would do what one of the posters said and send in a letter of explanation to the credit companies. It is already on your credit no matter what so this is for sure the right thing to do. As far as what you owe them, well an unpaid debt is a heck of a lot worse bad mark than one that has late payments along with an explanation. I would honestly contact a lawyer for some advice. Often times they can give you great advice over the phone. You might have to try a few times to find one that is not busy but I have always gotten sound advice and have used the ones that have helped me for writing a letter to the party involved.
I know what you mean about calling. Really you get the run around. No one is ever willing to give up their managers name for fear they will get in trouble. The one good thing is that they record your phone calls and they will actually go back and listen to them too. So anything that was said or wasn't said is recorded. I would honestly if it was me come up with a reasonable amount of what you actually owe and try to contact the manager to see if they are willing to work with you (although after sent to collections they like to wash their hands of you), contact a lawyer and see if a letter to the company helps, and the finally pay what I thought was fair. Because you did run up the phone bill so legally that is your responsibility but any other charges that occured afterwards because of the lack of communication on their part you should not have to pay. THat way with your letter of explanation you can also show that you did pay towards your debt.

Actually, he should be able to if you just tell them you give permission for him to speak on your behalf. ;) Ask me how I know. I should have mentioned, that's how I resolved our issue and finally got them to drop the run-around, not send us to collections, and let us pay - DH got on the phone.


I tried to have myself added to dh account, we did the three way call and everything. Now when I can, they tell me that I can't make any changes to our account because I'm not listed on the account. It was like that call never happened....

Contact the attorney general... make COPIES of all everything, and take it with you.

I tried to have myself added to dh account, we did the three way call and everything. Now when I can, they tell me that I can't make any changes to our account because I'm not listed on the account. It was like that call never happened....

Hrm.. I dunno? They talked to DH for me, and he wasn't listed on the account. But it was only that one time, kwim? It wasn't like he called back later to talk again, so maybe that's the difference?

Of course, it's Cingular. :rolleyes: Every customer service rep tells a different story. So I can totally see where one might let ya and another might not. :shake:

I had a poor experience with them from the time I signed up. The salesman lied to us about the plan details, and activation process, they wouldn't activate my dh's phone and it took multiple phone calls to get it activated, they switched the plan without our permission. It was a nightmare. :(

I don't have a problem with Cingular. My mil and sil have Cingular too and they have no problems. they've had their accounts for years now too. I think it all depends on who you speak to and if they are in a good mood or don't wanna be at work. I've had MANY problems with Verizon and am VERY happy to get rid of them. They SUCK!! There's always something with every wireless company no matter who you go with, if it's not now it will be one day LOL I can 100% guarantee you. :)

Yikes. DS and I are on a family share plan and haven't had problems. We love the roll over minutes. DH was thinking of switching onto our plan since his Nextel contract is up and we have actually had trouble with Nextel (for example, my phone literally stopped working after being w/ Nextel for 2 years and they wouldn't replace it). This kind of scares me to see how many problems people are having with Cingular!!!

If you are corresponding via snail mail send it certified/registered/GPS monitered (I wish). You might also be able to find information on the board of directors on the website and copy each of them on everything you have tried. There is a copy of a sample complaint letter as well as some tips on complaining effectively here: http://clarkhoward.com/shownotes/category/12/103/275/
Don't pay them what you don't owe them-if you do they win!

we are actually thinking about switching to cingular. lol. we've been with liberty wireless (they use the sprint pcs network) and while we've been mostly happy over the years, they've gotten kind of sh*tty with us lately. our phone, which is almost 3 years old, needs to be replaced. the only way they'll let us replace it is to buy a new phone from them. their phones start at $100. and now they're changing all their plans and are trying to force us to switch. the plan that we have meets our needs. we don't want to switch. so we've been talking to everyone we know about what they like and don't like about their cell service. so far cingular and verizon come out way on top in the experience of our friends and relatives. we'll likely go with cingular because it's a little less per month than a similar plan from verizon. verizon would give us new phones every 2 years, but the extra cost per month adds up to more than we'd spend on new phones..... it's a little scary hearing about all these bad experiences with cingular, but to be honest i've heard very similar stories from people who use alltell (sp?), t-moble, and many others. i think it's the nature of the business. and in searching the reviews online, cingular rates very badly in some geographical areas and very well in others.

we've had similar experiences with cable tv and internet providers. and don't even get me started on utilities companies, lol.

in regard to dealing with customer service reps, i've gotten the best treatment when i've been very polite to them. and if i realize that my voice is sounding stressed, i've even apologized and told them that i'm not angry at them, i'm angry at the situation. that i know people are rude to them all day long and their job is very stressful. that i'm just trying to get the situation resolved. it's amazing how their attitude changes in most cases. :D

anyways, i'm sorry about your situation. we had a similar situation with verizon for our landline a few years ago, and ended up paying the bill just to be done with it. that's when we switched to cell and never looked back. it seems sort of ironic that verizon is on our list for new cell phones, lol.