Cingular gave away my new number!!!

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Keith Roberts - 08 Jul 2003 19:50 GMT

I just moved from Boston to Palm Springs and contacted Cingular's relocation
department one month prior to my move date to setup service in the new
location. I was given a new phone number and ordered a new phone that would
work with the GSM network in California. I was told by the Cingular agent
that all I needed to do was activate the new number when I arrive in
California and everything would be all set. I then gave the new mobile
number to numerous business and personal contacts so that everyone would be
able to stay in touch with me when I get to California.

When I arrived at my new residence I didn't find a new phone among the mail
that was delivered before my arrival. I called Cingular and asked about my
new service and my new phone. The agent told me that because I did not
activate the new number in 15 days the number that was given to me had been
reassigned to someone else!!! I explained to her that the original agent I
spoke with NEVER said anything about a 15 day limit and besides how could I
possibly activate the new number if I never received the new phone?!?!?

I then asked to speak to a supervisor who did nothing to appease me and
simply stated that all they could do was issue a new number, even though I
had already given the new number out to countless business and personal
contacts. I then asked to speak to someone about terminating my service
altogether and insisted that I NOT have to pay the termination fee since
Cingular screwed up royally. The supervisor told me that would not be
possible and implied that it was MY FAULT for giving out the new number in
the first place.

Has this happened to anyone else???? And is there anything I can do to get
Cingular to cancel my account without paying the $150 termination fee???

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Ralph Mowery - 08 Jul 2003 19:55 GMT

altogether and insisted that I NOT have to pay the termination fee since

> Cingular screwed up royally. The supervisor told me that would not be
> possible and implied that it was MY FAULT for giving out the new number in
> the first place.
>
> Has this happened to anyone else???? And is there anything I can do to get
> Cingular to cancel my account without paying the $150 termination fee???

Have all your friends call that number all the time tuil the person that has
it complains to have it canceled :-)

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John Navas - 08 Jul 2003 20:00 GMT

>... And is there anything I can do to get
>Cingular to cancel my account without paying the $150 termination fee???

File complaints with the Better Business Bureau and the California Public
Utilities Commission, and send copies to Cingular. If that doesn't work,
dispute the charge on your credit card, and send copies of your complaints, as
well as a *written* letter of termination for cause to Cingular, to back that
up.

Signature

Best regards,
John Navas <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/> HELP PAGES FOR
CINGULAR GSM + ERICSSON PHONES: <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular

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Steven Scharf - 08 Jul 2003 21:14 GMT

"Keith Roberts" <anonymous@concentric.net> wrote in article

> Has this happened to anyone else???? And is there
> anything I can do to get Cingular to cancel my account
> without paying the $150 termination fee???

Write them a calm letter outlining what happened
and canceling your service. Prior to that, cancel the
credit card that you used to pay for the new phone,
and if you automatically pay your bill via credit card
or debit from a bank account, close those accounts
as well. Just tell your credit card company that you
lost your card.

Normally I would not recommend this course of action
since you did sign a contract. But in this case I think
it's justified if everything you wrote is accurate.

They could get upset and report you to a credit reporting
agency, but you can put a letter in your credit report file
explaining the situation, and a $150 dispute in your
credit report isn't going affect your credit score enough
to worry about unless you have other credit problems.

Chalk it up to experience. You will be better off with
another carrier anyway since Cingular's GSM service
in California is always ranked last in terms of coverage.
You'll want to get AT&T TDMA, Verizon CDMA, or Sprint
PCS, depending on your needs.

"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/06/18/BU5
4053.DTL&type=business"

Steve
http://sfbacell.com
Cellular Carrier Comparison for the San Francisco Bay Area

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Todd Allcock - 09 Jul 2003 17:34 GMT

> When I arrived at my new residence I didn't find a new phone among the mail
> that was delivered before my arrival. I called Cingular and asked about my
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> spoke with NEVER said anything about a 15 day limit and besides how could I
> possibly activate the new number if I never received the new phone?!?!?

Twice when moving my landline telco changed my number between issuing it
and installing it, so I've been there!

> I then asked to speak to a supervisor who did nothing to appease me and
> simply stated that all they could do was issue a new number, even though I
> had already given the new number out to countless business and personal
> contacts.

What could they do at that point? Yank a number away from somebody
already using it for a couple of weeks because you already had new
business cards printed? They screwed up, and should offer you something
for your troubles- a free month of service maybe- but they can't get you
the promised number back.

> I then asked to speak to someone about terminating my service
> altogether and insisted that I NOT have to pay the termination fee since
> Cingular screwed up royally.

How does that get you your number back? Look at it from Cingular's
point of view- that option would only seem "reasonable" if it fixed your
problem. The contract doesn't have a "cancel w/o penalty if we make
you mad" clause! It's very likely that there's even a "your number
may change at any time" clause anyway!

> The supervisor told me that would not be
> possible and implied that it was MY FAULT for giving out the new number in
> the first place.

That wasn't called for, unless they warned you. I'm moving to Denver
next month and when I set up my landline service with Qwest, they
REPEATEDLY warned me that the number they issued me isn't guaranteed-
it might change for any number of reasons prior to installation.

I've still given it out to folks but I'm aware I might have to start from
scratch.

> Has this happened to anyone else????

Yeah, it also happened to a business line when I opened a retail
store. Luckily the phone company called me before installation
in the nick of time and we fixed our business card order and
newspaper ads before printing!

> And is there anything I can do to get
> Cingular to cancel my account without paying the $150 termination fee???

I doubt it. Again, if "firing" Cingular actually could get your number you
were issued back, I'd say it was reasonable. But this would just be a
kneejerk "spite" reaction to a Cingular screw-up.

4Instead, I'd try to reason with them. Explain the screw-up cost you
some greif and want them to help defray it. Tell Cingular you want a
$50 or $100 "courtesy credit" to cover the cost of new business cards
and mailing postcards to your clients informing them of the change and
get on with the move.

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