Dear Cricket - Huawei Ascend Complaint Board

[Jazziette]

Dear Cricket,

I am writing you to express some disappointment that I have in your policies and also your customer service department. I hope that someone with your company will see it and take notice to correct these things that ultimately make Cricket users dislike your service.

First I would like to say that I think Cricket is really great for the money! In the area where I live the service is very good. I get 3G all the time and the signal is 2 or 3 bars constantly. I have never had even one dropped call.

Also, I appreciate that Cricket has come out with two Android phones that are priced very well so that prepaid customers can afford them as well as those who have 2 year contracts.

I have done a lot to promote Cricket, actually, and right now I'm feeling a little bit let down and I'm going to tell you why.

1. I think that Cricket's 'Nationwide Calling Plan' is highly deceptive. It makes one think that they can call anywhere from anywhere and this is just not the case. One can only call from their home area or else you are in 'roaming' territory and it gets very very expensive. I think this should be explained better on the mycricket.com website as well as in all Cricket stores.

2. Customer Service - What can I say? It sucks!!! The answer to everything is to reset your phone. Or they say they are going to get out the manual. I don't know if Customer Service is outsourced to India or Mexico or both but I have a very difficult time understanding the reps. And the wait time is so long I usually give up. Please give us an opportunity to make a selection of what language you speak and let us be hooked up to someone who we can understand. How difficult would that be? Also, please train your reps so that they know the product. It's so agonizing to hold for someone for 30 minutes only to find out they know less than you do about the phone they sell. Fantastic!

3. My very big beef now: I recently went away for the weekend and bought $15 bucks of roaming minutes so I would be sure to have service there. I was told I would have 60 minutes. I only made two calls while away and I know I spoke less than ten minutes. I just received a text message from Cricket telling me my next bill would be $100.64 and would be charged to my CC which you have on file. I tried to speak to someone in billing about this but they think I really owe this amount and I can't understand them well enough to explain that I don't! I am so frustrated. Now I will have to go to the nearest corporate store, which is about 15 miles from where I live. This is so wrong!

4. Now today I find out that I have been paying $5 each month for insurance on my phone which I thought would replace my phone in the event something happened to it...lost or stolen or broken. I called Cricket and spoke to three different reps all of whom gave me three different unsatisfactory answers. And then I found this on the web:

Cricket Wireless, The Signal Insurance | Rip-off Report: 324847

Cricket, please get your act together! I don't really want to switch carriers but you aren't the only one I can dance with! If you didn't have the Huawei Ascend you would be in big trouble right now...considering the competition.

I just hope someone with Cricket sees this and will respond!

Sincerely!!!

 

[la sal]

If you don't do a lot of traveling out of your coverage area, Cricket is great (inexpensive Android plan and no two year contract). The 3G they provide is fast.

Calling technical support is a pain because you are stuck speaking to someone with an extremely thick accent from India or Mexico. I couldn't even imagine trying to argue over a bill with them. Going to a Cricket store and having them argue with the customer service would be the only option.

 

[FulciLives]

Jazziette could you please explain point one some. I'm not sure I understand all that i.e., the nation wide calling thing and roaming and all that. Like what is "home area" (or what is it considered to be) etc.

 

[r0ckstarr]

2. Customer Service - What can I say? It sucks!!! The answer to everything is to reset your phone. Or they say they are going to get out the manual. I don't know if Customer Service is outsourced to India or Mexico or both but I have a very difficult time understanding the reps. And the wait time is so long I usually give up. Please give us an opportunity to make a selection of what language you speak and let us be hooked up to someone who we can understand. How difficult would that be? Also, please train your reps so that they know the product. It's so agonizing to hold for someone for 30 minutes only to find out they know less than you do about the phone they sell. Fantastic!

This is sooooooooooooo true.

4. Now today I find out that I have been paying $5 each month for insurance on my phone which I thought would replace my phone in the event something happened to it...lost or stolen or broken. I called Cricket and spoke to three different reps all of whom gave me three different unsatisfactory answers. And then I found this on the web:

Cricket Wireless, The Signal Insurance | Rip-off Report: 324847

This brings new thoughts and idea's to mind, and in which case I am cancelling my $5 insurance plan. I no longer see a point for it.

$5.00 per month x 10 months = $50.00. So, let's say we make it 10 months and then we break our phone. We would have paid $50.00 to keep the insurance going, and then an additional $50.00 to get a replacement. That's pretty much the cost of a whole new phone.

If you go passed 10 months without breaking your phone, then you are just throwing money away because you could have just bought a new phone for cheaper.

I plan to cancel my insurance and take my chances. I am pretty good with my electronics and know how to take care of them. In the event that I break mine, i'll just buy a replacement on my own. The phones are so cheap anyways, what's it matter.

Oh, and the insurance is not exactly through Cricket. It's sourced out to another company. I think Sprint uses the same company for insurance. I broke a phone with Sprint once, and had to pay the $50.00 to get another.

As far as the phone getting stolen, we have apps for that you know...

Edit: The $5 insurance plan has been cancelled for my account.

 

[Jazziette]

Jazziette could you please explain point one some. I'm not sure I understand all that i.e., the nation wide calling thing and roaming and all that. Like what is "home area" (or what is it considered to be) etc.

Hey Fulci! Well, nationwide calling means you can call anyone from your 'home area' without incurring any extra charges. It's when you get OUT of your home area into 'roaming' that you have to pay extra:

Support > Plans & Coverage > Coverage > Roaming
What is Roaming?



Roaming provides customers the ability to use their Cricket service throughout the US and Canada even when outside the unlimited coverage area included in your rate plan. There is an additional charge for roaming calls.
Cricket Wireless customers can use their Flex Bucket or pre-purchased roaming minutes to use Cricket service in roaming areas. Cricket PAYGo customers must use their account balance to pay for roaming minutes.
All customers should update their PRL by dialing *228 before entering a Roaming Coverage area.


===========


So if you go to mycricket.com and check your coverage it will show you where your home area ends and roaming begins. Hope this answers your question.

This is sooooooooooooo true.

This brings new thoughts and idea's to mind, and in which case I am cancelling my $5 insurance plan. I no longer see a point for it.

$5.00 per month x 10 months = $50.00. So, let's say we make it 10 months and then we break our phone. We would have paid $50.00 to keep the insurance going, and then an additional $50.00 to get a replacement. That's pretty much the cost of a whole new phone.

If you go passed 10 months without breaking your phone, then you are just throwing money away because you could have just bought a new phone for cheaper.

I plan to cancel my insurance and take my chances. I am pretty good with my electronics and know how to take care of them. In the event that I break mine, i'll just buy a replacement on my own. The phones are so cheap anyways, what's it matter.

Oh, and the insurance is not exactly through Cricket. It's sourced out to another company. I think Sprint uses the same company for insurance. I broke a phone with Sprint once, and had to pay the $50.00 to get another.

As far as the phone getting stolen, we have apps for that you know...

Edit: The $5 insurance plan has been cancelled for my account.

I have already cancelled mine. I dont even know what I was thinking when I got it. LOL I should have KNOWN better!

LOL

 

[drake53545]

the only thing i disagree with is the home area problem im about 500 miles away from my "home area" and i have yet to incur additional charges but who knows maybe im luck i guess but yeah they definantly need to get their shit together i have had my phone for three months and still havent been able to set up my v-mail and they say there is nothing they can do at the moment wtf??

 

[Jazziette]

the only thing i disagree with is the home area problem im about 500 miles away from my "home area" and i have yet to incur additional charges but who knows maybe im luck i guess but yeah they definantly need to get their shit together i have had my phone for three months and still havent been able to set up my v-mail and they say there is nothing they can do at the moment wtf??

That's ridiculous! You can't set it up yourself by going into your 'settings'?

I would try doing a reset and dialing *228 and send and then wait until it reacivates and try setting it up then.

They have no prob charging you for that. You should at least get a credit to your account for not having it.

 

[drake53545]

That's ridiculous! You can't set it up yourself by going into your 'settings'?

I would try doing a reset and dialing *228 and send and then wait until it reacivates and try setting it up then.

They have no prob charging you for that. You should at least get a credit to your account for not having it.

trying to reset the phone wont help at all since i am no where near a cricket home area and yeah they have kinda been pissing me off when i try to get to it it just tells me that the voice messaging system is unable to process my call at this time

 

[Jazziette]

I'm surprised you get any kind of service at all being so far away. But...hey if it works and they don't charge you any roaming charges that's cool! At least you don't have to worry about your phone heading straight to VM. LOL

Maybe there's a voice mail app on the market. Have you checked?

 

[r0ckstarr]

I'm surprised you get any kind of service at all being so far away. But...hey if it works and they don't charge you any roaming charges that's cool! At least you don't have to worry about your phone heading straight to VM. LOL

Maybe there's a voice mail app on the market. Have you checked?

Google Voice won't work for a substitute Voicemail unless your current Voicemail is actually working. I am in the same situation with no voicemail.

What happens if we dial *228 and try to reactivate our phone, after it's already been activated?

 

[Jazziette]

Google Voice won't work for a substitute Voicemail unless your current Voicemail is actually working. I am in the same situation with no voicemail.

What happens if we dial *228 and try to reactivate our phone, after it's already been activated?

Nothing except it can correct some probs you are having. It won't affect any custom roms.

 

[drake53545]

i wish we could hack thier system to fix the shitty bugs we have been having

 

[NorCaL28]

Do you guys also have a problem with recieving duplicate text and when you send a text the other person gets them like 4-5 times!!! I hate that the most. And the phone I had before the Ascend, The Messanger II....I had went camping for like only 2 days and Only texted a few times, NO phone calls and when I got back they changed me from the $45 plan to the $35 dollar plan cause they said I was using my phone excessively in partner coverage...I was pissed.

 

[drake53545]

Do you guys also have a problem with recieving duplicate text and when you send a text the other person gets them like 4-5 times!!! I hate that the most. And the phone I had before the Ascend, The Messanger II....I had went camping for like only 2 days and Only texted a few times, NO phone calls and when I got back they changed me from the $45 plan to the $35 dollar plan cause they said I was using my phone excessively in partner coverage...I was pissed.

yeah i get those blasted double sometimes triple text messages its so flipping annoying i wish there was a way to fix it with out having to deal with the idiots of customer non service

 

[la sal]

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yeah i get those blasted double sometimes triple text messages its so flipping annoying i wish there was a way to fix it with out having to deal with the idiots of customer non service

Installing Go SMS stopped the double text messages for me.

 

[Jazziette]

i wish we could hack thier system to fix the shitty bugs we have been having

LOL drake!!! I think we already have!

Do you guys also have a problem with recieving duplicate text and when you send a text the other person gets them like 4-5 times!!! I hate that the most. And the phone I had before the Ascend, The Messanger II....I had went camping for like only 2 days and Only texted a few times, NO phone calls and when I got back they changed me from the $45 plan to the $35 dollar plan cause they said I was using my phone excessively in partner coverage...I was pissed.

Not that too often but I sent september a message last night around ten and she didn't get it until 4AM this morning. LmAO!

They just changed your plan ... just like that? OMG! That would be enough to make me leave them. Grrrrrrrrrrrr!!!! *seeing red*

yeah i get those blasted double sometimes triple text messages its so flipping annoying i wish there was a way to fix it with out having to deal with the idiots of customer non service

I have no idea why they can't get this fixed. Metro customers have the same problem.

 

[sthomas]

Wow Metro sounds like a dream compared to Cricket.

 

[Jazziette]

Wow Metro sounds like a dream compared to Cricket.

hahahaha! That's funny! From all I have seen and heard it's more like a nightmare! LMAO!!!

~ teasing ~

But seriously I do think we have at least as many disenchanted Metro users as we do Cricket users. LOL

 

[la sal]

Wow Metro sounds like a dream compared to Cricket.

I love Cricket's 3G. So many Metro users complain about their slow 1X.

 

[Jazziette]

I love Cricket's 3G. So many Metro users complain about their slow 1X.

Yeah! LOL

What he said!

 

[KOLIO]

Seems that ALL companies, regardless of what business it is,the 1st thing their website refers you to is NOT a Customer Service agent,but a FORUM,run by the customers themselves. Why pay for C/S REPS when they can get away without having them in the 1st place.Basically,telling all of us F*** YOU VERY MUCH for purchasing our product.If you encounter any problems w/our product/service,F*** YOU & figure it out for yourself!
I don't mind that sentiment,except when the fault w/the product is solely due to the company's deriliction & NOT USER ERROR!

 

[sthomas]

I love metro, I have no hidden charges, their coverage area has grown a lot. Yeah I don't have 3G, but on my optimus the little 1x is pretty darn fast.

We do get double texts and texts that come an hour later at times but I can deal with that.

I can't say metro IS better, because I don't know much about Cricket. Shoot I've never heard of them until this forum.

 

[Jazziette]

Seems that ALL companies, regardless of what business it is,the 1st thing their website refers you to is NOT a Customer Service agent,but a FORUM,run by the customers themselves. Why pay for C/S REPS when they can get away without having them in the 1st place.Basically,telling all of us F*** YOU VERY MUCH for purchasing our product.If you encounter any problems w/our product/service,F*** YOU & figure it out for yourself!
I don't mind that sentiment,except when the fault w/the product is solely due to the company's deriliction & NOT USER ERROR!

Sad but true! And I think Google was a pioneer in the art of eluding the question by referring you to the 'forum'.

Well...thank God for forums or we would have never met!

 

[KOLIO]

Sad but true! And I think Google was a pioneer in the art of eluding the question by referring you to the 'forum'.

Well...thank God for forums or we would have never met!

Trust me,I'll NEVER forgot that for one second!
Funny how in the worst of circumstances we meet some of the BEST people we'll ever come across,such as you Jazziette!

 

[Jazziette]

Trust me,I'll NEVER forgot that for one second!
Funny how in the worst of circumstances we meet some of the BEST people we'll ever come across,such as you Jazziette!

Thanks KOLIO!!! (blushes) I feel the very same way about you! Your friendship is truly a gift!

IT Pic and all! hahaha !!!



PS...To all: DADT