PREPAID SMART-PHONE NIGHTMARE

By writing this I hope to maybe help a few others avoid the nightmare I just went through with a prepaid smart-phone from TracFone, Inc. The same would also apply to customers of Net 10 Wireless, Straight Talk Wireless, SafeLink Wireless, and TelCel America, as they are all owned and controlled by TracFone.

I have been a loyal customer of TracFone for a little over TEN YEARS. In the arena of mobile phone service providers, currently THE single most competitive business on Earth, this is an unheard-of, astronomical length of time to remain loyal to one provider. However this counts for NOTHING in the bloodshot eyes of TracFone & companies, and trust me when I tell you – that loyalty has come to a screeching-ass halt as a result of the debacle I am about to share with you.

Never in my life, within any American industry, have I seen such utter incompetence accompanied by a three-ring circus of errors to equal this experience. Before I go on, let me explain that I am a disabled individual due to a spinal cord injury, and I live in a sparsely populated, rural area of Georgia. It is eight miles from my home to the nearest store or gas station, and when you combine these two factors, it’s evident that a mobile phone is critically important to me should I have car trouble, or be involved in an accident, etc. Just 2 months into my usage of the new (which I later discovered to be REFURBISHED and NOT NEW at all) Smart Phone, it failed. So I called TracFone to file a warranty claim and exchange the defective device for a new one.

After I had finished struggling with the thick Flipino accent of their service rep for 45 minutes, (like so many other companies in America today, TracFone and all their associates OUTSOURCE their customer service to either the Phillipines, or Guyana) I had to repeat the same data time and time again to different reps as the case was “ESCALATED.” Wouldn’t you think a cell phone company would know how to NETWORK their own computers so that you wouldn’t have to repeat the same thing time and again? Apparently not. After I had answered the myriad questions and all the details were entered into their computer, I was told my (NOT) new phone would arrive in 3 to 5 days.

At this point I explained my aforementioned handicap and the critical importance of my having a working mobile phone, and cheerfully offered to pay the cost of overnight freight if they would but ship it this way. Now, Tracfone and all of their related companies routinely ship EVERYTHING by Federal Express Ground. Yet for some unfathomable reason, they flat-out refused to cooperate - even for a ten-year loyal customer, who is handicapped to boot. Such a simple request, which would have cost them absolutely NOTHING, and would have required them to simply check a different check-box on the freight form – SORRY, WE CAN’T DO IT!

Now I really began to lose my patience and assured them that when my already-purchased air time had expired, I was going to pitch their miserable little plastic miracle off the highest cliff I could access in a wheelchair, and take my loyalty elsewhere. Oh, if only this really had been the end of it. 3 working days later, my replacement phone arrived - WITHOUT A SIM CARD. A cellphone cannot work without a SIM card. SO HOW and WHY did they ship mine without one? To this day I have yet to receive an answer to that question.

Once again, I was told the missing SIM would arrive in 3 to 5 da… NOW WAIT A MINUTE , I argued – I put up with this nonsense the first time because gadgets do break, especially electronic gadgets ,and it really wasn’t THEIR fault – However, even though THIS TIME IT WAS CLEARLY INCOMPETENCE on the part of one or more TracFone employees, I offered once again to pay for overnight service and once again they patently refused to accommodate my request.

By now I was seething, but the fun had only just begun. The SIM card arrived and I installed it, only to have the phone refuse to call out. Turned out they had sent me THE WRONG SIM CARD, and once again, they refused to employ fast shipping.

3 working days later, the CORRECT SIM card arrived, I installed it, and it now became evident that THE REPLACEMENT PHONE WAS ALSO DEFECTIVE! ! !

So, where are we now?
3 working days for a replacement phone – sent w/no SIM
3 working days for a SIM – Sent Wrong SIM
3 working days for the right SIM – replacement phone proved N/G
A total of 9 days into the nightmare, and I am back at square one with a broken phone.

While waiting for the THIRD phone to arrive, I took a look at a web site recommended to me by a friend entitled “WWW.RIPOFF REPORT.COM.” It came as absolutely no surprise whatsoever to find that there were a total of 306 COMPLAINTS ABOUT TRACFONE. on www.Ripoff Report.com.

So, here we go with phone number 3. I opened the box, flipped the phone over, only to discover - mind-boggling as it may seem …can you believe this? After waiting 3 more working days, once again they sent me a replacement phone WITHOUT A SIM CARD!!!!!!

At this point I asked for the name of the C.E.O. of Tracfone, Inc. which would be one Frederick J. Pollack, and the address of the corporate headquarters, which is located, appropriately enough, in the warehouse district of that world-class den of iniquity known as MIAMI, FLORIDA. By the time you read this, Mr. Pollack will have received a copy of this letter, along with my heartfelt assessment of his company, which embodies the absolute epitome and quintessence of everything that is wrong with business in America today. From outsourcing jobs that rightfully belong to American workers to their senseless ironclad corporate POLICY of steadfast refusal to accommodate special needs clientele, these people are THE WORST.

So far, phone number 3 - once I added the missing SIM card – seems to be functioning properly...again that is at least so far. The tiniest of bright spots in this otherwise murky cesspool of utterly laughable incompetence, was a very pleasant young lady named “Francina,” who handled service ticket #1075676644. She was cheerful, knowledgeable, spoke perfect English, and was actually a pleasure to deal with. Thank you Francina, I’m quite sure you will never hear that phrase from anyone at Tracfone.

Every word of this story is the truth – and if after hearing it, you are ignorant and/or crazy enough to patronize this pitiful excuse for a company, then you more than deserve whatever fate should befall you. Good luck.

Last Edited by Cat.Man.Deux on 06/27/2014 06:55 PM