Got to Vent about Sprint

A loose end of my new computer and router is that I had to cancel my mobile WiFi with Sprint. I've been a customer for about six years. When I opened the most recent bill, I looked at the total and thought I had forgotten to pay the bill since it was double what it normally is. As it turned out, I had paid the bill, but this was overages.

In six years, I have never once had an overage.This past month,  I did not download War and Peace or Gone with the Wind or do anything that I hadn't been doing for six years.

So I call Sprint to start this process. Go through the annoying phone tree. Am prompted to enter my PIN number. I have no PIN number. Is it a PIN number? Is it a password? If it's a password, I can pretty much guess what it is, but no, it's a six digit numerical PIN. I have no idea.

I get a live person who says I can answer a security question which is "What is the name of your first elementary school?" I told the answer and it was wrong. No way. I went to the same school from nursery school through senior in high school... the same public school. There was no other answer I could give.

She said she'd have to send me a letter via the post office which takes 4 to 5 days. When I protested, she transferred me to someone else. Go through the story. She asks me the last 4 digits of my SS# and my mailing address. I then get into the overages and it was she said, she said. I'd say my behavior was no different. She'd say "On May 6th, you downloaded..." and I'd look at my calendar and have no clue. But it wasn't just one day -- and I just refuse to believe that the past month my behavior online was so different that for the first time I have overages.

Plus it was a bad connection to the sub-continent.  I kept asking them to slow down, talk slowly, so I could understand. I tell her to forget it, that this conversation is pointless and go on to tell her since my new computer has Windows 8, I can't use 3G and I have never been able, no matter where I am, to hold a 4G connection.

She then transfers me to a total stranger who knew nothing about me. I sigh and tell my whole story again. The woman says, "I'm so sorry, but this is technical support and I can't help you."
On to the fourth person who was this man who I also could barely hear. I could hear them, but you know they are talking into a headset and they talk fast in a sing-songy way that's hard to understand. Oh dear, do I sound like an old person?

The guy would do nothing about the overages, then tried to convince me that I could update the software so that it's compatible, I said no, that I could do this and that with Sprint, and I said no. I have to say that I rarely had a good connection with Sprint. I had a workable connection. Oh, he even asked me if I knew anyone who would want to use this mobile WiFi so I wouldn't cancel. Uh, no.

I was sort of happy to be able to say no and to wash my hands of Sprint. What I owe is $148 for these overages instead of $62 for the monthly bill. Then, of course, there's a $50 cancellation fee. So I pay this $148 and then I'll get a bill on June 17th with NO monthly charge unless I use it, which I won't, and the $50 cancellation fee along with "taxes and other administrative charges."

It's such a total rip off. We have to pay to cancel?? I hate to say this, but part of me was glad that it was "only" $50.