Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 01:47:43 -0700
From: Mike
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: sprint pcs voicemail
one note about the remote-voicemail access trick. you can avoid
long distance charges if you find a local area code & prefix on
the sprint network. say your phone # is 213-123-4567 and you
are in NYC. you ask a sprint rep (local store might be a good
place) for a list of the sprint prefixes in NYC. he tells you
212-456, e.g. now you can dial 212-456-MAIL and enter your
10-digit "foreign" mailbox #.
i thank you for this tip. my pcs # is long dist from my house,
and i have been using a different trick to accomplish this.
i found a phone in a local prefix here, where the user almost
always has their phone turned off
as soon as the "i'm not here blah blah" message comes up, i
hit **213xxxyyyy to jump to my mailbox, then *password to
get my messages.
thanks to you, now i dont have to feel guilty when a live
person picks up :)
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 10:36:52 EDT
From: Rich D.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS tips
I have been with SprintPCS for over 2 years and have always been able to
check email from a different phone simply by turning off my phone and
dialing my Sprint PCS number. There is no need to dial "MAIL" or 1111.
When you hear your voice mail message press the "*" key and then enter
your code. Also, most new plans change your start time for "night"
minutes to 9pm. So, if you have a good plan now stick with it....that
extra hour between 8p-9p makes a big difference.
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 13:00:33 -0700
From: A.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: sprint pcs stories
maniac,
i have had good success "upgrading" plans while threatening cancellation.
here are two cases:
HAD: GOT:
500 anytime minutes 800 anytime minutes
3000 night/weekend 3000 night/weekend minutes
free long distance free long distance
3 phones sharing 500 PCS to PCS minutes for each phone (total 1500 minutes)
$80/month first incoming minute free for all phones
3 phone sharing
$80/month
or try this one:
HAD: GOT:
500 anytime minutes 650 anytime minutes
3000 night/weekend 3000 night/weekend
free long distance free long distance
night = after 9 pm night = after 8 pm
$50/month 500 PCS to PCS minutes
$35/month
so in one case i paid the same and got a ton more features (including first
incoming minute, more minutes, PCS to PCS). in the second, actually paying
LESS and getting more minutes, PCS to PCS, and got night restored to 8 pm.
good luck!
Date: Sun, 19 May 2002 21:43:32 -0400
From: Dan
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS tips
Hello,
Here are more tips for Sprint PCS customers. All tips offered as is and
from personal experience only. Service area is NYC metro.
1. Switch to business account and get ability to sign up for business
plans in addition to existing consumer plans. Also you can get $100
for signing up for 2 years or $150 for 3 years agreements. With
cancellation fee at $150 it’s a no brainier. Also you will
never be charged $3 to talk to representative. (It’s a new
initiative Sprint has recently implemented for certain customers)
Other than above benefits there are no cons that I’m aware of.
You do not actually have to have a business. It is also a good
bargaining chip when trying to squeeze Sprint for a better plan when
calling and asking to cancel the service. Sprint doesn’t like
to lose business customer even more so.
2. Tell them that you work for JP Morgan/Chase and Sprint will subtract
25% of your total bill. They do NOT verify your actual employment in
any way. You can also try Merrill Lynch and Anderson Consulting and
possible any other fortune 500 company for various levels of
discounts but JP Morgan/Chase works just fine.
3. If you have insurance on your phone and you need to file a claim it
is far easier to claim “water damage” than it being
stolen or broken. If the phone was stolen they will require a police
report. (A major hassle in most cases) If it’s been broken they
will require you to send the old phone back. However for “water
damage” they will replace the phone and they advice that you
can dispose of your old phone in any manner you desire. It sound like
the most convenient way to get you phone replaced.
4. Be very careful when switching plans. Newer plans are a lot worse
than old in subtle details. Older plans have off peak minutes start
at 8pm while newer are 9pm. Some older plans even have first incoming
minute free. Do not get dazzled by all those off peak minutes. You
will never use them. Peak minutes are the only important ones. You
might also check business only plans that offer anytime minutes only
but at better rates than consumer plans.
5. The quickest way to talk to a live service representative is to say
“phone is not working” phrase to Claire. This will
guarantee a transfer to a live person without further harassment from
phone system.
Date: Mon, 20 May 2002 09:27:11 -0700
From: Dave C.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS info...
My fiancee signed-up last February and her plan is 200 anytime and 3000
off-peak. Her night's start at 9pm and she often uses the off-peak
minutes to call her sister in San Francisco. But beware!!! She once
placed a call at 8:55pm and talked for 90 minutes. She thought that the
first 5 minutes would come off of her 200 anytime minutes and the rest
from her off-peak minutes.
This is NOT the case! There was nothing in the contract or flyers that
tell you that the minutes will be subracted from whatever pool you are
using when the call is first placed. She made several phone calls to
Sprint before they would credit her back the 85 peak minutes she had
used.
The sales rep never mentioned this either, so buyer beware!
Date: Tue, 21 May 2002 09:37:37 -0400
From: Adam S.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprintpcs deal
Thank you thank you thank you. I just changed my plan to 35.99 for 650
anytime and 3000 weekend with long distance. Much better than what i was
getting. 49.99 for 500 anytime and 500 weekends w/ no long distance.
THANK YOU!!
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 10:07:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: Jonathan S. from MA
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: I got the SprintPCS HOT DEAL! yeah!!
Here's what I HAD:
- 350 anytime (peak) minutes
- 2150 night and weekend (off-peak) minutes
- Night: Mon-Thu 8pm-7am, and Weekend: Fri 8pm to Mon 7am
- SprintPCS wireless web
- $45 per month
- 1 year SprintPCS agreement began on July, 2001
and expires on July, 2002. $150 early termination fee.
After talking with the cancellation department guy, he asked me what the
problems were. I told him the coverage was spotty, and that I wanted more
anytime minutes, and Verizon had a good plan for me. He recommended I
take the phone into a SprintPCS branch office for a free reception check
and tweak service, regarding the spotty service. After talking for about
5 minutes about my rate plan, he offered me this rate plan which I
accepted:
- 650 anytime (peak) minutes
- 3000 night and weekend (off-peak) minutes
- Night: Mon-Thu 8pm-7am, and Weekend: Fri 8pm to Mon 7am
- SprintPCS wireless web
- $40 per month
- 1 year SprintPCS agreement begins on May 26, 2002
and expires on May 26, 2003. $150 early termination fee.
Without the wireless web, it would have only been $35/mo, but I really
like the wireless web feature, so they added it for $5/mo more.
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 08:01:17 -0700
From: H. O.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: My friend's great results
I thought I did well with MY hack-the-plans via the Cancellation Department
effort last month. My friend, a big cell
user, decided to try it when I pointed him to the hot-deals.org info
Tuesday. He just reported in with yesterday's end result. Read on for some
statistics on a plan upgrade for someone who is an above-average consumer of
cell phone minutes.
He now has:
1500 minutes for $75 (long distance included, usual Sprint digital network
roaming included)
3000 free off-peak STARTING AT 8PM (he negotiated with them to change the
start time!!)
First incoming minute free (which to him equates to another 100-150 minutes
a month, as he gets 5-6 calls a day)
Wireless web and voice command for $5 (normally each is a separate-cost
item)
500 free sprintpcs-to-sprintpcs minutes per month (get this for your phone,
then call your friends and have them call Cancellation and ask for it for
their phones, voila, over 8 hours of free friends-and-family style minutes
for you and your friends' cell phones, apiece!)
He was also told he could get 2000 peak minutes for $100 if he wanted, so if
you have a friend who's a big cell phone user, but not big enough to want
that 4000 minutes for $200 business plan, you might suggest that they check
this out.
Note that his experience is that the off-peak start time IS NOT IRON-CLAD.
As other posters have reported, watch for changes in off-peak hours when you
switch. If they tell you your off-peak start or end times have switched,
and they're less favorable to you than your original terms were, don't use
that as a reason not to switch plans -- JUST ASK FOR THEM TO BE PUT BACK TO
WHERE YOUR ORIGINAL PLAN HAD THEM, and they might do it!
As another poster reports, he also got the free-incoming-minute option added
to his plan.
No wonder "public" cell phone pricing plans aren't quite what they used to
be. Behind the scenes, companies have had to offer *current* customers
deals like these, to keep them around. The people in Cancellation sure do
seem to have CONSIDERABLE lattitude on configuring plans.
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 12:59:15 -0400
From: Barbara B. from OH
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS
Thanks. I got 600 anytime minutes, 3000 off-peak for $30 and 1000 anytime,
3000 off-peak for $50. Both plans start off-peak at 8 PM.
Date: Thu, 23 May 2002 03:04:25 +0000
From: Tej
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS
Hi - thanks a lot for the info about Sprint PCS!
Old Plan :
1000 anytime minutes
No weekend / evening,
No PCS to PCS minutes
8 PM offpeak
1st minute free
$75 per month
New Plan :
1300 anytime minutes
3000 weekend / evening
500 PCS to PCS
8 PM offpeak
No free 1st minute (couldn't talk them into it!)
$50 per month
Needed new 1 year contract.
Thanks for the info!
Date: Wed, 22 May 2002 23:31:45 -0700
From: Mike
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: sprint pos
it "should" be safe to communicate credit card info on a digital (gsm,cdma,etc)
cel, since the packets are all encrypted somewhat. you can't just sit
next to a radio scanner and eavesdrop on digitals like you could with
an analog cel. a bugging device can be placed on landlines at numerous locations:
anywhere in your house, on the terminal box outside your house, on the overhead wire,
at the big junction box down the street, at the ....
Date: Fri, 24 May 2002 18:47:35 -0400
From: Melvin
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS
I have USAA SprintPCS. The same Company buy I on USAA government
account. USAA give you a woaping 5% discount.Futhermore, when I call
Sprint from my Cell phone or any phone I get transfer to USAA Reps once I
type my Cell Number. I tried to I get a better rate by saying I want to
cancel. however they give my to $160 credit instead.
Date: Tue, 28 May 2002 10:50:59 -0700 (PST)
From: Matthew H.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint?
How on earth did you get deals through sprint? I got
3 idiots reading from a script earlier and I just
told them to turn off my service at the end of the
month. I've been with them over 2 years now, phone's
on the way out and my plan is just ancient. They
want me to pay for a new phone...big deal $30
credit. And they want me to sign a new one year
agreement. Hell with Sprint.
From: anonymous
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS cancellation/retentions department
The unpublished direct phone number for the SprintPCS
cancellation/retentions department is 888-298-9547. It's easy to
get someone by calling them directly.
Date: Tue, 04 Jun 2002 13:29:08 -0400
From: Jason M.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint
This finally worked for me. I got through to some one in the retention
department. Explained that I wanted more minutes and had another plan from
Verizon which looked good. I also mentioned sprint has spotty coverage.
He gave me two options 650 minutes for $35 or 1300 minutes for $50.
I took the 1300 minutes. This also includes 500 Sprint to Sprint
minutes. Off Peak starts at 8 PM.
I couldn't talk them in to wireless web or first incoming minute. But with
the new number of minutes I'm not too worried. I only use about 700 minutes.
This goes in to effect on my next billing cycle. In the mean time, he gave
me 300 peak minutes and 500 sprint minutes (sprint pcs to sprint pcs).
Thanks for all the help with this one.
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2002 23:39:29 -0500
From: Lee
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS Deal
Hey man,
Finally got off my ass and changed both my wife's and my own phone plan.
We both were using plans about one to two years old. Basic 300mins for
$30, first incoming free.
Got:
- 650 mins peak.
- 3000 mins off peak.
- 500 mins pcs-to-pcs calling
- $125 service credit (cuz i bitched about my old phone...which wasn't
really old)
- free long distance
- 8pm off peak start.
- $35.99 per month and one year contract.
Funny thing is that they start off with just the basic 650 mins and 3000
off peak for $35.99 deal. And when i kept declining, they kept adding
the extras. I was wondering if I would've hung on, what else they would
have offered. It would be interesting what other people could get.
Thanks again!
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 13:21:40 -0400
From: prashant
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SprintPCS
HI,
I have an experience to share about SprintPCS and their practices. I
had to involve the FCC to get what I was promised. It did not take
much effort to get the FCC involved.
I have been a SprintPCS wireless customer since July 1999. Right from
the beginning until recently, my plan was 250 anytime minutes, 250
nights & weekend minutes (8 pm - 7 am) for $29.99. I had thought of
upgrading to a better plan, but the new plan was 200 anytime, 2800
nights and weekends (9:00 pm - 7.00 am) for $29.99. After reading an
article on HotDealsClub.com about a month ago, I decided to call
SprintPCS and ask for a better plan. The service representative
promised me a fabulous plan:
For $39.99
- Two phone numbers with shared minutes
- 350 Anytime minutes
- 3650 Nights and Weekends
- 300 additional anytime minutes
- 500 additional PCS - PCS minutes
- 1st incoming minute free
- 3000 additional nights and weekend minutes
In addition, I got a one-time $50 credit towards buying a new phone.
I wrote down the unique SprintPCS internal ID of the representative
in addition to her name for the records.
Since my wife needed a phone, I decided to go with the plan. I bought
a nice phone and activated it. But when I tried to get the plan that
was promised to me, I was almost ridiculed. I was told the lowest
price for the above plan will be $59.99. The new representative
agreed that he saw some notes on my account about the promised plan,
but refused to honor it. So I talked to a manager. She said that the
first rep had made a mistake and that plan was not available. She
also said I could return the phone within 14 days if I did not like
the plan. I suggested she could give me a credit of $20 per month,
and then charge me $59.99. She said she could not do that either. So
I said I will complain to the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
about the deceptive practices of SprintPCS. To this the manager said,
I could do that and if I had a lawyer I could contact the SprintPCS
legal department too. In short, she challenged me to sue SprintPCS.
I backed down because first of all, I do not have a lawyer, and
secondly my wife was all excited about the phone and there was no way
of returning it.
Then I wrote to the FCC about this. It was very simple and completely
free. I just went to this website (http://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm)
and entered all the relevant information. I asked FCC how could I have
protected myself from being duped. I had gotten not only the name but
SprintPCS internal ID of the service rep. What more could I have done.
Could I have possibly recorded the conversation with the
representative's consent?
FCC forwarded this message to the SprintPCS Executive Department. And
sure enough, 4 weeks after filing the complaint, an "Executive Rep"
called me. She was all apologetic about the manager's behavior, and
asked me what could she do to make me "happy". She started by offering
one months free service. I told her it was costing me $20.00 more per
month because of this mistake. I am in a binding contract for one
year. She should at least give me 12 X $20.00 = $240 worth of credit.
She agreed to this immediately. She said she would give me 3 months
free service, and a credit of $60 to my account. That made me feel
better. Technically, I will have this plan until I switch plans, and
hence I could have asked for more credit (as long as I had this plan).
But I did not ask for anything more.
I hope to receive all the credits by the end of july or august.
The point of this whole story is that if some customer has been
promised a deal, and then it has been refused, filling a simple
website form can bring a lot of attention to the case. The big guns
of SprintPCS (ok, not THE big guns, but bigger than the managers and
service reps) will get in touch with you and try to help you.
I hope this experience benefits other users of HotDealsClub.com.
Date: Wed, 10 Jul 2002 07:33:18 -0700 (PDT)
From: jazzlaw
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS
Another hint is that the retention deparment can offer two low cost plans.
One is $5/month vacation plan. Nothing included. $1/minute. The other is
$10/month 50min local plan. No voicemail. Either one may often work out
better than paying the $150 cancellation fee if anyone wants to cancel the
service.
Date: Sun, 11 Aug 2002 23:39:16 -0500
From: Paul C.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS
Hi,
I just wanted to let you know that I think your info on Sprint PCS deals
is untrue. Both my brother and girlfriend this past week (1st wk of
8/02) got the following deal by threatening to cancel.
1000 min peak
3000 min off peak
off peak @ 8pm
500 pcs to pcs minutes
$100 service credit
$50 / month fee
they also offered 500 min peak and 1000 off peak for $35 bucks.
Fyi. Btw, thx for all the good deals.
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 08:53:11 -0500
From: J. M.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS deals
I originally had 200 min peak and 2800 min off peak starting at 9pm for
29.95/mo. I called 7/26 and threatened to cancel because my phone was
having problems. I got 300 min peak and 2000 min off peak starting at
8pm for $30/mo. I also got a $70 credit.
Thanks for the good info.
Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2002 14:04:16 -0400
From: Marc B.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS update
I recently threatened to leave sprint and I had some of the same troubles
you were just talking about. One thing I was able to get rather easily was
500 minutes of talk time to other sprint pcs subscribers. Every little bit
helps.
Thanks for saving me money. Hope this helps someone.
Date: Tue, 13 Aug 2002 16:32:01 -0400
From: Chris D.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint offer
hi thanks for your great website. i have saved lots of money by looking at
your website daily. i just called sprint and got 500 min anytime, 3000
night and weekend minutes starting at 8PM instead of 9PM for 34.99/mo.
had to renew my one year agreement however. let me know if you need
anything else!
Date: Sat, 17 Aug 2002 12:02:56 -0700
From: L. W.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: SPRINTPCS
After reading your item on SPRINTPCS I called Claire and threatened to
cancel.
I have an old plan 300 anytime minutes plus 1st incoming minute free for
$30. per month
When I threatened to cancel they offered to give me 2000 night and weekend
minutes starting at 8PM plus 500 PCS to PCS minutes at no additional charge.
I should also note that I was ( and still am) under a 2 year commitment that
doesnt expire until Feb, 2004- if I did cancel they would have charged me a
$100 cancellation fee.
Date: Fri, 23 Aug 2002 08:47:51 -0700 (PDT)
From: Perry L.
To: Hot Deals Maniac
Subject: Sprint PCS
I used your idea about calling Clair on My SprintPCS phone.
My old phone was not working correctly. So I started looking around for a
new phone. All of the local cell phone providers are offering great
deals on a phone with new service. However since I am already a
SprintPCS customer I could not take advantage of the Sprint deal. So I
call Clair and told the retentions operator that I wanted to cancel my
service... when asked why I told her that I needed a new phone and when I
went to the Sprint store they would not give me a discount and that I was
going to cancle and go with another cellular provider and get a new phone
(free) and more minutes on thier plan...
The operator offered me a one month credit plus $70 toward a new phone
and better minuets on my current plan. ( I also did not require a new
contract)
Here is the phone I got for free
http://www.sanyo.com/consumer/communications/SCP-6000.htm
Thanks...
Love your web site