Fresh when it gets here from
Julie Barrett
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
An update on my last entry detailing issues with my Sprint account. The phone rang a couple of hours ago. No Caller ID, of course. Surprise! (Not!) It was another Sprint collections rep.
I'm afraid I gave her a bit of a hard time at first when she asked for the last four digits of my Social Security number:
"Sorry, but you're calling without any Caller ID information. I can't give that out."
"But we're Sprint collections." As if that explains all. Yes, I know it's possible to spoof Caller ID, but I figured I'd be able to give her plenty of information so she'd know who she was talking to. And I did, including the name of the guy who called yesterday. He - surprise! Not! - didn't put a note in the database as he promised. If I had an impostor, I doubt she'd she'd know all of the fiddly details I left out of the last post, such as account numbers and exact payment dates. Yes, I had copies of all of the bills, and I was ready!
She listened to the whole story and then brought in a supervisor. The upshot is that yeah, there was a huge mix-up with the new billing system, the new account, and all that. Unfortunately, I do owe the money, but she was able to untangle everything and prove it to my satisfaction. Really, that was all I wanted. She was sympathetic to my situation, and I promised that I'd go right down to the Sprint store and pay in person. Which I did.
I think Sprint owes me something for all this misery, like a little color to cover up all those gray hairs that sprouted over the last month. I've got long hair, and a good color job would probably come close to the disputed amount. ;-)
But seriously, I got what I wanted, which was a straight answer. It just ticks me off that it took a month or longer to get it. Not only that, but it required a supervisor who could see both of the accounts and get into both the old and new billing systems. Why couldn't they have done this on the 28th?
The people I spoke with today were very nice, but it shouldn't take an act of God to get someone to tell me my account balance.
Anyway, as per the rep's instructions I paid in person and got a receipt with a tracking number so I'll have proof. The other good thing was that both the rep and supervisor said the incident wouldn't be reported to the credit bureaus unless it was turned over to a collection agency. That's one less thing to worry about. Because then it would be on my permanent record, which was started when I was in about the second grade, I think.
While I was out I stopped at Barnes and Noble and picked up two magazines and a paperback. Just to show that I could spend money responsibly, you know? If you insist on knowing: Two photography mags and a paperback written by Rachel Caine, who happens to be a friend. Oh, I suppose I *could* have begged her for a copy, but bookstore sales are important to an author.
So why don't I do the responsible thing and subscribe to the magazines? Because our mail is delivered by an arthritic mule - and it loses half the magazines I order. I can handle missing a week of TV Guide, but a month or two (or six - it's happened) of another magazine is stupid. Plus, I don't buy every issue of every photo magazine, so it works out - I guess.
I've still got a deadline to meet this week, so I'd better get to work - if I can shift mental gears.
Tags: Sprint Hates Me