Civic duty for the day: check, check
Today I did something I have never done before: I testified in front of a Senate Committee in the state capital building.
Last spring I was having trouble with my voice mail on my cell phone. People could leave messages just fine- I would just never get them. This was not completely new- Sprint had fixed it one other time. This time they told me that I most likely needed a new phone. The problem was that getting a new phone meant signing another two year agreement according to the customer (non)service representative, which I was unwilling to do... ("We are giving you horrible customer service, here sign up for another two years!")
I couldn't handle the injustice of it all. They claimed that voice mail was not a guaranteed part of my contract, therefore they weren't violating anything. They told me I had no other options other than starting a new contract. I worked my way through 15-20 customer service reps until I finally landed in the conflict resolution department. Finally, a woman said they would ship me a new phone and she promised that there would be no new contract.
All was well until 15 days later when we received our bill thanking us for re-signing with Sprint for a two year agreement. Again, a zillion phone calls, no one who could help me, people telling me I had to send my phone back, telling me I would have to pay an early termination fee, assuring that there were no options other than sending the phone back and dealing with no voice mail, one representative even hung up on me.
So husband and I did the only logical thing- gathered all the evidence (yep, I had been documenting) and contacted the Better Business Bureau.
A month later we got a message on our phone from Sprint. When I tried to call the number they gave me, I got a woman's voice mail. I never heard back, but a few weeks later the BBB contacted us to tell us that Sprint had filed a report that they had tried to get a hold of me, but that I wasn't returning their phone calls, and that they had tried to settle with me but that I wasn't cooperating.
Eventually, I got a hold of the slippery, slimy woman from Sprint. Oh, and surprise, to get me to drop my complaint they took off the new two year agreement I had never verbally, or in writing, agreed to.
Well, this last summer I got a phone call from the State Attorney General's office. They had found our BBB complaint and would I be interested in being part of a class action law suit against Sprint? Gee, let me think about it...
I signed the affidavit this fall and the lawsuit is still pending. However, most recently a state Senator has proposed a "cell phone user's bill of rights" for the new legislative session - a bill that would require cell phone companies to disclose all loopholes to consumers- how long they are signing up for, what the early termination fee is, what ways consumers have a right to terminate their contract, etc.
I was recently contacted by the AG's office to see if I would participate in testifying against Sprint. Today, I testified in front of the Consumer Advocacy Committee. They are considering the cell phone bill and wanted to hear consumer testimony.
Before the hearing began, I saw my former colleague- a fellow government teacher, and who was just recently elected to the senate in a special election. Small world, he was on the committee I testified to. He came over to chat and we talked about old times and what I was up to. We only talked for a few minutes, but by far the best line was his, "I don't know about you, but I my least favorite unit was state and local government. I think now it will be my favorite, since I am in it."
It was fun- the hearing was long and at times tedious, but interesting. I sat and listened to the committee debate each part of the bill and to the cell phone company's representative talk about how much they have done for consumers. Finally, after two hours it was my turn. I told my story for about 5 minutes into a microphone in front of a panel of about 20 Senators and about 50 other lobbyists, press, and general observers.
After the testimony, as I was leaving. A former State Attorney General approached me and was raving about my testimony. The Senator who sponsored the bill joined in as did the staff who had invited me from the AG's office. I felt so great for doing my civic duty, and apparently doing it well! As I was leaving one of the lawyers said to me, "You know, you really made a difference today. Thank you for your time. You were an amazing speaker." I almost felt embarrassed by how many times I had been thanked, but I was glowing a little bit knowing that I did do my civic duty today.
Last spring I was having trouble with my voice mail on my cell phone. People could leave messages just fine- I would just never get them. This was not completely new- Sprint had fixed it one other time. This time they told me that I most likely needed a new phone. The problem was that getting a new phone meant signing another two year agreement according to the customer (non)service representative, which I was unwilling to do... ("We are giving you horrible customer service, here sign up for another two years!")
I couldn't handle the injustice of it all. They claimed that voice mail was not a guaranteed part of my contract, therefore they weren't violating anything. They told me I had no other options other than starting a new contract. I worked my way through 15-20 customer service reps until I finally landed in the conflict resolution department. Finally, a woman said they would ship me a new phone and she promised that there would be no new contract.
All was well until 15 days later when we received our bill thanking us for re-signing with Sprint for a two year agreement. Again, a zillion phone calls, no one who could help me, people telling me I had to send my phone back, telling me I would have to pay an early termination fee, assuring that there were no options other than sending the phone back and dealing with no voice mail, one representative even hung up on me.
So husband and I did the only logical thing- gathered all the evidence (yep, I had been documenting) and contacted the Better Business Bureau.
A month later we got a message on our phone from Sprint. When I tried to call the number they gave me, I got a woman's voice mail. I never heard back, but a few weeks later the BBB contacted us to tell us that Sprint had filed a report that they had tried to get a hold of me, but that I wasn't returning their phone calls, and that they had tried to settle with me but that I wasn't cooperating.
Eventually, I got a hold of the slippery, slimy woman from Sprint. Oh, and surprise, to get me to drop my complaint they took off the new two year agreement I had never verbally, or in writing, agreed to.
Well, this last summer I got a phone call from the State Attorney General's office. They had found our BBB complaint and would I be interested in being part of a class action law suit against Sprint? Gee, let me think about it...
I signed the affidavit this fall and the lawsuit is still pending. However, most recently a state Senator has proposed a "cell phone user's bill of rights" for the new legislative session - a bill that would require cell phone companies to disclose all loopholes to consumers- how long they are signing up for, what the early termination fee is, what ways consumers have a right to terminate their contract, etc.
I was recently contacted by the AG's office to see if I would participate in testifying against Sprint. Today, I testified in front of the Consumer Advocacy Committee. They are considering the cell phone bill and wanted to hear consumer testimony.
Before the hearing began, I saw my former colleague- a fellow government teacher, and who was just recently elected to the senate in a special election. Small world, he was on the committee I testified to. He came over to chat and we talked about old times and what I was up to. We only talked for a few minutes, but by far the best line was his, "I don't know about you, but I my least favorite unit was state and local government. I think now it will be my favorite, since I am in it."
It was fun- the hearing was long and at times tedious, but interesting. I sat and listened to the committee debate each part of the bill and to the cell phone company's representative talk about how much they have done for consumers. Finally, after two hours it was my turn. I told my story for about 5 minutes into a microphone in front of a panel of about 20 Senators and about 50 other lobbyists, press, and general observers.
After the testimony, as I was leaving. A former State Attorney General approached me and was raving about my testimony. The Senator who sponsored the bill joined in as did the staff who had invited me from the AG's office. I felt so great for doing my civic duty, and apparently doing it well! As I was leaving one of the lawyers said to me, "You know, you really made a difference today. Thank you for your time. You were an amazing speaker." I almost felt embarrassed by how many times I had been thanked, but I was glowing a little bit knowing that I did do my civic duty today.
posted by KLOU | 7:26 PM
1 Comments:
Wow, that was a great story! I can only imagine that you did testify in a highly engaging manner. Congrats on riding out this whole ordeal through the months!
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