Playing Semantics

T-Mobile was my cell phone provider for 5 or 6 years until I recently switched to AT&T . The reason I switched the night I switched was I was waiting for some money from a job and my daughter had recently had her I phone stolen so we decided to take advantage of the deal AT&T had as part of her Christmas present. I was pretty fed up with T mobile too because their signal was weak and I usually had to stand in one place in the house or go outside when the signal failed altogether. So I went to AT&T store and made the deal. They told me I had to port out my phone because I wanted to retain my business #. That required calling T mobile and getting my account number which when I did the lady on the other end started trying to find out the reasons why I was leaving T mobile. I told her about the bad reception and missed calls etc. and she kept working on me. I told her I am sorry, I am done with T Mobile I want to close my account and keep this number. I was busy with the AT&T rep and I had to go now. She said all right and we hung up.

Service with AT&T has been great I can talk anywhere inside my house and I still need to learn my new phone but I think its so much better of a service.

Then last night along comes a new bill from T Mobile for 66 $. They kept my daughters line on the suspension ever since she had her phone stolen back in November. So I call up T MObile and told the representatives my story. They ALL tried to tell me how I saved my daughters number when I cancelled my account, I went through billing and accounts, and a couple supervisors. The last guy I talked to was named Rob 0757452 and he was absolutely the worst customer service representative I have ever dealt with in my life. I realized that by this time I was agitated and frustrated and feeling that they were just going to try and rip me off on the way out the door, and my blood pressure was through the roof. Since I was no longer a paying T Mobile customer they were not even trying to be nice anymore. He kept telling me lets go back and go over your story because it keeps changing. Then he would start in saying I called up T Mobile to complain about my bad service and didn't want to hear anymore from the rep. Erica that I just wanted to port out my personal number and that this is the first time he heard me mention the other number which was suspended because my daughters phone was stolen. I said no I mentioned that, to you and every other person I have talked to tonight, I told Erica "I was 'canceling my T Mobile account altogether and keeping my personal number'. How much more specific than that could I be"? Then he starts in saying you can't cancel your account first or you wont get to port out your own number, and when you port out your number that cancels that number. I told him again what I told Erica, which was "I am through with T Mobile I just want to keep my number".

He kept on like somehow my account and my daughters number were somehow separate. I told him that I was not concerned with the order they had to do things there at their shop or what the words port and account meant to them. I knew what account meant to me and that was all my numbers with T-Mobile, ALL of them. Then he would go around and around again , " but you wanted to port out your number" exasperated I said yes and close out my ACCOUNT! He went on that porting out my number meant not closing the account right then. I understand that now this has become the way that they want to rope me in with a detail that was less than specific. I told the guy how was I supposed to cancel my account with you? Bring a Lawyer down to your corporate office or write a certified letter? If I can't call a representative and give her an instruction that I am confident she will follow, then they can say whatever they want, like that I said I want a contract on the other line for 2 years or anything.

Anyway Rob went on to say that I was not going to get that amount credited. Regardless how this turns out now I will never be a T Mobile customer again not if they are the last cel phone company out there. Their customer service skills reeked of condescension and trying to tell me what I said and did instead of listening to me. The old axiom the customer is always right doesn't ring true there, at least when you are no longer using their service, then you are just a possible few $$ to fish out of an already pissed off former customer. Well I am going over Rob 0757452 head all the way to the PUC and small claims court. It is now about the principle not the lousy 66$ and I will tell everybody I can that T Mobile has absolutely the worst customer service of any company I have ever dealt with in my life.