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     | Wednesday, December 13, 2000 - 06:52 pm  It's quite ironic that Voicestream had some of the better services and I have yet to sue Verizon (fka GTE,) but I finally lost my patience with the morons at Voicestream. On 8/19/2000 I cancelled my cellphone service and had the address changed from PayTrust to one of my PMBs so that I would promptly receive the deposit refund check. On October 12, I called about my refund, as we were past the 4 to 6 weeks it's supposed to take. They told me that I had to "request" the refund. I was really irritated, and I made my formal request. I was advised that they don't have a fax number for "customer use," had planned on faxing them my dissatisfaction with their service. I looked up their stock once, as it had skyrocketed, their customer service went to hell ... same story every time: A great company does well and expands, then they suck! Since December 5 I've made numerous phone calls, inquiring about my check. Most of the reps *tried* to be helpful, but could not tell me when I'd get my $1,000+ check. At one point I discovered that they had changed my address to a completely INCORRECT street number. I thought that maybe the check had been returned undeliverable, but was assured it had NOT been mailed yet. It was supposed to be in the "final processing stages." Some of these calls took over 45 minutes, first on hold forever to get to a rep, then they put me on hold again because they TRIED to find out what was going on. The only thing I accomplished this last week was that the status of my check went from being in the final stages of processing to "looks like it hasn't been processed at all." Maybe the address change put it back at the beginning of the "4 to 6 weeks?" Numerous times I had requested a phone or fax number to the accounting or legal department. I got nothing. In May some "higher up" person named Mike had authorized a warranty phone repair, on 8/30 they charged me $70 for the repair. To add insult to injury, in May they offered the exact same Nokia for sale on their web site for $70 INCLUDING the $30+ car charger AND including the 9 months warranty! If they had not agreed to honor the warranty, I obviously would have spent the $70 on a new phone. On Monday I made my final call to VoiceStream. I quote from my extensive notes: "12/11/00 Damien, Ft. Lauderdale Could NOT give me an update. He snidely remarked that I only requested the refund on Oct. 12 and that it takes 4 to 6 weeks. He insisted that as of TODAY they are well within that time. When I asked him to take a calendar and count weeks, he responded that it of course could take longer. I advised that if I didn't get the date the check will be sent, I would go to court. He didn't care - no updates are on my account." So, off I went to make the 140 mile round trip to the nearest courthouse. After the filing I had to stand in line at the post-office for 25 minutes to mail the papers certified. In California that's done by the clerk, apparently Arizona likes to make things difficult for plaintiffs. Since I travel so much and even my base is so far from town, this is EXTREMELY inconvenient for me. I'm just soooooo sick of those corporate vultures stealing my time and money! copy to customercare@voicestream.com
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| | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 06:37 am What ever happened with this?
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| | Tuesday, March 13, 2001 - 01:33 pm I discussed this a little in my long Small Claims experiences, and been so busy, but here it goes: The DAY after VoiceStream received the legal papers (I got the green card with their sig) they printed a check for $1,009. According to the postmark, they mailed it a few days later. A couple of weeks later, some customer service rep called me. I realized that he had NO clue what was going on, he just wanted me to say that I was satisfied with the $1,009. When I told him how despicable it was that I had to sue to get my deposit back, he claimed that the law suit had nothing to do with the refund. Supposedly they would have issued the check on that day anyway. Yeah right! I had no intention of wasting more time, got his e-mail address and put my thoughts in writing. I requested to be contacted by their legal department. I received no response, that was just before xmas. Mediation was on 2/14, a store manager from Phoenix made a 400 mile round trip. He had some printouts their legal department had provided to him. He insisted that I got a $70 credit on 8/19/2000. I did NOT get a copy, didn't even get to look at it. I handed my statement to the mediator, asked him what he thought. After a little coaxing he agreed that the $70 item on 8/19 was a debit. The store manager then insisted that the credit didn't show up until the following month. I wanted to know on what date, since my phoned and e-mailed requests for the subsequent statements had been ignored. They had screwed up the address when I had changed it to get my refund check. Besides, if there was a credit, where IS my check? So he called to find out when the credit was issued. He was on the phone at least 1/2 hour, could not get any info. It was pretty funny to hear him say "I am at the court house in mediation and really need ..." He finally gave up and explained that they recently changed their billing software and that's why they had problems accessing this "OLD" account. So then the mediator asked whether those $70 is all I want. "Can we settle this for $70?" I nearly fell of the chair. He didn't even suggest that VoiceStream pay my filing fees. That pissed me of tremendously. I offered to settle for $500. I KNOW I'm owed more than $70, because I still made payments after that 8/2000 bill. So then the store manager said he was authorized to settle for $250 only. I think that's a violation of the mediation rules, it clearly states that they must send someone who is authorized to settle. $250 is 10% of my claim. While they refunded $1,009 for my deposit, I don't think that limitation is appropriate. Why not send someone who is authorized to settle for $10? 2 cents? They obviously didn't send a decision maker. Also, the store manager brought a copy of my contract, and he pointed out the highlighted "no liability" clause. I was asking for reimbursement of expenses (interest, fees, etc.) due to their NOT refunding the deposit on time. The mediator suggested I'll get a lecture on contract law (no liability for damages) and I expect less than the $250 offered to settle. This is about MUCH more than money, it's about the fraudulent accounting that's apparently dominating cellular phone companies. (See GTE) The store manager assured me he would have my final statements sent to me. That was a month ago, got nothing yet. VoiceStream NEVER contacted me to settle. The court date is April 2, I think. Also, by posting this I may be violating the mediation rules. I had to sign a paper at the beginning of the meeting, but did NOT receive a copy. So I don't remember what I signed any more, my brain is no computer. I don't believe in secrecy. I think a class action against VoiceStream is in order. They do a lot of business in NM and AZ, and I find it HIGHLY unlikely that I'm the only one who's getting screwed. Unfortunately, most of the screwees are probably NOT on the net and don't speak much English. No matter WHAT happens in Court, I will be filing complaints against VoiceStream and ask that "somebody" order ALL their accounts audited. Fat chance, I know.
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| | Monday, April 02, 2001 - 09:01 pm Judge John Taylor dismissed my case. "WOW!!!" was my comment. I had expected at least a few bucks and my filing fees. Richard was there again, it looked like he had spent the weekend in town with company. Just about every time Richard opened his mouth he lied. I had actually spent 4 hours yesterday getting together credit card and bank statements and cancelled checks, making copies, etc. But Judge Taylor wasn't interested. He told me that the only expenses I was entitled to was certified mailing fees and phone fees. He wanted to see my phone bills or credit card statements with phone charges. I told him that I live on the road and use prepaid calling cards. I don't think people who live on the road rank very high with Judge Taylor. Richard stated that my balance is ZERO. He did NOT submit any evidence. I STILL don't have my final statement. *I* provided copies of the contract and highlighted the clause that states that deposits will be refunded within 75 days. I also provided my cancelled check for the final payment that was not accounted for. Richard stated that they had sent me another check. He provided a copy of it, it was for $70 and the date was 3/26/2001. Of course I don't have that check yet. If I remember that right, it was the only document submitted by Richard. I ordered the $17 tape and can pick it up in a couple of weeks. I don't want to misquote, so there will be some more details later. In the future, I might just not show up. Why waste my time? Well, it wasn't a total waste of time. At least I got an official document now proving how the laws and judges suck. Is Judge John Taylor too stupid to add? I don't think so. Judge Taylor didn't mind that Richard lied repeatedly. I had the documentation to PROVE that Richard lied right there. How can a judge be so corrupt? It can't be incompetence. Or can it? It was a long drive back. I re-evaluated what I had heard and hadn't believed about Kingman. I never believed the neighbors who told me how employees get screwed ROUTINELY by Arizona employers, and the employers always win the labor board disputes. Supposedly they have big raids and round up everybody with expired tags and outstanding warrants a couple times a year, but they ignore the drug dealing because they get their cut. I also didn't believe that they killed thousands of chinese laborers in the Kingman mines in the old days, instead of paying them. "The Chinese just disappeared ..." Kingman has the only Walmart I've ever been to where overnight parking is prohibited. Supposedly two guys got in an argument over the noise from the generator, one guy ended up dead. I KNOW that Kingman IS Timothy McVeigh country. I KNOW that the Kingman post-office refuses to install secure mailboxes because they get shot up. I could buy one for $1,600. I KNOW I'm very sorry for the poor people in this area, with little hope and few opportunities. And then I remembered that a San Bernardino County Superior Court judge ok'd the FNMA foreclosure while my client had made EVERY single mortgage payment. There is little justice, corruption and incompetence prevail everywhere. Lesson learned: File those law suits IMMEDIATELY. Don't waste 20 or 50 hours on phone calls and letter writing. I brought up the bad check law and Judge Taylor explained to me that AZ law gives merchants treble damages or the actual cost of collecting. He decided I don't deserve to get paid and my time has no value, heck even my MONEY has no value since I didn't even get the filing fees back. Is that because I'm NOT a merchant? Because I'm not a corporation? What happened to EQUAL RIGHTS? And, would anyone know how/where to file a complaint about Arizona Judge John Taylor?  I considered the implications. But if anyone can do it, it's me. I'm just passing through ... I'd like to at least document this ruling in case Judge Taylor gets nominated for the Supreme Court, slow down his career a little. I have no idea how to go about this and if it's possible at all, so any pointers will be much appreciated. I can't wait to see what happens with my request for a judgment against ARM Computer. I wonder if Judge Taylor reads here.
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