I'm wondering if I can legally sue a cell phone company for
denying me
service even though (a) I have always been a customer in
excellent standing
and (b) I am beyond the 2-year contract period.
Basically, here's what happened: I established a cell phone
account under my
name and SS number about three years ago. Sometime about a year
ago, my
employer offered to pay my bill because I was using the phone
primarily for
business. So they did--bills were still in my name and address,
but each
month the balance was transferred to an account owned by my
employer.
About two months ago, my employer terminated that benefit
abruptly and
without warning. At that point, my phone went dead--no service.
Since then,
I've been calling customer service at the cell phone company to
get my phone
turned back on, and they have been saying for about two months
that it will
take "about 5-6 business days". After weeks of this, one rep
said that there
was a "lock" placed on the account by my employer and that I had
to have my
employer unlock the account. Exasperated, I contacted my
employer's
cell-phone rep, and he released the hold on the account.
The cell-phone provider is still not turning on my phone. They
now say that
I have to establish a whole new account, undergo an entirely new
credit
check, etc.--but had I known that two months ago, I wouldn't
have waited!
Every time I contact them, it's a different story! I feel one
rep doesn't
know what the other said--and no one is stepping up to the
plate--and they
won't escalate this matter.
I do not want another inquiry on my credit report because one
should not be
necessary... Furthermore, if I need to undergo that then I'm not
sure I want
to stay with the same cell-phone company anyway if for any other
reason than
the way I've been treated by them. On the other hand, I have an
investment
in my cell-phone equipment, and I don't want to have to buy all
that again.
I think they want me to initiate another contact only so they
can lock me in
for another year or two--but this seems unfair. Just because my
employer
paid the bill for a while (the account was still in my name and
address even
while my employer was paying), it has always been my account...
I want to threaten to sue if my phone isn't reactivated without
another
credit-check and lock-in--but what realistic basis for a suit do
I have (if
any)? Can the cell phone provider deny me access if I own the
account and if
I have never had a late or unpaid bill?????? Is this
discrimination? Is it
legal for them to do this?
It seems to me that since you are beyond the contract period, the
company has the right to decline to activate your account. I
don't know this, I'm just telling you my guess, so don't rely on
it.
Anyway, what do you win if you win? The right to keep the same
provider? If this is the best provider in your area, go for it.
Make the threat and keep calling different reps until you get your
way. But other providers offer free phones when you sign up for
two years, right? And the other provider might be just as good
service-wise or better. And you have been itching to buy a better
phone, right? If all you really want is to start a fight because
you have been treated badly, maybe it would be best to kiss them
goodbye. Loss of a customer is the best punishment.
McGyver
