a thousand furnished rooms

The first person I spoke with, a Candace, employee number 1725431, said that they had no way of regenerating a bill, and by the time the next bill came out, it would be referred to collections. Well, I said, please talk to Carsia Johnson at 877 290 6323, x8029, and she can explain the arrangement we came to.

No dice again.

So I asked to speak to a supervisor, Mike, employee number 1725778, and he said the same thing, more or less. I impressed on him that this had been resolved, that Carsia Johnson agreed to have a final bill sent out, and I asked him again to contact her. I tried, several times, to read the phone number to him, but he refused to take it. Instead, he went to some lengths to find her email, but couldn't. I offered the phone number again; he refused. I said that under no circumstances would I accept this being sent to collections, but he said repeatedly that he had no control over when and how accounts are sent to collections. I said this was impossible, but he insisted. (More on this later, as it turned out to be false.)

So I said, ok, you're not going to call Carsia Johnson, so I will, and I picked up another phone and called her with him listening. I explained that he was demanding payment and threatening collections, despite the agreement she and I reached before, and I needed to hear from her as soon as possible. When I hung up, poor Mike was frothing. I had lied. He never threatened collections. But of course he had, saying that if the bill was not paid it would be sent to collections. That, my friend, is threatening collections.

So after a not so veiled threat from Mike, employee #1725778, ("If you are going to lie, maybe we should meet"), he hung up the phone. I burst out laughing at his threat, and asked him if he were threatening me, but he hung up before he could answer. So I called Carsia Johnson back and updated her on the new angle to this story.

In the first entry, I wrote, "When does shoddy customer service become abuse?" I think I know the answer to that question now.

This is just silly, really. Not only do these people not talk to each other, but they refuse to talk to each other. So, remembering how everyone I spoke to before had a different spin on the policies and the facts, I decided to call and talk to a different payments supervisor. This time I got an incredibly helpful guy, Bill (maybe it's the name), employee #1724182. I gave him the story, explained that I was waiting on a final printed bill, and my main concern was this idea of the account being referred to collections. No problem, Bill tells me (emphasis mine), you just have to set up a payment plan with as little as ten dollars up front, and the account will not be referred. (This after being told by Mike repeatedly that "he had no control over when and how accounts are sent to collections." Moreover, Bill told me, the new bill would then be generated tonight, and I could review it before paying the final balance.)

So I happily agreed to pay $100 today by credit card, and would pay the balance (another $150 or so upon receipt of the bill). Done deal (for now!).

One interesting detail emerged though, which tells me again how slipshod T-Mobile is at articulating and applying their policies. Part of the balance due is from a charge back that I insisted American Express make because T-Mobile had charged my credit card after I told them to stop charging my card. You might remember that the first person never told me the charging would continue. The second person told me that it can take 60 days for EasyPay to stop charging your credit card. Bill told me today, flatly, that T-Mobile should have immediately stopped charging my credit card. Bill is a supervisor, and the other two weren't, so I have to assume he knows the rules a little better. Why the three views of the same policy, and all so different?

So I have a call back into Carsia Johnson. No return call yet. I hope the remaining billing goes as agreed to today with Bill, but, gosh, who knows.

I will keep you up to date.

UPDATE: I got a call from a senior person today who promised to be my point of contact until this gets resolved. I expect a final bill shortly, which I will then pay. I will then request a letter explaining that all commitments have been met, nothing more is owed, etc, etc.

What a lot of grief...