Why businesspeople on a budget shouldn't use Nextel – Don't pay any bill you can't afford to pay twi

I just wanted to publically say this.

I'm absolutely sick of nextel's billing system. I like their network, I like their phones, and their services. I'm tired of their inability to bill me properly.

So I would personally recommend that if you are not a nextel user, you don't become one. And not only that, you call Nextel's media relations at 703-433-4700, or write an email at media.relations@nextel.com and tell them why. Tell them that when they repeatedly double bill people, you'd never use their service.
Mention this post.

Now, I'll be able to do this like I've done several times in the past, and getting my bank and nextel on the phone to fix the double billing. I'm just sick of doing it. I'd leave but I'm on contract for another year and a half, and I otherwise like their service, especially direct connect.

I guess this is a call to arms, of sorts.

08/16/2004 VISA CHECKCARD DB-POINT OF SALE Debit   $306.00 
08/16/2004 VISA CHECKCARD DB-POINT OF SALE Debit   $306.00 
Current Balance:    -$5.55
Available Balance:    -$5.55

I'm in the red right now, and monday morning, I won't be able to use my debit card to get gas, food, lunch, or anything else, because nextel's system, where they claimed to have declined my card because my CVV2 didn't match, decided to later re-submit the charge without requiring the CVV2 to match, causing a double billing. This after I resubmitted a charge, when they claimed it didn't go through.
And if something else comes through, like all the checks I wrote for my other bills, they'll bounce, at $30 each, and each company expecting my checks to be worth the paper they're printed on will find it to be untrue through no fault of my own.
And it has the potential to affect my upcoming business trip. Hard to travel without money…..

This is absolutely unacceptable behavior from a corporation, and I refuse to tolerate it.

Dear Nextel Customer:

Thank you for using MyNextel to pay your bill. Your payment has been posted to your account.

Please keep this information for your records.

Nextel account number:: xxxxxxxxx
Date: Fri, 13 Aug, 2004 19:22:42 EST
Payment amount: $306.00
Payment method:: Credit Card
Confirmation number: xxxxxxxx

For more information about this transaction, call 1-800-639-6111.

Nextel, once this is rectified, and I don't just mean that my account is refunded, but that I am also properly compensated for my trouble (any bounced checks that might occur, etc), and the problem is fixed, and recieve an apology, I'd be happy to remove it.

Anyway, if you're with me, just click on the hyperlinked email address on this post and shoot off a quick email mentioning this post, preferably by linking to it (http://www.livejournal.com/users/noweb4u/242771.html), and saying that you've read it and think this is something they should be focusing their time on fixing. I'm not the only one this occurs to, but I'm in a good position to ask others to take action. I'm now looking into other business phone and internet providers (try it now) since I don't want this to affect my business. Could you?

5 thoughts on “Why businesspeople on a budget shouldn't use Nextel – Don't pay any bill you can't afford to pay twi”

  1. heh…sounds like the same exact thing that went thru many, many times. Even so far as to cause him something like $500 in overdraft charges 😛 Always resulting in him bending over, taking it in the ass, and forking over the money. Of course, its also a known fact thats he's a pansy and a pushover, undoubtedly accepting the first no he got on the phone. Hopefully you'll fare better than he..

    1. I've not tolerated it in the past, nor will i continue to tolerate it in the future.
      I've got the process of refund down to a science, but I'm just tired of doing it.
      Thanks for the wishes, you send an email?

  2. Sent to nextel and several people in my mail list…

    Dear Nextel,

    I used to be a custormer. Used to be.

    But your service was awful. My wife and I escaped from your clutches when our contracts mercifully expired and now we have the service of AT&T. Better service, better phones and better coverage.

    I was inspired to write this after reading this journal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/noweb4u/242771.html

    I'm glad to see that I am not the only dis-satisfied ex (or soon to be) customer you have had.

    Thank you for you time.

    John (realname)

    http://www.livejournal.com/users/mynameisnotreal/

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  3. I hate to say this, but I've had my Nextel for a couple of years now and I've never had a problem. Every month the same $63.43 gets deducted from my account automatically.

    1. I generally don't either. But I'm not comfortable with autobilling – it removes many of my options for recourse should a supplier of services decide they want to bill me for something they shouldn't, so I don't autobill anything.

      Like I said, I don't mind any other aspect of nextel, not even the part where I pay a ton for it. Paying a ton for it twice really pisses me off though. If this hasn't happened to me 3-4 times in the 4 years I've had their service, I'd have no complaint. I might not even have complaint if they only double billed me when I payed normally. But no, it's gotta be the time I paid $400 for a new phone and a deposit on a second subscriber, or the several times I've missed a monthly bill and caught up with it next time I was billed.

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