Should I get a refund?

I am totally confused at this point.

I paid my account balance, $135.22, in full on 10/24 (which was the due date for the bill). I accidentally paid the same amount on 11/3 not remembering that I had already paid it. I did this because the sprint website said I still had a balance for $135.22 so I made the payment. Turns out, the balance on the website was for the next billing period, and it just happened to be the exact same amount for two months.

I called customer service to see if I could get a refund for the early payment and they told me no and said that it would just be applied to the next bill.

I cancelled my sprint account a few hours after all of that (on 11/3) because i switched to VZW. I had fulfilled my contract so no ETF. When I cancelled, the rep I spoke to said I would receive a refund and it would be processed and paid out at the end of the month.

I just got off the phone with Sprint CS and am beyond upset at this point. I was escalated to a supervisor who told me that my balance was $0.00. He said the payment I made on 11/3 (for the bill due on 11/24) was for activity between 10/01 - 10/31. I asked about Sprint billing a month in advance initially (that first bill is always huge) and he told me "They have to do that to get you in the system." I asked how I could not possibly have a refund if I had paid my bill every month as due and he told me, "They have to bill you for more than a month to get you in the system, but you won't receive a refund."

How can a company charge you for 13 months but only give you 12?

Sorry this post is so long. I just hope someone with more knowledge about Sprint's billing system can explain this to me!

Okay, let me see if I understand this correctly.

Did you cancel in the middle of a billing cycle? I understand that you may have been finished with your contract, but was it mid-cycle?

If so, you're out of luck with your money regardless.. Taken from Sprint's Terms & Conditions directly...

"Monthly service charges are not refunded or prorated if service is terminated or modified before your billing cycle ends."

"Your Right To Terminate Services
You can terminate Services at any time by calling us and requesting that we deactivate all Services. You're responsible for all charges billed or incurred prior to deactivation. If Services are terminated before the end of your invoicing cycle, we won't prorate charges to the date of termination and you won't receive a credit or refund for any unused Services. Except as provided above, you must also pay us an Early Termination Fee for each line of Service that you terminate early. "

PCS Terms & Conditions

OK...that sucks, but at least someone was able to explain it logically to me.

What frustrates me is that none of the 6 people I spoke to, including an escalation supervisor, were able to just tell me that? And furthermore, when I cancelled, why did the rep tell me I would receive a refund?

The bill I have now is as follows:
Bill Period = Oct01 - Oct31
Bill Date = Nov04, 2009
Due = Nov24

So even though it says 10/01 - 10/31, is this still "a month in advance?"

I am confused as your billing date and amount. Why don't you go look at last few statements again and get balance right. It's correct that you are billed (bill date and due date are different) for service in advance.

I can't log on to Sprint's website to view past bills because my account is closed :(

However, I can give you the last 2 bills at least:

Bill Date: 11/4/09 (when it was printed/sent)
Bill Period: 10/01 - 10/31
Due: 11/24/09
Amount: $135.22

Bill Date: 10/04/09
Bill Period: 9/01 - 9/30
Due 10/24/09 *EDIT*
Amount: $135.22

Well here is what I know if it...

Despite your billing period being 10/1 - 10/31, you are actually paying for the service you will "be" using, which in theory, makes you a "pre-paid" customer but are considered a "post-paid" customer.

Regardless, Sprint can get away with calling the billing perion 10/1 - 10/31 because they are looking for things that you did, such as overages, downloads, other "added" charges that are not normally there.

It sucks, I know, but it's the way it is with Sprint.



HOWEVER...

Based on Sprint's theory... If Sprint is simply saying that the service was for activity between 10/1 and 10/31, then you actually have another bill coming for the activity between 11/1 and 11/3. Since you have a $0.00 balance, it's true that you actually paid a month in advance and the reps you talked to were mis-informed...

Check your PM...I sent you something...

Thanks, and I got your PM. I'll call them in a few minutes and let you know about the outcome.

It's funny...I asked the supervisor I spoke to how I had a zero balance if my billing period ended 10/31 and I cancelled 11/3 and his exact response was, "Do you WANT me to send you a bill for those days?" I told him of course not, but that Sprint couldn't possibly be giving me anything for free. I'm sure it was and advance billing issue with no prorated amount for the final month.

So this is correct.


Bill Date: 10/04/09
Bill Period: 9/01 - 9/30 (for over usage within this period)
You prepaid for for monthly service 10/01 to 10/31
Due 9/24/09 *********** I think you mean 10/24 here.
Amount: $135.22
You paid this on 10/24

You paid another $135.22 on 11/3 as credit

Bill Date: 11/4/09 (when it was printed/sent)
Bill Period: 10/01 - 10/31 (for over usage within this period)
You prepaid for for monthly service 11/01 to 11/30
Due: 11/24/09
Amount: $135.22 (Paid 11/3)

So your actual bill should be 3 days of $135.22 = $13.52

Your credit should be $121.70

I think the confusion is your credit doesn't show until your next billing cycle on 12/4/09

The 12/4 statedment should should the 27 days of unused service. But until then, the computer doesn't show that.

That was the way I thought it should work, BUT in Sprint's TOS, it says that they will not prorate the last month.

Miller time:
THANK YOU SO MUCH! I called them, spoke to a lady who couldn't be nicer who listened to me until I was done with my entire story. She said that their terms do state no proration for the last month, but told me to dispute the charge with Mastercard, they would open a case, and she would make sure I received a credit for the last month as a courtesy for all of the hassle and misinformation I was given. She gave me a case number, her full name, two numbers where she could be reached, and told me she would follow up with me by email weekly until it was resolved.

Ah, perfect!

I've had to deal with them a few times, simply because there were some issues I had where regular customer support couldn't help me (though, they tried). I now have a personal account rep that I work with (due to the number of lines I have) in case of any issues.

I do hope they resolve it to your satisfaction... Looks like they will, though. Their follow-up is second to none, for sure.

Let me know how it goes!

Yeah, I already got an email from her telling me that she would be in contact weekly.

Thanks again