293 views
New Reviewer
0 comments

I got on Assurance Wireless, I think, in Feb. '14 (now July '14). If you haven't been able to, I suggest you find another phone service provider, anyway, for your own sanity--if there is an honest one to be found. Assurance is not.

My first month, I had to top-up my account $5. The second month they took that as license to raid the pre-paid card I had on file with them for $5 at the FIRST of the month, rather than wait until I'd burned my 250 free minutes and deliberately topped my account up. When I called and told them absolutely no way, they refused to restore my funds. I phoned and screamed at one of their Filipino "customer service" reps; he basically laughed and said tough luck, once we've stolen it we don't give it back. They finally refunded it when I thanked them for selling me the (*piece of ****) phone that comes free with the account, for that $5--that they were not getting it back when I cancel. If it cost them $5, I'll be surprised, but that did it; they restored my money. As a "one time courtesy." BUT:

For a couple of months in a row, I got by with the 250 free minutes; it's kind of a challenge, but I can do it if I can avoid phoning Humana (avoid them at all costs, too--THEY only pretend to offer customer service.) Last month I had to bump up my account again; my account page on Assurance's website ALREADY says that they take that to mean that they can now charge me $5, again, at the BEGINNING of the month, every month, which takes away the 250 free minutes that is a promised part of their "plan". I don't currently have a top-up card on file with them, so this morning they had the gall to send me a text demanding that I top up my account!

I'm almost out of minutes and it's four days until my new 250 free minutes; I will not spend $5 for four days, on principle. But if I did--and there is a $10 top-up card within arms reach right now--they would steal the other $5 at the beginning of my next plan month--which is supposed to be the 9th, but they somehow always delay until midmorning the 10th. Wonder how many extra 10-cent minutes they trap people into that way?

At any rate, I literally can't trust ASSurance Wireless with $5, and I've told their offshore customer service reps so, which means absolutely nothing. And I am sure it is by clever design that Virgin Mobil, who owns ***., doesn't sell $5 top-up cards; minimum $10. You literally HAVE TO trust them with at least $5 every time you buy a top-up card, and you literally can't.

The SECOND thing about Assurance Wireless that disgusts me disgusts me about all of American capitalism: they only pretend to offer customer service. When you phone them you get a Filipino or Columbian or ??? to whom English might be a second, third, or fourth language, whom, in my experience, maybe 80, 90 percent of the time, either can't understand you or whom you can't understand, or both, often largely because of an accent that is rendered even more undecipherable by the horrid speaker in ***.' cheap little phones. (Which you can replace for $5 at Target, but I don't know yet if that's actually a better phone. You CANNOT use a smart phone with ***.--at least not without spending more?)

ASSURANCE WIRELESS HAS NO ONSHORE CUSTOMER SERVICE. If you can't understand the person 10,000 miles away, who really knows very little about the company he/she "represents," with whom cultural differences prevent really effective communication about occasionally complex matters, anyway, THEY CAN'T CONNECT YOU TO ONSHORE CUSTOMER SERVICE, BECAUSE THERE IS NONE. They can't connect you to anyone in the U.S. (or even Canada) who speaks intelligible English, and who has answers to your questions, or at least access to someone who, after two or three hours on hold being bombarded by the same ad every three minutes, and horrid muzak made worse by *** speakers, can connect you to someone who after more hours on hold can connect you to someone who might have answers to your question. At 2 cents a minute that adds up. At 10 cents a minute it's simple thievery. (And I could be talking about Humana, too. More so. Way.)

Never under any circumstances trust ANY of these phone companies with your credit card number, any part of your social security number, or with more than the smallest top-up card you can buy. Until proven innocent, assume that they will all steal from you at any opportunity.

Their "customer service"? It's a joke. It's literally pretend customer service, using some of the poorer people on the planet solely because they will work for--$2 a day?--so that corporations can spend the least amount possible to offer the absolute minimum customer service required by law. I am in deep sympathy with the world's poor. But we need jobs here, too, and meaningful customer service means that the people serving the customers need be able to communicate with them. That is not happening with the current system, which is set up solely to maximize profits--in this case, I assume, for Virgin Mobil? AND THE FACT THAT THIS IS BASICALLY A TAX MONEY (sorry for yelling, but you don't give me italics to write with) the fact that this is tax money makes a small treason, offshoring jobs during a recession, a larger treason.

The congresspeople who voted to give corporations tax credits for offshoring jobs committed a much larger act of treason.

As you've gathered, I am more than a little pissed with Humana, too; I've filed complaints (which probably mean nothing, our government being basically owned by the corporations (isn't that one definition of fascism?)) with two federal and one state agencies--the FCC, about their phone practices, the Federal Trade Commission, and my State Consumer Protection whatever, and I still don't have an answer to a simple question I asked 3 1/2 months ago. Tomorrow I'm writing to my congressional rep, and cc-ing the rest of my states' delegation. I'm going to mail hard copy, include transcripts of all of my emails with Humana (which also seem to be answered by people who don't really quite speak English, or know the answers to the simplest of questions, and who can't be bothered to find out), and demand that they do something about it. If they don't, bcc every editor of every news whatever in the country, then start with the BBC and work my way east.

And I mean ask my congresspersons how they voted on the legislation that gave American corporations tax credits for offshoring jobs during a recession.

And then I'm going to do the same, talk to my reps, file complaints with whatever agencies will take them, for Assurance Wireless. And talk with a public-service law firm and see if they're interested. And maybe go to the media anyway. And generally make a pain in the *** of myself until something changes.

AND once I have whatever legal/media processes I can get going, going, I'm going to dump both in the dustbin marked, 'worst mistakes ever," and find other service providers--if there are any honest ones to be found.

What's stopping you? If it's just me it's nothing. If it's everyone who is "mad as ***, and not gonna take it anymore," it might mean something. And if not, in the age of instantaneous electronic communications, we hardly need "representatives" to pander to the corporations while barely even pretending to serve the constituents who elected them and who pay their salaries, anymore.

Had It.

Monetary Loss: $10000.

Location: Portland, Oregon

Do You Have Something To Say ?
Write a review

Comments

chat-icon

Please avoid publishing any personal information and promotional content

You will be automatically registered on our site. Username and password will be sent to you via email.
Post Comment

Assurance Wireless Reviews

  1. 555 reviews
  2. 241 reviews
  3. 115 reviews
  4. 81 reviews
  5. 108 reviews
Assurance Wireless reviews