How Virgin Mobile Turned a Customer into an Enemy
This spring when my Verizon contract expired I ported my number to Google Voice and tried taking calls from Google Talk. After a few weeks I was basically happy with this arrangement for most of my needs. I only lacked coverage on the road--mostly for navigation or emergencies. After some research I decided to try a pre-paid Android phone, the LG Optimus V. On June 11 I ordered one from Virgin Mobile's website. I selected the option for priority shipping which added $11.99 to my $199.99 phone for a total of $221.98 (including a $10 tax). I received an email from Virgin Mobile that stated: Your order should arrive in 1-2 business days if sent by FedEx or 3-5 business days if sent by FedEx Ground.
On June 15 the phone hadn't arrived so I called their support line and inquired when to expect it. I was told two days. On June 17 their online order tracker indicated it was still "pending". I called again, and was told there were "weather delays" and that it should ship soon.
On June 20 I could see the order was still stuck at "pending" and I needed to leave town and didn't want to risk having the phone delivered while I was gone. I also needed mobile navigation service for my travels. I called Virgin Mobile a third time and asked to cancel the order. I was transferred to "Pam in Tech Support" who said she would "try" to cancel my order, but couldn't promise anything.
I went to the Radio Shack in Harrisonburg, VA and bought the same phone a few hours later, and had it activated with Virgin Mobile before leaving the store. Then I kept an eye on the Virgin Mobile website tracker for the next week until the order appeared in a "cancelled" state. I thought my problems were over, but I was wrong.
On July 28, more than five weeks after cancelling, I receive an email from Virgin Mobile telling me that my order had shipped and my credit card had been charged. I was in Maine when that message arrived, about 800 miles from home, and unable to accept it. Worse, my bank account didn't have $221.98 in it. I'd already used those funds to buy the phone at retail because Virgin Mobile couldn't deliver on their promise of having it to me in 1-2 business days (in fact 34 business days elapsed).
I wrote back to their email and insisted that they refund the money to my account (I was able to electronically transfer enough in time to avoid the NSF fees my bank would have levied). Virgin Mobile responded that my order wasn't cancelled and that I was responsible for it. They said that I can return it for a refund, but that I am liable for the shipping costs.
Virgin Mobile expects me to pay for their mistakes. I absolutely refuse. I have contacted my bank to have the charges reversed. I have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. I have already warned Virgin Mobile that these would be the consequences of not fixing their mistake.
I'm also cancelling the service on the phone I bought at Radio Shack. I refuse to do business with a company that treats its customers so poorly. At this point the lost $221 is nothing. I'm prepared to spend a few thousand more in small claims court to get justice. I see the Virgin Mobile USA headquarters is in Warren, NJ and I also plan to contact the New Jersey attorney general about fraud charges.
This is how Virgin Mobile transformed a customer into an enemy:
1) Their online store didn't tell me I was ordering an item that was out of stock. A simple database query could have avoided this entire debacle to start and I'd still be a happy customer.
2) After accepting my order they made a written promise about delivery time that they failed to meet. I probably could have forgiven them a week delay and still wound up thinking of myself as a pretty happy customer.
3) The first two customer service representatives I spoke with gave me further false information about when to expect fulfillment. I'm pretty sure the "weather delays" excuse was a deliberate lie. Fool me once, shame on me...
4) Pam in Tech Support apparently failed to cancel my order as requested. It really shouldn't be this hard to delete an item from a database. They had no problems taking my order online, surely they could just as easily remove it? With this now I begin to suspect deliberate fraud, and probably can't be a happy customer ever again.
5) Virgin Mobile activated the very same phone I'd ordered from them just hours after I called in my cancellation. Then they shipped me the same phone 5 weeks later. Their records and support call logs should clearly indicate that the order was cancelled. Virgin Mobile lied and claims my order was not cancelled when their online order tracking very clearly showed me it was cancelled over a month ago. No matter how much they insist otherwise, I know what my experience was.
6) Virgin Mobile failed to recognize their multiple mistakes and failed to offer any adequate remedy to multiple email and phone complaints from me along the way. They expect me to pay for their mistakes. There is nothing in business that is more damaging to a customer's sense of fairness. When you ask a customer to pay for your mistakes, you turn that customer into an enemy who may not just walk away.
Google Voice gave me an easy way to get the date and timestamps (EDT) of my calls to Virgin Mobile's support number, for the record:
I really don't want to be an enemy, even as I'm pretty sure I can't be a customer at all now. Virgin Mobile has the power to fix all this, by refunding my money and, if they want their phone back, sending me a pre-paid shipping label. I won't even charge them for my time shipping. It might cost them $20. The education I'm offering them here is worth a lot more than that, I think.
Update: My complaint to the Better Business Bureau was forwarded to Sprint and they resolved this to my satisfaction, by sending me a return label and refunding my money on August 23.
Mike Lewinski
Stanley, Virginia
August 4, 2011
