Cricket

Before we purchased the modem and Internet service, this company's store in Blue Springs, Mo., showed us a map of coverage that promised coverage almost every step of the way from Kansas City to Seattle.  We got excellent coverage when we tested it in Kansas City.  We never managed connect anywhere else on the whole trip.

When we returned to Kansas City, we discovered that the coverage map we were erroneously shown was for telephone service, not Internet service.  Internet coverage was extremely limited.  We took the modem back and asked for a refund.  The store in Blue Springs, Mo., refused because we were past the 30-day refund period.  We explained that our return was delayed because my mother died over Christmas.  I was told to take it up with the parent store in Independence, Mo.  The manager at the Independence store denied any responsibility for errors made by the Blue Springs store and threatened to call police if I did not leave.

I contacted Cricket corporate headquarters and the FCC.  After months of effort on our part, Cricket responded:
"We determined Mr. Armstrong bought the Cricket service and modem from an indirect dealer.  Please be advised that indirect Cricket dealers are independent from Cricket.  Though these dealers sell and advertise Cricket products and services, they are an independent business apart from Cricket.  While Cricket provides guidelines to the independent dealers for pricing, policy and procedure, it has limited control over which guidelines the dealers choose to implement.  Because of the independent contractual arrangement between Cricket and its dealers, Cricket does not refund for equipment purchased at a dealer location."

In other words, the gobbledegook answer from top to bottom was that no one takes responsibility.

I?ve gone to their stores to pay my bills but they said I have to go to a corporate store and pay with cash. Each time I go to the corporate store they add $3 to the bill because I use my debit card and I don?t bring in cash. They never told me I had to pay by cash when I signed up. I was only with them for a couple of months. There was a lot of static on my phone.