DEAD - Hot Sprint Cellphone plan - Employee Friends and Family deal (SERO)

[fbrdphreak]

OK guys here's the latest info I got.

Called *2 and was told that you either had to fill out the form online or have the Sprint employee call Employee Accounts to convert the person's plan to SERO.

Called Employee Accounts (888-876-8381) to see about getting plan converted. She said that only the Sprint employee could call in or fill out a web form to convert the plan. So, it looks like no easy conversion.

What it looks like the best thing to do is order the phone & plan over SERO, receive it, activate it, and then call *2 to have them port you old number. While the Employee Accounts rep told me that wasn't possible, I verified very clearly with someone at *2 Customer Service that you can port the number from the old account. Just get the new account setup and call *2 to have them port the number & close the old account.

Also, for anyone in my specific situation:
My gf was out of contract and wanted a new phone, so we went into the store and renewed her contract & got a Katana. Well when I realized that this deal was still going (already did it for her sister), I started looking into this. Turns out she has 30 days to cancel her contract and renew her phone, which I assumed was 14, so we're going to order the new phone/contract and when it arrives, return the old phone/contract & have them port her number.

I'm out of contract so I'll be ordering as well (A920 baby!) and cancelling my existing account & porting number.

Sweet!!

 

[FlasHBurN]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
OK guys here's the latest info I got.

Called *2 and was told that you either had to fill out the form online or have the Sprint employee call Employee Accounts to convert the person's plan to SERO.

Called Employee Accounts (888-876-8381) to see about getting plan converted. She said that only the Sprint employee could call in or fill out a web form to convert the plan. So, it looks like no easy conversion.

What it looks like the best thing to do is order the phone & plan over SERO, receive it, activate it, and then call *2 to have them port you old number. While the Employee Accounts rep told me that wasn't possible, I verified very clearly with someone at *2 Customer Service that you can port the number from the old account. Just get the new account setup and call *2 to have them port the number & close the old account.

When you are checking out on the SERO page there is a option for porting your old number.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: FlasHBurN

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
OK guys here's the latest info I got.

Called *2 and was told that you either had to fill out the form online or have the Sprint employee call Employee Accounts to convert the person's plan to SERO.

Called Employee Accounts (888-876-8381) to see about getting plan converted. She said that only the Sprint employee could call in or fill out a web form to convert the plan. So, it looks like no easy conversion.

What it looks like the best thing to do is order the phone & plan over SERO, receive it, activate it, and then call *2 to have them port you old number. While the Employee Accounts rep told me that wasn't possible, I verified very clearly with someone at *2 Customer Service that you can port the number from the old account. Just get the new account setup and call *2 to have them port the number & close the old account.

When you are checking out on the SERO page there is a option for porting your old number.

Good to know, thanks

 

[fbrdphreak]

Placed an order for my gf & the A920, I'll probly be placing my own order by the end of the week, I'll post how long it takes to get the stuff

 

[fbrdphreak]

So according to the website, the order has shipped today; I'll confirm once we get the tracking number

 

[benlewis]

For $55 a month I get UNLIMITED Sprint in and out minutes, and UNLIMITED USA home Phone via Voicestick. I saw this post in a news group 3 months ago, and I treid it and it works. Hope Sprint does not stop the plan. ENJOY the following
=====================================

You can get UNLIMITED Sprint in and out minutes by doing the following:

Step 1 Go to www.****** and sign up for the USA/Canada plan @
$19.99 or the UNLIMITED Min. GLOBAL plan @ $24.99 or the per min plan @
2 cents

Step #2 Sign up for the cheapest Sprint phone program, which is the Fair
and Flexible at $29.99, then add the new Sprint to Home program for $5.00
a month.

Step #3 When you tell the Sprint agent your ?HOME? number give them your
new Voicestick home number
(Here is the trick. With Sprint to Home all calls to or from this "Home"
number are not
chargeable and they are unlimited!)

Step #4 In your account set up at ****** go to the bridge set up
and put in your cell number and then go to call forwarding and set up
your cell phone number there too.

****** is the ONLY Cellular capable voip company that has a built
in bridge, that I have found.What the bridge does is allow you to get a
new dial tone to call out on UNLIMITED VOIP (or a pay as you go plan for
2 cents a min.) When I call my new "home" Voicestick number the VOIP
company sees my caller ID and gives me a dial out tone. I then dial like
normal. (You can even program voice stick into the address book of the
phone)My person I call sees the voip number on their caller id and when
they call back to my new "home" number it forwards to my cell.

So both out going and incoming calls are now free of Sprint charges.

Options: I also bought for $30 the MG3 line adapter so I also get a
second line at my home that the kids now use.
I also downloaded the free Soft Phone so I use that too when I can't find
a good cell signal but I find a network or wireless connection (I am now
covered just about anywhere)

To sum it all up! For my $35 basic Sprint plan and the $20 for voip, I
have unlimited cell and a unlimited home phone.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I have no need for VoIP, but it looks like AT censored out the website name, try re-typing it or breaking up the spaces so we can see the site

 

[fbrdphreak]

BTW still no shipping information but the account is apparently activated and she has her new number. Waiting on that shipping...

 

[fbrdphreak]

Update from what I posted in OT, goddamn Fedex:

Placed order with InPhonic for her new Sprint plan and A920. It ships, says it is shipping from MD. Supposed to be delivered today. Check tracking today and it says it is out for delivery in MD. Call them, they don't know why it is out for delivery in MD, they try to stop the delivery. Up until this point, the "Destination" is shown as Raleigh, NC. It was delivered to Upper Marlboro, MD and signed by "AWINSTEAD," despite the fact that the name and shipping address should be on the fvcking box!!!

How the hell does this sh!t happen? Do they look at the box? Did something just slap the wrong goddamn shipping label on the box in the distribution center or some sh!t?

That is just fvcking bullsh!t, now we've got to dick with InPhonics about getting another phone sent out. Holy mother of god

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Wow, that sucks. My order was just approved by Sprint and the phone (went with the A900) is shipping, so hopefully they don't botch mine too. No tracking information yet, though.

Good luck!

 

[fbrdphreak]

Update (already!): Apparently 541 packages at that distribution center in MD got assigned the same tracking number. Supposedly all the packages are back at the distribution center now and they are overnighting the package to the proper address. We'll see....

 

[fbrdphreak]

Update 2: So my gf can't communicate, and what actually happened is Fedex f-ed up and send her phone to the return address on the box, i.e. back to InPhonic. The InPhonic guy she was talking to realized this and it happened with a bunch of other phones they sent out too. So once they find her phone, they're going to send it out again overnight.

 

[aimanzym]

good deal, but i prefer cingular.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Still no decent Family plan.

 

[kindest]

wow why did i never sign up on this before.. ive had sprint for over 2 years... paying a month to month price.. guess ill have to start reading this massive thread.

i hate calling people (ironic i know) so hopefully it can all be done on the sero website.

 

[GTFan]

Originally posted by: aimanzym
good deal, but i prefer cingular.

I like fish!

(That makes two more useless posts in this thread.)

 

[kindest]

the treo 700wx isnt on the friends and family signup.. guess ill wait till it is.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Update 3: FYI to everyone, every CS rep at Inphonic's 1-800-# is a foreigner and most have the competence of a gerbil. After explaining to like 5 different reps the Fedex situation and getting a supervisor, I finally got them to send another phone out today instead of waiting several days for them to process receiving the previous phone. Well after explaining like five times to the supervisor that I wanted another phone and not another plan or line, he said he would just send a phone only. This morning my gf found she was charged another $135 or whatever for the phone, and another phone & SERO plan appeared on her order number with Inphonic. Oh brother. Called them again, talked to a woman (The women there seem to be more helpful than the men, FYI), and after more negotiatiing the language barrier we cleared up the situation, ensured the new phone would ship overnight, the previous SERO plan & phone # were cancelled, and as soon as they process the 1st phone that was returned they will call us to confirm we are getting the refund. She confirmed we are getting a refund regardless, but I want a call when they actually get the phone and go to process the refund. We'll see how that works

Anyway, we just got the Fedex tracking # for the new phone, let's hope Fedex can avoid fvcking up our stuff this time.

 

[dschmierer]

I was able to successfully get the SERO plan through the website even though I am an existing Sprint customer. What it does is sign you up for another line (as long as you use the same name / SS# as the existing Sprint account), but porting the number using the website doesn't work. Once I got the new phone on the SERO line I called to try to have them port the number from my old line and terminate the line. I had to talk to a few different CSRs before they finally understood what I was trying to do. Finally I was transferred to a very nice American woman who knew exactly what she was doing. It was a little more complicated than just porting the number because I guess they can't have the same number on two different Sprint lines at the same time. So she had to first terminate the old line, then call the "Help Desk" and have them pull out the number and reserve it and then she gave that number to my new line. She did this all while I waited and it took a total of about 20 minutes.

Of course it would have been easier to just switch to SERO directly, but I was unable to find a CSR who was willing to do that when I tried. So that was my experience, I hope other people have similar success.

 

[rsharifi]

this is a crazy hot deal... unfortunately, i signed a new 2yr contract with sprint less than two months ago and can't get any CSR to switch me to this plan :|

does this deal expire? a few months down the road, it might be worth the $200 in term fees to switch over.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: dschmierer
I was able to successfully get the SERO plan through the website even though I am an existing Sprint customer. What it does is sign you up for another line (as long as you use the same name / SS# as the existing Sprint account), but porting the number using the website doesn't work. Once I got the new phone on the SERO line I called to try to have them port the number from my old line and terminate the line. I had to talk to a few different CSRs before they finally understood what I was trying to do. Finally I was transferred to a very nice American woman who knew exactly what she was doing. It was a little more complicated than just porting the number because I guess they can't have the same number on two different Sprint lines at the same time. So she had to first terminate the old line, then call the "Help Desk" and have them pull out the number and reserve it and then she gave that number to my new line. She did this all while I waited and it took a total of about 20 minutes.

Of course it would have been easier to just switch to SERO directly, but I was unable to find a CSR who was willing to do that when I tried. So that was my experience, I hope other people have similar success.

That is what one Sprint CSR told me to do. Just order the phone, get a new line of service, call them when you get the phone, and port the number. Glad to hear it worked

Update on my situation, read previous update:

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
Update 3: FYI to everyone, every CS rep at Inphonic's 1-800-# is a foreigner and most have the competence of a gerbil. After explaining to like 5 different reps the Fedex situation and getting a supervisor, I finally got them to send another phone out today instead of waiting several days for them to process receiving the previous phone. Well after explaining like five times to the supervisor that I wanted another phone and not another plan or line, he said he would just send a phone only. This morning my gf found she was charged another $135 or whatever for the phone, and another phone & SERO plan appeared on her order number with Inphonic. Oh brother. Called them again, talked to a woman (The women there seem to be more helpful than the men, FYI), and after more negotiatiing the language barrier we cleared up the situation, ensured the new phone would ship overnight, the previous SERO plan & phone # were cancelled, and as soon as they process the 1st phone that was returned they will call us to confirm we are getting the refund. She confirmed we are getting a refund regardless, but I want a call when they actually get the phone and go to process the refund. We'll see how that works

Anyway, we just got the Fedex tracking # for the new phone, let's hope Fedex can avoid fvcking up our stuff this time.

Update #4: They sent out the phone alright, but via Ground not Overnight. And the tracking says it is still in Maryland, not anywhere near NC, but apparently they don't update the Ground Home Delivery tracking very often so that doesn't mean anything. I can't confirm the phone's actual location because the Home Delivery people are closed today, they operate Tues-Sat. I will be calling in the morning to confirm the phone's location. Hopefully it will be here tomorrow!

I got fed up with InPhonic's HORRIBLE customer service and non-English-speaking outsourced crap, so I got on the phone and demanded the corporate complaint number. They wouldn't give it to me, but I gave them my order number and connected me to someone at the corporate office, a manager. Yay American!!

Camile(SP?) was much more helpful, but not terribly understanding. I had to explain to her the merits of her company's terrible CS for her to explain why the situation was so terrible and she didn't ever really apologize. However I did ask for and receive a car charger for my gf's phone, which she needed; I tried to get one for the phone I'm going to order, but no go. Still, it was nice to talk to an American and I got the corporate office phone number as well as the official e-mail address for complaints. All of these people work in the "office of the president." Anyway, for anyone who has trouble with Inphonic:

Corporate complaint number: 1-800-444-9543
Corporate complaint e-mail: officeofthepresident@inphonic.com

Good luck!

 

[dschmierer]

I think the current expiration for the promotion is listed as 12/31/2006. But I think there's a good chance they'll extend it because I think before they had it expiring 6/30/2006 but clearly that never happened.

If I were you I wouldn't give up on calling and trying to get them to switch you over, you might just get lucky. Otherwise, if you're going to bite the bullet and take the $200 ETF the sooner you do it, the sooner you'll start to save money and recoup your losses.

 

[ZetaEpyon]

Well, my A900 arrived yesterday -- right on time according to what had been listed on the site. I'm happy with it so far.

 

[rsharifi]

Originally posted by: dschmierer
I think the current expiration for the promotion is listed as 12/31/2006. But I think there's a good chance they'll extend it because I think before they had it expiring 6/30/2006 but clearly that never happened.

If I were you I wouldn't give up on calling and trying to get them to switch you over, you might just get lucky. Otherwise, if you're going to bite the bullet and take the $200 ETF the sooner you do it, the sooner you'll start to save money and recoup your losses.

i've tried at least a dozen times, gotten close, but no go. don't have much leverage when they know you're locked in for 2 yrs. i would just bit the bullet now, only prob is that if i cancel within 6 mo, i owe the retailer an add'l $150 since i got the phone free. so, at a min, i need to wait 6 mo from date of purchase.

current plan i have with corp disc is pretty good, though i'm lacking the unlimited vision, which is key.

 

[imported_TheRooster]

I know there were a few sprint folk around here long ago when I was checking this thread regularly and I want to try and switch my current sprint plan to a SERO plan. I've read a few places that they are getting tough on those who switch plans in regards to the actually reference. Would any employee mind PM'ing me a good reference to use when calling?

Thanks