Print

Email story

Comment

Letter to the editor

Repeated concerns about Tracfone long go unanswered

By NANCY PARADIS
Published May 8, 2005

I purchased a Tracfone online Nov. 27. As it was a gift for my wife, it was activated Christmas Day.

The Tracfone is a pay-as-you-use-it cell phone. Calls from one's local calling area are charged one unit per minute; for those outside the area, there is a two-unit roaming charge per minute. Since activation, my wife's cell phone has always indicated that it's in roaming mode.

I called Dec. 27 to rectify this situation and was told it would be fixed in 24 to 48 hours. It was not fixed after 48 hours, although the Web site showed the problem was resolved. I sent an e-mail that this was not the case but got no response.

I called again Dec. 30 and was told it would be fixed in one week, that there was a problem with the antenna in our local calling area. Not satisfied with that response, I called again Dec. 31. I offered to return the phone and was told not to do so, that the problem would be fixed within six hours.

The phone still only works in roaming mode and my attempts to resolve this have failed. Thanks for your help.

-- James Etienne

Tracfone Wireless Inc. in Miami did not respond to either of our letters, sent Jan. 14 and April 5, the latter by certified mail, return receipt requested. It was signed for on April 8. We were pleased to learn from you that the problem has finally been resolved. We're glad we could help.

Complaint impossible to prove

My daughter recently went to a drugstore and purchased some items that came to $5.33. She gave the cashier a $20 bill and 33 cents in change. My daughter said the the cashier had just finished checking out another customer when she started ringing up her items but was still talking to that customer.

The cashier gave her a receipt without any change. My daughter did not leave the register and brought the money discrepancy to the cashier's attention. The cashier argued, saying that my daughter had given her the exact amount. My daughter called me on my cell phone at work and advised me of this. I told her to speak to the manager. He told her he would count the cash drawer while she was there, and my daughter in turn told me she would call me back in a few minutes.

My daughter told me she had three $20 bills in her purse when she entered the store and did not have any $5 bills. When she called back, she advised that the manager said that she could not have given the cashier a $20 bill and 33 cents because the register showed the drawer was $1 short. I asked to speak to the manager, who said he felt my daughter paid with the exact amount because she had given the exact amount of change. I told him it's my practice to give the exact amount of change in coins in order to get bills back and my daughter learned this from me. My daughter insisted she had twenties in her purse, but no $5 bills. I explained to the manager that her birthday was a few days before and I had given her $100 for her 15th birthday, so I knew she had $20 bills.

I asked the manager if he could check the register again later to see if the total was right, and he said he would check it at the end of the night. My daughter left her name and cell phone number and never heard another word. A day later, I called the district office to speak with the area or regional manager. I was told that someone would call me within 48 hours and never heard another word.

I had this same incident happen to me at a grocery store when I gave the cashier a a $20 bill and she thought I gave her a $10 bill and only gave me back a couple of dollars. This cashier argued with me, saying what she did and I did not do. Being an adult, I demanded she open the register and would not leave the line. When she opened the register, the $20 bill was on top of the $10 bills. Needless to say, she was highly embarrassed but could not admit she was wrong nor give an apology.

I feel there is a strong possibility that this is what happened (or the cashier is running some type of crooked scam) and being that my daughter is only 15 years old, I feel she handled it as best as she could. I can't seem to get the drugstore to respond to me but cannot let this easily be swept under the rug, as my daughter was out of $15 of her birthday money. Any assistance would be appreciated.

-- L. Harris

This is a classic example of what the Action staff refers to as a he said/she said situation - in other words, impossible to prove - and Action can therefore not become involved. Unfortunately, life is not always fair. Your daughter certainly showed maturity in how she handled the situation, however. Other than calling attention to a cashier of the amount of money being handed over at the time, it's hard to know how to avoid such occasional incidents. We have been told by cashiers that they do not put the money in the till until they have handed over the change precisely to avoid this kind of problem. It's a pity the cashier in question did not follow this practice.

Since you were told to expect a callback you never received, we suggest you write a letter. Address it to the manager of the store in question and copy the corporate office, if applicable. We'd love to find out if you get a response.

Action solves problems and gets answers for you. If you have a question, or your own attempts to resolve a consumer complaint have failed, write Times Action, P.O. Box 1121, St. Petersburg, FL 33731, e-mail action@sptimes.com or call your Action number, 727 893-8171, or, outside of Pinellas, toll-free 1-800-333-7505, ext. 8171, to leave a recorded request.

[Last modified May 5, 2005, 14:30:04]