UPDATE:
I just received a call from Ayesha at Wind Mobile- from the “Office of the President”. She spent most of the call re-iterating their policies to me, and suggesting that i’m lying about calling in before the 14 day window.
She then mentioned that they had plans on beefing up the coverage in my brothers area, and if I was willing to come back as a customer, they would offer me a $100 credit towards my account.
I declined.
Hello Michael,
As a follow up to our conversation today, the reference ID for our conversation is CXXXXXXXX. We will be investigating further and I will touch base with you soon with regards to reaching a mutual resolution to this matter.
We sincerely appreciate your patience and cooperation with regards to this matter.
Regards,
Ayesha S Office of the President
My brother is autistic.
He’s pretty high functioning as far as autism goes, but he still struggles with his disability on a daily basis (whether he’s fully aware of it or not). He can do a lot of stuff on his own- he can navigate the transit system better than most, he can feed himself (for the most part), and do many of the things average people do.
My brother moved from Vancouver to Toronto to come and live with me after our mother passed away in 2009; there was really nowhere else for him to go, so in one of her last lucid moments, I promised my mom that I would take care of him.
A large part of taking care of him was getting him registered for ODSP (Ontario Disability Services Plan), and with DSO (Development Services Ontario) in the hopes of getting him moved out on his own so he could be as independent as possible. Part of that independence was developing a budget that he could stick to, so that all his bills were covered, whether I was around to help or not.
One of his monthly expenses is his cell phone. The only other person my brother talks to besides me, is our sister in California- but they talk a LOT, and it’s good for both of them, as his autism makes it hard for him to connect with people, so family and familiarity is really good for him.
So I started the research. I considered Rogers, Fido, and Wind Mobile- Wind immediately stood out because they had unlimited plans for voice, text, and data, and they had a $10/mo add-on that would let my brother call my sister in the US. Unlimited is good, because my brother isn’t going to remember to limit himself, and he can’t afford to get stuck with crazy over-usage charges at the end of each month- he HAS to stick to his budget.
According to the Wind coverage map, they were well covered in his area (as well covered as the Toronto downtown core), and the “Windtab” option sounded great, because he could get a “good” phone without having to pay for the whole thing up front. So we decided Wind was the way to go- and so he started saving up. My brother only has an extra $50 every month, so it took him five months to save up enough to get the phone he wanted, and to pay for the first month of service.
Finally the day came where he had enough saved up to get his phone. I went in on a Saturday (March 9th) to the Wind Mobile store on Queen St., and set up the account for him using my credit card (as he doesn’t have one of his own). The total came out to $254.37– every cent he saved up, plus I kicked in the $4.37. The next morning I met him for breakfast and gave him his new phone; he was entranced- completely taken by his new Droid- and I got to take a breather, and check one more thing off my list of things I needed to do for my brother.
The problems started immediately.
By Wednesday (March 13th) we realized that whenever he tried to make a phone call from home, the calls would drop; and when I would try to call him, I’d just get a message about the subscriber being unavailable. At first I thought it might be temporary; or maybe he turned his phone off for some reason, or the battery died. But it persisted for several days, despite the fact that he had 3-5 bars the whole time.
It also took us a few days to figure out what was going on, since the phone worked perfectly fine when he wasn’t at home; my brother would call me from Dundas square or from a Starbucks somewhere closer to the downtown core, and we’d talk without issue. It was only in his area that the calls would drop.
Call #1– So I called into the Wind support for the first time on Friday (March 15th) – 7 days after buying the phone. I explained to the support person what was happening; she confirmed for me that their coverage in his area was well within the support zone (which backs up what their website says), and that he should have NO network issues in that area.
We ran through all the “normal” troubleshooting issues, and then she said that she would “reset the phone on her side” because sometimes the connections get “stuck” on certain cell towers.
“Stuck”.
Now, I’m not an idiot; and I was a technical support rep myself at one point in my career- so I understand what a blow-off sounds like- but she assured me that this would solve the problem, and everything would be working fine now. Rather than argue with her about what “stuck” means, I thanked her for her help, and got my brother to reboot his phone and try again- obviously there was no difference.
Call #2 – Saturday (March 16th) I phoned back in and I relayed to the new support rep the entire story, and about how the last rep “reset” something on their side. After going through all the same thing as the first rep, I started to lose patience, and requested to speak with a supervisor; not because she had done anything wrong at that point, but simply because her ability to help me was clearly limited- and I just needed to get this problem fixed.
She immediately got defensive, and insisted that if I really wanted to talk to a manager, that it was going to be a 4-6 hour wait, and that they might not even be able to call me back that night. When I insisted that I talk to somebody right away, and that I’d wait on the line, she put me on hold, and then hung up on me.
Call #3 – Monday (March 18th) I phoned back in; I waited a day because I simply could not bring myself to call back in right away- I wouldn’t have been able to refrain from taking my frustration out on the reps, and despite the poor performance so far, I’m sure i wouldn’t get the same person, and they don’t deserve that.
This time I get a rep named John; I recapped everything for John, including the initial solution of resetting the “stuck” connection- which he literally laughed out loud about- he insisted that the level 1 tech support have no such ability– and he confirmed that we’ve already worked through every possible trouble shooting option available to him, and that the only thing left was to talk to a level 2 rep.
John was the man; he got there in less than 5 minutes of talking to him, and he assured me that he would “take care of it”- the only downside is that the level 2 rep would only be able to call me back in the next “24-48 hours… but sometimes it takes longer”. So John put in the ticket, gave me the case number, and then I waited.
And then… nothing.
Call #4 – Friday (March 22nd) This call was short; I gave her my case number, she looked it up, and quickly told me that the reason I didn’t get a call-back from a level-2 rep yet, is because my buddy John didn’t submit the ticket correctly. I wasted four days waiting for a call that was never going to come.
She re-submitted the ticket, and told me that I would need to wait another 24-48 hours before hearing from the level 2 rep.
** At this point we reached the 14 day return policy that Wind provides; my brother would need to pay out his Windtab if we decided to cancel the account- so another $250+. **
Call #5 – Monday (March 25th) – three days later- I received the level-2 rep call-back. Of course, they happen to call at the exact minute I’m in the washroom, so I missed the call. The voice mail message was weak– no direct number to get back to them, no attempt to re-dial me, no effort at all- they simply said “sorry we missed you, please call us back at our main number”.
Call #6 – Saturday (March 30th) – I called in, but the hold time was soooo long- I just couldn’t do it. At this point I’m already so nauseated at the thought of talking to Wind support, that i just needed to take a day off.
Call #7 – Sunday (March 31st) I called back in and talked to a level-1 rep, and I told them that I missed the level-2 call-back, and that I’d like to be transferred right away. He said the only thing he could do was put the ticket back in, and I’d get a call-back again in another 24-48 hours. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and he said “sure”, and hung up on me.
That’s twice I was hung up on!
Call #8 – Monday (April 1st) I spoke with Spencer and I explained to him that I missed the level-2 call-back and that I’d like to talk to them right away- and I would wait if needed. Spencer gave me the same line about putting in a ticket, and how I’d get a call-back within 24-48 hours- but I refused. I said that’s insane. I said I would wait.
He didn’t want to let me wait on the line, so I finally said that he should simply pass me to their cancellation dept., as they seem to be unable to resolve my issue. I was transferred to their loyalty dept. so I could cancel, but the rep insisted that I speak with a loyalty supervisor, so she transferred me; the loyalty supervisor insisted I speak with a level-2 support rep, and she immediately transferred me to Matt- level-2 support.
Now, I understand that the level-1 reps have limited abilities but I shouldn’t have to threaten cancellation, only to be transferred to the very person I called in to talk to- this is terrible support.
Matt insisted that the calling area was well covered, and that it must be my phone or my SIM card. That answer seems suspect to me, given that the phone works perfectly fine in other areas, and that the SIM (along with the phone) is brand new- but he insisted that this is where they need to start, before talking to anybody about the cell coverage in the area.
So I agreed to jump through their hoops, in the hopes that something will solve the problem. I took the phone in to get a new SIM card, and gave the phone back to my brother to take home so we could test- no difference at all.
At this point the conclusion is obvious; it’s been obvious from the beginning- the coverage in the area is poor, and there’s really nothing they can do about it.
Call #9 – Monday (April 10th) the level-1 rep looks up my account, and sees a note to transfer me right away to a level-2 rep. – no questions asked. I’m not sure why they didn’t do this all the other times instead of insisting that I wait 24-48 hours for a call-back- but whatever.
I spoke with Mimi- I explain everything that’s been done, and she reluctantly admits that the service is poor in that area. She said a couple things that blew my mind:
1) She said that my brothers’ address is “right on the edge of their coverage area”. Now, when you look at their coverage map on their website (I took a screen shot above), my brothers address looks like it’s well covered, and not at all on the “edge”. But she says that she has access to a “better map”, and on her map, he’s right on the edge.
So basically the Wind Mobile coverage map on their website is a lie– they’ve exaggerated their coverage area to look bigger than they actually are. This isn’t really that surprising, given how new Wind is to the mobile market, but coverage was a deciding factor on choosing them in the first place.
2) She also said that they have more cell towers scheduled to be installed in that area “at some point in the future“. I’m not sure if that’s really true or not, but if it is, it means they KNOW that the area is not well covered- which means their reps are lying to their customers, telling them the coverage in that area is good, when it’s clearly not.
She also couldn’t give me any dates of when the area would be upgraded; she said it “could be years” before anything in actually installed.
At this point, I’m done- the service is unusable; there is no other recourse other than to wait to see if/when the area is upgraded, which could take years, not to mention the weeks I’ve lost working through this, only to be repeatedly lied to and hung up on.
I asked Mimi to transfer me to the loyalty dept. so I can cancel my brothers’ account. I spoke with a rep, who eventually transferred me to Candace- a loyalty supervisor. I explained to Candace why I was cancelling, and that I was happy to pay for the usage on the account so far, but I’d like to return the phone and cancel the account.
Candace informs me that because it’s been more than 14 days since I signed up, my brother needs to pay out the remainder of the Windtab (a total of $226) – they won’t take the phone back, and they’ll refuse to cancel the account until the Wintab is paid- so it will keep incurring monthly charges for a service he can’t/won’t use.
I was BLOWN away.
First off, the service doesn’t work; and hasn’t worked since day 1- they can SEE all the dropped calls on their side- that should be more than enough right there for a company to accept that they screwed up, and eat the costs.
Secondly, the ONLY reason we were past the 14 days is because THEIR tech support took longer than that to try and resolve the problem. I spent time working through the support steps that they themselves had engineered, not to mention their mistakes, them hanging up on me, them lying to me about the area being covered, and the time it took for them to call me back.
If your support process is padded with 24-48 hour call-back windows, and requires multiple calls to resolve issues, then you need to stop the clock on your return policy until a conclusion is come to- and the consumer can make an informed decision on whether to keep the account or not.
But it’s very possible that this is intentional; if you keep a half-assed support system in place, then it creates a scenario where customers could get pushed past the 14 day window, and are forced into a decision of paying out the Windtab in one lump sum (which for many people like my brother, is months and months of saving), or they just put up with the poor service and keep the account (because Wind refuses to cancel the account unless the Windtab is paid)- either way Wind wins.
So where are we now? After paying Wind Mobile over $500 for a service that never worked.
My brother needs to save every penny he has for the next six months to pay off the Windtab, and he’ll end up with a phone that he may or may not be able to use with another carrier. Meanwhile, he’ll have no phone, since he can’t afford a plan with another company until the Windtab is paid off.
He won’t be able to call our sister. I won’t be able to get a hold on him to check in on him; to make sure he’s taking his medication; to make sure he’s “ok”. And he’ll have no way to call me in an emergency- or if he just wants to tell me about his day.
He’s autistic, so he doesn’t really understand why this happened, no matter how much I try to explain it to him. He feels ripped off, and he’s confused, and he feels abandoned by his family; and Wind Mobile did this to him for money.
Sorry about what happened to you and your brother. I have had to deal with a similiar situation myself. Canadian cell phone providers are an absolute joke I hope that more people speak up about the crappy service so they make some changes to their “policies”. Good luck and I hope things work out better next time for you guys.
Thanks Colton, I appreciate you comments.
I think the only way things will get better, is if people speak up- write/tweet/blog about it, until they’re forced to change.
Mike
That’s horrible! Thank god here in Finland we have a strong consumer protection agency to rain hell on this kind of ripoffs. Best wishes to you both. Hope Wind gets what’s coming to them…
If he has Internet at home get him a VoIP service like phonepower.com or magicjack.com.. This way he can talk to his sister and you from his home with unlimited minutes and a very small monthly fee.
Good luck, this cellular company sounds terrible. Take the issue to small claims court if you must.
Outrageous!!!!! How frustrating. Thank you for writing this Mike. I will inform as many people I know not to deal with this company. As consumers,we need to take our power back from big corporations…..who essentially only exist because we allow them too.
That being said, shame on them, and their entire business ethics……a company built on lies and aimed to dupe their customers.
Mike:
I read your WIND MOBILE story with interest, commented on Reddit and re posted on Wind Mobile’s website. They are reaching out and looking for your contact info. I referred them to the response dialogue I’m now using on your blog page.
Good luck.
Richard Cohen.
richardec@gmail.com
Man i really feel your pain, I actually quit Mobilicity for this reason alone. I was tired of selling people phones inside a coverage area, when I did sell the phone thought i would carefully look up their address and check if they are well within our zone if not i wouldn’t sell the phone. companies with “Zones” are a rip-off.
Hey I had the same problem with wind as well, they still didn’t solve my issues and I didn’t have reception in my own house or in my university, they are actually dicks about it. To top it off I had no compensation for anything and some ass hole yelled at me 🙁 I hope things get better with your brother, he can try internet based services if he has internet at home, I know I use skype for a lot of my relatives who live outside of Canada.
You may find this useful, assuming the Windtab has WiFi built in and someone around your brother has internet. Look up a SIP/VOIP service, then link it to Google Voice.
Instructions for this can be found on your favorite search engine of choice.
I don’t think Google Voice works in Canada yet, but your Sister in Cali may be able to help trick them, and there are other ways around that as well.
Best of luck.
This type of thing happened to me last year with Sprint.
I was living away from home or school dorms for the first time with a non functioning phone and hours trying to resolve it without a car or much of a safety ent and it was one of the most stressful months sorting it out.
Phone providers are just as bad if not worse than cable companies.
Make an online complaint with BBB:
http://www.bbb.org/
Hey Mike,
I’ve started a gofundme page to try to get your brother some money to pay back these disgusting assholes who took all his money. Would you mind emailing me at sarah.dumas001@gmail.com so if I do manage to get people to donate I have a way to send you the funds?
Thanks Ned,
He didn’t have internet at home up until a few days ago; this is actually another reason why we went with Wind, so that he could use his 4G connection from his laptop, and then we could use Skype or something similar.
Mike
Thanks Richard,
My email address is available from my about page (mike@mikepultz.com), and they should have my phone number on file from my cancelled account 😉
Mike
Wind took me for a ride, too. Their CS is just terrible. As some small consolation, the phone will be compatible with Mobilicity.
This kind of egregious suport is all too common. Luckily, there is something you can do to try to fix it, “The Executive Email Carpet Bomb”.
http://consumerist.com/2007/05/11/how-to-launch-an-executive-email-carpet-bomb/
Hey Mike,
I read your story and have a smiliar one with Virgin and my disabled friend who lives up in Port Perry. He also has very limited understanding of such matters and is now stuck paying 3 bills and 2 phones on some “virgintab” garbage. I do know that Rogers, should you wish to transfer there, has a secret unlimited talk and text plan all over North America for $50.00. I have had the plan for the last 3 years with no intention of leaving it, I believe it is only offered through Customer Relations.
I do apologize for everything you been through, WIND really is a garbage phone company, what floors me is they complain the market is too hard to get into. Nobody needs a liar in the market, seller beware.
Either way, I do hope everything works out for your brother, and for yourself.
Someone mentioned to contact BBB, which is really crucial to do, and also to contact the CRTC. I believe this link provides a start to the process:
http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/info_sht/t1021.htm
Hi Mike,
I totally hear your concerns about bad customer service. I have several family members on WIND and I think it’s a disaster for them – particular in terms of coverage – but hey it’s significantly cheaper.
Not to say it’s right, but what’s the downside towards helping your brother out for the Windtab if his connectivity is a real concern? Lost independence or moral hazard? Regardless, hopefully WIND gets back to you if this hits their PR desk.
Also, seeing as your startup deals with PBXs, I would be surprised if you couldn’t get him set up with a basic system to connect him to your sister, or short of that, just show him how to make Skype to POT calls from a computer or an Android device.
I worked in Call centers in Montreal from 1996 to 2007 at Microcell Solutions (Fido), Rogers and even Bell’s 310-BELL call centers. I eventually left that career because I could not stand how some of my colleagues and most Cellular/Communication companies would treat their customers. It’s all about making money, and who can blame them, that’s why they are in business.
Nowadays, I do not call in to customer service or tech support, I deal exclusively by email. Here’s why:
• Emails allow you to keep a trace of all your interactions. Much easier than to record all your calls.
• Representative assigned to email customer support are usually more experienced and more knowledgeable.
• Emails make things clear to your interlocutor; no ambiguities there.
I also try to avoid the biggest companies who can afford to let customers down because of their huge profit. I currently have mobile service with “Virgin Mobile” and Internet service with “Electronic Box”, and I deal only through email with them. I have made sure that both my accounts there are marked for “Email Customer Service only, do not call the customer”. They both are very compliant to my rule of Email only even thought Virgin always invites me to call them at the end of each email. “Electronic Box” is awesome, they assigned someone to every account, so i’m always dealing with the same person.
You did great by exposing your story to the rest of the world. I’m sure some good Samaritan with a lot of money and a big heart will help your brother out. As for your useless new phone, you could always sell it to someone in a better Windtab coverage using Ebay or some other classified ads.
I hope it all works out for you!
Cordially,
Raffix
http://www.ccts-cprst.ca/
This is the address for the Commissioner for Complaints against Telecommunications Services. I urge you to seek them out, and hold WIND accountable
I had similar issues with Rogers, they didn’t seem to care about being helpful, with similar hang-ups when I’d ask to speak to a supervisor and having to explain my story multiple times to a new rep each time, despite having a case # to use in order to reach someone I had already talked to, they simply don’t transfer calls, which would make sense if they’ve been BSing you for a while, they probably expect the supervisor will fill a report on their inability to make me go away, or something. That’s until I filled a formal complaint at the OPC, or “Office de la Protection du Consommateur” (I live in Quebec, not sure if that’s a provincial or federal organization or what the Ontarian equivalent is). Now, that got them moving. Within 3 days of mailing the formal complaint to the OPC, Rogers’ Vice-President in charge of Customer Operations called me, at my home, FIVE TIMES. Yes, five times. I was at work when he tried to call and each time he left a message saying it was very important he talked to me before my complaint went any further. At that point, I “owed” them over 4 months of service and still had a 2 years contract. The VP offered to “erase” my bills if I agreed to “erase” my complaint. I did. I was young and cared more about getting out of that situation, but looking back now, I should have bit the bullet and kept the complaint in, to serve as a warning for future customers. Long story short, if they won’t help you, threaten them with legal action and they’ll suddenly become a lot more inclined to listen to your side of the story. After all, their reputation is what will bring them new customers, they’d rather forget about my bill (or yours) than add another formal complaint to their name.
tl;dr: Similar situation, nothing worked until I filed a complaint to the OPC, at which point, company’s VP called me numerous times himself to “fix things up”.
E-mail Ellen Roseman at The Toronto Star. This is exactly the sort of thing she deals with, and she’s had lots of success getting companies to correct their customer service blunders – she’s become quite a powerful media figure when it comes to issues like these. Good luck.
This story sounds like something that the The Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS) will be able to help you with. I had a billing issue with Fido a few months ago that I had resolved by logging a ticket with them. More canadians need to know about their services.
good luck
http://www.ccts-cprst.ca/
What phone did your brother get? Part of the $500 is for the phone and not the service.
Was thinking about getting a Wind phone for my girlfriend who’s been phoneless for a while. DEFINITELY will not now. Thanks for sharing this.
Don’t pay it.
They refused to cancel the account unless the Windtab was paid- which means it would keep accumulating monthly bills for a service he can’t use. If I cancelled the credit card on the account, they would have sent me to collections.
It’s lose/lose.
Mike
It’s an HTC One- and yes- a big part of the cost is the phone- but that’s what i’m saying.
My brother saved up for months just to be able to afford HALF of the cost of the phone- when we cancelled because the service didn’t work, he didn’t have the option of returning the phone (a phone with almost 0 usage); he was forced to pay out the other half of the phone *before* he could cancel.
Mike
Thanks- I’ve emailed her!
Mike
Hey Mike! Try selling the phone or transfering the WindTab to another customer if they cannot solve or budge on your issue.
I haven’t had any problems with Wind for the last 3 years and its unfortunate that your brother could not get service.
I had a similar experience with Wind Mobile regarding misleading information about their coverage resulting in massive roaming fees for my son’s mobile phone. Wind’s customer service assistants were no help to me, either, and the charges stand. Also, his phone broke after 4 months of use and their warranty centre declared it “water damages” (although it most certainly was not) and therefore the warranty was void. My experience with this company has been absolutely horrible, and I share your anger. I warn everyone I know not to do business with Wind.
I would suggest contacting local media. CTV News does Consumer Alert and often gets great results.
I think it’s worth bring attention to the issue and going to the media will do that.
That really sucks. It really does. Call the Commissioner for Complaints for Telecommunications Services (CCTS). Also, get this story into a newspaper.
However…man up…be a good brother!
Pay his bill & get his phone unlocked. It’s cheap to do so. If not, get him a new phone. You can buy all kinds of great second hand smart phone, unlocked, for cheap.
This way he can talk to his sister, you can check on him to make sure he’s OK and he won’t feel abandoned…all it takes is a little bit of money. I’m sure you can help him out instead of making him carry this burden. Any good brother would.
Yes- of course I will- I do every single day-
but I also want to him to see that if you feel ripped off- that you should *do* something about it, rather than just accepting it.
Mike
It’s disgusting what companies will do for money. I apologize that I don’t actually have any information that might help you but I just wish you and your brother the best of luck getting out of this mess.
yeah, you need to call them back and tell them that you “put them on notice” from day X (2 was it?). Then file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Bureau–not that they will do ANYTHING, they are completely useless and have no teeth or authority whatsoever, but from personal experience, the threat is often enough to get some action. Legally speaking, you advised them (put them on notice) that there was an issue well within the 14 day period so you just need to keep repeating that over and over again (“Well, Wind Mobile was put on notice on day 2…..yeah, but you were put on notice…”etc. ad nauseum). Then write their ombudsperson as well. Copy your letter on your blog and publish it here.
Why don’t you help him out? I’m sure you can afford to drop a few hundred on your brother…
Mike,
This is terrible even if you brother wasn’t autistic. Does canada have something similar to the better business bureau like here in the U.S.? I contacted them for a similar issue with verizon. Did you call them using a land line or a cell phone? A cell is easier to show the repeat calls to the company so even if they didn’t update their records, which is likely in that kind of environment, you have records of your own.
I’m with Wind Mobile, and i am autistic, though high functioning. I have sent an email to Wind via my account with a link to this blog, asking them to repay you for your time. Hope it works out for you.
I’m so sorry to hear! I have an autistic friend and can partially understand what you mean about staying in constant touch. He loves to talk so he calls all the time and I don’t know what I would do if this happened to him! Reading this makes me really pissed! I honestly want to cal this stupidass wind mobile and give them a piece of my mind!
Hey Mike – horrible story, I work in the industry and I’m going to reach into my comments to see if I can help you. I would encourage you to copy and paste this story to the CRTC, they take this sort of stuff very seriously.
I had similar issues with Wind. Bought a Samsung Nexus S from them and had dozens of issues. Dropped calls, phone freezing up, texts not going through or being received, regularly losing connection to the network out of the blue. My calls to customer service also extended past 14 days as I kept talking to them. All I got was try resetting your phone from CS. A year later, my phone fell from the bed, onto carpet, and refused to turn on anymore. I canceled wind, paid off my tab, and couldn’t be happier. I’m paying nearly twice as much of course but at least my new phone works now.
You should call your credit card company. They may reverse the charges if you paid for something you didn’t get. In the US anyway, there are a lot of consumer protections built into credit cards. Good luck, and keep spreading the word about companies that don’t provide good service.
The major problem with Wind apart from customer relations(like all other carriers) is poor building penetration and all wireless carriers only guarantee service outdoors and not indoors so you won’t have a strong CCTS case unless your problems occurred outdoors. Because your brother was able to make calls that dropped, I’m sure if he stood by a window indoors his calls should go through and not drop. Highly inconvenient but that’s just the way Wind and Mobilicty are in terms of signal quality and building penetration. Also, problematic to instruct to someone with disabilities.
Hey Kevin,
Yeah- it would do it outside as well; if he stood outside his house, he would have full bars, but the calls would still drop.
Mike
Thanks Timothy, I really appreciate it!
Mike
You publicise this by going on a program like Market Place or even your local news. Usually, when faced with such negative publicity, the company in question will change their tune. Good luck.
Have you considered going to court about it?
By lying about the coverage area, it sounds a lot like fraudulent misrepresentation, which would get you the full amount of money back. $500 is low enough to file in small claims court, so you don’t need to retain a lawyer.
I am truly very sorry for what has happened to you and your brother. It’s a very unfortunate situation. Wind’s customer service is truly horrible. However, it would be a real crime if we were to lose all of the competitive startups (Wind, Mobilicity, Public Mobile). It would allow the Big 3 to bring pricing back to the expensive pre-competitive days.
It seems that your primary problem is one of reception. There are several factors that can influence wireless reception. First, you should always consult an independent coverage map such as cellmapper.net/map. This map uses actual data from users. It appears that your brother may be in a marginal, but usable coverage area.
Another factor is interference from structures and building penetration. Unfortunately the higher frequencies that Wind uses do not penetrate buildings well. This is likely the cause of your weak signal. This problem isn’t exclusive to Wind. Building penetration is a problem for all carriers.
It appears that your brother is getting a marginal signal in his home. This is where the choice of handset can make a drastic difference in usability. There are only 3 Wind phones that I know of that perform exceptionally well in marginal signal areas. Those are the Blackberry Z10, The Sony Xperia ion, and the Nokia Lumia 710. The Lumia is the least expensive and can easily be found on Kijiji or Craigslist for $100 or so. If you still have an active sim card, this may be something you may want to try. After all, your brother will eventually need a cell phone and there won’t be any cheaper options for unlimited calling to the U.S. You can try a voip service for home as someone else suggested, but that sacrifices a lot of freedom.
I do hope that you get your situation resolved with Wind. If not, please file a complaint with the CCTS. However, I also hope that Wind and the other startups can survive. If not, we are all looking to pay a lot more for wireless service.
Best of luck!