Data in Europe

[jerryyyyy]

Originally Posted by aiiee

That's an excellent argument. You signed up based on their offerings, you signed a contract, based on the state of the offerings at that time. They changed the offerings, I would think that nullifies the contract. I'd like to find out here if you try it.

When I called and verified they sent me a customer evaluation e-mail which I filled out something like this:

The only reason I stuck with Sprint is the Quad band capability of this phone since I travel to Europe a lot. If you are charged $16/MB I noticed that this month alone, with no tethering etc. I have used a measly 2MB in 7 days probably just checking a few mails and the default weather application... well that would be $32.

[MacWilder]

Originally Posted by jerryyyyy

When I called and verified they sent me a customer evaluation e-mail which I filled out something like this:

The only reason I stuck with Sprint is the Quad band capability of this phone since I travel to Europe a lot. If you are charged $16/MB I noticed that this month alone, with no tethering etc. I have used a measly 2MB in 7 days probably just checking a few mails and the default weather application... well that would be $32.

That's the problem with the current system. When you make a phone call for 10 minutes, you know contemporaneously the charges. Thus if you talk 10 minutes @ $1.45 a minute, you are going to be charged $14.50 (plus a host of taxes, fees, etc.) But with data, you have no idea. What does it cost to check one's stock portfolio? No idea. Diddo the weather. Also there is no auditing possibility as there is with phone conversations. If they charge you for a 20 min. phone conversation when you only talked 10 minutes, you can spot the error and you can complain. If they charge you for 2 megs when you only used 1 meg, you have no way of checking as you have no way of determining what you used. It's just an invitation to theft. That's not an empty issue either. One hears continually of cases where somebody hardly ever used data and found a charge for $200 on their bill.

[MacWilder]

Here is the letter (with identification removed) I am sending to Sprint's CEO, Dan Hesse. I'll probably get a reply in due course, and I'll post it to the extent that it's not private in nature.

July 19, 2010

Mr. Dan Hesse
CEO, Sprint, Inc.
Sprint-Nextel Corporate Office
6200 Sprint Pkwy
Overland Park, KS 66251

Dear Mr. Hesse:

By way of introduction, I have been a Sprint customer for well over 10 years through good times and bad. Similarly, my wife, [ ], is a customer, as is my son [ ], my son [ ], and others of our friends who have accepted our recommendations as to cell phone providers. Of these, my son [ ] and I travel overseas rather frequently, and my son [ ] also travels some overseas. Accordingly we have smart phones that work overseas [ ] and I have the HTC Touch Pro 2, and [ ] has your newest international Blackberry.

We recently renewed our agreements at the time we acquired these phones. It was not an automatic decision, as we know that overseas travel is fraught with the possibility of being overcharged for phone and data services. What finally swayed us was your monthly international data plan of $45 to $70 that provided unlimited data.

Now you have abruptly canceled this plan on July 11. This is, for us, very bad news. Verizon continues to offer a comparable plan, and, had we known you intended to cancel your plan, we would not have renewed our Sprint contracts nor acquired these international smart phones through you.

Here is the problem we face. Without the unlimited plan, when we travel overseas, we have no idea what we are going to be charged for data and no way of knowing if we have been overcharged. Contrast that with your international phone service. If you charge $1.45 a minute, we know we will be charged $14.50 for a 10 minute conversation (plus taxes and fees, of course). That’s expensive, but fair in the sense we know the amount of the expense when we incur it. We can audit the expense, so that, if we are charged for a 20 minute conversation when we know we only talked 10 minutes, we can complain (and your folks usually make the appropriate adjustment). With data, we have no comparable knowledge and absolutely no recourse. When we check our email, we have no idea of what the cost will be. If you charge us for 2 megs when we only used 1 meg, we have no ability to discover this or to complain…and indeed it may be your fault, as your correspondent’s system may hang or may mismeasure the data used. We have no ability to determine this or to respond.

I understand that the now-canceled plan may not have been profitable for Sprint. You are in business to make money, and, personally, I would not object to you increasing the price for the unlimited plan.

But I can’t and won’t do business in an environment suddenly changed so that it is newly characterized by the substantial potential for unlimited, unverifiable charges. That would be reckless.

I hope therefore, you too will understand that this is inherently wrong and inconsistent with the best business practices I hope Sprint espouses. I hope therefore you will substitute a plan that has reasonable limits on the amount that can be charged for international data services.

Sincerely,

/signed/

[aiiee]

Perfect. What they did sure seems like an abdication of your agreement and it can't stand on it's own anymore. Please post back if you get a response.

[jerryyyyy]

Very well worded. I would be happy to send the same. My good news is I did not get a contract as I am month to month... now for 14 months after my contract was up.

I have to say i am afraid Sprint is rather deceptive and do not seem to be bothered by such matters.

Let's keep this issue going. I am irritated.

[eryeal]

Originally Posted by MacWilder

I believe you. It's terrible. One of the reasons I stayed with Sprint was because of that pricing plan. Verizon had a similar plan and is retaining it. As others have pointed out, you can get absolutely killed without even knowing it on data plans. I suggest that everybody concerned should complain loudly. I personally am considering dropping Sprint and refusing to pay any penalty on the grounds that they know longer offer the feature of importance to me.

I don't think you'll have any problems canceling and getting your ETF waived for this reason. You may encounter some resistance at the first level of customer service, but I think once you speak to a supervisor they will waive it.

[sjs01]

I thought that instead of posting a new thread I would post my question in here and hope for a response. I'm going to Europe tomorrow and I'm going to bring my Touch Pro 2, now the question I had was if I have this charger:


Do I still need a voltage converter for it, or just an adapter converter? Because it says on the charger that it can input 100-240v. I'm not sure if that means I can just get an adapter converter then plug it in directly to that, or if I need to get a voltage converter to convert it back to 110v. If anyone could help my it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[MacWilder]

Originally Posted by sjs01

I thought that instead of posting a new thread I would post my question in here and hope for a response. I'm going to Europe tomorrow and I'm going to bring my Touch Pro 2, now the question I had was if I have this charger:
Do I still need a voltage converter for it, or just an adapter converter? Because it says on the charger that it can input 100-240v. I'm not sure if that means I can just get an adapter converter then plug it in directly to that, or if I need to get a voltage converter to convert it back to 110v. If anyone could help my it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

No converter is needed. Just get an adapter (i.e. merely changes the plug). Be sure to contact Sprint and tell them which countries you are traveling to, else your phone won't work. Also, you can get a cheap telephone plan that can be prorated for the period you are there (i.e., get it now and drop it when you return) that will save you about 50 centers per minute. Alas, apparently there is no longer a comparable data plan so watch out! You probably should turn off anything that routinely uses data (like the weather update). As long as you are using a stock ROM, your data will work. If you are using a custom ROM, maybe the data won't work.

[sjs01]

Originally Posted by MacWilder

No converter is needed. Just get an adapter (i.e. merely changes the plug). Be sure to contact Sprint and tell them which countries you are traveling to, else your phone won't work. Also, you can get a cheap telephone plan that can be prorated for the period you are there (i.e., get it now and drop it when you return) that will save you about 50 centers per minute. Alas, apparently there is no longer a comparable data plan so watch out! You probably should turn off anything that routinely uses data (like the weather update). As long as you are using a stock ROM, your data will work. If you are using a custom ROM, maybe the data won't work.

Alright thank you, I thought so but just wanted to be extra sure! I was going to call Sprint today to tell them the countries I am going to, it was funny though, when I called to get a SIM card for my phone (didn't get one with it) the person I spoke to kept telling me that I should buy a cheap prepaid SIM there so that it wouldn't cost me as much (I thought they were supposed to try to make Sprint money). Yep I tried calling about that data plan but it was gone, so when I call today I will ask them to put a block on my Data so that I'm not accidentally charged when I'm gone. I am on a Custom ROM though. Thanks so much for your response!

Which brings me to another question does anyone have a suggestion of the best custom ROM to use well I'm there, something reliable with good battery life? I currently have MightyROM running on it, but I've been getting the SOD a lot, and the keyboard has stopped responding a few times then I have to reset my phone. It's never happened on another ROM before.

[MacWilder]

Originally Posted by sjs01

Which brings me to another question does anyone have a suggestion of the best custom ROM to use well I'm there, something reliable with good battery life? I currently have MightyROM running on it, but I've been getting the SOD a lot, and the keyboard has stopped responding a few times then I have to reset my phone. It's never happened on another ROM before.

You get the Sprint SIM card from Sprint. I'm surprised it didn't come with the phone. Are you sure it didn't? (Look under the battery for a card rectangular in shape with one corner cut off.) There's no charge for it. In terms of other SIM cards, the cheapest for any country is the prepaid card for that country. They are widely available in all countries. If you are going to be traveling to a number of countries, there are many cards available. I personally use maxroam at maxroam.com, but I am not sure it's the best by any means. However, if you are going to be making or receiving a handful of calls, I'd use the Sprint card, as all the others have fixed charges or minimums that will increase your costs sharply if you are making/receiving only a few calls. The best solution is Skype for use where wifi is available. Only pennies per minute. That will work on your Pro2. However, you have to download the cab off the Pccgeeks website as it isn't officially available longer for winmo. In terms of other ROMs, I use Sprint Lovers. But it is no longer being developed. Also it doesn't support gsm data (which might be good for you if you don't want to use the data.)