Boost Mobile Got Hit by the BBB for the Phones

July 30, 2009 · Posted in News · Comment

Complaint Details

Boost Mobile
P.O. Box 54988
Irvine, CA 92618
Contact: Valerio, Loretta
Phone: (888) 266-7848

Thurman, Byron

821 West Green Street
Stephenville, TX 76401
(254) 522-8257
byronthurman@gmail.com

Thank you for letting us know that you are dissatisfied with the company’s response to your complaint. Although we forwarded your comments to the company, they have not responded further or their response failed to address your concerns. We are, therefore, unable to pursue this matter further and are closing our file.

Your complaint will remain in our files and will become part of the information we issue to the public about this company.

Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau. Please contact us if we can assist you in the future.

Complaint ID: 98426261

Complaint Classification:

Complaint Description – Posted 6/30/2009 9:02:48 AM

I talked to everyone I could and nobody would resolve the issue for me. I talked to Boost Customer Service, Boost Technical Support, Boost Sales department, boost managagement, and Boost’s shipping center Brightpoint I was told it was my phone for the first week, then I was told they had a tower down in my area, then I was told there was no service in my area. So I asked to return the phones and I was told they couldn’t do that because they don’t ship the phones. I ordered from Boost Mobiles website, they sent me the phones to an area they wouldn’t work. I have an old phone that works, but it runs on a different network (Nextel). So essentially they sent a phone that would never work and I am out almost $400 in charges they refuse to fix. When I tried to resolve the complaint with them I was told I needed all of my boxes even though they told me I could throw them away because I woudn’t have any further problems once they got the tower up. That tower doesn’t even cover my area! I was also told they would be unable to help me because it had been over two weeks. However in other instances later they were able to tell me my order date. If they have my customer information on file they should know when I ordered my service and when I gave them an estimation they didn’t check they just told me I was unable to return because their policy states they have a 2 week limit. And I would also be required to have all of the packaging that they told me I could throw away.

Complaint Summary

Ordered 2 phones that were sent to me in an area that they don’t provide service.

Resolution Sought

Take the phones back and refund money or provide equivelent service to my old phone and laying the blame off to their shipping company and making me call every section of their company. It’s not my responsibility as a consumer to know whether a specific model works in my area.

Additional Information

Date Problem First Occurred:
5/28/2009
Product or Service: Unlimited cell service
Model Name or Number: i465
Date Purchased: 5/28/2009
Order Number: 2766545
Amount In Dispute: $0.00

Company’s Response

Company’s Initial Response – Posted 07/14/2009
Closing due to no contact. We called the customer on 6/30, 7/1, 7/2, 7/3, 7/5, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8 and were not successful in reaching the customer.
Initial Response Summary
Closing due to no contact. We called the customer on 6/30, 7/1, 7/2, 7/3, 7/5, 7/6, 7/7, 7/8 and were not successful in reaching the customer.

Consumer’s Rebuttal

Consumer’s Rebuttal – Posted 07/16/2009
I currently cannot be contacted via phone as I am currently relocating and cannot afford additional cell phone expenses upon my business account. Email is always the best way to contact me as I am a web developer and only use phones for business purposes. My email is byronthurman@gmail.com. If it is essential I have a phone please let me know and I will set up arrangements with my associate who is here with me to allow me to release his number for contact.

Company’s Final Response

Company’s Final Response – None Posted

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How to Live Homeless in Houston

July 28, 2009 · Posted in News · Comment

Yup the name is exactly relevant, somehow I have landed myself into a tent near the last hotel I stayed at. Which isn’t nearly as horrible as one might think. Maybe it’s just suppressed rage at my boyscout Scoutmaster never taking us camping (Which is the ONLY reason I joined mind you!) But I decided spending $250 a week just wasn’t the way to go when I’m broke and living in a new city. So I did what any stupidly bold internet junkie would do and set up a tent in a forested area in the middle of Houston.

Now mind you this isn’t just any forested area, we have a single neighbor who also lives in a tent. We’re pretty sure he doesn’t own the place since, well quite frankly he lives in a tent. We’re pretty sure he is a local bum. We haven’t made an effort to be friendly so far. We purposefully hid our tent in a clearing that is difficult to get to and cannot be seen from the road or his campground. And so far I have stayed a total of 4 nights and I must say that I love the look on peoples faces when they find out I’m homeless.

Generally I’m working on my laptop at a Denny’s near work. I may be homeless, but I have a job and that’s not panhandling. I own property in New Mexico, and my roomate who is staying in the tent with me own a house back home that we go to on our days off. Ah, yes it is a funny situation indeed.

Since then I’ve had several offers to move in with people. I finally accepted one and currently our tent is still there if anyone would like to move in!

Well anyway onto the meat and potatoes of this post. Since everyone and their mother is jumping on the 2012 bandwagon these days I figured it appropriate to let people know some of the real things that you don’t consider in our ultra pampered world.

1) A tent may keep the rain off of you but it gets really hot and humid with no airflow. I found myself seriously considering running a small fan with a battery or solar panel. This would have made the entire ordeal a walk in the park. All I did was sleep there, however it’s hard to sleep when you smell by the next day because you sweat so much in the middle of the night. My shirt I used for a pillow seriously looked like my jogging shirts do when I forget to take them off before the first mile is finished.

2) This one sounds a little funny but you have no electricity. We quickly realized that we had to go to Denny’s just to work on our websites because we had no power inverter. And even if we did I feel way more insecure sitting in a car on a laptop in a parking lot than I do in a secluded forested area inside the beltway in the middle of the night. However, we never took the laptops, we’re far too paranoid for that. I’ll fight for my laptop they can have my shoes.

3) Mosquitoes really suck! Pun intended. I had a mosquito get me on my forehead 2 days in a row in the same spot. I’m sure people at work thought I was getting a tumor on my forehead. Funny how nobody puts it together that you might not have a home when you actually work. I guess being homeless and being a bum go hand in hand. I however am homeless because I am not a bum. Funny how that works. Whoever was in the completely pimped out tent near us used citronella candles. He even had outdoor furniture and tarps!

4) If you really have to go in the middle of the night… you might want to pack toilet paper. Fortunately we never had this problem… but I wouldn’t want you to go through it!

5) Sleeping bags aren’t necessary in 90+ night time temperatures. I almost bought one, trust me, buy a pad, maybe a cloth to cover the pad. But you will regret a warm bag during the summer in Houston. I wanted to keep mosquitos out, the tent does that fine and a bug spray containing 40% deet helped repel the rest of the little buggers. Glad I’m not in South America, all I have to say is beware the bot fly!

6) Life can stink living homeless. Make sure you bathe. This can be easily accomplished by bringing some swimming shorts. I personally would have been swimming at random hotels every day. However I had to work during daytime hours at the time. Fortunately I did find other alternatives however this would have been way more simple. Best of all chlorine can help rid you of all the nasty bacteria that make you stink in the first place. My main problem was sweating in the same pants daily. I only brought one pair. Horrible.

7) Fire draws attention and starts forest fires! Fortunately we already knew better than to cook on an open fire in the middle of Houston. I don’t think the police would believe I’m actually not a bum and have a job just no better place to go. And I doubt they would care for that matter.

In the wild water is your friend. If we were really in a survival situation we probably would have faired pretty well if we weren’t sucking up soda’s at night dehydrating our bodies even further. It rained every few days which would have helped the most. And there was plenty of green foliage to extract water from using a solar water purifier.