Cricket Wireless review: Service refund ignored/delayed 57

First of all, I am sorry you had "Dead Zones" I am on AT&T and have one of these at my sons school where I spend 20 minutesa day wishing my phone worked. It is too bad these carriers have to deal with those pesky laws of physics. as far as your service is concerned, the free month of service began the moment you started your service. You only paid for the card, not the card and a month of service. So lets cool down a bit a think rationally. I imagine, like all other carriers, Cricket offered an incentive to offset the very real cost of the equipment you purchased. It probably said you had so purchase or activate by a certain date and remain on paid service for a certain period of time as well. I am sure you kept copies of your paperwork and can read all the details. I am also sure that you kept a record of exactly what information you mailed, to whom you mailed it, and when. Now, you did mention you cancelled the service. I presume, since you mention you also have Cricket voice service, that you added this service to your existing account. Therefore, it would follow that you were billed for voice and prorated data service together through your next bill date minus a free month of service. If you did not allow for the proper funds to be available in your account when your payment was processed I have no sympathy for you. Responsible people understand when they issue authority for a debit they should already have the those debits funded. Timing is irrelevant. I would submit this: Cricket is at fault for poor coverage. You are at fault for the rest.
Respectfully
Jeff

I ordered a broadband device, was told to get the rebate form over the internet, when I got the form it had out dated dates, I called Cricket and was told to just cross off the dates, and send it in anyway. I also did not have a barcode on the box, so was told to photocopy the info on the back of the broadband device, I did every thing and got information back that my rebate form was outdated so even though I sent every thing in they denied my $50 rebate... hopefully this is not a common practice of Cricket?

I have had no trouble with the phone and pay cash for my bills.
But the broadband internet is a nightmare to use.
It works only part of the time and you never know when that time is.
It is midnight in St.Louis and after 4 hours of so of slow surfing...very slow,
and much cursing, it is working good now...too bad I have to go to bed,
might have been fun.

DO NOT PURCHASE THE CRICKET BROADBAND!

Seems like you made your mistake by using your bank account. Using such and credit cards is a good way to get messed over. Be careful in the future. Guared your bank account and credit cards.

Worst broadband service in America. It's impossible to watch YouTube, even on low quality. It plays for two seconds, then buffers for ten seconds. Even low graphics web pages take a long time to load, and don't always load completely. Total lie about the speed. The customer service is Abominable. I was on the phone four days in a row and never got a human being. I'm quitting this crappy service - dialup is better. Don't get Cricket broadband - you'll be sorry. It's a ripoff and a con. And you get stuck with their expensive modem when you quit.

Seriously, this broadband is Horrible - don't get it or you'll be sorry. And they are Totally unresponsive to the customer. You can't get in touch. You can't get an explanation. If they would be honest and talk to the customers and say they were expanding their service and it would soon be faster, I might be patient. But since they've sent their customer service to an overseas boiler room that never answers the phone, so they could save money on paying American wages, who knows what's happening with their crappy service?

I purchased cricket broadband service for thinking I was getting
lighting fast internet but in this case very untrue. I've only had it for a week and i want to cancel my service but I can't get a refund. This sucks! Cricket needs to work on their service .

CRICKET IS A BUNCH OF THIEVES!

Had this piece of junk for 3 weeks, told I could get a full refund if I cancel under 30 days if not satisfied. Not told of any "cap" and that I was in an excellent signal area. Couldn't be farther from the truth.

Ridiculously slow, almost dial-up half the time. Pages would close on their own. Connection would drop suddenly. Instructions specified you MUST click "remove hardware safely" icon in system tray prior to unplugging unit. Icon never appeared. Time to call support already.

Knew I was in trouble when tech answered and spoke in some middle eastern accent that was gibberish to me. Explained my situation. Lo-o-o-ng periods of silence while she was looking up an explanation. Repeatedly told I had to go to "Dacumas"...Where? Who? What the...? Do you mean 'Documents'? There are no settings in documents! Enunciate clearly please! Asked to speak to someone I could understand and knew what they were doing. Hung up on me!

Final straw...camel's back broken...

Called today to cancel the account, well within the 30 days. Was told there would be money deducted if over a certain amount of minutes used. Hidden fee.

Confirmation email then informed me there would be a $35 restocking fee, never told about that at sign up. Full refund my butt. Another hidden fee. Anymore surprises Cricket?

Thought it was a good time to save a couple of bucks, and tried these ###s after my Millenicom (Sprint) card went dead due to some contract problem. Which bummed me out. Millenicom is a 100% USA based business, techs that speak clear and precise English, great speed connections. Lesson learned! Went back to Millenicom.com and now have a Verizon based unit that is 3 to 4 times faster than Cricket. True you get what you pay for.

MORAL: LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE AND DO NOT GO CRICKET!

NEXT STOP-BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU

The problem with your experiences may have more to do with the salesperson than the company as a whole. I have a cricket phone and broadband. I was told that the money would be deducted from the bank account about 4 days before the due date. I thought that was strange, but at least they told me that up front. With broadband, there was no guarantee about speed or was it made to do hardcore gaming. As for a refund, I'll get a full refund between 1 and 3 days IF I used the modem and software. Up to 30 days IF THE BOX ISN'T OPEN. You should get a little paper saying that. You should NEVER except what a salesperson tell you unless you can get it in writing. If it was on the web site, always save that page in case they start to deny ever having said anything like that.

THIS IZ THE WORST INTERNET SERVICE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD OF INTERNET! I GOT RIPPED OFF JUST LIKE EEEERRRYYBODY ON HERE! NO REBATE, NOBODY TO TALK TO ON THE PHONE, AND DEFFINETLY, NO HIGH SPEED INTERNET OR NOTHING CLOSE TO IT.THEY DONT EVEN HAVE A NAME FOR A SERVICE THIS SLOW! I NEED TO KNOW OF A WAY TO EXPOSE THIS SCAM NATIONALLY BEFORE THESE CORPORATE THIEVES RIPP OFF MORE PEOPLE! THIS NEEDS TO STOP IMMEADIATLY! PLUS EVERYBODY SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET A REFUND + REPERATIONZZZ FOR THIS FALSELY AAVERTISED PRODUCT! PLEASE EMAIL ME AT [BIGTIM10009@YAHOO.COM IF YOU KNOW HOW TO SUE THESE PEOPLE FOR THIS SCAM!

Long Story Short - signed up for this broadband pc card in June... finally got the rebate check in January!

Only after the first submission being denied because the directions are unclear about what they want. I resent and weeks/months went by so called in to cancel my service (too expensive and not fast enough plus my new lap top dosen't have PC Card slot) After calling around to get to the right department, I talked to the rep on the phone about my no-show rebate and she said "Oh, I will have that processed right away" Another month went by and Lo and Behold a Miracle! Got the $55.00 check finally. If I hadn't bothered to ask and be a squeeky wheel, I am certain I would never of seen this check.

I don't plan on ever subscribing to Cricket again for any services and I don't recommend this to anyone but people I dislike.

: s

I got this before reading the reviews. And now I'm sorry. Everywhere people are complaining, and for good reason. It's too late for me to get a refund, so I'm keeping it for a while to see how it goes.

Technically, it works. What doesn't work is Cricket and the Quicklink software.

While I personally have never had a problem with Cricket (and I can even get a human... well, I could a year ago at least), most people do. So Cricket doesn't 'work'.

The second problem is the software. Quicklink crashes and fails to run or detect my modem 80% of the time. I have to restart the computer with the modem plugged in and then run the program before I can use the Quicklink software. I can connect without the software, but I don't get a record of my bandwidth usage or access to my text messages (and text messages on a computer is the coolest feature IMO. Nobody reads their emails, everybody reads their text messages)

Coverage where I live is pretty good though. I imagine a city of only 200, 000+ will be easy to handle for a provider like Cricket. The connection is usually around 700kbps (aka 87 kilobytes per second downloads), so it's much faster than dailup, plays Youtube, and lets me do most of the things I want to do. The cheaper low-end services from Comcast or AT&T are also around 700kbps... But at least I can carry mine around.

That's about it though. The only reason I'm keeping it and still paying for the service is because 1) It's too late to return it and 2) With reviews like these I doubt many people would be willing to buy the modem from me on eBay.

cricket broadband is total ### pure and simple!

Purchased modem/service 01/27/09 (w/ first month free) for $113. On receipt ---$40.20 due 02/26/09. Bill received in mail invoiced 02/03/09 summary as follows:

Billed Last Month-------------0.00
Payments Received---- -28.52
Credits---------------------- 0.00
Balance Forward---------- -28.52
Fees---------------------------- 0.55
Current Charges--------- 68.56
Total Due by 03/01/09-- 40.59

===========================

Account Detail

Activation fee-------------------------------- 25.00
Monthly Service 03/02--04/[protected].00
Monthly Charges----------------------------- 65.00

Am I to understand that I'm being charged $25 a month for a one time activation that was paid for last month?

Hope this helps READ BEFORE CONSIDERING SERVICE! FIRST, GET SOMEONE YOU KNOW THAT HAS A CRICKET PHONE TO HELP YOU SCOPE OUT THE POTENTIAL AREAS THAT YOU WANT TO USE SERVICE BECAUSE THERE ARE TONS OF PLACES WITHIN THEIR COVERAGE AREA THAT WILL NOT FUNCTION.

After reading all the complaints, I have taken proactive measures and hope that other people find this information since it is all on the web page.

PROMOTIONAL OFFERS: FIRST MONTH FREE IS THE FIRST 30 DAYS WITHOUT HAVING TO PAY THE EXTRA MONTHLY IN THE INITIAL SET UP WHEN ORDERING. SET UP ONLY INCLUDES 25.00 ACTIVATION. 89.00 REDUCTION FOR ONLINE PURCHASE AND SHIPPING. AROUND 115.XX TOTAL. MONTHLY IS NOT IN THE INITAL. IF IT ERE IT WOULD BE ABOUT 145.XX TOTAL.

Term and conditions: yes 25 one time activation fee paid at time of having stuff sent to you, The payment is due the day you order your service, which doesn't make sense since i ordered on the 5th and due date is on the 3rd.

Call Cricket at 1-800-CRICKET IMMEDIATELY TO CANCEL AUTO BILL PAY! Whichever card you use they will debit that card unless you call. One you Manage to get through, get the name of who helped you and a confirmation of some sort, dont hang up unless they give you one make sure they note your account that you called to have this done.

REBATES: you have 30 days from the time ordered NOT SHIPPED you have to have everything filled out correctly, plus make copies of everything before sending, it does require you to have 45 days of active service before the rebate begins processing, then it takes 60 days after the 45 days so total of 105 days give or take a week. if longer, then call.

RETURNS: READ! you must not use more than 30 min which is recorded on their end and in the log, There is a 35.oo restocking fee on OPENED items. Kinda hard to get around that one since you would be excited to give it a whirl. shipping and activation fee not refunded. in the end you are lucky to get about 30 bux back if at all, plus...takes 30 days to refund anything.

AMOUNT OF DATA: Confirmed 5 Gigabytes of faster than dial up speeds, if going to youtube, or downloading music, the allotted Data goes fast. but if net cruising or casual messaging Yahoo IM or AOL, its ok. If exceeding 5 Gb, service slows to "soft cap" of a dial up speed and is subject to nt be able to load pages.

I did a lot of research on this in an attempt to understand what I was getting into. Maybe it will help you. Besides, I did the research and was ok with the results for my service requirements. Happy hunting.

cricket is B.S. no damn E-MAIL account,
real crappy customer service.
i'm going to call new york state attorney generals'
office.
"AS IF THERE GONNA LISTEN".

The man with no email!

CRICKET IS A SCAM...

SERVICE IS AT DIAL UP SPEEDS...

DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT GETTING YOUR REBATE, I SENT IN ALL THE INFORMATION AND THEY LIE AND SAY THEY NEVER RECIEVED IT.

GET THIS I SENT BOTH REBATES FOR MY PHONE AND BROADBAND, GUESS WHICH ONE THEY DIDNT LOSE OF COURSE THE 20 DOLLAR REBATE...

50 DOLLAR REBATE THEY CLAIM THEY NEVER GOT...

SCAM SCAM SCAM ALL DID I SAY SCAM...

I have been trying to pay my bill on line for the past two weeks, before it was due, this is my first payment. Can't seem to get to the "Cricket" payment department, keep getting "on line bill pay" for every other business in the USA, except to pay MY CRICKET BILL! But after reading these complaints, I'm glad I didn't. They are correct, slow as hell, no customer service reps on 800 #, keeps going in a circle, I would also like to dump it if anyone out there can HELP!

I used Cricket Broadband for a month and it was worse than AOL, what a nightmare I never saw my rebate that is why I am going to the BBB. So, those of you who do not use Cricket Broadband take it from me and everybody else do not buy it. Oh now my computer runs like crap.

I thought Comcast sucked? I cant watch a video on YouTube or any where else, Its all about the $$$$$$$$ to these people.

nothing but a bad relationship with cricket...now the good news...i havent paid my bill for 2 weeks...and it is still on...so ###em...they made me jump thru hoops for my rebate...oh i never got it! but i raised enouth hell that when i added another wireless account, they waived the activation fee and first month. i had to go to the main hub for service 50 miles away! even though there are 5 cricket outlets in my city. i have att broad band now cost me 50 dollors so sign up, and is 52 dollors a month, i have a router on the other pc in my home, ...so insted of paying 75.00 a month for ### cricket, for 2 pcs, i pay 52.00 a month for 2 pcs with with att. the routher i got at goodwill for 4.99...peace and good luck...

This is quite possibly the WORST internet service out there. I love how their commericals show people singing songs via what appears to be youtube broadcasts... what a joke! YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WATCH ANY VIDEO if you get this stupid waste of money service! What's more, the simple every day pages like facebook and myspace, will freeze, load slow, and work at a snails pace.
My computer ran better with dial-up! SERIOUSLY! I'm sick of Cricket... their phones are cheap and junky, and so is their broadband! How can they get away with ripping SO many people off? And why is there NEVER anyone to talk to who knows ANYTHING about what they're doing? Don't they train their employees? Isn't there a person in charge SOMEWHERE? Where's the regulation? Who's watching these guys?! If this were any other product it would have been recalled!

I've paid Cricket cellular phone bills for many years. I agree with these complaints. Cricket "Rebates" claims that they have no record of my submitting for a fifty dollar ($50.00)rebate. I have all the proof from the copies and from the post office. I'm being scammed by Cricket now! The customer "representative" in the Phillipines gave me a pseudonym (fake name) and would NOT give me his employee number for reference if we got disconnected. After the first week, the download speed of cricket 'broadband' internet service averages about 105 kbps (kilobits per second). The upload speed is about 2-5 times faster at any given moment. Forget about watching a YouTube video because it will take hours before you get to the end of a 5 minute video (if you're crazy enough to sit and watch it that long). There is no email address for customer service on mycricket.com website. Employees at Cricket will have to answer to a higher power. My good friend now works for Cricket... 969-1726

well just to let you guys know why i am neutral.. cicket is a good company a i recomend cricket... but dont ever buy a cricket modem or cricket phones with a delear person that works with cricket bacause tose people charge 3 dollars extra to make a payment n you have to pay it the exat... day ur bill says... n when u deal with the REAL cricket company they dont charge for acepting ur payment or if ur phone or internet get disconected they dont charge extra fees to reconect.. nthey give like extra 4 days to pay it... sooo DONT DEAL WITH CRICKET DELEARS...

girl cricket is the bets... i think u need to read carefully.. before buying ok...

Why don't you just steal internet service like I do. I had dial up then clearwire, which sucks. Pages freeze, videos will not play always buffering. I found a signal in my neighborhood, and sometimes it goes out, but I have had free internet since November of 2008. And when I first moved here in April 2006- May of 2008.

i completely agree. i have been told from several of their reps that I would get my refund on such & such day, but never get it. Because of this, I am racking up overdraft after overdraft, because I also expected them to do their job. After getting the run around for the past 2 1/2 weeks, I think that I am going to just dispute the charge with my bank

I live in Central Austin, Texas and could not be any more happier with cricket. The pages are fast enough to edit my websites, myspace, facebook, and check my emails.

I would recommend trying cricket before any other service. It's the least inexpensive and there is no contract. If it doesn't work, you can switch. I think as long as you stay within a large city, cricket is the best.

No you cannot use it as your only internet connection.. I just split the cost of my neighbors cable internet and use my cricket when I am outside of my house. Two internet connections are better than one, if I have a download or want to stream movies and videos.. I will wait till I am home.

The real crappy customor service after five months of of service cricket cut off my service because I ask for my rebate refund no service in your area. I found out that rural developmentwas offering the rural communities an grant for operating in rural area for better boadband service you would think their would go after that just to inprove custmor service in the most challage community.
so fat I real like hughesnet.com lease I can depend on sky change is good bye to cricket and I still want my rebate back.

Cricket broadband sure sucks for videos Gosh I have to wait...and wait...I guess is better than nothing at all.About my rebate I'm sending it as certified mail that way they can't say they never got it. That's the way I always do rebates. Most companies claimed they never got it because there is a no prove and they keep screwing people about rebates.

I send in my rebate for the 5o dollars and they return it saying that the addresse for the rebate for Cricket was not the right addresse.

I have read of horror and of praise of Cricket broadband. I decided to give it a try three days ago. I was given three days to return the modem for a refund. For the last three days I have been getting good service at home and several other places throughout the city limits of Chattanooga, TN. So far, it has worked better than expected. There was computer setup with their wireless internet in the store and my internet performance at home and my office is much better. I'm running a Macbook 2 Ghz with 10.5 OS and 4G of ram. For viewing video, sometimes I have to pause it and allow a minute or less for the video to buffer, but then the playback is smooth. I've watched a Tv shows on hulu.com and videos on Youtube with no problems. So far so good. I'm going to cancel my DSL at home and the DSL at my office that cost twice as much as my home service. I need broadband at home and work, but I'm not a heavy user so this may work for me. We'll see how the service quality and reliability continues and if I receive my modem rebate!? If

I totally dislike all Cricket stands for...and its not only slowness but a total lack of concerned Customer Care Representatives. They all lie to you on the phone, sayin how it works everywhere and whatnot, and its all a lie! Ive never been so disappointed or outraged. Att, Comcast, and Verizon are all better and soon Ill be cancelin this piece of crap.

First they said it was a "free" card with a months "free" service. It cost me $115 upfront just to sign up online. Then there was the shock of the debit on my bank account 5 days before it was due. That caused overdraft fees of over $100 by the time I figured it out. And the $55 rebate that was a the lure to join was rejected: they said they didnt get all the paperwork from me even though I KNOW I sent it in. I even waited the full 45 days before I dared cancell the account for the broadband so that I wouldnt disqualify myself. Then another shock: Cricket debited my account $40 a week after I canceled the broadband account. Another $35 overdraft fee cause I trusted them to do their job! Phone calls and emails dont work with them. Its a month later and I still havent heard from Cricket. I went into the local store and put in a "refund request" and got a receipt. The phone numbers all route me back to sales people or automated lines that refuse to let me speak to a person on the phone about this.

It has been a nightmare. I definitely recommend you avoid using Cricket for Broadband Wireless. Now I am in dread of another month's disaster of overdraft fees and debits from my bank account. If they do I will go see my bank and then get a lawyer. DONT TRUST CRICKET.

Even though I have used their wireless phone service for years and rarely had problems with them in the past, I see nothing but trouble with their Broadband Wireless services. And did I mention the dead zones in our calling area that prevented me from using the Broadband card with my notebook where I wanted to?

The reason I got the card was to go for coffee at Denny's in the middle of the night with my grown son or a friend. Dead Zone!

Cricket Broadband is pure crap. Slow service if any and I agree dial up is much faster. Simply put Leap Communications should issue a full refund to all dissatisfied wireless customers because of five things.
1. Crap wireless broadband service that rivals 26k dial up
2. Misleading advertising that states unlimited broadband usage or surfing which they count as part of your throughput and is promptly limited to the snail like RTT service at 4.5 gigs.
3. The fact they refer to their signal as broadband, unless you live within a mile of a tower their service is dial up no more.
4. Poor or no customer service. All you get is from cricket is run around and lies from poorly trained people at call centers better suited for phone surveys.
5. Because Cricket broadband is the only thing on earth that could be improved with a takeover and re-origination by President Barack Obama and the United States Government.

Well, i have cricket broadband and have no problems, though the rebate is a scam. Its pretty fast and works fine with videos. Also the modem is as tough as hell, mine was completely submerged in water and still worked with a little help from a hair dryer, lol. Im not sure why all these people have trouble with service though.

Also i must say that my first month of service WAS free, no problem there.

They are Definantley a RIPPPPPPPPPPPPP Lets help make that happen No I don't mean Murder I mean let's devise a plan (unless they want to change) I have been looking for this along time when a company feels they hold all the cards (IE when a few people complain here and there. Now we have a solid place let's say when bombard them with one day all of us just call in and email them and text them all day.

ORRR OR I am from California hey I just read that the parent company is where I am I am serious I am so upset i don't even think I am makin sense D n ok what I mean is let;s sue them or start our own., Why if the service is crappy do I have to pay a service fee on a late pay
1. I came to you (coulda went anywhere maybe)
2. I am already paying every month so I miss one payment and Half the time I cannot text.? And you are charging me a late fee?

Something needs to change but they won't ever change unless people come togather as a mob (Non violent) for resolution not terror OKAYYYY

Its fricken ridiculous.

This is a service that requires all of your attention at the start. Unlike may services this one holds you to all of the fine print firm so you must read it before you buy. Like many things in life the truth is in the fine print. The first thing you will see is the way the service is portrayed in advertising as compared to the fine print. This is why people are upset. You see people doing heavy tasks in the commercials, like video and games and then read that the services is not intended for heavy tasks. It says unlimited broadband in ads but means unlimited access not usage. That means you can go online anytime but you get capped after only 5 gigs. It is a firm cap and they cut you down to near nothing to meet the legal obligation and nothing more. Getting help is a bit more of a job than most but you can do it with a few more steps than expected. Going to a real store is better than a dealer but they all look like real stores. In the end Cricket is pushing the legal limits to make the service look much better than it is. You have to ask, is this who you want to be providing service for your primary internet? It is legal but very misleading and bad faith the way they do everything. I did have good service and a soft cap at first. I got the rebate and it was a job to make sure the paper was right. They were trying anything to keep that debit card rebate with loops and hoops.

The speeds are good a 600kps down and 900 up but it drops to 80 down and 600 up after the cap. These speeds can change as time goes on. Thwy do watch you habits and try to adjust. They want heavy users out and light users willing to pay for mobile service. That is what this service should be for and really is. If you have internet at home keep it. This will not replace it. If you want a good solution for mobile this is a good second connection for light to mid task on limited bases. It is what it is and the problem is the way they are misleading people into thinking it is a good home option or primary connection. Its not. It is reliable and true to the fine print. Be prepared to deal with a company willing to push the limits but certain not to open a window for legal action. They did this real careful and know what they can get away with. Use them only for light tasks mobile and you have a better shot at satisfaction. Test your area for signal before purchase and ask if the store is a Cricket store to avoid fees. Light mobile good- main account bad.

When I signed up- for the modem I wasn't told my what type of computer I had to have (that's not a complaint to Cricket as I signed up for one and got it at a gathering downtown) so when I installed it I scrolled down to the specifications that said it had to be a 10.3 Macintosh or higher and my computer is Macintosh OS 10.2 . Now I've tried to eject it (the installed modem) but it won't ...I go up to File (on the menu) and click - eject - and the disk icon disappears for 3 seconds then re-appears or I click the -cricket broadband- icon and it flows down and appears on the dock ( the band at the bottom of screen) briefly then it sort ot squeezes out and goes back up to the desktop. So should I just unplug the cable from the USB plug on the computer and from the modem put the little cable and modem back in the box and return it to the Cricket Station (at a nearby mall at 35th or 36th Street off Powell Blvd. here in Portland Oregon?) or what would you recommend - have somebody wander over to my apt. 1/2 block away on 35th Street too and undo it all. That's just an idea...because I'm not a computer-ologist (ogist means 'study of') or whatever you are. Thanks Leon
I didn't read any complaints so I don't agree or not.

Cricket Communications should be reported to the BBB and State Attorney General's Office for fictitous advertising of their "unlimited mobile broadband". I purchased Cricket's broadband on 10/30/2009 and returned it on 11/1/2009. After installing the software, I was unable to activate the broadband number because the broadband device could not pick up a signal in Germantown, MD. Cricket's website confirms that they have broadband coverage in Germantown, MD. I found this to be "untrue".