72 Comments to “How Sprint Pushes Customers Out the Door”

1. July 11th, 2006 at 3:18 pm
   Aaron B. Hockley said

   I’m not surprised… I left Sprint/Nextel shortly after the merger due to similar customer disservice stupidity.

2. July 11th, 2006 at 4:16 pm
   ME Strauss said

   Hi Aaron,
   These are the people who are fighting for control of the Internet. It’s scary.

3. July 11th, 2006 at 7:28 pm
   Mike said

   I love happy endings, and there’ll be one when you leave them !

4. July 11th, 2006 at 7:56 pm
   ME Strauss said

   Yeah, I’ve gotten three more emails that said the same thing over and over. I said please don’t write me. Then he offered to call– between certain hours if I GOT BACK TO HIM IN TIME.

5. July 11th, 2006 at 7:57 pm
   Anton Olsen said

   It really doesn’t matter. They all suck and in the last 6 years I’ve had service through and been screwed by no less than 6 wireless providers.

   U.S. Cellular, Voicestream, T-Mobile, AT&T, Cingular, Verizon.

   I really don’t think are any wireless companies left that really care about customer service. They make more money on new customers with two year contracts.

6. July 11th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
   Mike said

   What nice people !

   You’re lucky to have them and they should feel free to abuse you.

7. July 11th, 2006 at 8:00 pm
   ME Strauss said

   I just got another one. I told the guy how sorry I felt for him having to say the same thing over and over, having to explain something that should be in the first place, never able to say a simple sentence of his own.

   I signed it “I’m sorry.”

8. July 11th, 2006 at 8:49 pm
   ME Strauss said

   Anton,
   I couldn’t have said it any better.

9. July 13th, 2006 at 9:28 am
   Kala said

   Hello. I read your blog and am very eager to assist you. I work for Sprint Nextel and would love the opportunity to resolve this matter for you. Please e-mail me with your contact information.

10. July 13th, 2006 at 9:30 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Kala,
    Nice to meet you. Welcome.
    I’m happy to talk you, especially since the last supervisor wrote me off.
    Thank you for caring.
    Liz

11. July 13th, 2006 at 11:03 am
    Liz Strauss [dot] com Reading Blogs Can Be Marketing and Customer Service said

    [...] I wrote an email as it requested and got a form response. The email said that, if I didn’t hear from them in 24-48 hours, I should contact them again. So as customers often do, I talked to other customers about it — via my blog, my blog that gets daily hits in 5 figures. I called the post How Sprint Pushes Customers Out the Door. I mentioned that post in my email and sent a permalink so that they could read it. They didn’t. [...]

12. July 27th, 2006 at 5:43 pm
    Henry said

    I think all you do is set a ban code and then every time you make a payment or change something on the account they ask for it. Nextel has a lot of corporate accounts so security is kind of a big deal to them. Nextel is also a cellular carrier, which doesnt help anything customer service related.
    Plus, Sprint owns them.

13. July 27th, 2006 at 5:53 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Henry,
    There’s still no excuse for asking the customer to do one thing and when I saying, “Sorry we asked you to do this what you really should do is that.”

    Putting barriers up is not customer service. it’s customer frustration. That’s what they got.

14. July 29th, 2006 at 3:55 am
    Peggy said

    Well I have contacted customer care numerous times and never been asked to verify anything but my name and phone number. I have only been with this company for 2 months and i am very unhappy with them. I was with centennial for 8 yrs or so. I wish i would not have changed over but all my family begged me to for the walkie talkie feature. Thanks a million for this page ! I tried to pay my bill online to only have the same problem. BAN Passcode required. I still dont get the passcode for paying. Its not like anyone would complain if some stranger paid thier bill. Nextel Idiots.

    Fed Up with Nextel
    Peggy

15. July 29th, 2006 at 7:12 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Peggy,
    I love your line Its not like anyone would complain if some stranger paid thier bill. I know what you mean.

    The system is broken and they seem determined to defend it rather than to fix it. That’s why customers like us talk to each other rather than to them.

16. July 31st, 2006 at 7:54 am
    Sandra Neuman said

    Called to have a billing address changed. Phone was shut off. After spending more than 4 hours with customer service over a period of two days told them to just leave service off. Put my request in writing and their “Written Correspondence Department.” advised I will be charged $150. cancellatin fee since I did not complete 2 year agreement.

    H-E-L-L-O, who cancelled service? Which party voided the contract. Common sense tells you that if you are not going to provide a service you are not going to get paid.

17. July 31st, 2006 at 7:57 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Sandra,
    I hear you. I’ll pass your complaint along to the lady that helped me out in the end. Maybe we can get something done for you.

    Sincerely.
    Liz

18. August 8th, 2006 at 5:19 pm
    D.V. Shima said

    Hello Liz,

    Since October 2005, I made numerous phone calls to the Spint’s Customer Service department to dispute the ridiculous charges, and all I got were promises to get called back for the decision. They never did. I call again today (8-8-2006), only was told that they could not go that far back, and couldn’t help me, my only alternative was to write to their Correspondent Department. And here we go again.

    They charged me $6.40 / minutes for calls to China, and the calls didn’t even complete and were all dropped. Totalled $73.99 in September and $97.51 in October. Most call even shown made in consecutive seconds, tried to get through.

    I switched to another plan in late 2005 that only cost $.02 a minute (compare to $6.40), and they continue charging me $5 / month till today even I cancelled their services long time ago.

    I browsed through your blog and found out not only myself being treated this badly. Thank you for speaking out for us, and I hope can get your advice for what to do next effectively.

    Best regards,
    DV Shima

19. August 8th, 2006 at 5:23 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Dear DV,
    I totally understand your exasperation. I just had another situation with ATT today. The telcos just don’t seem to understand the meaning of the word “customer.” Do they? It’s more than frustrating. It makes on feel helpless.

20. August 10th, 2006 at 1:20 pm
    Sandra Neuman said

    I am thoroughly convinced ME Strauss works for Sprint and is on this blog to merely placate unhappy customers.

21. August 10th, 2006 at 1:24 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Sandra,
    THAT is funny. I’m not sure how I would placate myself.

    And don’t begin to get me started on how I feel about AT&T.

    Call me Liz.

    You’re not a stranger here anymore.

22. August 14th, 2006 at 8:35 am
    Sandra Neuman said

    I was not aware that we were discussing AT&T. And, even so it does not mitigate my annoyance with Sprint’s lack of customer service or common sense.

23. August 14th, 2006 at 9:50 am
    ME Strauss said

    Sandra,
    I was merely using AT&T as another example of the same bad thinking.

    I’m annoyed with telco think in both the individual case and across the board. I’ve now experienced it at every company I think.

    They don’t have customers . . . they have prisoners.

24. September 26th, 2006 at 12:51 pm
    Len said

    I had the same problem pertaining to the BAN passcode at the Sprint website.

    Notice the question in the box “what is a BAN passcode?”, then observe there is no explanation for it, just how to use it.

    Morons.

    I had Sprint for 6 years until their service (both customer care and technical) tanked in 2001.

    I switched to Nextel where I was very happy until Sprint, unfortunately, got involved.

25. September 26th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Len,
    Welcome!
    I had the Nextel and back comes Sprint thing happen to me too.

    Then I had the same thing happen with AT&T. I did everything to keep them out of my life and was happy with SBC/Cingular and who comes along to spoil the party? You got AT&T?

    I’m not happy with the telcos. No sir. I’m

    But you are a friend now. No longer a stranger.

26. September 27th, 2006 at 1:41 am
    David said

    Hi ME,
    Thanks for the blog on this. Same problem with the BAN passcode.

    Some time ago, I set up autopay per their instructions. They said it might take up to 3 months (!) to become effective. After 3 months, autopay still was not in effect. So, when I contacted them, they said I had never signed up for autopay, according to their records.

    You want to see a real nightmare? Try using the Sprint/Nextel feature (at additional monthly charge) to upload your Outlook address book to their site, then download it to your phone. Honestly, I have a degree in EE and a degree in IT, and it took me almost 2 hours to complete the task, based on their instructions (or lack thereof). Obviously designed to be as user-unfriendly as possible.

    BTW, what is Sandra Neuman’s logic in saying you are paid to placate unhappy customers? Would Sprint put up a blog with the info you have posted? It sounds to us that SHE is more likely the Sprint employee sent to “cut you down”.

    But, who knows, based on the info available. Could just be personal issues discharged in the wrong direction.

27. September 27th, 2006 at 6:29 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi David,
    It seems redundant, but I’ll say it anyway. I totally understand how you feel, It is so stupid, beyond amazing, into inconceivable that a company would allow such bad work out there for the customer to have to deal with, but then to defend it is stunning in the most literal sense of the word.

    Perhaps is the telcos understood the service part of customer service and took it seriously, they would be whining about needing to make more money off the Internet. HA! I don’t think do. But it’s this sort of behavior that makes me believe government regulations (and I do not like big govt. one iota) for net neutrality is far preferrable to letting the telcos and cablecoms near the internet.

    If you look hard enough you’ll find I have equally unhappy relations with At&T. — like there actually is a choice to go to the competition.

    Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry I don’t usually get so verbal. But I don’t like what Sprint did to you. It’s like they choose to make everything harder for us and for themselves. And things that look that wat akwats make me crazy.

    You’re welcome here, David. You’re not a stranger anymore. You’re a friend now.

28. January 20th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
    jan said

    Well, it’s now 1/20/07 and nothing has changed at the Nextel website. Still asking for a BAN code and not telling you what it is. I have my debit card infor on file with them and now they claim it can no longer be authenticated even though all the info is correct and current. They say “use a different card.” I don’t want to use a different card. Arrgh!

29. January 20th, 2007 at 5:17 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Jan,
    I can’t even say how much I am with you, except to add that in their annual report Sprint/Nextel exclaimed how their customer service efforts were up as they lost hundreds of thousands of customers this year.

30. February 23rd, 2007 at 1:14 am
    TbirdDee said

    Hi ME,

    Dude, I wish I saw this website a couple weeks ago, *before* my first Sprint bill was past due, and I’d waited till the last minute to pay it on the website! I had to google, in search of BAN!!! Hee hee! I saw they *still* might wait 10 days until my account info is registered, and that’s if my randomly entered BAN code takes! (I see they will soon charge 25 bucks for a reconnect, so they’re trying to cash in on that one with me!) So, then I tried *611, and they close down at 1 a.m. Funny, tried to enter my info through their automated service, and of course, they said I would need a passcode (not BAN, go figure) to do this, and that they would transfer me to an agent. Just as I was thinking, hey, there IS someone home, I get the auto-message again, saying offices are closed, blah blah blah, then it hangs up on me!!! FUN customer service, even when people aren’t involved!! WHY did I sign up for two years??!! Last time I left sprint, it was because of the 5.00 late fee they always charged me. I had Nextel before, and I loved it. Sucks, now that Sprint is involved! Ah, well, what are ya gonna do?…

31. February 23rd, 2007 at 4:42 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Third D!
    All of us seem to be stuck . . . the telcos don’t seem to know how to spell customer.

32. February 27th, 2007 at 1:39 am
    TbirdDee said

    Well, I Did find out that the BAN is, as you stated above, the Billing Account Number. It’s the freakin’ account number that appears on the top of your statement. Seems like they could have explained this easily enough on their website.. or better yet, spelled it out instead of using some cutesy acronym that nobody knows what it means..! Well, now we know! Take care, ME! GL with AT&T!

33. February 27th, 2007 at 5:31 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi ThirdDee,
    Isn’t that interesting T.D.! I went through all of this about, plus two phone calls with a supervisor who put one in for me and SHE never told me that — I just found this out when you told me.

    Sprint/Nextel lost 375,000 customers (I could have that number wrong but it was huge.) They ran the number in the financial report for 2006 as part of their explanation of how their new customer service initiatives were working. . . . the telcos are the railroads. They will end up like Amtrak.

34. March 1st, 2007 at 12:43 am
    TbirdDee said

    Hi, Liz! Somehow, I’m not surprised that Spr/Nex lost that many customers. Obviously, Sprint, for their lack of ‘customer service’ (or, abundance of customer confusion?), and good old Nextel losing fleets of people from the Automotive and other industries… being forced into a merger with the ‘evil one’… Unfortunately, for most of the US population, Cell Phones and their Companies will be a part of our lives forever! Some will die out, new ones will spring up, but probably none of them will ever excel at customer service! As you say, they don’t spell “Customer.” They spell “prisoner”! And the “service” part of it is, serve them so they make a buck. Ah well, that’s life in the fast lane!

35. March 1st, 2007 at 12:46 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi ThirdDee,
    The sad part is that AT&T and Cingular aren’t but a hair’s breath better and now that they are together I suspect that will soon be gone.

36. March 1st, 2007 at 1:19 am
    TbirdDee said

    Well ya know, now that it comes up, I did research Cingular/AT&T prior to choosing Sprint. Less dropped calls/more bars sounded good. (Especially after my horrible T-Mobile coverage.) But they (C/A) also played ‘dirty pool’ with customers, and inspired many more negative comments on the web, than I’ve seen about Sprint. I don’t go for underhanded tactics! Seems the problem came about when those two merged a couple years ago. Then, AT&T phones suddenly lost cell-tower bars when Cingular upgraded. Told customers originally that they would be compensated, then screwed them over, saying they needed a new phone & new contract. Ha, I wanted no part of that! Lesser of 18 evils? Who is the better party, Rep or Dem… oh wait, that’s another story!!!

37. March 1st, 2007 at 2:07 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi ThirdDee,
    I was just going to bed. But I thought you might get a kick out of this.

    http://www.successful-blog.com/1/att-me-wo-dsl-why-att-wont-fix-problems/

38. March 1st, 2007 at 3:40 am
    TbirdDee said

    Yes, that was an interesting thread!! Very similar, indeed! I tell ya, on a different note, DSL does beat the stuffing out of both Dial-Up and Comcast/Broadband non-customer-service-turkeys… Oh, you guys hit on all kinds of notes in there that resonate with me! Just wait till I go to bed & wake up with more ideas…!! Great posts, Liz! Thanks for the links, babes!

39. March 1st, 2007 at 7:43 am
    ME Strauss said

    So you see, I’m at the mercy of all of them. My husband says the world telco and I have to retire to my room to recover from the shakes that take over me.

40. March 4th, 2007 at 2:27 am
    TbirdDee said

    It’s enough to give us all shakes. But, tell me, what service do any of us receive, that the majority is truly pleased with? It’s All a business, it’s all a scam, it’s all about making a buck. When you’re on the ‘good’ side, it’s aight. When you’re a consumer, whether it be goods, services, or politics, there’s always going to be bad points.
    How about if you’re a conservationist? Or an animal lover? We all have our trials.
    I say, live & let live, get over it, I’m just happy to live with all these modern conveniences, and I try to make the best of everything, while making as little negative impact on the environment as possible. No littering; if I smoke, butt goes in an ashtray, not out the window; don’t swear around little kids; don’t kick the cats. Ya know, ya do what you can. When you’re a corporation, you can’t. It’s life. It’s all good, if you look at it right.

41. March 4th, 2007 at 8:03 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi ThirdDee,
    The telcos want to own our experience the way they cable companies own our TV. This is not about pleasing all of the people — this is about a broken service. ThirdDee I’m not sure I know what exactly you’re going on about.

42. March 9th, 2007 at 3:17 pm
    fjortis said

    I just spent all day trying to find why Sprint didn’t take my mother’s payment from her checking like we set up. She thought she had paid and her statement said DO NOT PAY and what date the money would be withdrawn.

    Today she received another bill saying it was past due and now she owed two months. I tried to set up online (ACH) recurring payments again and even finally figured out what the BAN passcode is, and the site says her checking account number is not valid, use another.

    She will pay by check like she always has.

    P.S. My mom’s bank advised her to NOT set up automatic payments. They said single payments after you read the bill are fine but if they mess up the bill and it’s paid automatically they have no way to correct the billing.

43. March 13th, 2007 at 1:47 am
    TbirdDee said

    Hi Fjortis,

    That sounds like a usual glitch in most bill payment plans online. I quite often get emails saying something isn’t right, go visit terms & conditions or whatnot. Your mom’s bank is right, autopayments aren’t the way to go. Just visit your Bill Pay site once every 2 weeks or so, & take care of business. Beats buying stamps. The downside is, this allows the mail pile to grow on your kitchen table, lol!
    ME, I was just going off about how to live in the 21st century without causing much roadrage along the way. Apparently this isn’t the forum for that!
    All, have a blessed day! Sincerely, TbirdDee

44. May 30th, 2007 at 2:40 pm
    hshoer1 said

    Hi Me, was sitting here reading all the stories while on hold with sprint… Lol
    I have been with them for around 6 years I guess and never really any problems. My phone service has always been great, never a dropped call and only company out there that I could get signal at my own house. I have payed my bill online all this time never one problem. Then last month when I went to re-enter my password at the end that they always make you do… it said invalid password? I thought then how the heck did I get in?
    Finally got a tech on the phone and told him his data was corrupt on the server, he said no… I said yep. Finally fixed it, said I had 4 flags on my account… I said for what I pay my bill 2 weeks before it ever comes in the mail. I then got another bill 3 days later for 3 bucks and change, checked online and it said 0 due… then realized it was my house phone long distance. I had to call them again and set up another account to pay that one because ATT won’t add it on my home phone bill like SBC did and Sprint won’t add it to my cell phone bill? Ok now Friday I went to pay my bill as always, now it asks for a Ban passcode? That is how I found your blog Me, after doing a google search. Sent the email reference to ” customer care ” lol and were suppose to call me, that was 6 days ago. I just got off hold and it seems the ban passcode is my old password? Person on the phone had no idea what a ban passcode was.
    I entered my old password to confirm my payment and a box came up saying I already submitted a payment today? I told the guy how could I have done that because when I tried it said wrong ban passcode? He couldn’t find a payment made, I gave up and said goodbye.
    Checked my email and in comes an email from sprint telling my payment was made. Oh well I give up. Sorry for the rant but figured you would understand.

45. May 30th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
    ME Strauss said

    HiHShoer1,
    You’re right I do understand, and it doesn’t surprise me one bit.

46. May 31st, 2007 at 2:35 am
    fjortis said

    *whew* All day long when I dialed Customer Care I got a machine saying it would be more than 20 minutes on hold. Finally I bit the bullet and let it put me on hold. After 51 minutes on hold I was told (in broken East Indian pidgeon) to use the web site because it would take a week or more to talk to the billing department. I wonder if they are about to go out of business, being able to hire only one Customer Service rep per billion subscribers?

47. May 31st, 2007 at 2:41 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi fjortis!
    This is the time that you start pounding their Internet customer service site with excerpts from your blog, and mine, and every other blog you can find.

    This particular blog post got a response . . . http://www.successful-blog.com/customer-think/kala-a-reader-from-sprintnextel-cares/

    kala.s.clark@sprint.com

48. June 7th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
    Leanne said

    I went online to pay my bill last night. In order for it to not be overdue, I had to pay it yesterday. I don’t have a BAN code… and I certainly can’t wait 10 days to set one up and get approved… so while i sit waiting for a code, my account is past due, and racked up charges. All because of a dumb code I do not have, and was never required to have. So now a trip to the Sprint store in required… and a heck of alot more money.
    I can’t wait till this last year is up.

49. June 7th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Leanne,
    I hope you’ll look in comment #47. The email address to kala just might still work. They deserve to know your feelings.

    I’m right with you.

50. June 15th, 2007 at 12:26 am
    Anti-Sprintite said

    I also couldn’t make a check payment online without the BAN passcode for the past month after their system conversion. The same customer service form emails were received. I finally got to a CS rep stating the BAN passcode is all CAPS. Since Jan 2003 I have been using the same passcode for online and cell phone/vision access in all lower case, e.g. “apple” but the BAN passcode only is all caps, e.g. “APPLE”. I still can’t believe that one.

51. June 15th, 2007 at 5:37 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Anti-Sprintite!
    Unless my BAN code went after the conversaion, that is something that only changed with your account. My BAN code has NO CAPS in it, unless you count punctuation about the number keys.

52. June 23rd, 2007 at 8:14 am
    tayker said

    I’ve been a satisfied SprintPCS customer for years, and I can’t recall ever being prompted for a BAN passcode until today. I could’ve been prompted at one time to set one, but that isn’t my major concern with it. I Google’d for “sprint ban code” and your blog entry was the #1 result. My frustration is that I can’t even change it online. I have all my personal information, personal and business calls I’ve made, pictures I’ve taken on the phone, and I can change my account password…but I can’t change this stupid passcode. I’m actually considering switching because their online tools have always sucked.

53. June 23rd, 2007 at 11:41 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Tayker,
    I’m with you right there. My thoughts are your thoughts.

54. June 28th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
    Junior said

    A couple of years ago I left nextel b/c of their merger with sprint. My mother who likes the free-incoming calls, decided to stay with sprint-nextel even after I had warned her not to do so. Now she’s upset b/c they are giving her the runaround with this “BAN pass code” stuff. Now I’m upset, trying to pay the bills online for her and they are now giving me the runaround. Why would they make it so hard for customers to pay bills online??? They have the worst customer service ever, I’d have better luck talking to a trained seal.

55. July 4th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
    Sarah said

    To all those who are fussing about the BAN passcode, here’s the official scoop. This passcode is the same passcode that you use to log into the website. You know where you have to put in your username and password on the initial log-in page. This password and the BAN passcode are exactly the SAME!!! A lot of accounts are doing this now to verify you are who you say you are. They will verify the bank account and then you will have no more problems, and things are back to normal. If you still have any questions, I just called the customer care line and talked to a REAL person, not the automated machine and they cleared everything right up.

56. July 4th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey, Sarah,
    I’m glad it worked out for you! Life is good when things work as they should.

    But it’s not as easy as just punching in the same number. Unless, it has changed since my experience, the BAN code had to be established separately from the sign on password — it could be the same number, but it had to be established separately with the company and could not be outright just punched in and used. That is part of the problem.

57. July 16th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
    Awkward Moment said

    My experience was the same as Sarah’s, it is the same password as the web site login password.
    I love(hate) that comments to this particular blog have gone on for a year now. The BAN Passcode phrase just appeared on my online bill pay. I didn’t know what a BAN Passcode was either, so I did an internet search, thinking it was some online Banking term. This site is the top of the results list. It gives me a good story to pass on to Sprint’s customer care (I’m a Sprint employee). Thanks for sharing.

58. July 16th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Dear Awkward Moment,
    Thank you for your comment.

    I sounds like you had the same experience I did, thinking it was a bank thing.

    I’m sorry to report that this particular inciddent did make to Sprint Customer Service and my problem was resolved. I posted about it with in minutes of the event. You can read the post

    http://www.successful-blog.com/1/kala-a-reader-from-sprintnextel-cares/

    Unfortunately, as you can see, the comments still came, because MY problem was fixed, but the overall issue remained.

    Gosh, I wish you luck, for you and Sprint customers. I’d sure love to help the Customer service team learn how to interact with the online community. . . .

59. July 18th, 2007 at 10:09 am
    kuscout said

    Actually, it’s not the same password as your login password. I guess it could be if you set it up that way, but apparently I didn’t. I’ve had my phone number with Sprint for 7 years, so I probably set up some passcode 7 years ago, and have no idea what it is now. I’ve never had to give a passcode when I’ve called customer service - just some personal information to verify it’s me. I am usually quite satisfied with Sprint (great coverage in NYC), but they must get the same “what is a BAN passcode” question EVERYDAY from customers, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t put a better explanantion of what it is on the web page asking for it.

60. July 18th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Kuscout,
    It may be that today, but it wasn’t one year ago. AND I was actually advised NOT to use the same code by the customer service person who finally helped me. See the link in comment #58.

61. July 20th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
    Matt said

    ME Strauss… I think my story will top them all… Sad to say… Nice site BTW.. Found doing a Google search on same subject as all the rest… We followed the online link to, and I use the term loosely, customer service, and basically were to send them what we needed. We emailed stating we needed to know what this BAN Passcode was/is and where to find it. GET THIS: We were told it was a number listed at the top of our billing statement! WOW! Who would have thought. Especially since we went the “paperless” route they wanted us to do, and don’t get a “Paper Bill in the Mail.” So, we asked to have a copy sent to us. We got a response back saying they needed our information. The info they wanted was mailing address, name, phone number…. Ummm.. All this was in teh original post from their website as we were logged in! So, we sent them that info. We got a response back that they would mail us a copy. This was the first week of July. We just got the statement today. Oh, BTW, our bill is DUE TODAY! Well, GUESS WHAT? There is NO, I MEAN NO Ban Passcode on our statement anywhere, especially not the top of teh bill, on ANY page. Then I found this site, read someone said it was their “old” password they used on Sprint PCS, so I tried that, and it worked! AMAZING! It is NOT our current password to login to our account, it’s the one we had right before Sprint changed their website. Before we used to type in our cell phone number and our password, and when they redid their site a few months back, we had to “create” a userid. If I didn’t have Sprint through my office at work, my wife’s phone would have never left T-Mobile. They weren’t much better, but we were out of the contract and could cancel anytime. Guess we choose, “Poorly.” Anyhow, thanks for your BLOG site. It was a GOD send! Matt

62. July 20th, 2007 at 11:45 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Matt!
    I agree you have one of the best stories out there!

    I have to say I had no idea that when I wrote this a year ago it would still be going now. It’s sad really that they can’t get their act together and realize that customers pay the bills. Paying the bill should be the part that they would at the least make easy. . . . Bo figure.

63. August 1st, 2007 at 10:34 am
    Alzabees said

    I too am in BAN Passcode purgatory.

    Here is my attempt at putting it into words (with apologies to Dr. Suess)

    I don’t want to pay over my Sprint phone. I do not want to enter the *3 tone. I do not like your Passcode BAN. I do not like it Sprint I AM.

    I will not drive to your lousy store. I will not renew my contracts no more. I will not fear your Passcode BAN. I will not do that Sprint I AM!

    I will not learn to speak in Pakistani. I will not miss your service - (oh there isn’t any). I cannot take your Passcode BAN. I do not need you Sprint I AM!

    So Sprint I AM - you’ve broke my will.
    I used to love to pay my bill.
    I’d click away
    then, resume my day.
    My printed receipt
    made me feel pretty neat.

    I’d pay my bill even late at night.
    My relationship with you felt right.
    I handle my other bills online.
    And was used to paying yours just fine.

    But now, my bill remains behind.
    My anger just might drive me blind.
    I used to find myself adoring you,
    but now I think it’s all deploring you.

    I will not take this Passcode BAN.
    I have to leave you Sprint I AM!

64. August 1st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Alzabees!
    Thanks for the poetry. It’s nice that for the BAN passcode pain, folks have this treat from you to feel like we have something to entertain us, because those passcode conversations are not exactly “delightful.”

65. August 6th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
    anon said

    Thank you for this article. I too was directed to enter a “BAN password,” but the Sprint/Nextel site does not explain what a “BAN password is.” Thanks to your website, I avoided another annoying 45 minute call to the customer service line (term used VERY loosly).

    I agree with some of the commenters that service has gone downhill since the merger with Nextel — particularly the website. The call center has always been frustrating to deal with, but only slightly less painful than going into one of the stores for assistance.

66. August 6th, 2007 at 4:19 pm
    Jan said

    Loved the “Sprint I AM” poem–thanks for the effort. I finally figured out the gyrations necessary to pay online–wrote the steps down and now refer to them each month. Anything to avoid the dreaded and elusive BANcode!

67. August 6th, 2007 at 6:25 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Anon!
    If I saved you 45 minutes of what I dealt with that day, I’m so smiling. Sprint has lost the customer ethic. It shows in the fact that they boldly announced that they “fired” 1200 customers.

68. August 6th, 2007 at 6:26 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Jan!
    I know. Now that my BAN code is in. I know how, but I haven’t forgotten.

69. September 24th, 2007 at 7:32 am
    David said

    I have had a similar problem with a BAN code, and I will NOT extend my contract, and will NEVER go back to Sprint. It would be refreshing to deal with customer service who has their clients in mind.

70. October 20th, 2007 at 9:58 am
    Flo said

    This story keeps on going and going! I am a “Sprint” Nextel customer and just found out today about the BAN cunundrum! Thankfully this thread has shed some light. I’m keep trying to pay by check and the website keeps saying “pending” approval. I am on contract but one of those spending limits plans. Althought their automated system says I’m not over the limit, i’m late so they blocked my second line from making outgoing calls. Thanks Nextel from hell! I’m switching to go to Virgin Mobil as soon as I can!!

71. October 22nd, 2007 at 12:28 am
    kevin said

    i had the exact same problem a while back… so right now i have beentrying to transfer my number over for an ipnone and i need an account password… well after doing trial and error, no success… there is no a list of 7 pincode, passcodes, or passwords that my account hases and some have to be all digits, alphanumeric, 4-6, 6-10, 6-16, or 4-10 long… and this is sprint for you… then tried calling them, but they are closed and they dont say when they open next…

    dont you love sprint

72. February 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
    Mindy said

    Looks like i’ve hit the motherlode.
    I’m 2 month’s into trying to locate over $400.
    After, at one point, someone told me that they had found my money, and that i had a $10 credit.
    Although, my own fault not to have noticed the change in Sprint Long Distance to Sprint/Nextel and that Account # was changed, Someone Posted my money somewhere, as verified by Chase. For 20 months I was using the same Chase Online Payments, as always, yet my money is now missing. And sprint will not take any part of the responsibility. PLUS a customer ‘care’ person blatantly lied to me, and said that if it posted to the wrong account, then It’s Chase’s fault and I should be contacting them.
    This is not the case, as Chase Posts to the account that SPRINT supplies them.

    And as the originator of this blog stated, this is going to reach several thousand people. I’m posting my ‘woes’ on as many sites as possible. Plus, reported them to the BBB.

    Mindy Jeanne