PHOTOS, PAGE 1

       Editor and prime reporter is Doug Terry, a veteran television and radio reporter in   Washington, DC, (details below)

SPRINT TRIES TO CHARGE FOR PHONE CALLS USED TO TRACK DOWN THIEF

There is an interesting story in the WashPost, filed 10.27.10 for the morning edition, about a couple in the Washington area who were able to track down a burglar who stole their property. They used the GPS feature on their Sprint cell phone. This sort of thing does not take a genius to figure out, but it sort of qualifies as a man bites dog story when burglars are seldom caught because the lack of clues and, face it, the police have more important things to do than recover your laptop in a rich area where houses are filled with computers and flat screen TeeVees, etc.

Here’s the bounce back to the story, however: they wanted their phone left on so they could track the thief. Spint them told them sorry, Charlie, that means you have to pay for the charges the crook ran up. I don’t really like to suggest that is is the sort of brain dead “customer service” we face in America every day, but, sadly, it is. Get every last penny out of everyone you can are the marching orders. Since they’ve got you on a contract, you’re screwed if they won’t take off the charges. The best rule: never sign up for a contract with a cell company, ever.

If you’d like to read the whole Post story, click on the blue bo

http://tinyurl.com/27hdjfs

x. The part about the cell charges follows.

 The Fishers would have been happy to - until they learned that they would have to pick up the thief's portion of their cellphone bill.

Sprint executives told them that by not suspending the phone, the Fishers had essentially granted the thief permission to use it.

"We would consider any authorized usage as valid and billable," Brandon-Ross Howard of the company's executive and regulatory services office told the Fishers in an e-mail.

1,000 calls over 11 days
 

 The thief made about 1,000 calls over 11 days that were mostly covered by the Fishers' plan. But Kari Fisher, who is a tax attorney for the IRS, argued that Sprint should eat the $35 tab out of principle.

 After a reporter inquired about the charge, Sprint agreed to waive it.

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