[Resolved]  Virgin Mobile — Payment Misapplied

I signed up for a 1, 300 minute/$34.99 monthly plan with Virgin Mobile about 4 or 5 months ago. Every month I pay my bill on the same day, the 7th. This month was no exception. I called their customer service number and was told no live representatives were available, but I could pay using the automated line.

I authorized a payment for $35.00 to cover my monthly bill, but instead of crediting the money to my monthly plan, they did something called top-up and applied my payment to the standard service that charges $.20/minute for calls.

As of 4-14-09, my cell phone was cut off. I called the customer service department again, and after 5 minutes of automated prompts, I got to a live rep named Mary. Mary transferred me to a floor supervisor named Cathy. Cathy understood the issue and said if I gave them another $20.00, they would fix the problem. I refused and was transferred to yet another supervisor named Cary (a male). Cary listened to my problem, put me on hold again, then came back and told me all the managers were in a meeting so I'd have to wait. Again, I refused. So 30 minutes into my phone call, Cary agreed to credit my debit card the amount I paid on 4-7-09, so I could pay the monthly service charge and have my service restored. This action, per Cary, normally takes 24 hours, but he would be able to get it done within 3 or 4 hours.

I call back 25 hours later, because I have no refund posted. After going through another 5 minutes worth of automated prompts, I get a rep named Elmer. Elmer says Cary will not be in until 2pm PST. I ask to leave a message for Cary and am told that’s not possible. Elmer wants to help me. I tell him the same story and he says the notes on my account say I had a problem with my text messaging service. I have NEVER had text messaging service on this phone. Elmer puts me on hold so he can contact the Finance Department. Ten minutes later, Elmer comes back and offers me the same $20.00 deal Cathy offered yesterday. Again I refused. Elmer puts me on hold again and 5 minutes later, I get a supervisor named Melanie.

I explain the issue for the 5th time to Melanie. She says she understands and again offers me the same $20.00. Again, I refused and told her that I was to I have the full payment refunded per Cary. She starts to argue with me and tells me it’s my fault because I did not realize the payment wasn't applied properly. Now over 30 minutes into my 2nd phone call in two days, I let Melanie know that I want the refund I was promised or I would no longer be a customer. Her answer; hold on for another manager because she is not authorized to offer me more than $20.00. I am now running late for work and can't continue with this run around for the next hour. I tell Melanie no, fix it or lose a customer. She refused to fix the problem.

Virgin Mobile is horrible. Their automated system is not sophisticated enough to process payments correctly, and their customer service reps are not allowed to make common sense decisions, even when it is in the best interest of their company and customers. Sir Richard should be ashamed.