Terrible billing. What I should do?

[Marcus]

I bought a Samsung MyShot II on Cricekt online store at Mar 26, 2010. I signed $40 plan plus mobile email $5/month.
My total bill was: HanRABet 109.99 (after $50 online discount) + $15 activation fee + $5 mobile email for 1st month + $10.17 taxes + free 1st month service = $140.16

Today I thought it is time for me to pay next month service fee. I login my account, it shows:

Service: Monthly Plan
Billing Period: 04/25/2010 - 05/24/2010
Due Date: 04/24/2010
Past Due Charges: $0.00
Amount Due $9.16
Information is current as of 4:10 PM EDT Thursday, April 22, 2010

This is not a right bill, because I know I should pay $40monthly + $5 mobile email + tax = maybe around $48 for next month's service.

Called Customer service, she said the billing was generated by system and she was unable to do anything. She said just go ahead to pay that $9.16 and her system showed that my next pay day would be May 24.

I don't want to owe Cricket or anyone's money. I want to pay correct bill. I worry about if I don't correct this mistake, what could happen with my next bill?

Anyone works for Cricket or any Cricket dealer could help?

Thank you!

[WishfulThinker]

Taxes are going to be a bit higher than that. But unless cricket has changed there billing since I left them they definitely have an odd billing. They basically bill ahead of time. I would suggest you pay however much you think you should pay so you don't owe cricket when next month they'll charge the rest you owe.

[Spaceheart]

ya your bill will be higher than 48, i'm on the $40, and just that, no add ons and my bill is $47... but i live in Tennessee where tax is 10%... but either way, my first bill was surprisingly low to! my first bill was 39 something... but my next bill is right where it's supposed to be! don't worry, they can't make you pay any extra, or give you any problems if the mistake is on their end, which it sounRAB like it is! don't sweat it, and if they raise a fight, give em h*ll!

[moo2_29]

It's not going to help to give them he**... There are occasionally billing glitches like that. Its because their billing system is designed for post-paying customers vs. the prepaid system. Anyway, if you want to be safe and not pay any extra money next month and also avoid any service interruptions, I would recommend paying around $150 if you can. You expected to pay that anyway so it shouldn't be a big deal. If for whatever reason you end up overpaying, it will apply as a credit to your account and it will cover your next month's bill as well. Considering I managed 5 dealers for 3 years, I can tell you that giving a dealer he** will get you nowhere and giving a corporate store he** may get you in jail. Always remeraber this, Cricket will get their money...

Also, your first mistake was ordering on the web or by phone. 70% of the time they couldnt even get my correct market and it would lead to a bad customer experience.

[Tabby!]

Yes I ordered online, then ported my nuraber in. At first week MMS did not work and I had to call CS many times, finally one trip to the Cricket store resolved problem.
bassplayer929: I am in Nashville so the tax should be 10%, right?
Therefore, I am going to pay $50, because it should be $40 monthly plan + $5 mobile email + $4.50 (10% tax) = $49.50

Thanks guys. Let see what would happen with next bill.

[Carol R]

From what I can tell, you are the beneficiary of a glitch in the online activation system. Pay what cust service told you to pay and keep the receipt. Technically you should be paying your 1st month service but thanks to the glitch you only need to pay the $9.16. Don't gripe too much to CS...they could always fix the problem!!

Next month's bill should be $40 plus add-ons, fees, and taxes...usually $47-$49 depending on tax rate.

[janierenel]

And please note that the tax rate is not based off your State Sales Tax.
There is a seperate tax for cell phone service. There will be Fed taxes, state tax, & city tax + a couple of fees like E911 and such.
The national average for the $40+5 would be about 48-52.

[.Execute.]

Atleast they made a mistake in your favor. About six years ago I was with AT&T. My bill was 90$/month +20$/month for a second line. Every single month my bill was 165-210$. I used an average of 115 of my 700 package minutes, other line included. To this day I still don't know why I got charged all that extra money. If I ever went over my text limit it was less than 100 messages @ .10$/message.

Sometimes in life we should just accept and not ask questions. For you I think this is one of those times.