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Holtz Communications + Technology

Shel Holtz
Communicating at the Intersection of Business and Technology
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My fax cover letter to Virgin Mobile USA

UPDATE #3—I received permission to run the email I got from Virgin Mobile USA:

We apologize for the inconvenience the suspension of your son’s account has caused you. We came across your blog stating you were having trouble restoring your services after a suspension related to credit card charges. Your son’s account has been restored after the account was reviewed. Virgin Mobile attempts to protect all customers from the possibility of credit card fraud and we were concerned about the large amount that was being charged to your credit card each time it was used. Since Virgin Mobile is unable to verify a person’s identity visually, we protect our customers by suspending the service and requesting proof of identity. This way, if there is any fraudulent credit card activity, we can put a stop to it quickly. Again, we apologize for any troubles and inconvenience this has caused you or your son. Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions or concerns.

UPDATE #2—I got back from lunch to find an email from Virgin Mobile USA. They had reviewed the account and restored Ben’s phone service—as a result of this blog post, not the fax I sent. The note was personal and courteous, but I still have some issues with the company’s policies, which I articulated in my reply. I’m waiting for permission to post the text of the email here.

UPDATE:—I sent this fax at about 10 p.m. last night to a 24x7 customer service center. 6:45 this morning, the account is still suspended.

I sent the following fax cover letter to Virgin Mobile USA after a seriously frustrating encounter with “customer service.” The message speaks for itself.

Per your request, I am faxing my driver???s license and the fronts and backs of both credit cards I have used to ???top off??? the account I established for my son.

The phone number on the account is xxx-xxx-xxxx
The access code is xxxxxx

I am confounded about the need for this. Your web site invited me to use a credit card to top off the phone, and as a result ??? as near as I can understand from the convoluted explanations I received from your customer service represntatives ??? the account was suspended. Nowhere else in the universe of ecommerce is such nonsense inflicted on customers. At Amazon, eBay, you name it, I can use any of my credit cards without fear of account suspension. The very notion that I???ve had to go through this photocopying and faxing exercise in order to get you to take my money is the height of absurdity.

My son is in the U.S. Army, stuck at a mobilization base in preparation for a second tour in Iraq. His phone is his only link home, and he has that link only for the few weeks he???ll remain in this country. I expect his account to be reactivated immediately now that I have complied with your policies.

Please contact me immediately if there are any problems or issues.

Shel Holtz

Virgin Mobile USA. Where customers come last.

Comments
  • 1.Note to self, never get into a contract with Virgin Mobile.

    Matt Searles | January 2008 | Spiritual Waistland of Massachusetts USA

  • 2.Bravo! This is exactly what we should all do when we have problems with a company: Embarrass them online. If you really want to up the ante, contact their PR staff and ask for a comment. Then keep an ongoing update of how long it takes their PR staff to reply, whether they really answer the question or punt you off with boilerplate language, and then fan the flames until it goes viral. You're going down, Branson! POWER TO THE PROLETARIAT!

    Mowequa | January 2008 | Skokie, IL

  • 3.This is the same Virgin that owns Virgin Media in the UK, my internet service provider with whom I've had some, let's say, interesting customer relations experiences in recent months (and which I've written about on my blog in painful detail).

    Doesn't make much difference because I don't think Virgin listens to its customers outside its own comfort zone which clearly is the epitomy of command and control.

    Individual employees may want to help but the processes they need to invoke aren't geared to actually helping customers, as your example clearly illustrates.

    Susan Getgood had an excellent opinion piece late last month on this very point, ie, organization processes and procedures that are impediments to employees' desire to deliver service - and which the organization does nothing to correct. (And what is the organization? People, after all.)

    http://tinyurl.com/332ckr

    Thought-provoking reading.

    Neville Hobson | January 2008 | UK

  • 4.I lost my phone today and tried to get a hold of someone at virgin mobile. FORGET IT.

    Meanwhile I know someone has my phone because I know where I lost it and went back to get it and it was gone. I call the number and get no answer.

    Now, virgin moble doesn't even bother after 3 email to contact me, while someone else is using up my dollars.

    Never will I use virgin mobile again as you CAN NOT get in touch with a live person. They take only the issues they want to handle as displayed on their web site. Poop on you the customer.
    They can poop on me but I'll tell you this, they won't get a second chance to do so!

    Larry | January 2008 | Ohio

  • 5.I have sent at least 10 text messages to my daughter in GA this past week, all of which were never received. When I contacted Virgin Mobile (after jumping through hoops to reach a human in India)I was informed that it must be my daughters phone. Well, none of my texts to anyone else outgoing or incoming are showing up. Plus, I ended up using 17 of my prepaid minutes listening to voice mail messages that were never intended for me. One was a mother yelling at her son for taking the care without permission...the other was a man trying to reach his dentist. What on earth is happening with this phone? Customer no-service obviously can't figure it out. As soon as my last $18 in prepaid time is used up, I'm going to the new prepaid phone offered through Walmart. My son has his own recent nightmare with Virgin Mobile customer no-service. That story for another day...

    Morganello | March 2008 | NY

  • 6.It's no better with Virgin Mobile in Australia - been with them for 5+ years (ever since they were first in Australia), and mainly because they answered their phone within a few seconds. Just returned from Australia, and had to hold for just under 30 minutes on their help line, and was told I was lucky and that it's normally 45 minutes or more. Sent endless emails since then, both from my email address and via their website, and received no response - now therefore got one pending via the Telecom Ombudsman.

    I think it would serve international consumers well, and Virgin in the long run, to acquire a phrase that becomes synonymous with the Virgin brand and thus taints all the present and future products... Something like 'aVoid Virgin', or better.

    And Richard Branson is a billionaire based on companies with such bad service? Nah, I don't believe that for a moment (it makes no sense, otherwise everyone would be giving dreadful service and becoming fabulously rich), and bet his 'empire' is a house of cards in reality.

    David Kenward.
    Shanghai, China.

    David | March 2008 | Shanghai, China

  • 7.Hi,

    Just wonder whether you could delete my email address from my post, please? I didn't realise it would end up on the page as an address for email-harvesters and therefore a ton of spam (might be a good idea to warn others before they make the same mistake).

    I would have emiled you about this, but didn't want to fork out US$12 to register an 'i-name' just so I could get your form to accept my message...lol.


    Regards

    David.

    David Kenward | March 2008 | Shanghai, China.

  • 8.I had been hearing complaints with virgin service these days and even this happened to one of my friend too.
    http://www.homebiz-direct.com/businessOpportunities.html

    Jennifer | June 2008 | USA

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