Registered: Jul 2001
Location: Central Pennsylvania
Posts: 1

Visorphone/VoiceStream in Central PA

The following is a transcript of a baffling situation with VoiceStream GSM service in Central PA. I still love my Visorphone, but the situation with service has tested my patience.

---- 08/18/2001 11:17 AM -----------------------------------------
About two weeks ago I began service with Voicestream after taking advantage of a program you have with Handspring (See http://www.handspring.com/products/visorphone/).
When I went through the selection process to setup my phone, I selected a (717) Harrisburg exchange. (That option is no longer available ?) When the phone was delivered however, I was issued a (484) area code number. After calling Customer Care, I was reissued a (610) number. Either way, my own office or home has to call long distance to reach me. This is unacceptable.
I have been told by Voicestream Customer Care that I must keep calling and checking to see if I can get a (717) Harrisburg number. One representative even indicated that I should check back once per month. Another representative said I would be reimbursed for long distance charges. (Though I don�t know how that would work.)
I currently have, on a second phone that I wish to cancel, a (717) number. It is through a GSM reseller (PCS-ONE) and uses the Voicestream network. A Voicestream rep. Said I could move that number to my new phone at the end of the month, however, a PCS-ONE rep. Said that was impossible. Which is really the case? (PCS One turned out to be correct)
I resent the bait and switch from Voicestream and the fact that the burden of fixing this problem falls back on the customer. I would appreciate anything you can do to remedy this situation.
Thank You,
Jeff Warren
---- 08/19/2001 04:37 PM ----------------------------------------------
I spoke with Monica at CC about why *123 does not allow me to access my voice mail. She suggested I visit a VoiceStream store (the nearest one is 1-1/2 hours away) to have my phone checked. I suggested my inability to access voicemail may have something to do with the fact that I have to dial 717 before my own home phone number. Maybe the 717 part of the VoiceStream network I am on does not recognize my phone as local? Incidentally, I don't believe my phone is at fault because if I switch the SIM into another phone, I get the same result. Monica consulted with a supervisor and eventually suggested I keep calling back to check for local phone numbers. -Thanks
---- 08/19/2001 04:48 PM ----------------------------------------------
When I dial 611, it takes me to PCS ONE, not VoiceStream even though my phone says VStream.
----------At 08/22/2001 08:07 AM VoiceStream wrote -
Dear Jeffrey Warren:
Thank you for taking the time to contact VoiceStream Wireless. When you try to set up your voicemail, do you enter 9999 as the default code? Please advise. If you would like to contact our Customer Care Department, you can reach them at 1-800-937-8997.
If you have any other comments, questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us anytime.
Thank you for choosing VoiceStream Wireless.
Sincerely,
Sharrinetta
Customer Care Specialist
VoiceStream Wireless
---- 08/22/2001 08:28 AM ----------------------------------------------
What are you talking about? I can't even get to my voice mail because of the other issues you did not address (local calling, 611, 717 etc.) I was told that I needed to access my voice mail through my phone first. Are you suggesting I drive two hours from my home to get into my local calling area? Please advise.
---- 08/22/2001 11:23 AM ----------------------------------------------
After spending 40 minutes on the phone with Customer Care I was given a special number to access my voicemail from my mobile phone. I will keep calling for a local number. I would suggest your sales people are more up-front about your phone number dilemma. It poses significant problems for those customers in my area and I will post my correspondence to the appropriate Web message/help boards to save others from wasting hours trying to figure things out. - Thank You.

Registered: Oct 2000
Location: Richardson, TX
Posts: 59

I know that when I got my VisorPhone with the voicestream service, my phone was setup up with an area code in Colorado. Only thing is, I live in Texas. Anyway, I called them up and they gave me a Texas number.

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: Houston
Posts: 72

quote:

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Originally posted by kgeissler
I know that when I got my VisorPhone with the voicestream service, my phone was setup up with an area code in Colorado. Only thing is, I live in Texas.

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They probably figured most Texans are going to be in Colorado in the summer anyway.

Registered: Aug 2001
Location: Lancaster, PA
Posts: 1

I went through the same thing. After complaining about the fact that they had no (717) numbers I was told that I was under no contract with Voicestream since they could not provide a local number. I then called Handspring to see if this caused any problems with them and they said it's an issue with Voicestream. The final piece to solve this was in the agreement with Voicestream from the VisorPhone order process. This is the saving line: "This is an agreement between you and VoiceStream Wireless Corporation and its affiliates ("VoiceStream," "we" or "us") for Personal Communication Services" PCS One is an affiliate of Voicestream. I verified this with multiple sources at PCS One. At that point I took the VisorPhone to a PCS One office and got it activated. I've had no problems since. Hope this helps you out some.

Rick