I just wanted to share with you guys my not so fortunate experience I had with Cricket Wireless. One of my friends has service with them and recently broke her phone. Obviously this was a good time to get a brand new one. She decided she wanted to go with the Huawei Mercury. She goes into one of her local stores and they tell her they are sold out pretty much everywhere. If she wanted to get one, she should try going online to order one. She goes online, but it only allows her to order a new phone with new service or add a line. Of course she doesn't want to do that! She just wants to replace her phone. I told her I would call Cricket's customer service number for her since she had a lot of things going on. I call, and their automated system tells you that if you are looking to start new service they can help. If looking to upgrade, visit your local store. Well that of course wasn't going to work. I hit "0" to speak with a representative where I got a surprisingly nice lady who pretty much told me that the only time you can buy a new phone if you already have service is through the stores and pay full price. If you want discounted pricing, you have to add a line or start new service and pay for the first month of service along with the price of the phone.
After getting off the line, I just thought that was the dumbest thing I had ever heard! It just doesn't make sense to limit the availability of products to customers. But I guess they can do that since the customers have no contract, termination fees, or accountability. You TRULY get what you pay for!
