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Spending Limit Program Charge

andy2373

Feb 11, 2010, 3:05 PM
What's this? 😕

I have a $60/month data card with Sprint, and that's it.
Opened my bill today and noticed it was higher than usual and found the extra $4.99 charge labeled "Spending Limit Program Charge".

Well if that's the case, every other carrier is about $5 cheaper a month.
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Sprint_2008

Feb 11, 2010, 4:19 PM
if you sign up for autopay it'll remove that charge. Sprint is the only one that has this Spending Limit for customers. Imagine your limit is $150, and you go over your minutes by $1000. Other companies will keep charging you and normally wont notify you when you go over. Sprint on the other hand shuts off your service once you pass the limit to help keep the account balanced. Hope this helps. Its kinda like your limit on a credit card.
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Azeron

Feb 12, 2010, 5:09 PM
So...is that a material change in his terms and conditions? Man! I was going to have my friend sign up with these guys when his contract is up with VZW, but that is a big red stop sign.
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SEM

Feb 12, 2010, 6:01 PM
One thing to take into consideration is that not every customer is on the Spending Limit Program.
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Azeron

Feb 12, 2010, 6:57 PM
Okay. That makes sense. So Sprint is trying to drive off its credit challenged customers?
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andy2373

Feb 12, 2010, 10:28 PM
Azeron said:
Okay. That makes sense. So Sprint is trying to drive off its credit challenged customers?

🤣 🤣 🤣
Funny, I can qualify for over a $300k home loan. But Sprint either thinks I'm credit challenged, may go over their imaginary spending limit, or wants automatic payments.
What's really funny is that I bought the data card off Ebay, walked into my local Sprint store and started the data service. 😳
Way to treat your customers Sprint! 😡
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tuxedosun

Feb 13, 2010, 8:47 AM
It isnt based off your credit score biut rather your payment history through your credit history. If you are always late and dont pay on time, thats why there is a spending limit. This is why they give you the option for auto pay to remove the charge. It isnt the end of the world! Its either you hav ea spending limit account with sprint or pay over a $1000 depsoit at VZW or ATT
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rarodrig26

Feb 13, 2010, 1:07 PM
Also if you have 18 mnths of on time payments, you can have them upgrade your acct so you don't have a spending limit and thus no extra fee. It really comes down to you, pay your bill on time or sign up for auto pay so sprint knows your bill will get paid on time & you won't have an extra charge.
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Cellenator

Feb 16, 2010, 10:05 PM
tuxedosun said:
It isnt based off your credit score biut rather your payment history through your credit history.



WRONG WRONG WRONG and than MORE WRONG!
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npr_kid

Mar 3, 2010, 7:20 PM
Actually, the credit class is determined by your equifax score, then after 12 months of perfect payment history your off the hook. As far as anyone looking for aircard service, If you get stuck paying the $5 extra, you still have the advantage because Sprint has is the only 4G provider & it's unlimited! As far as the reszt of Sprints rate plans, they are the best bang for the buck.
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rarodrig26

Feb 13, 2010, 1:03 PM
I'm also curious why you would buy a data card on ebay anyway. I don't ever remember a time when there wasn't a free connection card, that you know is brand new.
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andy2373

Feb 13, 2010, 2:15 PM
Well, none of my payments have been late in the whole 6 months I've had service.
I don't know what deposit your talking about with VZW or ATT. Because before a Sprint data card I had one with ATT, no deposit.
And I bought the data card off Ebay in hopes of avoiding a 2 year contract, which didn't work.

So here I am, stuck between one of the many shady practices the cellular carriers try to pull over the consumer. And a ETF if I wanted to leave.

It's funny though, everyone says sign up for auto pay to avoid the NEW fee, guess the auto pay through my bank isn't good enough for Sprint. 😕
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Amarantamin

Feb 14, 2010, 7:16 PM
The auto-pay must be signed up for through Sprint, or else their systems can't actually tell you're on auto-pay (it just shows as a checking account payment every month).

I do agree that the spending limit charge is sudden and feels rather unfriendly. I'm on a spending limit account now, have been for the year I've been with service, and the bills are always paid before they actually generate. I signed up for auto-pay to avoid the $4.99 charge, but really don't trust auto-pay systems... I still pay in advance to make sure it never kicks in.

Fortunately, though, I am just a few months away from graduating from the spending limit.
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rarodrig26

Feb 14, 2010, 11:09 PM
Maybe it's just me but i'd have called Sprint (or any carrier, they are all the same) first to see if buying a card on ebay would help me dodge a contract. But again thats just me, me and my stupid common sense.
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Azeron

Feb 15, 2010, 6:55 AM
It wouldn't. I would have signed up with Sprint two or three years ago, but they wanted me to sign a two year contract even though I had my own phone.
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WernerCD

Feb 22, 2010, 5:10 PM
The whole reason for a contract is to get a discounted/free phone.

I promise to be a good customer and pay you back for the free/cheap phone you just gave me.

No free/cheap phone = no contract.

Doesn't matter WHICH carrier it is, you don't get a free phone (or data card), you don't sign a contract.

With that being said... sales people get paid for contracts. You walk in and want to sign up with your own phone? Sales person is basically helping you for free. Leads to shady stuff.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but you'll never get me to sign a contract if I bring the phone.
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Azeron

Feb 23, 2010, 11:53 AM
Then you won't be bringing a phone to Sprint. When I worked at Verizon, I wanted to port a line over to Sprint and bring my own phone. The wouldn't even let me do a one year contract.
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bmore

Feb 23, 2010, 9:51 PM
then you got whored. if you got your own equipment you dont need a contract. i got 2+ years frontline retail with that horrible cash strapped company
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Azeron

Feb 26, 2010, 5:55 PM
I didn't sign up with them. 🙄

I still like Sprint though. I hope they pull through.
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Amarantamin

Mar 3, 2010, 10:49 PM
Eh, no. There's no 'shady dealing' on Sprint's part; the terms and conditions state that all new lines of service come with a 2-year agreement no matter what. It's not a trade for a phone discount, it's for adding the new line being added.
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notasecret

Feb 18, 2010, 8:58 PM
Sprint isn't trying to drive off credit challenged customers, Sprint is trying to keep allowing them to have their accounts. ASL accounts take SOOOOO much work, mostly because the customers don't understand what a spending limit is.
I see it this way. With my credit, I can go to Sprint and pay an extra $5 per month (and pay like $100 deposit), or I can go to any other carrier and pay like a $600 deposit. Hmm...tough choice.

Also, if you've been a Sprint customer for more than 18 months, and have had an exceptional pay history (not one payment late in 13 months) your account will be autmatically graduated from the ASL program. If you meet those criteria and are not removed, call customer care and ask to have a manual credit review done....
(continues)
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randy420

Feb 12, 2010, 6:48 PM
It is a change in the Terms and Conditions for people who have a spending limit on their account.

The spending limit is put in place as a result of the person's credit check at the time of sign up. As someone else in this thread stated, the spending limit is there to protect the customer if they go over their minutes or anything else that causes them to go over their spending limit, their service will be interrupted so as to prevent an outrageous bill.

Of course, it's also there because there are some people who have suspect credit, and if they fail to pay their bill for a month that missed month's MRC is put towards the spending limit amount as well.

If your friend you've referred to sprint doesn't have suspect credit, he won't ha...
(continues)
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Cellenator

Feb 16, 2010, 10:12 PM
Wrong just like the last guy. WRONG WRONG WRONG. People with outstanding credit can be put on credit limits, granted more than 150 but still a limit. My credit is flawless and initially I had a 650 credit limit. Sprint is just retarded for doing this, just another reason they suck so much meat! Make the customer pay a deposit or deem them credit worthy. Just another way for sprint to continue to lose more customers. There is a huge outrage thread all about this on hofo.
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acdc1a

Feb 17, 2010, 1:57 PM
Are you off your meds again Cellenator?
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jrfdsf

Feb 17, 2010, 2:15 PM
Politics would be a good career field for him.
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Cellenator

Feb 22, 2010, 6:21 PM
I took the blue one but forgot about the red one 🤣
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sprint321

Feb 24, 2010, 12:51 PM
its people like you with crap for credit is why your on a spending limit. people like you is why sprint charges to watch you account until you set up auto pay so sprint dont have to spend money on people to watch your account 😈
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Cellenator

Feb 24, 2010, 1:15 PM
Wow I'm honored you signed up for PS just to reply to me! THank you! Anyways DB I've outstanding credit and this was 4 years ago. This is just another blender on sprint part hence why they're in the toliet.
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ggfunk

Mar 2, 2010, 3:43 PM
Did you just mispell blunder?

Tee hee.
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Cellenator

Mar 2, 2010, 3:59 PM
Yes.


Did you really just type Tee hee? 😁
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ggfunk

Mar 2, 2010, 4:06 PM
The text equivalent of 🤤
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Cellenator

Mar 2, 2010, 4:10 PM
Better get that looked at 😉
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ulcards

Feb 19, 2010, 5:26 PM
other carriers charge massive deposits for ASL cust sprint doesnt, this charge is to proccess billing it cost more to handle these accts sign up for auto pay and it gets waived.
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andy2373

Feb 19, 2010, 6:57 PM
over and over again you guys talk about deposits with other carriers. I've been with other carriers, recently!
None of them charged me a deposit!
I mean even ATT, which I have friends that have been turned down for an iPhone without a massive deposit, not me though.
But Sprint (if anyones been credit challenged) thinks, from what I'm getting here my credit isn't good enough. 😕
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zzyo

Feb 22, 2010, 4:18 PM
If a material change is made to your contract they will notify you within 30 days of the change. Since this change is material if you want to cancel without etf you can by calling sprint within 30 days of the change and specifically inform them that that is why you want to cancel.

http://nextelonline.nextel.com/en/legal/legal_terms_ ... »

Too bad its been over 30 days
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andy2373

Feb 22, 2010, 4:58 PM

Too bad its been over 30 days

It hasn't, the new charge just showed up on my last bill. 🙂
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zzyo

Feb 22, 2010, 5:22 PM
hope the info was helpful...but as far as i know sprint implemented the fee on 1/10...they should have warned you in a bill insert a month before. Now that it is past 2/10 im not sure if they would still waive etf.
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Amarantamin

Feb 22, 2010, 9:37 PM
You're right about that one. The ETF waiver is 30-days from the change to the ToS, not 30-days from the first time the customer sees this charge. The change to the ToS was made 01/10/2010, and January is a 31 day month. The 30th day was 02/09/2010.

The 'warning' in regards to this fee is *normally* on the billing cycle that passed before 01/10/2010.
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zzyo

Feb 23, 2010, 6:13 PM
You can bring your own phone/data card to sprint and not use upgrade eligibility. You DO have to sign a 24 month contract to activate service to ANY PLAN other than the $39.99 200 min month to month plan. So you can bring your own phone to sprint, you will still sign a contract, but be eligible for an upgrade from the time you open service.
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