However, the real problem is with the federal government. The cell phone companies won’t regulate themselves. Unless our elected officials give us the same consumer protections that we get with credit cards, we are at the mercy of cell phone companies. I am surprised that this problem doesn’t get more press. Not a coincidence I am sure.

I would also post your story to a few sites. The more we complain and get these issues out there. The more the companies will have to start making it right for the customer.

And as for the credit cards, that’s a very good point. The credit card limit on liability does have implications for mobile phone vendors, though, because it sets consumer expectations. I know that I’m not liable for over $50 in fraudulent charges if my credit cards are stolen, and as such I’m likely to think about my phone in the same terms. So the disappointment when I’m not helped is that much greater.

Credit card companies have learned the lesson pretty well, though. For instance, early in the Internet era Citibank agreed to waive even the $50 to increase customers’ comfort levels with online shopping.

I have a couple of thoughts. First and foremost, I agree that T-Mobile should have treated you better and that they should have offered to waive the charges. The cost to replace a customer is high and very likely close to the revenue they would have written off.

However, I also think that you should have been more proactive to limit the opportunity for damages. Assuming you had access to either a land line or the internet you should have been contacted T-Mobile to suspend your service. If you had discovered your credit card missing would you have waited or would you have contacted the provider immediately?

And before anyone mentions that most credit card companies limit your liability, this is primarily due to federal laws that require them to, not because they are overly concerned with your happiness.

I do have one suggestion. Most cell phone companies allow you to downgrade your service with no penalty. You could change to a minimum level service and purchase a new phone from a new carrier. It is also possible to unlock many phones and transfer the phone to the new carrier (search cell phone unlocking). I did that with one of my phones for $25 and it works very well.

Will Crawford at Integrative Streams has a cautionary (and frustrating) tale of a lost cell phone, a lost customer service opportunity, and (ultimately) a lost customer….

Role up! Role Up! to this week’s Carnival of the Capitalists (being hosted from Sydney, Australia). I am your host, Leah Maclean, and I hope that you enjoy the 42 submissions to this week’s carnival. Take a moment to not…

I just happened across your blog today and enjoyed your post so much that I had to share a funny AT&T story from long ago.

We were in a $50 dispute that they would not budge on (their billing error) so I switched the next day for free.

Here’s the punch line: 1 month later I get a $100 voucher in services if I switch back to them for free. Needless to say I didn’t, tho I did call them back to “discuss” it.

Hope you are well. Keep studying.

Probably won’t do any good, but you’d be surprised. A lot of time they are smart enough to fix stuff like this when lower level managers are not.