Cricket Wireless making nationwide conversion starting in March
A big change is coming to Cricket Wireless customers.
In two weeks, the company will begin converting its system nationwide.
It means many customers have to get a new phone.
The prospect is frustrating for George Essenberg.
“I paid almost $1,000 for these two phones and they’re not going to work at all,” he told ABC-7.
Essenberg bought the Samsung Galaxy 4G phones last year.
He told ABC-7 that he was told by staff at a local Cricket store they could offer him a trade-in reimbursement a tenth of what he paid.
“They’re going to give me a $100 for it … based on the condition it’s in.
“They’ll probably give me $50-70 dollars for it,” he added, as he pointed out the scuffs and scratches on his and his son’s phones.
The transition began a year ago when AT&T bought Cricket and made the wireless company its prepaid brand on a different system than Cricket currently uses.
Cricket’s website states that eligible customers may trade in their current phone for a free, new, compatible handset or receive a credit towards the purchase of a new phone.
ABC-7 tried calling the person Essenberg spoke with to get more information about his quoted trade-in value.
But when ABC-7 told the customer service rep the reason for the call, she admitted she had been dealing with “a lot” of upset clients.
The Cricket employee also said she has been offering customers $75 for whatever phone they bring in, and that there isn’t much more they can do about the amount customers receive.
Essenberg said he can afford a new phone but he’s concerned about those who can’t.
“They’re going to get hit with this change and they don’t really know about it, and a lot of people can’t afford to switch phones, being that Cricket is very affordable.”
The company plans to begin shutting down its old network March 15 .
Numerous tech blogs are saying the CDMA network in Las Cruces will be shut down in May or June.
El Paso isn’t listed among the cities taking part in the first two phases of the transition.
But all locations won’t have access to the old network by September.
