The Globe and Mail has learned that a recent complaint against Straight Talk’s mobile customer support service led to the phone being returned.
According to the complaints filed with the telecommunications regulator, the phone was returned to Straight Talk in May for repairs.
“We will never return your phone to Straight Call for any reason,” the complaints read.
“The phone was not returned in accordance with the requirements of the telecommunications Act.”
Straight Talk declined to comment.
The Globe spoke to the Straight Talk representative who referred questions to the company’s corporate headquarters in Vancouver, B.C. The spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment from The Globe.
The phone was also returned to another Straight Talk customer in September, which led to a complaint filed with B.A.C.’s telecommunications regulator.
“In our experience, the telephone was returned by a customer in May after the customer was served with a notice of intent to return the phone to us,” said spokesperson Chris Smith in an email.
“This was not the case with this particular customer.
We would appreciate your feedback regarding this matter and will be looking into this.”
The Globe has also received complaints from a number of Straight Talk customers in the past.
The complaints state that the phone is “unused, unresponsive, and is being used to make calls to StraightCall,” the company said in a statement to The Globe in October.
“Our customers who purchased the StraightCall service did not receive a notice that the service would be being discontinued.”
StraightTalk said it is “aware” of the complaints.
“Straight Talk takes customer satisfaction very seriously and is committed to delivering high quality customer service,” Smith said.
We will also continue to work with our customers and their families to make sure their needs are addressed.” “
As part of our ongoing efforts to improve service to our customers, we are conducting a review of the StraightTalk mobile customer call centre in the hopes of improving the experience for all customers.
We will also continue to work with our customers and their families to make sure their needs are addressed.”
StraightCall has been the subject of numerous complaints.
In March, the company posted on its website that it was closing down because of an “unreliable network.”
In a November 2017 blog post, the wireless carrier said its service was “overwhelmingly” failing.
In April, Straight Talk reported that it had more than 10,000 customers who had been disconnected.
In June, the carrier told The Globe that it lost about $1 million due to bad calls and poor service.
Straight Talk had previously posted that it could not provide customers with a refund for unused phone calls.
In September, the Straight Call customer service rep told The Boston Globe that the company is “working diligently to restore our customer service to the level it was in before the complaints arose.”
In November, the Globe wrote that Straight Talk was “reopening the phone lines and reopening the customer service line, but we are unable to provide any additional information.”
“This is just the latest example of the many times Straight Talk has been accused of using its phone to make unwanted phone calls, including for people who were not authorized to make the calls, to try to make a quick buck and have customers leave,” said David Harris, a lawyer with the consumer advocacy group Consumers Union.
“When customers complain about customer service and get nothing, they are calling it the ‘service to make money’ problem.”