Sticker Shock: Sprint Sends $1,900 Phone Bill After Canceling Shoddy Cell Service

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Susan Schweder's cell service went from fine to infuriating when she moved, but that was nothing compared to the sticker shock over a $1,900 phone bill.

After getting nowhere with Sprint for weeks, this mother of a girl with a seizure disorder turned to the CBS 2 Morning Insiders.

"I dropped a call four times on my dad," she said.

That sums up Schweder's experience with cell phone service after moving 10 miles from McHenry to Richmond.

"So my dad finally said, 'I don't want to talk to you anymore. I can't stand your phone,'" she said.

Bucking the trend of 2019, Schweder added a home phone, because her cell service was so spotty.

"Doctors need to be able to get a hold of me," Schweder said.

After working with Sprint to try to improve the signal, Schweder gave up. She said the phone company told her to send the equipment back.

"She said, 'No, there won't be any fees, you've tried. It's because of the network. It'll be no problem," she said.

But "no fees" turned into a massive phone bill.

"I look at my bill online, and there's a $1,900 charge. I call right away. I'm like, wait," Schweder said.

Sprint eventually knocked the bill down to $1,365, but wouldn't budge from that.

"I kept calling several times; a couple times a day, because I'd be either hung up on, told there's nothing they're going to do," Schweder said.

Throughout her ordeal, Schweder kept impeccable notes, even creating a spreadsheet of all her interactions with Sprint; with detailed names, and dates, and promises made.

"I've been lied to through this process," she said. "Being hung up on by management? Not okay."

Schweder also tried social media, summing it up with a Facebook post stating, "I've been on the phone with you guys almost every other day since November."

Nothing worked.

Schweder has since switched carriers to T-Mobile, and now has reliable cell service, but that $1,365 Sprint bill still lingers.

"To be treated the way I was treated, and be charged these charges when I've done everything they've told me to do," she said.

Right after CBS 2 got involved, Schweder received a call from a Sprint executive, who reduced her bill to zero.

She said she is thrilled to finally be off the hook, but frustrated she had to waste so much time to get action.