BELTON, MO (KCTV) -
Some Sprint customers in Belton and Grandview finally have their cell service back after weeks of dropped calls.
It has been very frustrating for Gary Adler and his family, who relies heavily on their cell phones, powered by Sprint, to keep in touch. But lately, they say their phones are basically expensive paper weights.
"We let everyone know if you need us, text us. In an emergency situation, that is not very effective," Adler said.
The Belton resident said the problems began at the beginning of the month. Since then, he hasn't been able to make or receive calls. His only way of communicating is through text messaging.
Adler only lives a few blocks from a cell phone tower and normally has great service. To make matters worse, Adler said he has received the run-around from Sprint's customer service.
"That is what is concerning to me, to be out that long. And I have received three different stories. It is sort of like the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing," he said.
A few miles north in Grandview, it is the same story for Sprint customer Barbara Bortles.
Like Adler, she said phone calls are constantly dropping and only text messages seem to go through. But that is a concern for Bortles, who has medical issues.
"I have a muscle disease. I thought about falling down and not being able to get help, and that is scary," Bortles said.
A spokeswoman for Sprint sent KCTV5 the following statement:
"We are currently in the middle of transitioning our network from 3G to 4G LTE, and while we don't anticipate any issues, there can sometimes be hiccups with service in a particular area. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused our customers in Belton, and we expect service to improve as we work through the issue."
Both Adler and Bortles say they will be pressing Sprint for major discounts off of their bills.
This story came from KCTV5's Investigative Hotline. If you have tip, call us 576-7555 or e-mail us at Investigate@kctv5.com.
Copyright 2012 KCTV (Meredith Corp.). All rights reserved.
