Cell phone woes

My phone, a Samsung Galaxy S3, is dying, it's not taking a charge anymore. Pat & I are having to charge his battery & then swap it with mine. My sister-in-law, Demetra, gave me my mother-in-law's old iPhone 5 to use, she said it might need a new SIM card but it should work even though it's a bit older. I don't have to buy a new phone which we really can't afford right now as we are attempting to sell & buy a house simultaneously. YAY!!

I go to a Boost Mobile store & ask them to switch to this new (to me) phone. The salesperson calls a Boost agent & is told it can be done (after being on hold 20 minutes). She then attempts to set it up & has some problems. She calls HQ back & a different agent says the phone is a Virgin Mobile phone (everything says Sprint) & can't be switched to Boost (after 30 minutes). I need to set it up with VM. Ok.

I check VM online & it says my phone number can't be ported. I call Pat to vent about this ridiculous situation) & he says that is not true, any phone number can be ported, it's a federal regulation thing. I checked the VM website again & it says I can go to Kmart (which is CLOSED) or Best Buy or Rite Aid (WHAT?) to get service. Ok.

So the next day, I go to Best Buy & explain the situation (I'm getting tired of hearing myself talk about this) & they tell me because Boost & Virgin Mobile are both Sprint subsidiaries they (Best Buy) can't switch the phones but I can call VM & do it myself & it would be the easiest thing. Ok.

Back home, I call Virgin Mobile & am asked to enter my phone number, I tried to get a person without supplying this information but was unsuccessful. I am eventually connected with Boost Customer Service (um?!). I explain the situation AGAIN & what I want to do. The rep tries to set up the phone & tells me I need to talk to VM. I explained that I called the VM customer service line but that I was routed to Boost. She offers to transfer me directly to Virgin Mobile. I thank her & wait on hold some more. Ok.

Now I'm actually talking to Virgin Mobile. The rep says there's a problem with the SIM card & I need to talk to "technical support" so she transfers me. Tech answers & I explain the situation again including calling a VM phone number getting Boost support fun & games. I wish I could remember the guy's name because he was very friendly & tried to help me (SPOILER ALERT, he was not successful) but I don't. Anyway, he tries activate the iPhone but finds that there is a problem with the SIM card (that sounds vaguely familiar, where did I hear that before?). I need a new SIM card. He could send me one or I could just go to a Sprint store (which BTW is right across from Best Buy where I just was earlier that day trying to deal with this cluster****) & get one myself. If he sends it, it'll take 2-3 business days. I agree it makes the most sense for me to go to Sprint. He falls all over himself trying to offer apologies & we hang up. I'm super frustrated & not dealing with Route 1 twice in one day but I know what needs to be done. Ok.

The next day I go to Sprint. There are two customer service reps inside each dealing with customers. No one acknowledges my entrance & I resign myself to wait. Around 15 minutes later, a rep is free. I go over the whole rigaramole again & he goes in search of a SIM card. He comes back & says he doesn't have a SIM card for the iPhone 5 as it's dated but he can call another store & see if they have one. He calls Emerald Square Mall & they don't have any there. He says I can go to there supply warehouse in Cranston, um no thank you. Or I can call this direct line & request a SIM card. JFC! Ok.

That was Saturday. We had an Open House on Sunday & I didn't have a chance to call the direct line until Monday morning. When I do call, I'm told this is a Sprint direct line, I say that I know that as I was given it by a SPRINT rep. I explain the situation again, I'm told I need to call Virgin Mobile. I have a giant headache at this point. I call Pat & tell him the current situation & that I'm so fed up I just want to buy a new phone & say the hell with this. Pat says he'll deal with it. I give him all the phone numbers & IMEI number & everything. Ok

Pat spent most of the afternoon on the phone with Virgin. It took hours but at one point my Boost phone was off & the iPhone was getting set up. But, unsurprisingly at this point, things went catastrophically wrong & my Boost phone had to be turned on again, which meant I had to make a payment for my phone for some reason. So now I still have a broken phone & I'm out an extra $47.

Not OK.