y.st./source/pages/en/weblog/2015/08-August/19.xhtml

<?php
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$xhtml = array(
	'title' => 'Don&apos;t choose Cricket Wireless if you are within T-Mobile&apos;s coverage area',
	'body' => <<<END
<p>
	I contacted Cricket support again, and they said that the order had not been canceled, but had been shipped and was on its way.
	To track the order, all I had to do was call $a[UPS] with my order number.
	I asked if I really needed the order number, not the tracking number, as the tracking number had not been sent.
	He said to try with the order number.
	I also explained that because the device had not arrived, I was completely unable to place any calls to anyone.
	After explaining this, I tried going to the $a[UPS] website and entering the order number there, but upon submitting it, I was presented with a 403 page.
	Presumably, $a[UPS] does not like serving $a[Tor] users.
	After telling the support representative about the 403 page, he looked at my account again.
	This time, he said that the order had in fact been canceled after all.
	Really? Is their system so screwy that from different pages of their interface they get contradicting information? Anyway, he told me I needed to go to an in-person Cricket store and have them fix the account.
	I was not happy with this answer.
	Not only would it mean paying an extra \$25 $a[USD] for no good reason, it would also likely mean flashing $a[ID] that I don&apos;t have.
</p>
<p>
	I tried fixing up the bike so I could get to the Cricket store and back faster.
	It didn&apos;t work out so well.
	The new inner tube fit and inflated properly, but it now seems that my wheel itself is a bit bent, leaving the tire scraping against the frame of the bicycle.
	With my bike still out of commission, I headed to the Cricket store on foot.
	The representative at the Cricket Store was of no help though.
	I explained the situation, and he explained that the Web support people have way more access to accounts than he does.
	He would not be able to fix my locked-up Cricket account, but at least he knew that right away and didn&apos;t waste my time trying to prod a system that he had no real access to.
	Simultaneously disappointed and relieved, as he wasn&apos;t able to help but did not try to card me, I headed back home.
</p>
<p>
	Once home, I contacted Cricket Web support again, who did not seem to understand the fact that the Cricket website would not allow me to place the order again due to the already-in-use user name.
	The representative kept insisting that I place the order again, no mater how many times I explained why the website would not allow me to.
	I talked him into transferring me to his supervisor, who claimed that my card issuer had marked the transaction as fraud.
	He also said that my user name would be unavailable for sixty days.
</p>
<p>
	My Discover account showed the transaction as having gone through though.
	If Discover had thought it was fraud, would they really have sent the money to Cricket anyway? I got in touch with a representative at Discover support to see what was really going on.
	According to him, Discover had not marked the transaction as fraud, or even suspected that it might have been fraud.
	From the sounds of it, the transaction was also only pending, meaning that the interface that Discover presents to me is slightly inaccurate.
	In any case, the issue is not on Discover&apos;s end.
	I would have hassled Cricket support some more, but I would have been late for my last day of work if I had done so.
</p>
<p>
	Today was my final day of work before my departure.
	Hopefully I can find a new job in Coos Bay fairly quickly.
</p>
<p>
	At work, I came up with a better idea than waiting for my user name to free up, assuming Cricket support even knows what they are talking about when they said that it <strong>*would*</strong> free up at all.
	Instead of trying to use my usual user name, I would use the user name field as a second password, another random jumble of characters that no one would guess.
	I placed a new order using a random user name just before going to bed.
	Hopefully the order will actually go through this time.
</p>
<p>
	My <a href="/a/canary.txt">canary</a> still sings the tune of freedom and transparency.
</p>
END
);