Sprint customer billed for 'promotional gift' after upgrading his phone

CONCORD, Calif. (KGO) -- Most of us wouldn't expect to be asked to pay for a promotional gift, but that's what a Concord man said happened to him.

Ted Wilson thought he was being offered the gift for being a good customer. He found out differently when his bill shot up.

Wilson bought his phone from Sprint in 2016. He finally paid it off a year ago and went to the store seeking an upgrade.

He not only walked out with a new phone, but also with an in-car Wifi system he didn't really want or need.

"The manager made it sound like he was giving me a gift. He give me this little box to go in my car," said Wilson.

The following month, while going through treatments at the dialysis center, he received a courtesy call reminding him his bill was due.

When he went into the store to pay it, he suffered sticker shock.

"Now why I had never got a bill like that and I didn't know it was that much," he said.

Wilson complained, saying he felt misled.

"Because he said 'Sprint's giving you this for upgrading your phone,'" he explained.

They promised him his bill would go back down and again offered him something he thought was a gift: a tablet.

Once again, his bill went up.

He decided to call 7 On Your Side. We reached out to Sprint.

The company told us: "After review, our team was able to send Mr. Wilson two device return boxes. We've credited his account for services charged. We'll be crediting him the equipment charges as well."

"I wanna say thank you very much for your help, and I would recommend you guys helping people in trouble like myself," said Wilson.

He has returned the "gifts" back to Sprint unused and unopened. His latest bill is just $46.

Take a look at more stories and videos by Michael Finney and 7 On Your Side.