'Where's Marvin Zindler?' Couple turns to Ted for fight with T-Mobile

MATAGORDA COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A couple in Matagorda County wanted to save money on their cell phone bill, but when the deal was not as good as they thought, they turned to Ted.

Sally and D.L. Johnson noticed their cell phone bill kept getting more expensive. Looking around for a better offer, the couple found a great new deal with T-Mobile.

"It was just a lot better deal than we were getting," Sally said.

But after they got their brand new phones home, there was a problem.

"They failed to tell us we wouldn't get service (at home). So that wasn't good," Sally told ABC13.

The Johnsons live in Selkirk, a dot on the map along the Colorado River in Matagorda County. It's really far away, mostly filled with cell towers which sort of explains the choppy picture in the video above. It's unclear if the sales people knew how bad the service would be at their home.

Sally and D.L. thought they were stuck with years of bills for phones they couldn't use.

Calls to T-Mobile, their new service provider, didn't work.

As she fumed about the situation, she said to herself, "Where's Marvin Zindler? And I remember him hollering. And then I thought, Ted Oberg helps people."

We called T-Mobile. T-Mobile called Mrs. Johnson with a solution, unlocking the phones and freeing the Johnsons from their contract completely.

"He did mention that Ted Oberg had called him, so that was a good day," Sally said.

T-Mobile tells us it is pleased to have found a resolution to the Johnson's problem, but company policy kept them from discussing the case with ABC13.

As for legendary consumer advocate and ABC13 Reporter Marvin Zinder, we all wish Marvin was still here and we miss him every day.

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