Won't help with stolen cell phone/huge bill

I called Sprint to report a stolen phone. I realized that there were over 1,700 text messages (300 are included in our plan per month) in the past week since we realized it was missing. This phone was a spare that we let our daughter use on and off. I asked Sprint to mail a list of all text messages and phone numbers so we could attempt to track down the phone/thief. They refused - they said it was "private customer information". Well I told them I was the customer, so why couldn't I see private customer information? They said they could only do so by court order. Yet a friend has requested the same information from Verizon with no trouble getting it. Why is Sprint being so difficult? They're not encouraging anyone to stick with them. Also they are unwilling to forgive any part of the over $500 of charges this has racked up. They really must not value us at all as customers.

One thing is for sure, I'll definitely be diverting anyone that talks about wanting a new phone service away from Sprint. They may be cheap (like T-Mobile which has about as many problems with its customer service), but I guess you get what you pay for (and are stuck paying for). I've read a lot of bad customer service stories about them so far, and can honestly say I don't think they have changed much at all. It's still all about getting contracts and failing to uphold their end of the bargain.

A word to the wise: Think twice, no three times, or more before signing a contract no matter what you're offered. They usually have plentiful penalties listed for you if you don't pay, want to cancel, etc. but have relatively little or no responsibility on the company's end for keeping up the terms.

I will do more research into what steps I may be able to take from a legal standpoint (such as filing a police report, not just about the phone itself being stolen, but see what I might can file directly against Sprint as a result of their refusal to reveal "private customer information" to the customer (me). Maybe there is a legal loophole somewhere that would allow me to get out of the contract without penalty.