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LetsTalk (3rd Party Vendor For Walmart.com Online Connection Center) Provides junk phones & ships them in poorly sealed & mangled boxes North Richland Hills Texas
I ordered a phone with service through the Walmart.com online connection center, which is serviced by LetsTalk.com. I paid for my order, paid extra for rush shipping (2 Day Air), and waited for my phone to arrive. The phone arrived late on the 3rd day, in a mangled box that had been improperly sealed. The whole side and one corner of the box was completely crushed in, and whomever packed the box and taped it shut, only taped over one of the flaps on the box, so the other flap was flopping everywhere.
Even though the shipping box looked like a drunk monkey had used it as a bowling ball, the actual box that the new phone was in was in okay shape, but it was not sealed with tape, as new product boxes usually are. So I opened it up and took out the phone, a Motorola Razr (supposedly), and was quite disappointed. Now I know what a Razr looks like and feels like, I have seen them and used them because my sister-in-law has one. But this Razr was completely plastic, and the keypad on it was already coming off at one corner. I actually believe it was one of those cheap display models. The only instructions was a small torn sticker stuck to the top of the phone box that said insert SIM card to begin using your new phone. What SIM card?
Well, after rummaging around in what was left of the shipping box, I found the SIM card under a bottom flap of the box. Apparently, whomever packaged the phone, tore the SIM card off the box when packing it. Maybe it WAS a drunk monkey that packed my order? So I insert the SIM into the phone, install the battery, and plug the phone into it's charger. I try to turn the phone on, and just get a blank, black screen with this white text: "Bootloader, 03.08, SW Version R26111MLD-AS_U_96.B0.0AR, Battery OK, OK to Program, Connect USB Data Cable" Huh? So I turned it off, then back on, and still the same thing.
So I called LetsTalk.com & after waiting on hold for about 15 minutes, explained to them what was going on, and they told me to call AT&T, because it was an activation issue. The phone was supposed to already be activated before it was shipped to me. So I call AT&T & immediately get connected to a rep, who walks me through re-inserting the SIM card, etc., and they tell me that it appears that the phone has not yet been activated by LetsTalk, and I was told to call them back. OK. SOOO, I called LetsTalk back, and after waiting another 15 minutes on hold, and having to explain everything over again, they tell me they are going to put in an activation request to their tech department & they told me I would have to call them back in two hours to see if they had done anything with it yet.
WHAT? Whatever, so I talk to a friend of mine in the meantime who knows his stuff when it comes to cell phones, and he tells me that my phone was never programmed properly with the carrier's software, and that it will never work and I should return it.
So I call LetsTalk and (after waiting 20 minutes on hold this time) tell them that I just want to return the phone, and get a replacement. They give me an RMA# and told me I would have to pay for the return shipping and that it would take three to four weeks to get my replacement phone delivered to me. WHAT? They can send me a phone in 3 days, but it takes three to four weeks to send a replacement? I ask them what I'm supposed to do for a phone for three weeks, and they said it wasn't their problem.
Okay, whatever, I get the returns address from them and realize that I'm only 7 minutes driving distance from their return facility, and I told them that I was just going to drop the phone off in person to speed up the return/replacement process. Then the CSR started sounding very nervous and said "No, you can't do that, we don't allow customers at our return facility." So by this time I'm very frustrated with the whole mess and I just told them to cancel my entire order, and I was sending their piece of crap phone back to them.
Long story short (too late for that phrase I guess), I spent $20 (shipping to and from) to find out that LetsTalk.com is basically a junk dealer, which is why you get such a good deal on their phones. But on a positive note, I did still get a new phone and service with AT&T by going in to my local Wal-mart. The phone is great, the service is great, and the whole transaction only took about 30 minutes. NOT the three to four weeks I would have had to wait had I decided to keep dealing with LetsTalk.
Just wanted to post my story in detail so maybe others won't have to go through the mess that I did. Sometimes it IS better to deal in person than online!
Bev
Azle, Texas
U.S.A.
6 Updates & Rebuttals
Jc
Calhoun, GA,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Complaint about WalMart / LetsTalk
#7Consumer Comment
Sun, June 14, 2009
I have a longstanding contract with a national cell-phone carrier. When it was time for the contract extension and equipment upgrade, I went through Wal-Mart's online cell-carrier, LetsTalk. I gave them my info and ordered the phone on a Wednesday, requesting next day air service for a Friday arrival. LetsTalk responded immediately with a webpage that I could go to to check my order status. However, the webpage would not work at all, crashing every time I tried to access it (found out later that it does work in Google Chrome browser).
Two days passed, and no phone showed up. On the morning of the third day, I received an email saying that the company needed me to contact them for more info. I spoke to a customer service rep, who informed me that my rural mailing address was invalid. I told them that UPS had delivered to my address several times in the past, even though I don't have a rural mailbox. They told me that they use the USPS, and that they would not deliver to my house without a rural mailbox, and they would not deliver to a P.O. box (Now that's just plain stupid - a Post Office that won't deliver to it's own P.O. box or hold the mail behind the counter?).
I set up an alternate shipping address and was told by customer service that everything was fine and that the order would be process and shipped the following Monday (it was Saturday by now). I checked the website, and sure enough, it said "Congratulations, your order has been approved, and is being picked for shipment on Monday for Wednesday delivery. (thats one week after ordering).
The next morning, I checked the LetsTalk webpage and it said the same, only that the shipment date had been changed to Tuesday for Thursday delivery! That same evening, 12 hours later, I got an e-mail from LetsTalk saying that my Cell Phone carrier had refused the contract extension and the order would be cancelled!
Now i'm really confused! Two webpages and a live customer service rep says everything is ok, then I get an email saying my order couldn't be filled! I've had no problems with my Cell Carrier during re-ups before, and my credit is perfect. Something is fishy here!
I didn't get ripped off by this company because their customer service is so bad, I couldn't even order anything to get ripped off of! The old adage once again holds true - if it sounds to good to be true, it probablly is. LetsTalk offers a really phenomenal deal on goods that everyone else is charging out the wazoo for, but in the end, they literally can't deliver on their promises! (at least in my case). I would stay away from this company.
Jc
Calhoun, GA,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Complaint about WalMart / LetsTalk
#7Consumer Comment
Sun, June 14, 2009
I have a longstanding contract with a national cell-phone carrier. When it was time for the contract extension and equipment upgrade, I went through Wal-Mart's online cell-carrier, LetsTalk. I gave them my info and ordered the phone on a Wednesday, requesting next day air service for a Friday arrival. LetsTalk responded immediately with a webpage that I could go to to check my order status. However, the webpage would not work at all, crashing every time I tried to access it (found out later that it does work in Google Chrome browser).
Two days passed, and no phone showed up. On the morning of the third day, I received an email saying that the company needed me to contact them for more info. I spoke to a customer service rep, who informed me that my rural mailing address was invalid. I told them that UPS had delivered to my address several times in the past, even though I don't have a rural mailbox. They told me that they use the USPS, and that they would not deliver to my house without a rural mailbox, and they would not deliver to a P.O. box (Now that's just plain stupid - a Post Office that won't deliver to it's own P.O. box or hold the mail behind the counter?).
I set up an alternate shipping address and was told by customer service that everything was fine and that the order would be process and shipped the following Monday (it was Saturday by now). I checked the website, and sure enough, it said "Congratulations, your order has been approved, and is being picked for shipment on Monday for Wednesday delivery. (thats one week after ordering).
The next morning, I checked the LetsTalk webpage and it said the same, only that the shipment date had been changed to Tuesday for Thursday delivery! That same evening, 12 hours later, I got an e-mail from LetsTalk saying that my Cell Phone carrier had refused the contract extension and the order would be cancelled!
Now i'm really confused! Two webpages and a live customer service rep says everything is ok, then I get an email saying my order couldn't be filled! I've had no problems with my Cell Carrier during re-ups before, and my credit is perfect. Something is fishy here!
I didn't get ripped off by this company because their customer service is so bad, I couldn't even order anything to get ripped off of! The old adage once again holds true - if it sounds to good to be true, it probablly is. LetsTalk offers a really phenomenal deal on goods that everyone else is charging out the wazoo for, but in the end, they literally can't deliver on their promises! (at least in my case). I would stay away from this company.
Jc
Calhoun, GA,Georgia,
U.S.A.
Complaint about WalMart / LetsTalk
#7Consumer Comment
Sun, June 14, 2009
I have a longstanding contract with a national cell-phone carrier. When it was time for the contract extension and equipment upgrade, I went through Wal-Mart's online cell-carrier, LetsTalk. I gave them my info and ordered the phone on a Wednesday, requesting next day air service for a Friday arrival. LetsTalk responded immediately with a webpage that I could go to to check my order status. However, the webpage would not work at all, crashing every time I tried to access it (found out later that it does work in Google Chrome browser).
Two days passed, and no phone showed up. On the morning of the third day, I received an email saying that the company needed me to contact them for more info. I spoke to a customer service rep, who informed me that my rural mailing address was invalid. I told them that UPS had delivered to my address several times in the past, even though I don't have a rural mailbox. They told me that they use the USPS, and that they would not deliver to my house without a rural mailbox, and they would not deliver to a P.O. box (Now that's just plain stupid - a Post Office that won't deliver to it's own P.O. box or hold the mail behind the counter?).
I set up an alternate shipping address and was told by customer service that everything was fine and that the order would be process and shipped the following Monday (it was Saturday by now). I checked the website, and sure enough, it said "Congratulations, your order has been approved, and is being picked for shipment on Monday for Wednesday delivery. (thats one week after ordering).
The next morning, I checked the LetsTalk webpage and it said the same, only that the shipment date had been changed to Tuesday for Thursday delivery! That same evening, 12 hours later, I got an e-mail from LetsTalk saying that my Cell Phone carrier had refused the contract extension and the order would be cancelled!
Now i'm really confused! Two webpages and a live customer service rep says everything is ok, then I get an email saying my order couldn't be filled! I've had no problems with my Cell Carrier during re-ups before, and my credit is perfect. Something is fishy here!
I didn't get ripped off by this company because their customer service is so bad, I couldn't even order anything to get ripped off of! The old adage once again holds true - if it sounds to good to be true, it probablly is. LetsTalk offers a really phenomenal deal on goods that everyone else is charging out the wazoo for, but in the end, they literally can't deliver on their promises! (at least in my case). I would stay away from this company.
Mike Jones
Kansas City,Missouri,
U.S.A.
Let'sTalk...Or Not
#7UPDATE Employee
Thu, November 06, 2008
I just want to start off and say that I work for Wal-Mart right now in the connection center and since we have started using this new supplier it has been a nightmare. We didn't have expanded inventory for the longest time and then all of a sudden we did. There was no training or anything and the employees had to find out on their own how to use the system. To date, we have sold three phones through the system and all three have been returned. I just want customers to know that they should not order from this company because it is a total ripoff. I have even stopped telling people we have this service because of all the problems. I'm sick of getting yelled at over something I have no control over!
Mike Jones
Kansas City,Missouri,
U.S.A.
Let'sTalk...Or Not
#7UPDATE Employee
Thu, November 06, 2008
I just want to start off and say that I work for Wal-Mart right now in the connection center and since we have started using this new supplier it has been a nightmare. We didn't have expanded inventory for the longest time and then all of a sudden we did. There was no training or anything and the employees had to find out on their own how to use the system. To date, we have sold three phones through the system and all three have been returned. I just want customers to know that they should not order from this company because it is a total ripoff. I have even stopped telling people we have this service because of all the problems. I'm sick of getting yelled at over something I have no control over!
Mike Jones
Kansas City,Missouri,
U.S.A.
Let'sTalk...Or Not
#7UPDATE Employee
Thu, November 06, 2008
I just want to start off and say that I work for Wal-Mart right now in the connection center and since we have started using this new supplier it has been a nightmare. We didn't have expanded inventory for the longest time and then all of a sudden we did. There was no training or anything and the employees had to find out on their own how to use the system. To date, we have sold three phones through the system and all three have been returned. I just want customers to know that they should not order from this company because it is a total ripoff. I have even stopped telling people we have this service because of all the problems. I'm sick of getting yelled at over something I have no control over!