T-Mobile RIPOFF a bunch of frauds!!! Albuquerque New Mexico
In November 2004, my twenty year old son purchased a VERY expensive phone through T-Mobile. It is a model designed specifically for text messaging. It cost him $299 with a two year contract. Now, it is important to note that we have had mobile service through T-Mobile for several years.
When this phone arrived, he excitedly switched everything into this new phone, signed up for (and paid extra) for unlimited texting. However, he soon noticed that it took DAYS for texts to get to him - if they got to him at all. The same was happening with any texts that he was sending.
Within a week, he was on the phone with their customer support services trying to see what the problem was. They, of course, said it was the service and not the phone and they would see what they could do to fix the problem. He continued to call T-Mobile customer service to try to figure out what was wrong.
When he switched his sim card back into his old phone, the text function worked as it was supposed to. When he put it back into the new phone, the problems would start again. He worked and worked with the telephone AND the online support for T-Mobile. They finally told him that they would send him out a new phone. Of course the one they sent him was used and had apparently not even been worked on because it still had someone else's password on it.
I finally got on the phone with their customer support people (and I use customer support very loosely here) and told them that the used phone in replacement for a $300 phone was unacceptable. The new phone was having the same problems as the one we sent back in. I explained that it had to be a problem with this new model of phone because he simply did not have any problems when he put the sim card back into his old phone.
They flat out refused to refund him any part of his purchase price saying that he only had 15 days to return the phone as stated in the contract (which was not included in with the phone - I had to look it up online). By now it was December (still not a month since he purchased the phone) and after reading the online contract, I followed what it said to do.
I wrote a letter to their Customer Relations office in Albuquerque requesting a review of the decision to not refund for the bad phone. Keep in mind that it still had not been 30 days since he bought the piece of crap - and 30 days is standard for getting a refund from most electronic manufacturers. The only reason he didn't return it withing the 15 days that they state in the contract is because he was following their directions and trying to get it to work. T-Mobile did not even reply.
I sent a second letter (registered) in February 2005. Still no reply. According to their online contract, they want you to go to AAA (American Arbitration Association) to file any disputes. However, AAA requires you to pay a $250 fee before they will begin any arbitration hearings.
Now, my son is stuck with a $300 paperweight and a two year contract that he would have to pay almost $300 to get out of. You can bet that the SECOND that his contract is up, we will be switching service to a more reputable company. T-MOBILE IS A BUNCH OF FRAUDS! THEY GIVE YOU 15 DAYS TO RETURN A DEFECTIVE PHONE THEN GIVE YOU THE RUN-AROUND FOR A MONTH! Thereby getting out of having to refund anything!
Terry
Salt Lake City, Utah
U.S.A.
7 Updates & Rebuttals
Yolanda
Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
T-Mobile sells nothing but junk and their Tech support is a joke!!! Bunch of thieves!!
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, June 26, 2005
In response to Brad, the T-mobile employee..I am an ex-technical support employee who worked for T-mobile for quite awhile..not only is what this customer saying true it is also true that T-Mobile could care less whether your phone works or not!! All they care about is getting you hooked into a commitment..I took numerous calls from customers who had recieved new phones that were defective and all I could do was send a USED replacement!!
That is not only ludicrious it it dishonest. How would you feel if you spent $300-400 on a phone only for it not to work once you recieve it..YOU WOULD BE PISSED!!! STOP TOOTING T-MOBILE'S HORN!!
You and anyone else that works for that company know good and d**n well what a bunch of theives and liars they are..IT IS ALL ABOUT TAKING THE CUSTOMER"S MONEY!!! I can honestly say that I would NEVER PURCHASE A PHONE FROM T-MOBILE; nor would I recommend them to my worst enemy!!
What I would recommend to the customer would be to write to the corporate office directly..address it directly to the CEO of the company..the address is on the website..I know for a fact that many customers have obtained resolutions to their problems after writing to the CEO.
Yolanda
Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
T-Mobile sells nothing but junk and their Tech support is a joke!!! Bunch of thieves!!
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, June 26, 2005
In response to Brad, the T-mobile employee..I am an ex-technical support employee who worked for T-mobile for quite awhile..not only is what this customer saying true it is also true that T-Mobile could care less whether your phone works or not!! All they care about is getting you hooked into a commitment..I took numerous calls from customers who had recieved new phones that were defective and all I could do was send a USED replacement!!
That is not only ludicrious it it dishonest. How would you feel if you spent $300-400 on a phone only for it not to work once you recieve it..YOU WOULD BE PISSED!!! STOP TOOTING T-MOBILE'S HORN!!
You and anyone else that works for that company know good and d**n well what a bunch of theives and liars they are..IT IS ALL ABOUT TAKING THE CUSTOMER"S MONEY!!! I can honestly say that I would NEVER PURCHASE A PHONE FROM T-MOBILE; nor would I recommend them to my worst enemy!!
What I would recommend to the customer would be to write to the corporate office directly..address it directly to the CEO of the company..the address is on the website..I know for a fact that many customers have obtained resolutions to their problems after writing to the CEO.
Yolanda
Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
T-Mobile sells nothing but junk and their Tech support is a joke!!! Bunch of thieves!!
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, June 26, 2005
In response to Brad, the T-mobile employee..I am an ex-technical support employee who worked for T-mobile for quite awhile..not only is what this customer saying true it is also true that T-Mobile could care less whether your phone works or not!! All they care about is getting you hooked into a commitment..I took numerous calls from customers who had recieved new phones that were defective and all I could do was send a USED replacement!!
That is not only ludicrious it it dishonest. How would you feel if you spent $300-400 on a phone only for it not to work once you recieve it..YOU WOULD BE PISSED!!! STOP TOOTING T-MOBILE'S HORN!!
You and anyone else that works for that company know good and d**n well what a bunch of theives and liars they are..IT IS ALL ABOUT TAKING THE CUSTOMER"S MONEY!!! I can honestly say that I would NEVER PURCHASE A PHONE FROM T-MOBILE; nor would I recommend them to my worst enemy!!
What I would recommend to the customer would be to write to the corporate office directly..address it directly to the CEO of the company..the address is on the website..I know for a fact that many customers have obtained resolutions to their problems after writing to the CEO.
Yolanda
Bethlehem,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
T-Mobile sells nothing but junk and their Tech support is a joke!!! Bunch of thieves!!
#8UPDATE EX-employee responds
Sun, June 26, 2005
In response to Brad, the T-mobile employee..I am an ex-technical support employee who worked for T-mobile for quite awhile..not only is what this customer saying true it is also true that T-Mobile could care less whether your phone works or not!! All they care about is getting you hooked into a commitment..I took numerous calls from customers who had recieved new phones that were defective and all I could do was send a USED replacement!!
That is not only ludicrious it it dishonest. How would you feel if you spent $300-400 on a phone only for it not to work once you recieve it..YOU WOULD BE PISSED!!! STOP TOOTING T-MOBILE'S HORN!!
You and anyone else that works for that company know good and d**n well what a bunch of theives and liars they are..IT IS ALL ABOUT TAKING THE CUSTOMER"S MONEY!!! I can honestly say that I would NEVER PURCHASE A PHONE FROM T-MOBILE; nor would I recommend them to my worst enemy!!
What I would recommend to the customer would be to write to the corporate office directly..address it directly to the CEO of the company..the address is on the website..I know for a fact that many customers have obtained resolutions to their problems after writing to the CEO.
Terry
Salt Lake City,Utah,
U.S.A.
Reply to Brad - T-mobile employee
#8Author of original report
Tue, June 21, 2005
Brad-
It is so nice to hear a T-Mobile employee who shows a little bit of concern/decorum.
You are right, it was only a 1 year contract that we were stuck with. I should have looked more closely at my notes. However, I still don't believe that calling it a $300 piece of crap is a stretch (I rounded up one dollar).
My son did not need to return his original phone (NOT a Sidekick), it worked. That is why I mentioned it at all. It was the Sidekick that didn't work (neither one that was sent to him).
The unfortunate thing is my son tried to work this out through the customer service personnel and not through reading the getting started guide. As I'm sure you know, not a lot of people actually sit down and read every word of those booklets. Had we realized that customer service would just give us the run-around, we would have immediately demanded a refund. Apparently, as soon as you accept a replacement phone, you give up the right to have your money refunded since it took at least a week to get to us.
One of T-Mobile's policies (which is also in the getting started guide, I'm sure) is that any disputes need to go through arbitration but they ask that you contact the Albuquerque customer service department in writing and allow them the opportunity to fix the problem before going to arbitration. I wrote to them twice (certified mailing) and never received a reply. NONE! They don't follow their own policies, so how do you expect customers to be held to a higher standard?
I wrote this rip off report to let others know: IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS WITH PHONES YOU PURCHASE FROM T-MOBILE - RETURN THEM AND DEMAND YOUR MONEY BACK IMMEDIATELY!!! DO NOT WORK WITH THEIR CUSTOMER SERVICE PEOPLE TO FIX THE PROBLEM!!! THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE RUN-AROUND UNTIL YOU NO LONGER HAVE THIS OPTION! Fifteen days is not much time to fix anything! If you are expecting electronic industry standard of at least 30 day guarantee, you need to know that T-Mobile does not hold themselves to those standards. . . . .
Brad
Orland Hills,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Which T-Mobile?
#8UPDATE Employee
Mon, June 20, 2005
Terry,
I am sorry to hear about the troubles you are having.
Keep in mind that T-Mobile offers only a 1 year contract. The T-Mobile Sidekick II is $299. Anyone who wishes to purchase a Sidekick II without a contract can do so but the price is higher. T-Mobile's return period has always been 14 days.
You mention your son switching his sim card from his old phone to his new Sidekick II. The return period of your son's first phone (prior to the Sidekick II), I can gaurantee, was also 14 days.
There is also a "Getting Started" guide inside the box of each and every new phone offered by T-Mobile. Inside this guide, is T-Mobile's entire policies, which includes the return period. This is included with new phones; such as phones purchased when signing up for a one year contract, or new phones purchased as an upgrade. The guides are not inluded with warranty replacements, however, for some reason people choose to read the papers included with a warranty replacement and not the booklets included with new contracts.
Terry
Salt Lake City,Utah,
U.S.A.
Sidekick II - piece of junk!
#8Consumer Comment
Thu, June 16, 2005
I forgot to mention the model of the piece of junk phone. It is a Sidekick II.