Complaint Review: AT&T WIRELESS - Redmond Washington

I experienced the SAME exact thing - refer to report#46758 (in particular, the rebuttal part). It IS a scam but the squeeky wheel does get the grease. You will have to fill out another rebate form AND you will need to start (and contiue) to crawl up Nokia's proverbial butt to get the rebate. We bought 3 phones and were expecting $150 worth of rebates. I mailed the form (originally) in January and started "contacting" Nokia (refer to the phone and fax numbers I supplied) EVERY DAY about the third week in February. I received ALL THREE of my rebate checks 3/22/03 and have since cashed them. Please let me know how this works out.

Dear Shelley: Thank YOU for at least RESPONDING to our complaint. We'd like however to suggest that you READ our complaint. We are NOT trying to "receive information...for the Nokia 5160 wireless telephone..." In the text of our message we clearly state we want our rebate for the NOKIA 3361 that we purchased for our grand daughter that lives 200 miles distant from us. We DO NOT want "information regarding the rebate for that telephone EITHER. We are DEMANDING AT&T cease and desist its insulting runaround tactic of pointing the finger of blame at Nokia, knowing full WELL that calling the Nokia number you have given us to "call for information..." will ONLY result in Nokia REVERSING the runaround and pointing the finger back at AT&T. We have "BEEN THERE, DONE THAT"; thank you but NO THANK YOU!! Furthermore, we are well, and painfully, aware that ours is not an isolated case. There are many IDENTICAL reports of this AT&T/Nokia conspiratorial RIPOFF SCAM posted on several consumer advocacy websites. We call your attention to an editor's comment on ONE of them, RIPOFFREPORT.COM: EDitor's Comment: The Rip-off Report stands firmly behind the complaint. Any fool can see the connection - AT&T markets Nokia phones, so they are part of the scheme. EDitor-in Chief ED Magedson Once again, we DEMAND that AT&T cease and desist its insulting practice of attempting to ping-pong consumers back and forth between AT&T and Nokia until they give up in frustration, and exert whatever influence is needed for either AT&T or Nokia to HONOR the contracted PROMISE of a rebate IMMEDIATELY. The deeper we have delved into this obvious SCAM has increased our anger with each level we have reached. We reiterate "this issue has become a cause celebre far beyond the $50.00 at issue." Therefore, we are forwarding copies of this correspondence to the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, and posting it once AGAIN (including YOUR ludicrous response) on every consumer advocacy website available so that AT&T/Nokia can enjoy the advertisement it so richly deserves to the widest possible audience. Sincerely, RONALD C. KAELKE Thank you for contacting AT&T Wireless regarding your equipment rebate. In order to receive information regarding equipment rebates for the Nokia 5160 wireless telephone, you may contact Nokia at 1-888.600-4480. There's never been a better time to have an mLife. Your mLife isn't just wireless, it's wireless reinvented. Please click on the link below to take a short survey about your AT&T Wireless email Customer Care experience. Your opinions will help us improve our service to you. http://66.162.6.220/idce/start.asp?SID=AWS2323 If you are unable to click on the link above, simply copy the link and paste it into the browser where you enter web addresses, and press enter. Thanks for choosing AT&T Wireless. We appreciate your business. Sincerely, Shelley AT&T Wireless email Customer Care attwireless.com If you need to respond to this message, please leave all documents attached for our reference. TRACKING NUMBER: A00001665678-00006088587 February 25, 2003 AT&T WIRELES REBATES Dept. 4961-32 PO Box 1600 Young America, MN 55594 To Whom It May Concern: Please find enclosed documentation confirming our purchase, and submission for REBATE of $50.00, for one NOKIA 3361 (sku:4830099) wireless telephone, ESN# 07305717708, from BEST BUY store #108 in Victorville, CA on 12/18/02. We submitted our rebate form, receipt, and UPC barcode (ORIGINALS), as per instructions, COMPLETELY and WITHOUT ERROR, on 12/20/02. To date we have received NO RESPONSE. In an effort to follow up on our entitlement, we contacted (again per instructions) BEST BUY @ 800.849.0444. The representative at that number (GAIL by name) informed us we are required to contact NOKIA AT&T @ 800.892.2084. We CONFIRMED that number by repeating it to the rep and asking confirmation. However, when we attempted that number we were informed by recorded message "number is no longer in service and there is no new number or further information." Being more than just a LITTLE annoyed, we called the initial number once more and were told the number to call is 800.982.2084. When we connected to THAT number, the representative (SELMA by name) immediately informed us we are required to contact NOKIA directly. When we balked, she, evidently, reviewed her responsibilities, apologized for giving us erroneous information, and proceeded to give us the address above for RE-SUBMISSION of our claim, as "Your name and address is not coming up on our system." Selma then proceeded to tell us that "since you no longer have the original barcode (we had to send in the original and, AGAIN per instructions PHOTOCOPIES ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, so we had no valid reason to COPY same) you will have to remove the battery from the telephone and photocopy the information there, which will include the ESN#." We informed SELMA that since the telephone was a gift to our grand daughter that lives 200 miles distant, getting the phone in our possession for photocopying would require a 400 mile roundtrip, we felt that requirement was more than just a LITTLE ONEROUS. Although apologetic, SELMA informed us, regretfully, that is our only option. We, on the other hand, feel that since we followed, TO THE LETTER, all instructions for submitting our rebate claim, and AT&T/NOKIA has abjectly failed to perform, and through their telephone representatives, continues to dictate onerous requirements of us before fulfilling its agreed obligations, perhaps exploring legal redress is a viable option. As the reader may have surmised at this point, this issue has become a cause celebre far beyond the $50.00 at issue. It will most probably be mutually beneficial for this letter/request/complaint to be forwarded to personnel with the intelligence to read and UNDERSTAND it, in order that further annoyance, and possibly legal action, may be averted. Your expeditious response is expected, and appreciated. Sincerely, RONALD C. KAELKE Enc. Quite honestly, I've always been somewhat satisfied with your company. Despite this problem, I'll probably continue using your company for wireless service. Here's what I'd like to see happen: Remit to us, IMMEDIATELY, the PROMISED $50.00 rebate that was a key inducement to our purchase of the cellphone in question. I hope you get back to me soon. In this age of modern communication, seemingly simple things should not go unresolved. I'll expect a response within 10 business days. Sincerely, RON KAELKE CC: Barbara Boxer Gray Davis Bill Jones Thanks!