- Report: #248512
Complaint Review: CINGULAR - Lincolnwood Illinois
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CINGULAR
3333 West Touhy Lincolnwood, 60712 Illinois, U.S.A.
Phone:
847-3290770
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CINGULAR Cingular locking people into contracts and selling defective phones Lincolnwood Illinois
I am an existing customer who had to get my current phone replaced because with the current phone I was using at the time the battery would die after a 5 minute phone call. I couldn't just replace the battery because they no longer made the battery for my phone so I basically had no choice but to purchase a new phone. I purchased the Motorola V3xx. Within the first two-three months of purchasing my new phone I already started having problems with it. It would sporadically turn off when I flipped the lid and sometimes just turn off when in my purse....clearly a defective phone was sold to me. I went back into the store about two-three months later to exchange it but was told that I couldn't exchange it at the store...handed me a piece of paper with a number on it and said go call this number and they will have to mail you out a new phone.
I explained to them that I had a one year warranty on it but of course they tell me that I will get a refurbished phone and that it can only be handled through mail. Of course none of this was told to me when I purchased it from a girl named Anna. So basically, they locked me into a two year contract (I wasn't on a contract when I went to the store to purchase the phone) then 2-3 months after purchasing a clearly defective phone they say to me too bad we locked you in a two year contract that I can't get out of and you're getting a refurbished phone on top of that. I'm sorry.who pays full price for a used phone. What makes it worse is that I didn't damage the phone in any way like drop it or anything.I was SOLD a defective phone. On top of getting poor service from the store that I purchased it from I also got very poor service from William Self when I called the 800 number. While talking to him the line went dead (I think he hung up on me) and instead of calling me back to resolve my issue like the person before him he didn't do anything so of course I was even more livid than I already was.
The people in this company have absolutely no customer service skills and have absolutely no idea on how to handle irate customers like the cingular store who instead of helping me with my issue they just hand me a piece of paper and said call this number. I even talked to the store manager whose name I believe is Anthony. The people in that store obviously don't have any customer skills whatsoever. If they even had basic customer service skills they should have picked up the phone at the store and resolved my issue right then and there NOT hand me a piece of paper and say call this number. I guess the only way to protect yourself is to purchase the phone from a best buy and buy their warranty because at least you would get a brand new phone not some refurbished crap. So basically Cingular locked me into a two year contract...sold me a defective phone....and said oh well too bad...we're giving you a refurbised phone. So I am paying full price for a used phone.
SK
Lincolnwood, Illinois
U.S.A.
I explained to them that I had a one year warranty on it but of course they tell me that I will get a refurbished phone and that it can only be handled through mail. Of course none of this was told to me when I purchased it from a girl named Anna. So basically, they locked me into a two year contract (I wasn't on a contract when I went to the store to purchase the phone) then 2-3 months after purchasing a clearly defective phone they say to me too bad we locked you in a two year contract that I can't get out of and you're getting a refurbished phone on top of that. I'm sorry.who pays full price for a used phone. What makes it worse is that I didn't damage the phone in any way like drop it or anything.I was SOLD a defective phone. On top of getting poor service from the store that I purchased it from I also got very poor service from William Self when I called the 800 number. While talking to him the line went dead (I think he hung up on me) and instead of calling me back to resolve my issue like the person before him he didn't do anything so of course I was even more livid than I already was.
The people in this company have absolutely no customer service skills and have absolutely no idea on how to handle irate customers like the cingular store who instead of helping me with my issue they just hand me a piece of paper and said call this number. I even talked to the store manager whose name I believe is Anthony. The people in that store obviously don't have any customer skills whatsoever. If they even had basic customer service skills they should have picked up the phone at the store and resolved my issue right then and there NOT hand me a piece of paper and say call this number. I guess the only way to protect yourself is to purchase the phone from a best buy and buy their warranty because at least you would get a brand new phone not some refurbished crap. So basically Cingular locked me into a two year contract...sold me a defective phone....and said oh well too bad...we're giving you a refurbised phone. So I am paying full price for a used phone.
SK
Lincolnwood, Illinois
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Sachin
Pitt,Pennsylvania,
U.S.A.
what i did to att
#2Consumer Comment
Fri, June 15, 2007
I racked up 900$ in att phone charges. what did i do? i did use their long distance, and i was roaming in canada. so i racked some charges up. and i was broke so i could not pay them back. let alone my plan had 8 more months, and i just didnt have the time to think about 900 is charge which in cluded 100 to 200$ in overages and late fees. fun stuff huh? i have to pay 900, have no phone service till it's paid, and i pay it for 8 months and i need a new phone. it just means that phone charges are ridiculous and they make you pay such a premium. so what did i do ?? i said f* it, went to t-mobile, didn't have to make a 800$ deposit like i did with att ( i got my deposit back before i screwed up the acct mang!), and got a 50$ plan, 3000 minutes. used it ever since. i still owe em money, but i was a student here on a student visa in PA. so i dunno what happened to that. hahaha they sent it out to some collections agencies, and remember, do not respond to those agencies for a 2 yr period and beyond. after 2 yrs they dont bother u for s**t, no nothing in the mail, but ur credit might be screwed. who cares. only the USA uses this system, what it does is take your balls away. in china. you can freeze ur account to not pay out anything to a particular company. can't do that here. we are a victim of our banks and banking system. it's not just cingular sad to say. but their service does s**k ballllss
Nikki
Coconut Creek,Florida,
U.S.A.
Had Same Problem
#3Consumer Suggestion
Mon, May 14, 2007
This is a common problem with that model phone. I have had Cingular for many years (BellSouth Mobility before that) and sometimes, certain models have glitches. The Nokia models seem to be the best. My husband purchased the Motorola V300 for $180 (regular price at the time was over $300) and had to sign up for the 2 yr contract to get the discount. After about 3 months, his phone did the same thing yours did. He received the refurbished phone. It was just like new, and he has been using it for 1.5 years with no problems. About 1 year after my husband bought his phone, I bought the same one (pink though) from Walmart for only $50 (regular price was about $150) and had to sign up for a 1 year plan for the discounted rate. After about 7 months, the same problems happened to me. I got the refurbished phone and it works fine too. When you sign up for a plan, you do not have to pay full price for the phone. You get a discounted rate. At least the refurbished phones are like new and not a piece of crap. Actually they are probably better since they are tested and re-tested, not just off the assembly line like the new phones are. Since you are already stuck, and out of time to cancel your contract, try the refurbished phone and see how it works. You don't lose anything at this point. I do understand your frustration, though. Customer service is not like it used to be. Companies used to cater to the consumer. However, since companies have been screwed by many consumers so much over the years, they no longer care about us. And now, with the credit reporting, they don't have to do anything for us. They can just report to the credit bureaus if we don't pay, whether they're right or not. Any company can force us to pay whatever they want, or force us to abide by any rules they want, and we don't really have a "leg" to stand on unless we sue.
