In late February this year, I decided to treat myself to a new cell phone. I wanted a qwerty keyboard, and I didn't want to extend my contract another 2 years. So, I cruised ebay, in search of a T-Mobile branded phone, and in the end, I went for an unlocked Blackjack.
The auction was for a NEW i607 Blackjack, with WM5. The purchase initially went well. It wasn't until the item arrived that I had an issue. To my dismay, it was used! Now I will admit that it was in extremely good shape for a used phone, but nonetheless...
I contacted the seller immediately. I explained that there were signs or wear and tear. The seller apologized for the inconvenience and offered to replace the item. This is where I get frustrated...
The process for the replacement starts with me first sending the phone back (now that had bad idea written all over it...they get my money and my phone?). I have to come out of my pocket to pay the postage fees (and that wasn't the final insult). When they receive the phone, they credit me back the shipping fees, and send out the new phone. Now, mind you , I am extremely impatient...
So I offer to take the phone at a reduced price. I asked "what does a used phone go for?" and receive a $15 credit on the $125 I paid (and it showed up in my email from PayPal whilst I was on the phone! - I was impressed.). At first, I am satisfied. That didn't last but a few hours.
I get home and immediately begin the process of "moving in" to my new toy. As I am attempting to charge it while at the same time adjust the settings, I notice that the charger plug is easily disconnected with even the slightest pressure - one of the only areas of the phone with noticeable damage. After a few moments of this, I cried uncle.
Time for a master reset.
That same night I email the sender and request to exchange for a NEW item (what I had actually bid on). I wait as patiently as I can for a reply the following morning, taking into consideration the different time zones. By lunchtime, no response. I figure - "how long does it take to click reply?" I finally call them by lunch time. They answer, and explained that hadn't read their email yet (frankly i was suspicious of that) and re-iterated to me that they would be happy to provide a replacement provided that I ship them back the phone first. Well...as you can imagine, I got a little loud. But what was I to do? They already had my payment...
I follow the process (as explained above). The phone is shipped on a Wednesday, and received on Saturday. I know this because they credited my PayPal account the shipping charges. Do you think they shipped it the following Monday? Tuesday? Nope. Try the following Wednesday. By the time I got the phone, 2 weeks has passed from my initial purchase of the phone.
The new phone was immediately inspected for wear and tear. All looks good. If it wasn't brand new, I couldn't prove it. Once again, I begin to "move in".
Seems like a happy ending. The final insult you ask? They credited the shipping charges to my PayPal account - not my card. So now it will cost me to get my own money back. I'm pretty sure at this point that I will not be buying something from them again...
If you want the seller's information, post a request, inlcude your email address...
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Verizon hangs on...for dear life!
Being a T-Mobile customer, I happened to catch their commercial about the new "t-mobile@ home" product. Unlimited local and long distance for 10 bucks! What great deal! The catch: YOU NEED HIGH SPEED INTERNET.
For all of us experienced/computer savvy folks, that's a given. But for those of you who are typical PC users and coincidentally t-mobile customers, this new product might seem a bit strange.
Here's the real deal on the process...
1. If you have DSL, and your provider also supplies your standard/typical phone service, contact your provider and check for the possibility of keeping your service without a "phone line". This is known as a "dry-loop". Feel free to throw that term at 'em...it will help you sound informed...
2. Contact T-mobile. If you have a qualifying account (they can help you figure that out), they send you a Linksys wireless G router. This is a special router though - it has their logo and 2 telephone jacks on the back - only one of which will be active. Need more info? Click here.
3. Receive equipment from T-mobile, and set it up, confirm it is working.
4. (This is where it gets tricky) Call your phone provider to port your home number. BUT BEWARE! If you are a DSL subscriber, you could lose your internet access in the process!
Step 4 is where I lost it. The ever so compitent folks at Verizon blundered the whole "porting" process. The number moved to T-mobile fine on a Friday with minimal service interruption. Do you think they could leave well enough alone? No. They had to "finish" the process the following Monday (in other words, cut our DSL service for no apparent reason then to make us second guess our decision) to have another telephone number on the line (that's how they do their billing) and complete the "dry-loop".
A few calls to Verizon and many, many (did I mention many?) hours on the phone qualifies me for a service call. Initially their tech support attempted to point the finger at me (mind you I mande NO changes to my inside or outside wiring, setup, etc.). Alas, after some coaxing, the appointment was scheduled for the next day , and the waiting began...
Following day...technician arrives! Only 1.5 hours into the scheduled window! What a relief. I Explain to the technician what really happened. He checks the connection at the pole, and comes down. Says that the central office made it nice and difficult by changing something that caused my service to be interrupted. The technical details escape me, but long story short I learn that this could have been avoided but appears to be a way to keep business. (Something about they only needed to remove the dial tone, and we would have only lost 10 minutes.) Short while later, we are up and running. (Whew...I was going through the DTs!)
Let it not go unsaid - the phone tech was fantastic. He knew exactly what happened, and not only did he fix it, he also replaced my entire phone drop! It seems that my throughput was taking a hit due to old wires. I guess that's the silver lining....
Conclusion? It's worth the switch. The quality seems better then my old service in my opinion. I tend to rely on my actual cell phone for most communication, so the price makes it easier to hang on to my home number. The home phone is really for the kids anyway, and other "instituions" (banks, etc) that require a home phone. Just remember, like most plans these days, there is always a contract...so be prepared to live with it for a couple of years...
For all of us experienced/computer savvy folks, that's a given. But for those of you who are typical PC users and coincidentally t-mobile customers, this new product might seem a bit strange.
Here's the real deal on the process...
1. If you have DSL, and your provider also supplies your standard/typical phone service, contact your provider and check for the possibility of keeping your service without a "phone line". This is known as a "dry-loop". Feel free to throw that term at 'em...it will help you sound informed...
2. Contact T-mobile. If you have a qualifying account (they can help you figure that out), they send you a Linksys wireless G router. This is a special router though - it has their logo and 2 telephone jacks on the back - only one of which will be active. Need more info? Click here.
3. Receive equipment from T-mobile, and set it up, confirm it is working.
4. (This is where it gets tricky) Call your phone provider to port your home number. BUT BEWARE! If you are a DSL subscriber, you could lose your internet access in the process!
Step 4 is where I lost it. The ever so compitent folks at Verizon blundered the whole "porting" process. The number moved to T-mobile fine on a Friday with minimal service interruption. Do you think they could leave well enough alone? No. They had to "finish" the process the following Monday (in other words, cut our DSL service for no apparent reason then to make us second guess our decision) to have another telephone number on the line (that's how they do their billing) and complete the "dry-loop".
A few calls to Verizon and many, many (did I mention many?) hours on the phone qualifies me for a service call. Initially their tech support attempted to point the finger at me (mind you I mande NO changes to my inside or outside wiring, setup, etc.). Alas, after some coaxing, the appointment was scheduled for the next day , and the waiting began...
Following day...technician arrives! Only 1.5 hours into the scheduled window! What a relief. I Explain to the technician what really happened. He checks the connection at the pole, and comes down. Says that the central office made it nice and difficult by changing something that caused my service to be interrupted. The technical details escape me, but long story short I learn that this could have been avoided but appears to be a way to keep business. (Something about they only needed to remove the dial tone, and we would have only lost 10 minutes.) Short while later, we are up and running. (Whew...I was going through the DTs!)
Let it not go unsaid - the phone tech was fantastic. He knew exactly what happened, and not only did he fix it, he also replaced my entire phone drop! It seems that my throughput was taking a hit due to old wires. I guess that's the silver lining....
Conclusion? It's worth the switch. The quality seems better then my old service in my opinion. I tend to rely on my actual cell phone for most communication, so the price makes it easier to hang on to my home number. The home phone is really for the kids anyway, and other "instituions" (banks, etc) that require a home phone. Just remember, like most plans these days, there is always a contract...so be prepared to live with it for a couple of years...
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