For those who aren't aware, Letstalk.com has all but monopolized the online cellphone buying experience. There are a few holdouts, but for the most part, they have their sticky 1s and 0s in all things online cell phone buying related.
Various retailers use the Letstalk engine and can set their own prices. But when it comes to customer service, you call some representative of Letstalk who then at the end of the call says something to the effect of "Thank you for calling...err...ummm...Walmart.com," or wirefly.com or, or, or, etc.
So I buy my Samsung Captivate that I have lusting over for at least a solid week now from a Letstalk affiliate on eBay this past Monday. Ordered my wife a Blackberry Torch. A white one. Very nice. Paid an additional fee for 2 Day UPS. Oh - how do I know my wife's Torch is nice? Got it yesterday. In the same box my Captivate was SUPPOSED to be in!
Here's the frustration - Packing slip says that my Captivate is in the box. Unless this is one of those new cool invisible boxes and I'm just overlooking it, it ain't in there.
Call the toll free number on the packing slip. They inform me that they will have to spend the next 5 business days researching my claim. Then they will ship me out a new phone.
But I paid to have it YESTERDAY Wednesday, not NEXT WEEK Wednesday.
Grr...
Now, I am a bit concerned that there could be some he said/she said. What's for them to say that I didn't just pocket the phone to eBay it for $500 later? After all, for all practical purposes, the paperwork shows that it was in the box.
Now my only redeeming grace is that I have a printed receipt with the IMEI on it. If anyone else were to activate it, I'm sure it could be discovered. Interestingly, last Monday, my Blackberry email and internet were disabled. When I called AT&T, it was because my Captivate was activated. I'm sure this was a factory activation, so I'm not too concerned. I had to actually switch it back to my Blackberry until I get the thing so that I'm still useful in life.
So here is my concern. Could a warehouse dude...ummm...pocket the Captivate, send off the Torch, and then take it home and activate it himself? After all, all s/he has to do is call AT&T with an IMEI and put in a SIM card, and they're all set. And, if that happened, will "research" be able to prove that I never got my phone???
Sure, the phone only cost me $15, but it also cost me a two year commitment and $500 to replace if I don't want to keep using my crappy Bold for the next year.
Various retailers use the Letstalk engine and can set their own prices. But when it comes to customer service, you call some representative of Letstalk who then at the end of the call says something to the effect of "Thank you for calling...err...ummm...Walmart.com," or wirefly.com or, or, or, etc.
So I buy my Samsung Captivate that I have lusting over for at least a solid week now from a Letstalk affiliate on eBay this past Monday. Ordered my wife a Blackberry Torch. A white one. Very nice. Paid an additional fee for 2 Day UPS. Oh - how do I know my wife's Torch is nice? Got it yesterday. In the same box my Captivate was SUPPOSED to be in!
Here's the frustration - Packing slip says that my Captivate is in the box. Unless this is one of those new cool invisible boxes and I'm just overlooking it, it ain't in there.
Call the toll free number on the packing slip. They inform me that they will have to spend the next 5 business days researching my claim. Then they will ship me out a new phone.
But I paid to have it YESTERDAY Wednesday, not NEXT WEEK Wednesday.
Grr...
Now, I am a bit concerned that there could be some he said/she said. What's for them to say that I didn't just pocket the phone to eBay it for $500 later? After all, for all practical purposes, the paperwork shows that it was in the box.
Now my only redeeming grace is that I have a printed receipt with the IMEI on it. If anyone else were to activate it, I'm sure it could be discovered. Interestingly, last Monday, my Blackberry email and internet were disabled. When I called AT&T, it was because my Captivate was activated. I'm sure this was a factory activation, so I'm not too concerned. I had to actually switch it back to my Blackberry until I get the thing so that I'm still useful in life.
So here is my concern. Could a warehouse dude...ummm...pocket the Captivate, send off the Torch, and then take it home and activate it himself? After all, all s/he has to do is call AT&T with an IMEI and put in a SIM card, and they're all set. And, if that happened, will "research" be able to prove that I never got my phone???
Sure, the phone only cost me $15, but it also cost me a two year commitment and $500 to replace if I don't want to keep using my crappy Bold for the next year.