Tweet
My wife’s cell phone is a piece of crap. We wanted to buy a new one, but didn’t want to spend $300, and are mid-contract so we can’t get a deal on one from the service provider.
Off to e-bay we go.
I find a guy that sells only a lot of phones and seems reputable. His e-bay name is Batterymania. I win an auction on the phone we want. I have the silver Razr phone, we ordered the Red version so we could use each others chargers, but still could tell them apart. We ordered one that was Brand new (not re-furb), so as to avoid the problems she is having with her phone. We have to pay $18 for shipping, which is INSANE, but that is an entirely different point.
So, the new phone comes in the mail. I plug it in and leave it charging for 24 hours like it instructs me to. I pull it off the charger when I get home from work. My wife gets home an hour later. We plan on having dinner then going to the store to have the service switched to the new phone. 1 hour 45 minutes after I pull it off the charger it starts to beep that the battery is low. 10 minutes later it shuts itself off.
Huh?
I charge it overnight, it dies in less than 2 hours. I put my fully charged and well functioning battery into the phone, and it dies in less than two hours. I try to call the guy, but there is no phone number. I send him a message and he tells me to ship it back to them and he will replace it.
I’m out $6 shipping. (I have now paid a total of $24 in shipping.)
We get the new phone a week and a half later. It has the EXACT same problem. It will not hold a charge. I tell the guy again, he tells me to ship it back again, and he will replace it again.
I’m out another $6 shipping. (I have now paid a total of $30 in shipping.)
We get the new phone a week and a half later. I open the box to find that it is a refurb, and a BAD one at that. The shell of the phone does not fit the body, and the edges are scratched where someone pried it open. And guess what…it has the EXACT same problem. It will not hold a charge. I tell the guy again, he tells me to ship it back again, and he will replace it again.
I said no. This is a Motorola phone. Motorola makes good phones, I have had half a dozen of them. You are selling rejects. I gave you THREE chances to give me a good and functional phone. You failed. I want my money back.
They told me that I would have to pay them back, then they would refund me the original purchase price, minus the initial shipping, and minus the two extra shipping’s at $18 each, AND a 15% restocking fee.
This means I would be out the initial shipping of $18 + three return shipments @ $6 + two replacement shipments @ 18 + $24 Restocking fee = $96
What a bunch of crap.
I did some research. According to a very helpful person at Motorola, the reject rate of my style of phone is less than 0.05%. At that rejection rate, the odds of me getting three rejects in a row are 1 in 800,000.
I e-mailed him again and said “I need your name, phone number, and physical address. I am filing suit in small claims court for the $96 that you are attempting to charge me. Attached is the statement from Motorola saying that this model of phone has less than a .05% defective rate, which means I only had a 1 in 800,000 chance of getting three bad ones in a row. I am keeping the phone I currently have as evidence that you sent me a refurb, not a new phone as I purchased. Please be aware that you will probably be required to travel to Michigan to defend yourself in court.”
Less than two hours later I received the following e-mail “I have overnighted a pre-paid shipping sticker to you. If you return the phone I will refund the entire purchase price including the initial and all subsequent shipping.”
I REALLLLLLYYYY hated to play the “I’ll take you to court” card, but I think it was absolutely insane that I received three non-working phones in a row. None of which were in the original packaging, so I am fairly confident that the first two were re-furbs as well.
P.S. In case you missed the name earlier, avoid the e-bay seller BATTERYMANIA. They are not a reputable person, and only responds to complaints when directly cornered, and then only acts because they knew that they had a very high liability.
Off to e-bay we go.
I find a guy that sells only a lot of phones and seems reputable. His e-bay name is Batterymania. I win an auction on the phone we want. I have the silver Razr phone, we ordered the Red version so we could use each others chargers, but still could tell them apart. We ordered one that was Brand new (not re-furb), so as to avoid the problems she is having with her phone. We have to pay $18 for shipping, which is INSANE, but that is an entirely different point.
So, the new phone comes in the mail. I plug it in and leave it charging for 24 hours like it instructs me to. I pull it off the charger when I get home from work. My wife gets home an hour later. We plan on having dinner then going to the store to have the service switched to the new phone. 1 hour 45 minutes after I pull it off the charger it starts to beep that the battery is low. 10 minutes later it shuts itself off.
Huh?
I charge it overnight, it dies in less than 2 hours. I put my fully charged and well functioning battery into the phone, and it dies in less than two hours. I try to call the guy, but there is no phone number. I send him a message and he tells me to ship it back to them and he will replace it.
I’m out $6 shipping. (I have now paid a total of $24 in shipping.)
We get the new phone a week and a half later. It has the EXACT same problem. It will not hold a charge. I tell the guy again, he tells me to ship it back again, and he will replace it again.
I’m out another $6 shipping. (I have now paid a total of $30 in shipping.)
We get the new phone a week and a half later. I open the box to find that it is a refurb, and a BAD one at that. The shell of the phone does not fit the body, and the edges are scratched where someone pried it open. And guess what…it has the EXACT same problem. It will not hold a charge. I tell the guy again, he tells me to ship it back again, and he will replace it again.
I said no. This is a Motorola phone. Motorola makes good phones, I have had half a dozen of them. You are selling rejects. I gave you THREE chances to give me a good and functional phone. You failed. I want my money back.
They told me that I would have to pay them back, then they would refund me the original purchase price, minus the initial shipping, and minus the two extra shipping’s at $18 each, AND a 15% restocking fee.
This means I would be out the initial shipping of $18 + three return shipments @ $6 + two replacement shipments @ 18 + $24 Restocking fee = $96
What a bunch of crap.
I did some research. According to a very helpful person at Motorola, the reject rate of my style of phone is less than 0.05%. At that rejection rate, the odds of me getting three rejects in a row are 1 in 800,000.
I e-mailed him again and said “I need your name, phone number, and physical address. I am filing suit in small claims court for the $96 that you are attempting to charge me. Attached is the statement from Motorola saying that this model of phone has less than a .05% defective rate, which means I only had a 1 in 800,000 chance of getting three bad ones in a row. I am keeping the phone I currently have as evidence that you sent me a refurb, not a new phone as I purchased. Please be aware that you will probably be required to travel to Michigan to defend yourself in court.”
Less than two hours later I received the following e-mail “I have overnighted a pre-paid shipping sticker to you. If you return the phone I will refund the entire purchase price including the initial and all subsequent shipping.”
I REALLLLLLYYYY hated to play the “I’ll take you to court” card, but I think it was absolutely insane that I received three non-working phones in a row. None of which were in the original packaging, so I am fairly confident that the first two were re-furbs as well.
P.S. In case you missed the name earlier, avoid the e-bay seller BATTERYMANIA. They are not a reputable person, and only responds to complaints when directly cornered, and then only acts because they knew that they had a very high liability.
Comment