Swindled by Telecom CDMA->XT

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tristanb

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#64479 16-Jul-2010 10:35

Just a warning to people with un-savvy family/friends.

My girlfriend was rung up yesteday by a Telecom representative and convinced her that she needed to upgrade to an XT phone and lose $10 txt and forced to purchase a $100 phone which she hates.

Now I wasn't there for the conversation, but she asked the guy "so I absolutely have to change right now" and he said yes.

She received the phone in the mail today, and I asked her why. When I found out I rang Telecom, but of course they wouldn't discuss the specifics with me. But it got her riled up enough to talk to them.

It seems to me, that at best one rouge operator after big commission is lying, or there is a big culture to push XT no matter what.

She was lucky enough to have me defend her here, but I'm sure that many others (not so much here) will have been conned too. We will make a formal complaint at least to Telecom. If we find out we have been ripped off, we may take it somewhere else.

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BDFL - Memuneh
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#352236 16-Jul-2010 10:43

I would bet on a commission seeker sales person. Was it Telecom or a Telecom store? Remember Telecom (and Vodafone) stores are just branded independent companies - with very few exceptions.

These people should lose their jobs on the spot.

johnr

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#352239 16-Jul-2010 10:46

telecom have that 30 day promise thing going on right now can't you just return rhe handset?

tristanb

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#352251 16-Jul-2010 11:00

It was an actual Telecom representative I assume, but she didn't get his name or anything, and unsure if called by call-centre or a store. (GF was much nicer than I would have been talking to the Telecom rep today, I would have got much more detail, but I wasn't allowed to talk to them)

They are sending a bag for us to send the phone back, and including a complaint form. So in the end, we don't really lose out except for time wasted/arguments.

But I doubt she's the only one who was convinced by this guy to "upgrade" their phone. And of course I completely agree with freitasm, these liars should lose their job instantly.

munchkin

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#352280 16-Jul-2010 12:03

You have two options to return the handset - the best and easiest way is to simply return the device (unopened) after receiving it. If the phone has been opened, and your wife wishes to stay on CDMA, return the device as part of the Risk-Free-Trial offer that's on at the moment.

Edit - didn't read that you were returning the device already.

There are some corporate-owned Telcom stores, but they don't engage in this kind of practice. It is possible to see who called you and where they were from; if your wife calls 123 or visits a store, the staff there will be able to tell you. If you make a complaint, this information will also be included with it.

Just a recommendation, when you'd like to upgrade, visit a Telecom store to try the handsets out, it's much better than hearing a description over the phone.

If your wife allows you to, you can also be added as an authority on her account so that you can discuss information on the account in the future.

NonprayingMantis

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#352296 16-Jul-2010 12:32

tele-marketing is always like this. I hate it personally.

whatever it is you are buying via telemarketing you are guaranteed by law to be able to return the item within X days (7 or might be 14 I can't remember) to get a full refund because telemarketing is such a high pressure sales environment.

Telecom also have the 30 day risk free trial too on top of their legal requirements (and it applies whereever you buy the phone, not just telemarketing), so you could use any included minutes, txs etc for a few weeks first if you like before sending it back to get the refund.

and FYI, pressure selling aside, although she would have lost $10 for 500 txts, she would still be able to have $12 for 2500 txts on XT which might be better for her if she txts a lot.

tarasutherland

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#352305 16-Jul-2010 12:53

Hi,

Was there a receipt or delivery docket with the goods that you received today that might help us track where the call was made from?

tristanb

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#352338 16-Jul-2010 14:56

tarasutherland: Hi,

Was there a receipt or delivery docket with the goods that you received today that might help us track where the call was made from?

I'm sure if she was to call and ask she could get the sellers's first name, but sadly she's not as passionate about getting the guy as I am. She will write a complaint (with my help) once we get the return postage bag. The package slip has a distributor reference number on it (874618), but nothing that would identify the crook selling it.

For those interested, they do have a 7-day return policy, plus that 30-day trial. None of it applicable to us, because we have laws to protect against this sort of thing. The woman she spoke to today was nice enough, and sent out a bag for it to be returned, and we have nothing to worry about.

It just sickens me that there are these bastards, actually working for Telecom, lying and telling people the XT change is imminent, just to make a commission. Telecom needs to get rid of these a-holes, it's not a good look, and they've already had some bad publicity.

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NonprayingMantis

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#352343 16-Jul-2010 15:08

what phone did she have before?

Just wondered because although the switch over from CDMA isn't until 2012, they are switching off EVDO (CDMA version of 3G) pretty soon - November this year I beleive,.

If she had a CDMA phone that uses EVDO then her data speed would degrade massively once that happens back to 1x CDMA (2G speeds which suck).
Could it be the case that the EVDO shutdown was what the rep was talking about and he simply explained it poorly?

Behodar

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#352349 16-Jul-2010 15:30

I was wondering the same thing about EVDO, but came to the conclusion that a less-savvy user probably wouldn't be using EVDO anyway. It's still a possibility though.

freitasm

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#352350 16-Jul-2010 15:32

Well, technically CDMA 1xRTT *is* 3G.

Same difference between 1xRTT and 1xEVDO as in WCDMA and HSDPA really (yes 1xRTT is a bit slower than WCDMA but not as slow as GPRS).

munchkin

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#352355 16-Jul-2010 15:39

Hi TristanB,

As I said earlier, it is possible find out who the person that did this via the phone number is, it's all recorded at Telecom's end :-) Additionally, have your wife add you as an authority on her account if you'd like to be able to query information on it.

Unfortunately, the call centre staff are unlikely to give you this information - BUT - if you email your number to Tara Sutherland, she'll be able to have a look at this for you.

I do have my doubts that someone from a Telecom store/call center did this, there are strict rules about what they may and may not do, but I can't guarantee this.

tristanb

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#352361 16-Jul-2010 15:56

NonprayingMantis: they are switching off EVDO (CDMA version of 3G) pretty soon...

Could it be the case that the EVDO shutdown was what the rep was talking about and he simply explained it poorly?

Haha, she definitely doesn't use any data. And she would not have known whether they were talking about CDMA or EVDO.

Her phone is a reasonably modern Nokia clamshell, but quite featureless. (No camera, no MMS) She bought it during the period when XT was first introduced and you could still buy a small range of CDMA phones. She's out at the moment, otherwise I'd tell you the model.

It is possible for her to have got the wrong end of the stick, but she was absolutely convinced that CDMA was stopping this month, and she did state she asked the guy if the phone purchase was absolutely necessary right now, and he said it was. She would not have cared about data being slow, new gen network, or all the other marketing junk. She wants $10 txt, and a phone that can message and make/receive calls.

akia

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#353220 19-Jul-2010 08:44

tristanb: Haha, she definitely doesn't use any data. And she would not have known whether they were talking about CDMA or EVDO.

Her phone is a reasonably modern Nokia clamshell, but quite featureless. (No camera, no MMS) She bought it during the period when XT was first introduced and you could still buy a small range of CDMA phones. She's out at the moment, otherwise I'd tell you the model.

It is possible for her to have got the wrong end of the stick, but she was absolutely convinced that CDMA was stopping this month, and she did state she asked the guy if the phone purchase was absolutely necessary right now, and he said it was. She would not have cared about data being slow, new gen network, or all the other marketing junk. She wants $10 txt, and a phone that can message and make/receive calls.

Hi,

If there is any reference or tracking number on the phone that was shipped if you can PM it to either tarasutherland or myself so we can track internally who this is. We definitely want to track this down as it's not the behaviour, forcing customers, that we want within Telecom.

tarasutherland

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#353230 19-Jul-2010 09:03

also the mobile number as we can check the change made on her account.

We don't condone this at all - so we are here to help if we can.

tristanb

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#353374 19-Jul-2010 13:31

Thanks to everyone who has offered help and support about this issue. I will post if anything interesting is discovered.

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