Rant Thread 8/21/06

[2nyRiggz]

Friday afternoon I went out and purchase my father a cell phone from the mall....

Me: Hi I'm looking for a really nice GSM phone that is unlocked
guy: Oh sure, we got this samsung ghs-t9 whatever.....

**10 cell phones later**

Me: cool....This phone is unlocked right....I'm asking this because my father does not live here(U.S) and I would like for him to use this phone when he is in the U.S and when he is home.
Guy: Yes this phone will work on any network...just replace the sim card
Me: cool..I guess i'll take this one

**Purchased a brand new $200+ phone**

The same day I fed-ex the phone over to my father....Monday morning...he likes it...I'm happy. My father went to turn the phone on...cool...he got the sim needed and was ready to go...wrong....come to find out the phone is locked now I have to call t-mobile and beg them to unlock the phone but t-mobile will not unlock it until 90 days after activation.... now my pops is a proud owner of a brick for 90 days....Thanks mall guy!



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[Zwhaler]

Wow, another case of stupid workers who end up costing you. I would go yell at the mall guy. That really pisses me off when people act like they know when they're talking about, but really don't. Is there anyway to return the phone?

 

[AlBDamned]

Bad luck Tony, but you should never trust a gimp in a phone shop. They no more about cheap silk ties and bad suits than they do about phones.

I'm not sure if it's the same in the States but I suspect it might be: Say to your dad to keep a look out for one of those shops that offer a phone unlocking service. Quite often, this will simply be a guy with a laptop. In the UK we get them all over the place like little booths outside of train stations, high street shops, even in the malls.

It should cost no more than $15.

 

[2nyRiggz]

Is there anyway to return the phone?

I was thinking about letting him fed-ex the phone back to me and letting someone unlock it for me...then fed-exing it back but AlBDamned suggestion sounds better.....finding someone or some place that will be able to do this is uncertain...hopefully there will be....more money to spend I guess.


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[Tanglewood]

I'm sure there is some legal precedent for this though I can't think of it right now (I took a business law class last year and we went over this. I have since sold the textbook back, though the semester starts up next week and I could just ask the professor about it).

Its something along the lines as a reasonable guarantee from the seller that said product will perform how the seller says it will perform.

In this case as an unlocked cellphone.

there is more but I can't think of it right now.

and I know I'm probably way off in this definition though I'll revise it once I talk to my professor next week.

 

[quigleybc]

Ya...

I would have been sceptical buying a phone here to work in the u.s...unlocked or not..

You have to remember, people that sell stuff 9 out of 10 times know nothing....at least they only know enough to make the sale....

I don't even remember sim cards when I lived in the U.S...

sucks man..

next time get him a tie....

 

[clayj]

I'd go raise hell with the idiot at the phone booth's BOSS, and tell him that although you're not going to bring the phone back for a refund, you ARE going to tell everyone you know to avoid his establishment since they don't know WTF they are talking about.

 

[2nyRiggz]

^Sounds like a good idea to me......next time i'll know better. I really wouldn't think nothing of it if the phone was less than $100 but damn I took a hitting with Fed-ex and the phone itself....oh well at least he made the sale right.....bastard.






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