Buyer Beware
Technology is designed to keep us up to date and spending money. Most of us have a computer, possibly a laptop as well, a cell phone, PDA, blackberry, GPS, and MP3 player.
Each of these gadgets has been designed to keep us connected and enhance our daily lives. I own several of the items on the list and for the most part I agree they keep me connected and save me time. Here is my challenge: I am connected through T-mobile and have been for several years. Recently I moved to a small town where T-mobile has only an authorized dealer not an actual store.
If you are not paying close attention the result can be over paying for your purchase and not receiving all the standard benefits.
I purchased a blackberry curve from the authorized dealer. I was told about the warranty and decided to purchase the insurance for 5.99 a month in case the curve was lost, stolen or damaged. Within a month the Curve wasn’t receiving email. The authorized dealer “called” T-mobile and determined that I needed a new Sim card, not covered by the warranty.
Several other issues followed and it seemed that the authorized dealer was helping until I had an issue on a Sunday and the dealer was closed. I took it upon myself to call T-mobile. As it happens T-mobile had no record of any calls being placed regarding issues with my blackberry. I also discovered there was no warranty beyond the thirty-day usual warranty and my insurance was through a third party. Because I had been going through the dealer and my thirty days were up my options were to get the dealer to give me a new curve or a refund or purchase something completely new from T-mobile. Even though the Curve was just about 45 days old I was not eligible for an upgrade and if I canceled the contract I would be subject to the early cancellation fee. After many debates I did opt to buy a blackberry from T-mobile and on the day I ordered it the very gracious operator gave me a $75.00 discount which was more than I expected. The blackberry I have now works great. T-mobile is backing up their product and the service is excellent. It is important that we realize that technology is for our convenience we may have to be prepared to wait an extra day or two in order to stay connected.
Authorized dealers can charge more and offer less without even backing what they sell.
The actual providers often have new customer specials, existing customer specials and the opportunity to get a discount on upgrading to the latest gadget. Uprades are usually available every six months to a year.
It is up to us as consumers to know our rights and read the fine print.