
Matthias of Sherman Oaks, CA on May 22, 2012
Satisfaction Rating1/5
Misrepresented Contract - I visited the T-Mobile store at 4454 Van Nuys Boulevard in Sherman Oaks, CA on February 13, 2012 to purchase a new phone because my old phone was broken. My previous phone had cost me $600 with a two-year financing agreement. When I went into the store, I asked the customer sales representative (sales rep **) what special deals they had for a new phone that would not cost me another $600. I specifically told him that I wanted a new phone and would be willing to create a new contract to get a special deal. I also told him that I did not want to engage in another financing agreement. He told me that he understood and that he had a great deal on a brand new Samsung Galaxy S2 if I entered into a new two-year contract.
The price of the phone would be $200 but I would be required to pay taxes on the full amount of the phone of $600. It sounded fishy to me but he explained that it was California law and I need to pay the full tax to receive the deal. I agreed to proceed with the new contract and paid him $352.49 for the $200 phone plus tax. He then asked me if I wanted insurance and I said yes. I signed an insurance agreement where he circled the $7.99/month I wound be responsible for. When I received my bill in February, everything was fine but when my March bill came, I was surprised to find that I was being billed $15/month for a financing agreement over a two-year period of time to pay for the remaining $300 of the full purchase price of the phone. I called T-Mobile to complain and they informed me that I should go back to the store, which I did.
I spoke with another sales rep who said that because I signed the agreement, there is nothing they could do. She also asked if I cashed in the rebate for the phone on the special deal they were having that day and I said, "What rebate?" The term rebate had never come up in discussion with the customer sales rep who I purchased the phone from. The new rep told me that I was supposed to have received $300 back for the phone and that the original sales rep should have provided me with a rebate form. Not only did he not provide me with the rebate form, but the deadline for submitting the rebate has already passed, and I am no longer able to receive the $300. Ultimately, I am stuck in a contract with T-Mobile for a phone that I was quoted $200 but for which I must now pay $600. I think it is irresponsible of the original sales rep to not only have quoted me the wrong price, but asked me to sign an insurance contract without showing me the financing agreement that was later stapled on top of it.
At no point was I asked or required to sign or initial the terms of the financing agreement. In addition, the terms 'finance' and 'rebate' never came up in our discussion and I had explicitly told him numerous times that I did not want to finance the phone nor pay more than $200 for it. I told him exactly what I was looking for and in turn, he did not provide me with full disclosure of the terms of the contract. When I went back to the store, I was informed by the other sales rep that I was not the only person who had this problem and that the original sales rep was misinforming other customers as well, but that because I signed my contract, I was fully liable for the fees I was wrongly coerced into accepting. I do not think that I should be held liable to pay for something I had stated that I didn't want, and I believe that it is T-Mobile's responsibility to provide financing details to their customers when selling new contracts.
Not only that, but bait-and-switch tactics, lies and asking customers to sign an insurance contract without showing them the financing agreement on the first page is downright dirty and unethical. I have done extensive research on the Consumer Legal Remedies Act, California Code of Civil Procedure 1750 1784 which prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce, including, but not limited to, persuading a consumer to sign a document by misrepresenting it to be something else. I am not the only person who has had this experience with T-Mobile. Their customer service department has told me numerous times to go back to the store and the store has told me numerous times to call customer service. Neither of them chooses to take responsibility for this problem. Therefore, if I get the runaround for a sixth time, I will file complaints with the FTC, the Better Business Bureau, and the California Attorney General. I will not give in without a fight.