vB Easy Archive - Rebate Scam Alert !!

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Rebate Scam Alert !!
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Posted by: whooodat

Been waiting for almost a year for my $120 cell phone REBATE to arrive... all the forms were all filled out properly, sent in on time, everything approved. Payment has been "pending" for more than 6 months and everytime I enquire about what's going on, they assurrrrrrrre me that they are working really hard to get those checks to me. Online company that I bought the phone from is LowCostCells. Rebate center is:

Wireless Rebate Processing Center
c/o Customer Care Department
PO Box 100517 - BCC
White Bear Lake, MN 55110-0517

What to do?

Posted by: ~~Tito~~

BBB, them. That shall get your money.

Posted by: ALCingularUser

Also contact your state attorney general's office. There is almost always a consumer protection division that can help you get your money.

Posted by: JP Whoregan

where did you buy your phones?

Posted by: whooodat

I bought it online at LowCostCells....
http://www.lowcostcells.com/

They go by several business names including InPhonic and Wirefly. Many complaints about these companies, and who knows how many more company names they use.

They keep telling folks that the rebates are being processed, but they don't send them out.

Posted by: scaredpoet

InPhonic and Wirefly are actually well-known wireless-agent companies, which have been used directly int he past by Sprint and others for certain programs. I've never heard of lowcostcells though, and I have my doubts they're directly affiliated.

Not that I would shop with ANY of the above, but anyway...

Posted by: whooodat

Check the bottom of the LowCostCells page, it says "powered by InPhonic".

Also, the email address of the rebate center is InPhonic, here's the message I've been getting for 6 months:

"Claim approved. Payment pending, please allow 4-5 weeks for payment processing."

"If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by calling (866) 607-9877 or email us at rebatestatus@inphonic.com"

Posted by: OffTheHorseCEO

...online...

Posted by: LaserJim

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~~Tito~~

BBB, them. That shall get your money.

BBB has no real authority, the state attorney is a much better option.

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by whooodat

I bought it online at LowCostCells....
http://www.lowcostcells.com/

They go by several business names including InPhonic and Wirefly. Many complaints about these companies, and who knows how many more company names they use.

They keep telling folks that the rebates are being processed, but they don't send them out.

Sorry to say, that's what you get.

Not trying to sound crass, but these companies are NOTORIOUS for screwing you out of your rebate. I suspected as much when you posted the rebate address and I didn't recognize it as a legitimate ATT rebate address.

You're not getting your rebate. Next time, deal directly with AT&T, i.e. - walk into a store. My customers have a 100% success rate in getting their rebates, because I prepare them personally.

Posted by: whooodat

Well, it's not just me.... lots and lots of folks getting scammed by InPhonic. Here's some of the other business names InPhonic uses:

A1 Wireless
Cellular Buys
Cellular Choices
Continental Promotion Group
Corporate Wireless
FonCentral
Inphonic
InPhonic Inc
INTELENET Wireless Customer Service
Liberty Wireless
lowcostcells.com
mobile Pro
MSN Mobile Customer Service
Phone Deals
StarNumber, Inc.
TMI Wireless
Wirefly
wirefly.com
Wireless Marketplace
WorldPerks Wireless Service
Younevercall.com

Here's what the BBB has on 'em:

http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?n...compid=23004111

Posted by: JP Whoregan

As long as people keep getting baited in by the intoxicating whiffof of free and cheap phones, companies like this will continue to be able to scam people out of rebates.

If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is.

Posted by: whooodat

InPhonic has got it's greedy little fingers everywhere.... it's hard to avoid the dirty company. Check out this article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InPhonic

InPhonic's has established relationships with a range of e-commerce partners to provide wireless activation services. Its partners include high-profile brands such as Radio Shack, BestBuy, Overstock.com, Buy.com and AOL; industry players like Cognigen Networks and Intelisys,; and major U.S. carriers Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel and others. InPhonic also runs fulfillment for original equipment manufacturers like the Motorola and LG brands.

A deal signed with Disney in April 2006 was the first deal for the company's mobile virtual network enabler (MVNE) division since the company shed its own mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), Liberty Wireless, in 2005.

InPhonic works with smaller sites through the LinkShare Affiliate Program [2], paying commissions to these websites when their readers go to InPhonic's site.

In April 2006, InPhonic finalized a partnership with Amazon.com to become Amazon's first third-party provider of wireless products.

Posted by: whooodat

Decided to write a letter to my favorite online retailer to let them know I will no longer make any purchases from them. Here's what it says.....

Dear Amazon.com,

It has come to my attention that you have partnered up with InPhonic to market products. This company is well known for its illegal business practices... namely cell phone rebate fraud. I just happen to be one of the victims of Inphonic and the phoney rebates it offered and I have not received. I have reported this crime to the BBB and FTC, as well as several online groups.

As a result of this crime (fraud), I will not conduct business with any company that has partnered up with InPhonic, this includes Amazon.com. ALSO, I have told all of my family, friends and business associates, and online friends NOT to do business with Amazon.com and I will not accept gift certificates for Amazon.com, so they need to find another source for Christmas gifts.

I would hope that Amazon.com would reconsider partnering up with a scam business like InPhonic as more and more people become aware of this problem company. BTW, I will be posting this reply to several newsgroups on the internet as well.

Good day.

Posted by: CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by whooodat

Well, it's not just me.... lots and lots of folks getting scammed by InPhonic. Here's some of the other business names InPhonic uses:

A1 Wireless
Cellular Buys
Cellular Choices
Continental Promotion Group
Corporate Wireless
FonCentral
Inphonic
InPhonic Inc
INTELENET Wireless Customer Service
Liberty Wireless
lowcostcells.com
mobile Pro
MSN Mobile Customer Service
Phone Deals
StarNumber, Inc.
TMI Wireless
Wirefly
wirefly.com
Wireless Marketplace
WorldPerks Wireless Service
Younevercall.com

Here's what the BBB has on 'em:

http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?n...compid=23004111

Wa la! I've been saying that it's all the same company for over a year now!

They also do ATT's web site along with a lot of other online retailers. And their HQ is right here in DC with X Telco officers to boot...go figure!

Quote:

Report: InPhonic - Cellular Choices
Category: Cellular Phone Companies

http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports...pOff0155100.htm

Quote:

InPhonic's has established relationships with a range of e-commerce partners to provide wireless activation services. Its partners include high-profile brands such as Radio Shack, BestBuy, Overstock.com, Buy.com and AOL; industry players like Cognigen Networks and Intelisys,; and major U.S. carriers Verizon Wireless, Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, Alltel and others. InPhonic also runs fulfillment for original equipment manufacturers like the Motorola and LG brands.

Incidentally I got scammed by Buy.com, but after sending them a letter of intent I got an email with a credit on my card. Can any carrier say that?

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonix

Incidentally I got scammed by Buy.com, but after sending them a letter of intent I got an email with a credit on my card. Can any carrier say that?

lol @ "letter of intent" ....there you go with that legal-shmegal nonsense again...

Carriers don't engage in the practice of scamming customers out of rebates, so there's no reason we'd have to send you an "email with a credit on your card." We just send the rebate to you. Every one of my customers gets their rebate form filled out by me, so I know it's correct, and I cut out their box barcodes for them, and I print them reciept copies, and assemble the whole thing so its ready to drop in the mail.

Judging from the fact that not one of my customers has ever called me to tell me they didn't get their rebate, I'm assuming my customers' rebate success rate is pretty close to 100%.

So I guess your answer is "no", I've never been sent a "letter of intent" because I don't perpetuate Houdini rebate offers.

Just an FYI for everyone else: if your "rebate" doesn't have an address that starts with "AT&T Rebate Offer", it's not coming from AT&T. Caveat Emptor.

Posted by: whooodat

AT&T needs to do something about these rebate scams. They have partnered up with these companies that are involved in criminal activity (last time I checked, fraud is still a crime). To me, AT&T is just as GUILTY if they don't do or say anything when they KNOW there's wrong doing in marketing their services. The only reason they don't do or say anything is because they make big money off these scams.

When my contract is up, I promise to leave AT&T unless this matter is cleaned up.

Posted by: CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP Whoregan

lol @ "letter of intent" ....there you go with that legal-shmegal nonsense again...

Can't you read or is all you do is reply with childish smart *** remarks? Buy.com emailed me informing me that they would take care of it, and they did...******!

Congratulations on passing your ATT rebate compliance 101 test, but unless you intend to do them by the millions your comment is self serving.

The carriers do have an affiliation with these rebate scamers and can shut them down.

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonix

The carriers do have an affiliation with these rebate scamers and can shut them down.

Do you know when the carriers will shut these skeezers down? When they cease to be profitable. Do you know when they will cease to be profitable? When customers stop getting baited in by the words 'free phone'.

Posted by: whooodat

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP Whoregan

Do you know when customers will stop getting baited? When the carriers put conditions on their relationships with these third party scammers. If customers are not getting what they have been promised, there should be consequences. Otherwise, the entire industry should push for gov't regulations that enforce some tough rules if the industry can't do it on its own.

Posted by: whooodat

Dear AT&T,

I would like to bring to your attention criminal activity involving one of your retailers, InPhonic. As you may be aware, the Better Business Bureau has a very long report on InPhonic ( http://www.dc.bbb.org/report.html?n...compid=23004111 ).

According to this report, InPhonic has been using several business names including:

A1 Wireless
Cellular Buys
Cellular Choices
Continental Promotion Group
Corporate Wireless
FonCentral
Inphonic
InPhonic Inc
INTELENET Wireless Customer Service
Liberty Wireless
lowcostcells.com
mobile Pro
MSN Mobile Customer Service
Phone Deals
StarNumber, Inc.
TMI Wireless
Wirefly
wirefly.com
Wireless Marketplace
WorldPerks Wireless Service
Younevercall.com

According to this report , June 8, 2006 the Attorney General of Washington DC filed suit in Superior Court against InPhonic. Also, April 27, 2007 Federal Trade Commission suit claiming deceptive and unfair business practices regarding rebate offers. No surprise, InPhonic is very well known for it's illegal and deceptive business practices in the industry... namely cell phone rebate fraud.

I just happen to be a recent victim of Inphonic and the phoney rebates it offers.... I have not received the rebates that I was promised when I purchased the phone from LowCostCells online and I agreed to the 2 year plan with Cingular / AT&T. I have been waiting for almost a year for 2 rebates to arrive from InPhonic. I have been watching the InPhonic website that shows the status of the rebate ( http://cellphonerebates.com/ ). Here's what it's been telling me for almost 6 months:

"Claim approved. Payment pending, please allow 4-5 weeks for payment processing. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us by calling (866) 607-9877 or email us at rebatestatus@inphonic.com."

The InPhonic Rebate Center no longer replies to my emails and I have reported this crime to the BBB, FTC,the Attorney General, as well as several online groups.

As a result of this crime (fraud) against me, I will not conduct business with any company that has partnered up with InPhonic, this includes AT&T. I intend to finish the 2 year contract as I promised, but if this crime is not properly dealt with by AT&T, I cannot continue as a customer after that.

I would hope that AT&T would do the right thing and reconsider partnering up with a scam business like InPhonic. As more and more people become a victim of this rebate fraud, I do believe that AT&T will lose customers as a result.

Good day.

(BTW, I will be posting this reply to several newsgroups on the internet as well)

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by whooodat

You are obviously a liberal.

The government is NEVER the answer when it comes to private enterprise.

The free market determines who succeeds and who fails. Do you know why the guy who sold "snake oil" in the early 1900's is no longer in business? Because people eventually stopped falling for the scam; not because the government regulated his 'snake oil'.

Posted by: CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP Whoregan

Wrong. When large companies do bad and their wrongdoing places an overwhelming burden on the public is is time for the law to get involved. Never forget some large companies use the law(through lobbying) to fortify their position in the marketplace.

Sometimes free is not free at all, and sometimes using someones Politics is a tell similar to na na...nana na. Pants on fire.

Posted by: JP Whoregan

I just can't believe that so many people never learned the "golden rule" from their parents:

NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS "FREE" (and by "free" I mean "without cost"). Everything has its price, and somebody pays the price.

Or maybe the old adage, "If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is." If something is MARKEDLY cheaper at one place than it is somewhere else, there's probably a reason (i.e. - "a catch")

this is why I'm MYSTIFIED when I keep reading these threads that say

"hey Johnny Jack-*** Wireless has this phone for FREE!!!! What a great deal!!!"

I'm thinking to myself...why are there SO MANY suckers in this world? If a gas station offered you a free car with the purchase of gasoline, would you *really* want to drive it? Picture a car built with the same workmanship of a SE z520a....and the absolute HILARIOUS part of it is when these SAME PEOPLE come into my store with the phone they got for "free", and it turns out that Joe Jack-*** Wireless sent them a refurbed, water damaged phone, and it doesn't work properly, then they go on to tell me how "extremely important" their cell phone is to their business, and how it's "costing them money" by having a broken phone, blah blah blah....

guess that "free" phone wasn't such a bargain, now, was it?

If a cell phone is THAT DAMN IMPORTANT, then why did you get suckered by the word "FREE"?!?!?!

I think maybe I'll go over to my local Skydiving business here in town, and offer a bunch of professional skydivers a "free" parachute that I made in my garage....I wonder if they'll use it.

Posted by: nvisi0n

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP Whoregan

Hmm, a fellow Libertarian?

Posted by: whooodat

Well, looks like the wireless snake oil company InPhonic now seeks Bankruptcy protection ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...7110802164.html

There goes the neighborhood.

Wonder if any of us folks who are owed rebates will ever see the money?

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by nvisi0n

Hmm, a fellow Libertarian?

Indeed. Except in the arena of national defense. Then I'm a NeoCon

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonix

Which "large company" are you referring to in this case? I certainly hope you are referring to InPhonic.

Posted by: Uprock

Yikes!

I'm getting a phone today from one of those little asian cell phone stores that sell over seas phones. I'm getting promised a $50 rebate, and now after reading this, it scares me as to where they are getting my phone and who is sending me the rebate. They said they had to call their "Supplier" to order and receive the phones, now I wonder where/who they're getting their phones from.

I've dealt with anothoer similar store, but they had the phones on site, so I was able to purchase and walk out the door with it. I'm going to bring up a few questions today when I pick up my phone.

Posted by: Skins_kg

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP Whoregan

TINSTAAFL (There is no such thing as a free lunch)....learned it in 8th grade.

Posted by: whooodat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Skins_kg

TINSTAAFL (There is no such thing as a free lunch)....learned it in 8th grade.

Depends on what ya eat. If ya like eating moss, I got a lifetime supply here, and it's all FREE!!

AND just to bring this back on topic (what were we talking about anyhow?).... my Samsung e715 was a FREE phone bought online from a 3rd party with just a 1 year contract with T-Mo...... YES, I got those rebates just fine, thank you very much!! Stayed with T-Mo for more than 3 years as a happy, loyal customer as a result too.

Only reason I switched to Cingular was because of the "free" Sony Ericsson W810i which is also a great phone.

Posted by: CA

Quote:

Originally Posted by JP Whoregan

I just can't believe that so many people never learned the "golden rule" from their parents:

NOTHING IN THIS WORLD IS "FREE" (and by "free" I mean "without cost"). Everything has its price, and somebody pays the price.

Or maybe the old adage, "If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is." If something is MARKEDLY cheaper at one place than it is somewhere else, there's probably a reason (i.e. - "a catch")

this is why I'm MYSTIFIED when I keep reading these threads that say

"hey Johnny Jack-*** Wireless has this phone for FREE!!!! What a great deal!!!"

I'm thinking to myself...why are there SO MANY suckers in this world? If a gas station offered you a free car with the purchase of gasoline, would you *really* want to drive it? Picture a car built with the same workmanship of a SE z520a....and the absolute HILARIOUS part of it is when these SAME PEOPLE come into my store with the phone they got for "free", and it turns out that Joe Jack-*** Wireless sent them a refurbed, water damaged phone, and it doesn't work properly, then they go on to tell me how "extremely important" their cell phone is to their business, and how it's "costing them money" by having a broken phone, blah blah blah....

guess that "free" phone wasn't such a bargain, now, was it?

If a cell phone is THAT DAMN IMPORTANT, then why did you get suckered by the word "FREE"?!?!?!

I think maybe I'll go over to my local Skydiving business here in town, and offer a bunch of professional skydivers a "free" parachute that I made in my garage....I wonder if they'll use it.

It appears you have a myopic view, this thread isn't about free phones at all. It is about rebate scams, the companies that perpetrate the scam, and the companies that allow it to happen. ATT has agents(legal term for representatives) and has got to control them or pay the price. A company can not play Sargent Schultz(Hogans hero's), say nothing, and get away with it. If they know about a crime, profit from it, and do nothing they can go to jail.

I do however, know why you protest so much, it's a simple case of self serving comments that lead to commissions and keep you from them.

Or perhaps(cant help the Freudian slip) Phone Envy!

Posted by: JP Whoregan

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonix

Still have the old superiority complex do we?

I'm still waiting for you to throw up one post that doesn't have the words "legal" "jail" or "lawsuit" in it.

Posted by: CA

Anybody want to buy a free phone, it even comes with a contract.

Posted by: whooodat

Looks like InPhonic filed for chapter 11 protection so they could sell off the business.

I just read this....

"InPhonic Ken Schwarz, InPhonic's Chief Financial Officer added, "This sale will strengthen the Company and foster a sustained turnaround for InPhonic. This milestone marks a fundamental, comprehensive and systemic change at InPhonic. Our customers, partners and employees want the Company to succeed because of InPhonic's significant value in the wireless marketplace."

Ha-Ha-Haaaaaaaa!! Now THAT'S funny. What "value" does this scam buisiness have in the marketplace? Just another Sculley scam.... the dude who has a proven reputation for fraud. I'm sure InPhonic will carry on with his dirty deeds when things settle in with the new owners.