Definitely another fraudster scammer
Note the horrible english and only an email address on hotmail for contact info.
These people pi$$ me off. Maybe I'll flood his email box from free anonymous email sites. 13,000 emails, coming right up!
See
http://www.419eater.com
http://www.419baiter.com/
Information quoted from the US Secret Service Web Site.
4-1-9 Schemes frequently use the following tactics:
An individual or company receives a letter or fax from an alleged "official" representing a foreign government or agency.
An offer is made to transfer millions of dollars in "over invoiced contract" funds into your personal bank account.
You are encouraged to travel overseas to complete the transaction.
You are requested to provide blank company letterhead forms, banking account information, telephone/fax numbers.
You receive numerous documents with official looking stamps, seals and logo testifying to the authenticity of the proposal.
Eventually you must provide up-front or advance fees for various taxes, attorney fees, transaction fees or bribes.
Other forms of 4-1-9 schemes include: c.o.d. of goods or services, real estate ventures, purchases of crude oil at reduced prices, beneficiary of a will, recipient of an award and paper currency conversion.
Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud Overview
The perpetrators of Advance Fee Fraud (AFF), known internationally as "4-1-9" fraud after the section of the Nigerian penal code which addresses fraud schemes, are often very creative and innovative.
Unfortunately, there is a perception that no one is prone to enter into such an obviously suspicious relationship. However, a large number of victims are enticed into believing they have been singled out from the masses to share in multi-million dollar windfall profits for doing absolutely nothing. It is also a misconception that the victim's bank account is requested so the culprit can plunder it -- this is not the primary reason for the account request -- merely a signal they have hooked another victim.
In almost every case there is a sense of urgency.
The victim is enticed to travel to Nigeria or a border country.
There are many forged official looking documents.
Most of the correspondence is handled by fax or through the mail.
Blank letterheads and invoices are requested from the victim along with the banking particulars.
Any number of Nigerian fees are requested for processing the transaction with each fee purported to be the last required.
The confidential nature of the transaction is emphasized.
There are usually claims of strong ties to Nigerian officials.
A Nigerian residing in the U.S., London or other foreign venue may claim to be a clearing house bank for the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Offices in legitimate government buildings appear to have been used by impostors posing as the real occupants or officials.
The most common forms of these fraudulent business proposals fall into the following main categories:
Disbursement of money from wills
Contract fraud (C.O.D. of goods or services)
Purchase of real estate
Conversion of hard currency
Transfer of funds from over invoiced contracts
Sale of crude oil at below market prices
The most prevalent and successful cases of Advance Fee Fraud is the fund transfer scam. In this scheme, a company or individual will typically receive an unsolicited letter by mail from a Nigerian claiming to be a senior civil servant. In the letter, the Nigerian will inform the recipient that he is seeking a reputable foreign company or individual into whose account he can deposit funds ranging from $10-$60 million that the Nigerian government overpaid on some procurement contract.
The criminals obtain the names of potential victims from a variety of sources including trade journals, professional directories, newspapers, and commercial libraries. They do not target a single company, but rather send out mailings en masse. The sender declares that he is a senior civil servant in one of the Nigerian Ministries, usually the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The letters refer to investigations of previous contracts awarded by prior regimes alleging that many contracts were over invoiced. Rather than return the money to the government, they desire to transfer the money to a foreign account. The sums to be transferred average between $10,000,000 to $60,000,000 and the recipient is usually offered a commission up to 30 percent for assisting in the transfer.
Initially, the intended victim is instructed to provide company letterheads and pro forma invoicing that will be used to show completion of the contract. One of the reasons is to use the victim's letterhead to forge letters of recommendation to other victim companies and to seek out a travel visa from the American Embassy in Lagos. The victim is told that the completed contracts will be submitted for approval to the Central Bank of Nigeria. Upon approval, the funds will be remitted to an account supplied by the intended victim.
The goal of the criminal is to delude the target into thinking that he is being drawn into a very lucrative, albeit questionable, arrangement. The intended victim must be reassured and confident of the potential success of the deal. He will become the primary supporter of the scheme and willingly contribute a large amount of money when the deal is threatened. The term "when" is used because the con-within-the-con is the scheme will be threatened in order to persuade the victim to provide a large sum of money to save the venture.
The letter, while appearing transparent and even ridiculous to most, unfortunately is growing in its effectiveness. It sets the stage and is the opening round of a two-layered scheme or scheme within a scheme. The fraudster will eventually reach someone who, while sceptical, desperately wants the deal to be genuine.
Victims are almost always requested to travel to Nigeria or a border country to complete a transaction. Individuals are often told that a visa will not be necessary to enter the country. The Nigerian con artists may then bribe airport officials to pass the victims through Immigration and Customs. Because it is a serious offence in Nigeria to enter without a valid visa, the victim's illegal entry may be used by the fraudsters as leverage to coerce the victims into releasing funds. Violence and threats of physical harm may be employed to further pressure victims. In June of 1995, an American was murdered in Lagos, Nigeria, while pursuing a 4-1-9 scam, and numerous other foreign nationals have been reported as missing.
Victims are often convinced of the authenticity of Advance Fee Fraud schemes by the forged or false documents bearing apparently official Nigerian government letterhead, seals, as well as false letters of credit, payment schedules and bank drafts. The fraudster may establish the credibility of his contacts, and thereby his influence, by arranging a meeting between the victim and "government officials" in real or fake government offices.
In the next stage some alleged problem concerning the "inside man" will suddenly arise. An official will demand an up-front bribe or an unforeseen tax or fee to the Nigerian government will have to be paid before the money can be transferred. These can include licensing fees, registration fees, and various forms of taxes and attorney fees. Normally each fee paid is described as the very last fee required. Invariably, oversights and errors in the deal are discovered by the Nigerians, necessitating additional payments and allowing the scheme to be stretched out over many months.
Several reasons have been submitted why Nigerian Advance Fee Fraud has undergone a dramatic increase in recent years. The explanations are as diverse as the types of schemes. The Nigerian Government blames the growing problem on mass unemployment, extended family systems, a get rich quick syndrome, and, especially, the greed of foreigners.
Indications are that Advance Fee Fraud grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the losses are continuing to escalate. In all likelihood, there are victims who do not report their losses to authorities due to either fear or embarrassment.
Yup, these Nigerian spammers have flooded the PPCMag blog too...
My approach is just ignoring every offer / ad that has the word "Nigeria" in it
Well... rumors about it have been going on for quite a while now. Market analysts privvy to Google's Master Plan for world domination have been hinting at their phone service. Word is that google participated in a federal auction for network bands for that service.
That phone service being a very plausible motive for the development of Android. I mean... its not like a giant like Google would design a mobile OS just for fun and no money.
But that service...A phone service where your minutes, texting and data will be free. Well, not totally free, you have to spend some time on their targeted ads in exchange for those "free" services. Amazing though, isn't it?
Just think about the implications of it.
To put it in perspective, let's play around with a few numbers.
In 2006, the number of wireless subscribers in the US was about 236 million people. A massive customer base. Being conservative, on average, about $40 a month was spent on that service. Do the math...
About $8.5 billion monthly.
About $25 billion quarterly.
About $100 billion annually.
What would a free phone service do to that? Google rocking that industry is obviously an understatement. With current economic conditions, the number of people that would move over to Google would obviously be enormous.
Let's be generous and assume Google takes half the market share. Simply put that's $50 billion a year put back in consumers pockets. $50 billion that simply moves from those corporate giants like At&T and Verizon over to anywhere and everywhere else.
The layoffs by those companies would be enormous, but the growth of Google would rival that deterioration.
Giants recede, but one succeeds.
Wow I <3 google
this has been talked about for over a year now. It would be nice. And I could see it happening. And with google voice service that is going public soon, it seems to be on track. But you never know what they plan on doing.
APrinceAmongMen said:
Well... rumors about it have been going on for quite a while now. Market analysts privvy to Google's Master Plan for world domination have been hinting at their phone service. Word is that google participated in a federal auction for network bands for that service.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Google's involvement in the auction is OLD NEWS and hardly a secret as you seem to think it, this was well publicized for months. Further, you're a tool for spreading FUD by using any absurd terms like 'world domination'.
You also didn't follow the REAL news that came during the auction lead-up. It was well documented that Google's involvement in the auction was purely to ensure that the network bands would be left open instead of closed off for proprietary use only. They were also encouraging a higher cost of entering the bidding to ensure more money came from the final winner. They never had any intention of winning the auction. ALL of this was publicized before they even submitted their bid.
APrinceAmongMen said:
That phone service being a very plausible motive for the development of Android. I mean... its not like a giant like Google would design a mobile OS just for fun and no money.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're right here, Google wouldn't design a mobile OS just for fun (actually, they might, but that's another story). Fact is, that OS is so heavily oriented towards using Google's various services, all of which give them more chances to push ads through their network, which equates to money. It's just like Microsoft creating a web browser that defaults to MS's own search and home pages, or any OEM adding another company's software (ie. AOL) to a pre-build computer.
Additionally, Google will make money on their App Market...much like Apple makes more on their app store.
APrinceAmongMen said:
Just think about the implications of it.
To put it in perspective, let's play around with a few numbers.
In 2006, the number of wireless subscribers in the US was about 236 million people. A massive customer base. Being conservative, on average, about $40 a month was spent on that service. Do the math...
About $8.5 billion monthly.
About $25 billion quarterly.
About $100 billion annually.
What would a free phone service do to that? Google rocking that industry is obviously an understatement. With current economic conditions, the number of people that would move over to Google would obviously be enormous.
Let's be generous and assume Google takes half the market share. Simply put that's $50 billion a year put back in consumers pockets. $50 billion that simply moves from those corporate giants like At&T and Verizon over to anywhere and everywhere else.
The layoffs by those companies would be enormous, but the growth of Google would rival that deterioration.
Giants recede, but one succeeds.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
<shudders> Gawd where did you get this garbage???
First, why did you use numbers from 2006? Updated numbers from 07 or 08 are readily available.
Second, the math is far too optimistic, and it also ignores how many of those cell phones belong to corporations who would rarely if ever decide it was better to force their employees to stare at ads in place of doing work.
All of this post was based on old news and theories that were thrown out by even the most fanatical of the tin-foil hat crowd. I'm curious why you're posting it at all. I also seem to remember a post almost identical to this a few days ago, though it may have been from another user. Please stop spreading FUD.
Somehow, I doubt that Google is going to move into the physical service providers market. They already provide many online services that lure customers, number one being their search engine. Search, Gmail, Youtube, Calendar, Maps, Tasks, Voice Mail, there's not much you can't do with Google and internet access.
I don't see why they'd need to move into providing physical services, such as phone, cell, 'net or tv. It doesn't seem like that would fit Google's personality well. They seem to prefer to operate in the virtual environment, let another company provide access (internet, in this case) while they provide the service.
Take Android. Google is not a hardware company, nor did they dive into the hardware market. Much less could they have viably made a handset that could have punched such a hole into the market as the G1/Dream already has. No, instead Google focused on making a software OS that could perform well on multiple hardware platforms, and provide a modern, multi-tasking OS for smartphones. They orchestrated the Open Handset Alliance to push Android forward, and now we're seeing the introduction of multiple Android handsets this year from HTC, Samsung and presumably Motorola.
It seems uncharacteristic, given their method of pushing Android to the consumers (letting manufacturing companies and service providers step in rather than creating their own hardware and carrier companies), that they would be entering the phone service market. I can't see how Google would benefit in the end. What would they do, give you free phone service by forcing you to listen to an ad at the beginning of all your calls and voicemails?
I don't see it happening in the near future. If it did, I'd expect Google to purchase an existing carrier, rather than try to forge a new customer base out of nothing. With Android intending to hit multiple carriers in the same region (much like the WM and Blackberry platforms do), it seems unlikely that Google could carry Android exclusively to make their carrier profitable. Not even Apple took this route, preferring to let carriers carry their phone exclusively rather than trying to enter the market on their own.
Google Voice is now taking advanced invitations, go sign up now!
https://services.google.com/fb/forms/googlevoiceinvite/
They say on the site that we are only a couple weeks away from it going live.
thats been there for a couple of months now. I signed up the first few days.
Signed up. Looks like a full fledged phone service might not be too far away. Also seems as though calls could be made via the website, could be a mis-understanding on my part. I can see making calls from my g1 browser and talking through my phone. possibilities are endless.
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Apple filed suit on Tuesday against HTC, maker of the Nexus One smartphone from Google, accusing the Taiwan company of infringing on 20 iPhone patents.
"We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said in a brief statement.
"We've decided to do something about it. We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours," Jobs said.
Apple accused HTC of infringing on 20 Apple patents related to the "user interface, underlying architecture and hardware" of the iPhone, the popular touchscreen device introduced in 2007 by the company behind the iPod and the Macintosh computer.
Apple, which is based in Cupertino, California, said the lawsuit was filed in a US District Court in the state of Delaware and with the US International Trade Commission.
In the suit, Apple, which has sold more than 40 million iPhones worldwide, is asking for unspecified damages and an injunction to prevent HTC from making or selling products using the patents in dispute.
HTC, which stands for High Tech Computer Corp., is Taiwan's leading smartphone maker.
The company makes handsets for a number of leading US companies and is the manufacturer of the Nexus One unveiled by Apple rival Google in January.
Apple did not specifically name Google in the lawsuit but many of the HTC smartphones cited in its filing are powered by Google's open-source Android operating system.
Among the smartphones accused of violating Apple patents was the T-Mobile G1 made by HTC, which was launched in October 2008 and was the first phone to use the Android platform.
Among the HTC-made devices mentioned in the suit are the Nexus One, the T-Mobile G1, also known as the HTC Dream, the HTC Touch Diamond, the HTC Touch Pro, the HTC Tilt, the HTC Pure and the HTC myTouch.
Patent lawsuits are a fairly regular occurrence among technology giants and Apple is currently being sued by Nokia for patent infringement. Apple has fired back a countersuit against the Finnish mobile phone giant.
Canada's Research in Motion, maker of the Blackberry, has also had its share of patent woes and was accused of patent infringement by US mobile phone maker Motorola in suit filed in January.
Eastman Kodak Co. filed lawsuits against Apple and RIM that same month alleging they infringed Kodak digital imaging technology.
Apple shares lost 0.07 percent on Tuesday to close at 208.85 dollars.
what you guys think.
apple have any wind in its sails or just blowing wind?
Steve Jobs is going to take your Imagio. You'd better move to Canada.
I truly hope this appeal comes across to other members on this board as sincere and reasonable; for the record I am in my mid-30s; I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served honorably in times far safer and far less treacherus than my Marine brothers serve today; I have an undegraduate degree from UCLA, and a law degree from Chapman University School of Law. I am very fortunate to call myself employed, having graduated in the middle of the worst economy and job market that this country has seen in multiple generations. After nearly a year of fruitless searches for a job, indeed ANY job, I landed a career with a historic, admired financial services company as a fiduciary for client assets. I am disclosing this not for any reason aside from my need to communicate, as clearly as possible, that I am not here to fling poo, rant and rave about a minor error, or throw a temper tantrum in a public forum. I am not perfect, but I do believe I am rational and reasonable, and I hope to rationally and reasonably communicate this problem in order to facilitate some method of combating it.
This evening, I spent a number of hours attempting to fix a major billing error made by Verizon wireless. This is not the first call I have made since purchasing my Xoom, and the promises made by Verizon employees on previous phone calls and store visits were apparently nothing more than stall tactics. This billing error is directly related to my Xoom, which my girlfrend purchased for me for my birthday, the 26th of February. We are not wealthy, but she saved for some time to buy what she knew I wanted but did not expect. Even with the early adopter issues I and many of you have experienced, I still thoroughly enjoy my Xoom and know that I will continue to enjoy it as much, and likely more so, than I have enjoyed the moto Droid 1 that has capitalized my inner geek's attention for the past year.
In my capacity at my job, I have personally invested in, and compelled clients and coworkers to invest in, the companies that I believed would prosper as Android grew in popularity. My knowledge and experience with high performance desktop rigs and mobile devices allowed me to understand, in mid 2010, the potential value of companies like ARM Holdings, nVidia, and Atmel, when their stock values hovered at near all-time lows. And I was correct in predicting the changes in the consumer technology landscape - what I failed to take into consideration was just how deep into the grey areas of law and morality the major channel of android devices, Verizon Wirelss, would venture in order to give it a market advantage over its competitors.
I have been a happy customer of Verizon, and have had virtually zero complaints since becoming an Android user in early 2010. In fact I have been instrumental in converting a fairly large number of friends and coworkers into Android users on Verizon's network, something I would not have done if I thought for a second that my recommendation would lead to the kind of issues I am beginning to see with customers similarly situated to me.
Without explaining the details of my current complaints against Verizon, understand that I have very little faith that Verizon is going to address my complaints with any sort of good faith or fair dealings. After my repeated attempts to reverse the questionable actions of Verizon employees relating to my account, it appears as though Verizon is engaged in a series of de minimus infractions against a customer base lacking any bargaining power and damaged in amounts small enough to pass quietly over the heads of those tasked with protecting consumers from such activities.
If you bought a Xoom at full retail and declined any data plans, you will likely discover that you are being billed for the data plan you declined to use. If you already discovered this and think you have already fixed the "error" by contacting verizon, you will likely see that your call to verizon was completely ignored. If you contact verizon to ask why verizon has repeatedly ignored your desire to be free of any data plans, you will likely be treated like a child and misled to believe that purchasing a Xoom requires that you pay for a month-to-month data plan. Never mind that we know this to be untrue, because it is clear that verizon intends to collect as much revenue as it can during a product launch mired in confusing, contradictory and misleading terms.
Banking on the inability of an individual consumer to withstand delay tactics and phone shuffling from ineffective customer rep to ineffective customer rep, verizon is hoping that only a fraction of the erroneus and fraudulent charges will be fought hard enough to warrant reversal. For every $10 million that verizon will overcharge xoom buyers, if only 10% of defrauded customers fight the good fight and see theirncharges reversed, Verizon will see a $9 million windfall. Thisnis not a new tactic in business, just one I did not expect Verizon to take.
We do have some leverage, we just need to figure out how to utilize it. I presumr this is a good enough forum to seek out other not willing to take a $300 shaft from verizon, especially after paying $800 for a luxury like a xoom.
Any thoughts? Ideas? How can we become a squeaky enough wheel such that we're made right and others are not subject to deceitful tactics with little or no recourse?
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
SInce you already took the time to write this post. I would suggest you sending the story to The Consumerist website also.
These companies don't like the bad publicity they get from organizations like Consumer Reports. I'm suggesting this as a way to alert potential consumers about the risk and not to use it as a way to get revenge.
Good Luck
Wow!!!!
You posted all of that on your Xoom? I thought it kind of weird that we would have to pay full price AND still have to activate (get a # from Verizon) myself. But on launch day I decided to go ahead anyway since it wasn't really a lock-in type of plan. However, I began to experience an uneasy feeling about the whole thing after playing around with the Xoom, remembering what it cost as I went along, remembering how things usually worked (in the past anyway) in relation to price of these types of things, you know, FULL PRICE = no having to deal with a wireless provider..etc, and decided pretty darn quickly (I had the device for a total of 3 hours) that I didn't want to continue with the current setup. I therefore took the device back to BB where I purchased it. They accepted the return and called VZW to deactivate everything, which they did, but I still recieved a bill for $38.27. I was told that that was for activating the device...etc., during my call to them to try and get a refund since I had the device for only 3 fricking hours. The rep I got was pretty nice and understanding and said that she could cancel the bill and I would owe nothing. I left it at that and a couple of days later, I recieved a bill for that same amount in my mailbox, so I called again to talk them about it. Well, by the time I got done with that phone call, I was told that I owed $3.27 and that that amount was the taxes that was on the bill to begin with. I thought, and said to the rep., HUH!!!, and she told me that their system has no way of reversing taxes. Rather than argueing over $3.27, I told her that I would just send them a money order. Does this sound plausible to anybody? Does anyone else think that their system is incapable of reversing taxes and that the money is actually going to be paid on the taxes? Just all so weird to me.
Oh yea, AND a couple of days later I went back to BB to see if the activation crap with Verizon was still going on (I thought I'd at least check things out) and sure enough it wasn't. I guess it was only a launch day thing. I ended up getting another Xoom WITHOUT having to deal with Verizon's crap.
so uhh... long story short? There was a billing error? I don't even see in your post about what.
I see all kinds of stuff about the army, your job, Android in general, and your gf, but nothing to do with the thread title...
ixobelle said:
so uhh... long story short? There was a billing error? I don't even see in your post about what.
I see all kinds of stuff about the army, your job, Android in general, and your gf, but nothing to do with the thread title...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I got a bet that says this asshole isn't from the United States or has any idea what a person in the military means to the average american like myself. We have the liberties and rights because they fight for them. Go Troll somewhere Gollum
VegUnited said:
Go Troll somewhere Gollum
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What You Said
They are a former Marine just so'you know
OP: I would for starters file with the BBB in your area
ixobelle said:
so uhh... long story short? There was a billing error? I don't even see in your post about what.
I see all kinds of stuff about the army, your job, Android in general, and your gf, but nothing to do with the thread title...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
androidlurker said:
I truly hope this appeal comes across to other members on this board as sincere and reasonable; for the record I am in my mid-30s; I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served honorably in times far safer and far less treacherus than my Marine brothers serve today; I have an undegraduate degree from UCLA, and a law degree from Chapman University School of Law. I am very fortunate to call myself employed, having graduated in the middle of the worst economy and job market that this country has seen in multiple generations. After nearly a year of fruitless searches for a job, indeed ANY job, I landed a career with a historic, admired financial services company as a fiduciary for client assets. I am disclosing this not for any reason aside from my need to communicate, as clearly as possible, that I am not here to fling poo, rant and rave about a minor error, or throw a temper tantrum in a public forum. I am not perfect, but I do believe I am rational and reasonable, and I hope to rationally and reasonably communicate this problem in order to facilitate some method of combating it.
This evening, I spent a number of hours attempting to fix a major billing error made by Verizon wireless. This is not the first call I have made since purchasing my Xoom, and the promises made by Verizon employees on previous phone calls and store visits were apparently nothing more than stall tactics. This billing error is directly related to my Xoom, which my girlfrend purchased for me for my birthday, the 26th of February. We are not wealthy, but she saved for some time to buy what she knew I wanted but did not expect. Even with the early adopter issues I and many of you have experienced, I still thoroughly enjoy my Xoom and know that I will continue to enjoy it as much, and likely more so, than I have enjoyed the moto Droid 1 that has capitalized my inner geek's attention for the past year.
In my capacity at my job, I have personally invested in, and compelled clients and coworkers to invest in, the companies that I believed would prosper as Android grew in popularity. My knowledge and experience with high performance desktop rigs and mobile devices allowed me to understand, in mid 2010, the potential value of companies like ARM Holdings, nVidia, and Atmel, when their stock values hovered at near all-time lows. And I was correct in predicting the changes in the consumer technology landscape - what I failed to take into consideration was just how deep into the grey areas of law and morality the major channel of android devices, Verizon Wirelss, would venture in order to give it a market advantage over its competitors.
I have been a happy customer of Verizon, and have had virtually zero complaints since becoming an Android user in early 2010. In fact I have been instrumental in converting a fairly large number of friends and coworkers into Android users on Verizon's network, something I would not have done if I thought for a second that my recommendation would lead to the kind of issues I am beginning to see with customers similarly situated to me.
Without explaining the details of my current complaints against Verizon, understand that I have very little faith that Verizon is going to address my complaints with any sort of good faith or fair dealings. After my repeated attempts to reverse the questionable actions of Verizon employees relating to my account, it appears as though Verizon is engaged in a series of de minimus infractions against a customer base lacking any bargaining power and damaged in amounts small enough to pass quietly over the heads of those tasked with protecting consumers from such activities.
If you bought a Xoom at full retail and declined any data plans, you will likely discover that you are being billed for the data plan you declined to use. If you already discovered this and think you have already fixed the "error" by contacting verizon, you will likely see that your call to verizon was completely ignored. If you contact verizon to ask why verizon has repeatedly ignored your desire to be free of any data plans, you will likely be treated like a child and misled to believe that purchasing a Xoom requires that you pay for a month-to-month data plan. Never mind that we know this to be untrue, because it is clear that verizon intends to collect as much revenue as it can during a product launch mired in confusing, contradictory and misleading terms.
Banking on the inability of an individual consumer to withstand delay tactics and phone shuffling from ineffective customer rep to ineffective customer rep, verizon is hoping that only a fraction of the erroneus and fraudulent charges will be fought hard enough to warrant reversal. For every $10 million that verizon will overcharge xoom buyers, if only 10% of defrauded customers fight the good fight and see theirncharges reversed, Verizon will see a $9 million windfall. Thisnis not a new tactic in business, just one I did not expect Verizon to take.
We do have some leverage, we just need to figure out how to utilize it. I presumr this is a good enough forum to seek out other not willing to take a $300 shaft from verizon, especially after paying $800 for a luxury like a xoom.
Any thoughts? Ideas? How can we become a squeaky enough wheel such that we're made right and others are not subject to deceitful tactics with little or no recourse?
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So, you gave them all your information for them to be able to bill you and now are complaining. I paid full price @ Best Buy and my information was not needed. Why would it be if i'm paying full price? If they would of asked for all my info I would of called V the next day to make sure I didn't have a paying cycle as it just depends on the rep.
But you my friend failed and are blaiming Verizon.
I think the most important point that he said was missed... his gf picked it up for him. need I say more?
/thread
also, all these threads that do not belong on the board, or are viewed as trolling should be voted on. I gave this a 1 star rating.
Verizon cancelled my data on day 1 and warned of the bill. Once it came in they told me to call and it would be cleared out. Bill went from 37 to 0.
Curious how can you be billed for a data bill you declined? You must sign the contract and submit your social security for credit checks before activation.
He is trying to help the community. Most of you suck anyways. Thanks for the post op.
Sent from my Xoom using XDA App
androidlurker said:
I truly hope this appeal comes across to other members on this board as sincere and reasonable; for the record I am in my mid-30s; I am a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, having served honorably in times far safer and far less treacherus than my Marine brothers serve today; I have an undegraduate degree from UCLA, and a law degree from Chapman University School of Law. I am very fortunate to call myself employed, having graduated in the middle of the worst economy and job market that this country has seen in multiple generations. After nearly a year of fruitless searches for a job, indeed ANY job, I landed a career with a historic, admired financial services company as a fiduciary for client assets. I am disclosing this not for any reason aside from my need to communicate, as clearly as possible, that I am not here to fling poo, rant and rave about a minor error, or throw a temper tantrum in a public forum. I am not perfect, but I do believe I am rational and reasonable, and I hope to rationally and reasonably communicate this problem in order to facilitate some method of combating it.
This evening, I spent a number of hours attempting to fix a major billing error made by Verizon wireless. This is not the first call I have made since purchasing my Xoom, and the promises made by Verizon employees on previous phone calls and store visits were apparently nothing more than stall tactics. This billing error is directly related to my Xoom, which my girlfrend purchased for me for my birthday, the 26th of February. We are not wealthy, but she saved for some time to buy what she knew I wanted but did not expect. Even with the early adopter issues I and many of you have experienced, I still thoroughly enjoy my Xoom and know that I will continue to enjoy it as much, and likely more so, than I have enjoyed the moto Droid 1 that has capitalized my inner geek's attention for the past year.
In my capacity at my job, I have personally invested in, and compelled clients and coworkers to invest in, the companies that I believed would prosper as Android grew in popularity. My knowledge and experience with high performance desktop rigs and mobile devices allowed me to understand, in mid 2010, the potential value of companies like ARM Holdings, nVidia, and Atmel, when their stock values hovered at near all-time lows. And I was correct in predicting the changes in the consumer technology landscape - what I failed to take into consideration was just how deep into the grey areas of law and morality the major channel of android devices, Verizon Wirelss, would venture in order to give it a market advantage over its competitors.
I have been a happy customer of Verizon, and have had virtually zero complaints since becoming an Android user in early 2010. In fact I have been instrumental in converting a fairly large number of friends and coworkers into Android users on Verizon's network, something I would not have done if I thought for a second that my recommendation would lead to the kind of issues I am beginning to see with customers similarly situated to me.
Without explaining the details of my current complaints against Verizon, understand that I have very little faith that Verizon is going to address my complaints with any sort of good faith or fair dealings. After my repeated attempts to reverse the questionable actions of Verizon employees relating to my account, it appears as though Verizon is engaged in a series of de minimus infractions against a customer base lacking any bargaining power and damaged in amounts small enough to pass quietly over the heads of those tasked with protecting consumers from such activities.
If you bought a Xoom at full retail and declined any data plans, you will likely discover that you are being billed for the data plan you declined to use. If you already discovered this and think you have already fixed the "error" by contacting verizon, you will likely see that your call to verizon was completely ignored. If you contact verizon to ask why verizon has repeatedly ignored your desire to be free of any data plans, you will likely be treated like a child and misled to believe that purchasing a Xoom requires that you pay for a month-to-month data plan. Never mind that we know this to be untrue, because it is clear that verizon intends to collect as much revenue as it can during a product launch mired in confusing, contradictory and misleading terms.
Banking on the inability of an individual consumer to withstand delay tactics and phone shuffling from ineffective customer rep to ineffective customer rep, verizon is hoping that only a fraction of the erroneus and fraudulent charges will be fought hard enough to warrant reversal. For every $10 million that verizon will overcharge xoom buyers, if only 10% of defrauded customers fight the good fight and see theirncharges reversed, Verizon will see a $9 million windfall. Thisnis not a new tactic in business, just one I did not expect Verizon to take.
We do have some leverage, we just need to figure out how to utilize it. I presumr this is a good enough forum to seek out other not willing to take a $300 shaft from verizon, especially after paying $800 for a luxury like a xoom.
Any thoughts? Ideas? How can we become a squeaky enough wheel such that we're made right and others are not subject to deceitful tactics with little or no recourse?
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All you have to do and I have done this before and won against T-mobile is go to the Small Claims Court and open a case against verizon. your case will be heard in 30 days
You'll probably have more luck on the Better Business Bureau website than posting on here. There's nothing any of us can really do about it, unless the Verizon CEO secretly lurks in here.
Good luck!
Silly me for thinking I'd find sympathetic ears here. My bad.
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@lurker these forums are full of haters man. Thanks for your service and good luck with the ordeal.
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Well said my good man. Verizon is the devil, I have known this since my dumbphone days They are too big and I am praying for an event that sees them lose so many subscribers that they drop to #3 or #4 and have to change tactics. This won't happen, but I can dream.
monadzback said:
He is trying to help the community. Most of you suck anyways. Thanks for the post op.
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The only difference between your post and his is you took a lot less words to say nothing.
Thank you for being succinct OP
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I must say after reading all that I am still not sure what the problem is.. Did they get your GF in a contract instead of month to month you can cancel? Or will they just not cancel your data plan at all??
I had no issue and took 10 minutes on the phone and was told to call back if I did see a charge on my bill and they would remove it..
mjpacheco said:
The only difference between your post and his is you took a lot less words to say nothing.
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Thanks.
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