I Hate the Information Age

by Miss Conduct

2003-02-04 00:24:44

Consumers in Action

I bought myself a cell phone for Christmas so that I could send private little text messages back and forth with my boyfriend. Generally I can't stand the idea of being reachable anytime, anywhere, day or night. But who am I to impede the progress of love? So, I knuckled under and took advantage of this great AT&T "Free-2-Go" Wireless and Nokia offer at my local 7-Eleven store. Now, I'm all fired up.

The original offer entailed buying the $99 phone which included $50 mail-in rebates from AT&T and 7-Eleven respectively. I was suspicious because, well, nothing is free, right? But the deal came highly recommended by a trusted friend. I would buy the phone, mail in the rebate information and just pay for the phone minutes. Voila! Free phone. It was a pretty good deal. No contracts or commitments. I was comforted in knowing that if I got real pissed off at my new shoe phone, I could toss it from a moving vehicle--no muss no fuss. I diligently assembled the necessary rebate information and mailed it the very next day. Yay. Merry Christmas to me.

Today I received an envelope from some company named Young America. It contained my original envelope, receipt, rebate form and a letter advising that my request was incomplete. I apparently neglected to include the bar-code sticker from the bottom of the box. Now, I don't remember if the original instructions asked for this information or not. I'm inclined to think that they didn't because I'm fairly detail oriented and thorough. Plus, I checked all the information twice before mailing it off.

But that's not the point. They were kind enough to allow me to resubmit my request with the admonition that my "...resubmittal will be subject to all of the original terms and conditions of the Nokia/AT&T Q4 2002 Mail-In Rebate Offer." The point is that they waited almost TWO MONTHS before notifying me of the alleged oversight: well AFTER the deadline to submit the rebate request! I mean, it's not like they didn't have my phone number. fu*kers. There is a chance that they will honor my request since the AT&T Wireless Website is currently offering the same deal. But I'm still fired up and they're still f*ckers.

What about the 7-Eleven part of the rebate, you may ask? They lamed out on the whole thing and sent me an innocuous letter enclosing a $25 prepaid refill card for calling minutes. No $50. No opportunity to re-submit my request. I hate AT&T. I hate Nokia. I hate 7-Eleven. (Well, okay, I'm extremely disappointed with 7-Eleven.) I hate the Information Age. I don't want to be in touch. I don't even like talking on the phone. Don't call me. Don't even look at me. fuck*rs.

Dog gone it! I want my $100.

iambic@pigdog.org