Inphonic's rebate scam was assisted by T-Mobil. I, too, jumped through the detailed hoops for the rebate, kept all the tags, etc. One requirement was that I send in the Second bill, showing the 1st was paid, within 120 days of activation. OK, hard to remember, but possible. Only, I never got the first bill! My first T-Mobil bill was returned to them marked, "incorrect address, " so what they did was turn off my service. I called to find out why, learned the above, immediately set up payment on my credit card, and urged them to get the bill to my correct address so I could get the rebate. Weeks went by, and after a second phone call I finally received the second bill, but it didn't show my payment. I sent it in anyway (time was running out) with a letter of explanation and began to 2-3 month wait.
I called Inphonic on 7/10 and spoke with Rose, who was rude from the first sentence, and gave me 3 reasons for refusing the rebate, one of which was patently bogus (she cited a time requirement which was quite different than the one printed on the rebate form). After several requests, I was transferred, very slowly, to her supervisor, Gilbert (employee #1963), who merely repeated that my claim was denied and there was nothing he could do about it, refusing to listen to any facts of the case.
I then called T-Mobil's customer service and learned that Inphonic gets a commission from T-Mobil for each service activation. I asked them to speak to Inphonic, since they did have a business relationship (one might say, Partners) and this was T-Mobil's fault, but in the end I got the same total lack of help. Both Gilbert and T-Mobil's "Glen" agreed that at no time in the call was I rude or hostile. But they were.
Others have documented Inphonic's scam, but T-Mobil's role shouldn't be overlooked. Of course they know what's going on, and they're profitting from it. And on top of all that, T-Mobil's service sucks.
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