A family member made an online purchase of a cell phone from Cellpoint, Inc. On an eBay auction in early June. Her payment was made using PayPal and the company acknowledged payment in an e-mail.
Later, she was told that she needed to confirm her address. She sent the required documents via fax. Four weeks passed before I heard about this. I contacted the company and someone named Jessica Torres told me that the address-confirming documents were not found. She immediately tried to blame the purchaser and went on and on about the unconfirmed address.
I could see that the company was going to give the run-around. I got right to the point... The company needed to ship the phone immediately via express delivery. IF it did not, actions would be taken to make certain that the company was investigated. The longer the wait period, the more research that would be done on the company.
Jessica Torres said that the address-confirming information must be faxed again. She gave me the fax number and even asked me to read the number back to her. I got the document and faxed it to the number she gave me. I noticed that something was amiss, so I refaxed it after changing one number. I later learned that Ms. Torres intentionally gave me the incorrect number! What... To buy more time?
After faxing this document, I used my cell phone to call Ms. Torres to make certain the document got to her. She said, "We didn't get it." I was dumbfounded! I held on the line while she looked again. "Oh, yes, we got it, but we can't read it... It is too light." I said, "OK, I'll just go back into Kinkos and tell them the fax was not successful." They allowed me to fax again, and I insisted that Ms. Torres remain on the line until the document was in her hands. While waiting, I mentioned to her that she had given me the WRONG fax number but that I figured it out! I told her that I was not leaving Kinkos until this matter was resolved.
Bottom line was that Ms. Torres clearly wanted to back me into a corner. I wasn't about to give her the chance! I confirmed that the phone would be shipped immediately and that the purchaser would be notified by e-mail. I told Ms. Torres that she could expect lots of research in the meantime and that I would find out what others were experiencing.
I kept my promise. I began to look closely at the feedback this company received by eBay buyers. I noted that the negative feedback was very emotional. I then looked at the feedback the company gave in return and discovered that it LAMBASTED each and every customer who gave it negative feedback! What's more, Cellpoint used personally-attacking words like "idiot" and "liar" and worse! Apparently, it didn't matter how true or legitimate the customer feedback was, the company was not going to have it! Further, the company was going to lie about the customer, too, in order to retaliate!
Then, something even more bizarre was evident! The company seemed to be trying to get customers to *withdraw* the negative feedback through harassment. I noticed that the negative feedback numbers were decreasing each day as once negative feedback was mutually withdrawn. Some customers indicated that the company was guilty of fraud, deception, false advertising, and more.
I found that customers had money taken but no product sent. Customers got a substitute item of lesser value. Customers got non-working items. Customers got foreign items that could not be used in the U.S. Without adapters. Customers got phones which could not use the multimedia features, including access to the internet. Customers got inferior quality items that weren't as described. Customers got no refund after sending back items. Customers got charged after sending the items back. Customers got "non-paying reports" filed after returning items. You name it... The customers got anything BUT positive customer service when problems arose!
What does eBay *really* know about this company? Why is the positive feedback so at odds with the negative feedback by wrong customers? Jessica Torres revealed that this company is a "five-man operation." She said they had hired some "bad employees" recently who no longer work there. Was she giving out some secrets? Is this company a sham operating by the skin of its teeth? Is there padding going on with the positive feedback? Are the numbers being intentionally manipulated to boost the company's rating as a "Power Seller" on eBay?!? WHO is really in charge there? On name listed is Manny Lisboa. Another is Manni Risvoe.
Is Cellpoint a front name for a small SCAM operation? Are there other VICTIMS out there waiting to tell their story? This is the place! Don't wait for another victim to be hung out to dry! Get the justice you deserve! Hold this company fully accountable!
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