I purchased an unlocked BlackBerry cell phone in late May for use in Europe. Upon arriving in Europe I loaded in a SIM card and the phone worked fine for both outgoing and incoming calls for about 36 hours and then would no longer work. After taking the phone to the SIM card provider (Telenor) in Stockholm and subsequently to the Orange Network in London (the phone was branded as an Orange phone), both phone companies informed me that the SIM cards were working fine but that my handset was defective. So, for two weeks I was out of luck in using a phone in Europe. A real bummer.
Upon returning to the US, I contacted Sam Stores, received a "Returned Material Authorization (RMA)" form, filled it out and faxed it back to Sam Stores the same day to receive an RMA number, which would permit me to return the phone.in a subsequent call I was advised to review their store policy: "Except for TVs and Cell phones we will exchange or refund for defective items within the first 30 days. Cell phones are only exchangeable for same within 14 days, no refunds. The manufacturer may support after 14 days..." Since the phone had been purchased about 40 days prior I was advised that my only recourse was to contact the manufacturer.
Bottom line: Sam Stores sells phones of questionable quality for which they offer essentially no recourse if the phone is defective. I am outraged at this sleazy policy and urge other buyers to avoid using this vendor. They're not reliable.
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