Be VERY CAREFUL using those Employee Discount Programs in order to purchase goods and services because what happened to me may very well happen to you! I was a member of Working Advantage, a popular employee discount service offered through my employer. This service enables employees to purchase goods and services such as travel, electronics, Broadway tickets, etc.; at a discount. I had used the service in the past to get good discounts on car rentals & other things; therefore, I didn't hesitate to use their services in order to purchase a cell phone. I think it better to have you read the e-mail I sent to Working Advantage complaining to them about what happened to me when I used their 3rd party affiliate Simplexity:
Original Message - Subject: Complaint Re: Cellular Telephone Discounts From: Date:
Fri, January 7 4:48 pm To:
Knakamoto@workingadvantage. Comba — Hello. I called your customer service department in regards to a complaint I want to file against one of your reward partners. I have always used Working Advantage for discounts & never have been disappointed with it until now. This is in regards to your cellular phone discount affiliate. Back in April, I purchased a cellular telephone from your affiliate, Archimedes One. When clicking on the link to the AT&T site, I noticed that on the ordering site, there is another affiliate listed by the name of Simplexity. I ordered the telephone and was directed to a site called "Whereismyorder.com" (Simplexity's site) upon where I can track the status of my order. I then received the telephone and service. Due to some personal issues, and also the increased cost of the telephone service, I wasn't able to pay my bill on time, and my service was cancelled by AT&T September 3. Now, I understand that when you have cell service & it's cancelled before the 2-year period that you are subject to pay the termination fee. What I was NOT aware of is an additional $200 fee that Simplexity charges. They claim this fee represents the discount I received on the phone. I learned this when one of their representatives called me around Sept. 20th. I told them that I could not pay the fee (if I owed it) because I was not employed & couldn't afford to pay for it at once. They offered to have me pay it in installments. They did not give me this in writing, but requested to get the payment by "phone debit". I did not want them to debit my checking account because I had prior fraud on my checking account. I did offer to pay via my bank's BillPay service, so none of my checking information would be revealed; & they would receive bank checks from my account. They refused. And they also refused to accept the phone when I offered to return the phone & equipment. On Thanksgiving Day, upon checking my balance in my checking account (I was going out of town for the holiday) I noticed a debit pending of $200 out of my checking from SIMPLEXITY. At the time, I didn't recognize who they were, but after the debit cleared, I found out that they deducted $200 from my account! I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (still pending), and with the FTC. Please see attached my correspondence with Simplexity & letters of complaint/response from BBB. I don't expect at this point to ever get my $200 back; however, I think that you should be aware (and warn other members of Working Advantage) about Simplexity. Others I have spoken to have also experienced this issue. I simply did not know they will charge an additional $200 from your account if you lose your telephone service, and I will never get another cellphone (or direct anyone else to get a cellphone) from Working Advantage again, due to my experience. name deleted P.S.: If you want to see what the history of my complaints at the BBB. Please click on the link & open it by using my e-mail address: As of today, they closed my complaint. I am also attaching a chatlog between myself & Simplexity of my complaint. (see below) Lesson learned.
And this is the company's (Working Advantage's) response:
I spoke to the vendor about your situation. Simplexity is the fulfillment company Archimedes One uses. Since your account was cancelled before the 6 months required for the discount, but after the 30 day return period, you were responsible for paying $200 of the value of the phone. That policy is spelled out at the top of the terms and conditions that you checked off as agreeing to during checkout on Archimedes' website. This is the copy from their agreement: "By accepting this Instant Savings Discount, you agree to repay $200 of this discount ($300 for smartphones and netbooks) and authorize us to charge your credit card in repayment of this amount if, during the 181 days after your new equipment is activated, Verizon Wireless notifies us that the services you purchased have been suspended, disconnected, or deactivated, or if you return your purchase outside of the return and exchange provisions of our 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee." I truly wish I could do more for you, but unfortunately the vendor was within their right to execute their terms as stated during the time of purchase. I am sorry for your experience, we at Working Advantage understand your predicament. We have now duplicated this part of their terms in the restrictions section of our website, so this information will be more visible to our members. I will also call our Archimedes contact and express that it would be nice if they had more options for payment plans. Kim Nakamoto Working Advantage
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