CAVEAT EMPTOR

I unplugged my cell phone from the charger and everything was OK; a short time later I tried to make a call and the phone was DEAD. I went to my local dealer where I have always gone, and although the time on the door showed they were supposed to be open at 9:30 AM and a neon sign showing "open" was lit, it was then 10:06 AM but the doors were locked. I drove across town to the other dealer.

I told the salesman the problem and he looked at the phone and took it to the rear of the store and returned and said it was dead and I'd have to get a new phone. I asked if I were eligible for an uprade.

He brought up my account and told me that I was not eligible for a new phone until October and that a new phone would cost me $299.00. I said, "That's crazy, I'm not going to pay $300.00 for a phone!" He reminded me that my contract wasn't up until February, 2013. He said, "There's another option; you can add another line for $10.00 more per month and get a new phone." I said, "I don't understand; WHO would have the phone?" He answered that one phone would be a "dummy" phone and wouldn't be used and I could use the new phone. I said, "Well, that sounds like blackmail to me: if I don't want to spend $300 on a new phone, then I can sign up for a phony line and spend $120 a year!" He said those were the options. I said that I knew that I had to complete the contract but I would NEVER renew! I said, "I'll just use my husband's Trac Phone!" and stormed out!

I thought, "That young brat thinks he can take advantage of an OLD woman!" When I went home, I called my brother and he told me that if I had an old phone that still worked, it could be reprogrammed, and I wouldn't have to buy a new one. I said, "That young crook could have told me that!" He laughed and said, "Caveat emptor; he wanted the $300.00!"

I found the old phone and took it with me to the original dealer. I did not tell him about what had occurred at the other dealer. I gave him my current phone and he examined the phone, took it to the rear of the store and returned and said, "It's OK; it must have just had a glitch!" He also checked the old phone and said that if something did happen to the current phone, I could use it.

Then I told him about the other dealer and I said, "I must report this," and he said that he couldn't blame me for doing so.