Dear Bell Customer Service,

Dear Bell Customer Service,
In October 2004 I became a new customer of Bell Mobility when I purchased a Treo 600 phone. I also purchased the Extended Warranty Plan. At the time of purchase I was assured this support plan will, in the event my Treo developed any problems, "provide me with an immediate replacement Treo while the defective unit is sent away for repair."

The Treo 600 worked well for almost 1 year before it began having problems. Basically the screen has stopped displaying properly and will 'grey out' in the middle of use. (the whole screen goes a grey/blue colour). I have discovered that if I turn the phone off & on a few times the screen will sometimes show up for a short time. As you can imagine this is quite a frustrating process. So I called the Bell toll-free number to ask for the best process to have my phone repaired and was informed that I needed to go into a Bell Corporate Store.

On November 8th, 2005 I visited the Fort McMurray Bell Corporate Store. After waiting an extended period of time I was eventually helped by a pleasant Bell representative. I completed some paperwork and was told that my repair order (My Document:#0500487470) has been submitted and I should get a call within a few days when the replacement arrives. I asked about the Treo loaner I was promised when I purchased the additional support plan. I was informed that if a loaner was available (which there wasn't) it would not be a Treo. This option is not suitable for me as I have come to rely quite heavily on the Treo's abilities, nor is it the solution I was offered when I purchased the extended warranty plan.

Friday Nov 11: No call received so I called the Bell Corporate Store. I was unable to get anyone on the phone so I left a message.

Saturday Nov 12: Went into the store in person as I still had no call back yet. I waited another extended period of time before speaking with someone who then informed me that it can take up to two weeks for the repair. I was then promised that someone will call me when the replacement unit arrives. Again I asked about the loaner phone that was mentioned when I purchased the extended warranty plan. This time I was told that the extended plan does not provide a loaner. (when in fact the plan does state that it will provide a "Loaner phone".)

Tuesday Nov 22: No call received so I called the Bell Corporate Store. I was unable to get anyone on the phone so I left a message.

At this point I started calling the Bell toll-free support number to ask for some help. I was transferred around excessively and usually ended up being advised that I need to deal with the Bell Corporate Store. During one of these calls a Bell Customer service representative quoted me another Repair number 0500502679.

For over 1 month I have been calling both the Bell Corporate Store and the Bell toll-free numbers. It is frustrating, especially in light of the fact I had purchased the Extended Warranty Plan specifically to avoid this. Up to the time of this writing (December 8th 2005) I have not received a single call back from Bell representatives from the corporate store, repair center, or the customer service group. The latest information I have from the toll-free support person is there are currently no replacement Treo 600’s available and I am looking at a minimum of 2-4 more weeks before any arrive.

As a supporter of customer service and corporate responsibility, I am extending to Bell Mobility the opportunity to turn this unfortunate situation into a more positive customer experience. My sincere hope is that this communication reaches someone empowered to make that difference. On the front of my Extended Warranty Plan it states:"Replacement guarantee-may be repaired or replaced with a comparable product." On the back it states in section 2-C under Product replacement. "If product replacement is necessary, Bell World will replace the Product with a current model of comparable quality." The Customer Service representative on the toll-free line did mention I would need to re-sign up for the full two year contract and I am fine with this.

I would really appreciate any form of communication to help work out a solution that is fair for all parties involved.

Regards,
Mark Cordingley
Information Technology Account Manager