Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/10/2022

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I ordered 2 phones through Target for a family member in another country. One of the phones they sent had a half screen of DEAD PIXELS. The phone was literally unusable and the gift was ruined for my family member. The other phone had a CRACK in the camera lens. Every picture taken on that device had a line running through it. I can't believe this company has a deal with Target. I called their **************** and they said since it was a purchase from a partner, they would not be able to do anything without the item. The item is now in Africa. It's a 22 hour flight to get them. When I had the *** call 232, they mentioned the same and suggested I have it flown back on my dime to return it. IMAGINE BEING TOLD THEIR FAULTY ITEMS SHOULD COST ME THOUSANDS TO MAKE THE RETURN TO THEM. Going forward, the only feasible solution would be a full refund. This is a scam.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/03/2022

  Hello,

  We spoke with the customer numerous times and advised him that while we shipped the phones out on behalf of Target, we must follow the Target return policy. Target's return window was going to close a few days after our initial call, and there was nothing we would be able to do in terms of exchanging or refunding the order, since the order went through Target directly. We then offered, as a courtesy, to allow the units to be sent directly to our facility, and bypass Target's return policy so we can either exchange or refund the customer. The customer demanded that we pay for the return shipping from Africa, which would cost approximately $60, not thousands of dollars as he is  claiming. However since we shipped the units to an address in the *************, we can only provide a ************* return label. At that point the customer became very aggressive and threatened to fly from ******* to our warehouse and destroy all of our inventory. He also paid a service to find out our employees personal information, such as home address, phone numbers, emails etc and starting harassing them continuously till they were advised to ignore all calls on their personal devices.  At one point, the customer even threatened that he knows what schools some of the employees and managers kids go to and said he would pay them a visit. Luckly, we have notified the local police and school security to this threat and they are monitoring the situation. Through all of this, we are still willing to accept the units back if the devices arrive by July 1st 2022 and provide a refund after the devices have been inspected and verified that they are from our inventory. A prepaid label had been emailed to him over a week ago, and we still did not get the units back. 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/03/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]

  First and foremost, the **************** of this company has been abhorrent to say the least. After they sent out FAULTY DEVICES, which seems to be a common practice of theirs, they refused to take accountability. Just look through their other BBB complaints to get a better picture of how they conduct business. If this was an isolated incident, it would prove otherwise. 

  I think the fact they chose to respond through BBB complaints but not to the consumer itself speaks volumes.

  It's also very telling that every time they chose to send any correspondence is after business hours on Fridays. I think it would be safe to say that their F rating on Better Business Bureau is well deserved.

  Secondly, after entrusting that the gifts I ordered would be sent as described online and having them flown out of country in a process that alone took almost one month, of course the return window elapsed and Target is not able to provide a guarantee on 3rd party vendors such as this. The fact that large retailers have deals with them even appalls me. To the point where I have reached out to file a formal complaint with Target, Amazon and Wal-Mart to describe what my experience was like ordering through 232 Tech. A small company that seems to not be able to clarify just how they receive so many bad reviews and complaints.

  The $60 shipping rate was one that I shared with them. Not thousands. Not even hundreds. This $60 is a conservative figure as the person who this gift was meant for spent around $75 to ship her own gifts back to me in the states. This is a shame on 232 part.

  After not receiving any updates for weeks or a response on how they would be able to return the money for the faulty device that THEY SENT, I reached out to their business managers and associates and asked who the highest is on the chain of command. NO THREATS were made at any point in time. I simply requested that I be reimbursed for the order total as that is what I paid for 2 broken phones and requested that they cover the international shipping which they not only denied but also denied paying the taxes on the order. Their refund offer was for the phones retail price. No tax, no shipping. So they expected me to take a loss on an order that they made the mistake on. Accountability means a full refund. A stand up organization would've covered the shipping in an extenuating circumstance such as this.

  I entrust that the Better Business Bureau would take the word of hundreds of complaints over a company with a reputation such as this. I would also expect that they wont be in business much longer and if so, probably under a different name. 

  Once again, I thank the BBB for their continued commitment to advocating for the customer as I more than likely would have never received an answer unless I filed this complaint.

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************