K
KellyAFL
Guest
Hi, I'm in Florida. This is a long story, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible. About three weeks ago, I called a well-known computer manufacturer/retailer about buying (financing, to be more specific) a desktop computer from them for my home. I talked to a saleslady and told her right away that i had a spending limit of 800 dollars, no higher (plus shipping and handling). She told me she had a good package for me for that price, which included a lot of extras (i.e., a year of internet service, a 3 year warranty, a cd burner). She told me that I could get approved for credit with an interest of 14.99% and then proceeded to put me on the phone with a banker from their credit loan company. This banker ran through some questions about my income and basically verified that I was me and not someone else trying to get a computer with my name. He never quoted me an interest rate. Then I was transferred back to her and she told me my credit line with them was going to be $2500. She did not give me an interest rate at this time, so I assumed it was 14.99%. She then ran down what features I would be getting with my computer. This included the features that I mentioned above as well as the product specs for the computer (hard drive space, monitor size, etc.). She also told me that if I financed the computer for 4 years, that I would get monthly payments at $41 (being on the phone and not being a mathematical genius, I assumed that this reflected the price of my computer plus shipping plus the 14.99 APR over 4 years). She never once gave me a total for the computer, so since I had told her to keep it at or below $800, and since she had said she was giving me a package that was $799 earlier, that's what I believed it was. I got the computer a week and a half ago. It did not include a bill or even an invoice, however I did notice it included a couple things I didn't remember her mentioning, a pack of CD-r's with a CD labeling kit, as well as a notice about some online training. OF course, I thought she must have thrown that stuff into the package as a bonus to me. I was very happy (though I have no intention of using the labels or the training), and am happy with the equipment.
This week I got the bill, or "account statement." It says that my purchase cost $1293.12 (no itemization of what I got or how much it cost, just this total). It says that my annual percentage rate is 22.99%. It says that my monthly payments are $51.
So, I called their customer service dept. 4 days ago (the day after getting the bill). They told me to call my original sales rep. I called and left messages twice in three days and was never answered. Last night I called back customer service and was finally given an itemization of what I got. Turns out that I've been charged for a 3 year warranty (she never said it would cost extra, just listed it in the features I'd be getting) as well as the pack of CD-rs and labeling kit ($99 plus $10 shipping) and the online training ($99 plus $5 shipping). These last two I don't even remember her mentioning as part of the package! The lady I talked to last night also told me that I hadn't been approved for 14.99%, that my sales rep had probably said that because that was as low a rate as you can get. The most she could offer me was to return whatever I didn't want and get my full money back, but that I would have to pay shipping on whatever I sent back (except for the warranty, of course).
So. Here are my questions: Can they really charge me more than $799 plus shipping for this stuff when I was never given a REAL total (beyond $799 plus shipping)?
Can they really not disclose to me what my APR will be and bind me to pay at a rate that was never disclosed?
Would it be realistic for me to demand that either they let me have it at $799 plus shipping at a rate of 14.99%, or I'll return it?
Should I be able to demand to send it all back without paying shipping and handling, since in effect they sent me, and tried to charge me for, something that I didn't want?
Thanks in advance,
Kelly
This week I got the bill, or "account statement." It says that my purchase cost $1293.12 (no itemization of what I got or how much it cost, just this total). It says that my annual percentage rate is 22.99%. It says that my monthly payments are $51.
So, I called their customer service dept. 4 days ago (the day after getting the bill). They told me to call my original sales rep. I called and left messages twice in three days and was never answered. Last night I called back customer service and was finally given an itemization of what I got. Turns out that I've been charged for a 3 year warranty (she never said it would cost extra, just listed it in the features I'd be getting) as well as the pack of CD-rs and labeling kit ($99 plus $10 shipping) and the online training ($99 plus $5 shipping). These last two I don't even remember her mentioning as part of the package! The lady I talked to last night also told me that I hadn't been approved for 14.99%, that my sales rep had probably said that because that was as low a rate as you can get. The most she could offer me was to return whatever I didn't want and get my full money back, but that I would have to pay shipping on whatever I sent back (except for the warranty, of course).
So. Here are my questions: Can they really charge me more than $799 plus shipping for this stuff when I was never given a REAL total (beyond $799 plus shipping)?
Can they really not disclose to me what my APR will be and bind me to pay at a rate that was never disclosed?
Would it be realistic for me to demand that either they let me have it at $799 plus shipping at a rate of 14.99%, or I'll return it?
Should I be able to demand to send it all back without paying shipping and handling, since in effect they sent me, and tried to charge me for, something that I didn't want?
Thanks in advance,
Kelly