The Calling Card Saga: Part I

It all began when I needed a calling card.

We´re at a popular beach town a few hours outside of Rio, but there´s a different area code here, so anytime I need to make a call, like to call a taxi, I get charged even more than usual. So my credit on my pay-as-you go phone quickly ran out, so we looked for a place to buy a phone card. The first place we came across was a pharmacy on a bustling tourist trap street, and we headed in.

I asked for the highest amount they had, which was R$35. I bought the card with cash, thanked the cashier, and walked out. About ten minutes later, I scratched the back of the card to get the code. I noticed the card was badly bent, but the code was still intact. I punched the number in my phone and waited for the automated message to say, "Please wait for confirmation by text message." Instead, the message said, "Invalid code. Please try again." I tried a few more times, had Eli try, and still the same thing. I´d bought a defective card.

So we headed back to the store and asked the cashier if she could switch the card. She tried loading it herself and it still wouldn´t work. She called the store manager over. "No, absolutely not. You can´t have a new card and you can´t have a refund. You have to call the calling card company. This is their problem, not mine."

Eli, being endlessly patient, called the company and spent a good half hour on the phone with them, and then passed the phone to the store manager, who spent another thirty minutes or so talking to them. They had determined that the card was in fact invalid and that the store manager would have to give us a new one.

In the meantime, my blood was boiling. My mom threatened the manager that she´d stand outside the store telling people not to come in, a la The Consumerist, but I shooed her away. Eliseu stayed and tried reasoning with the manager, who would absolutely not budge and was being really rude to Eli, so I began arguing loudly with him in Portuguese, which is kind of a big deal for me because I´m incapable of speaking foreign languages when really nauseous or very angry. I told him that even though it might have been the phone company´s fault, it was his merchandise that he´d acquired, and therefore he was responsible for it, especially since I´d paid him directly, not the phone company. Would you sell an empty bottle of Coke or sunscreen, I asked? It´s not the same, he sighed.

In any event, nothing helped. There was more negotiating on the phone, and Eli wrote down some information from the phone company. He told the manager again, "They say you´re responsible." He shot back, "No, I´m not." Round and round it went, and finally Eli had had enough.

"I´m going to the police," he said, and off he stomped to the closest delegacia.

Comments

[isabel hummel]

I know how you feel, and that is one of the things that I don't miss, just thinking about it makes me stressed!. I always got stressed out with things like that, specially with the cashiers that would not give me my penny back, you know, I would buy something for 1.99 and they wouldn't give my money, and than, they would look at me like I was crazy or something!.
I always loved the fact that here in the US, you can return something even if it's open - if you have your receipt and they will give you your money back even if it's a penny!
- Sorry for my english, I am still learning!

[isabel hummel]

Talking about phone cards, if you are looking for a phone card to call your family in the United States or for them to call you,there is a great phone card. You have to call from the USA 1-877- MINUTOS , or you can go online to check it out: http://www.1877minutos.com - than you can check things out
My friend told me about and it's the best card so far.I tell everybody about it! I talk to my mom once a week for 2 hrs and I have the card since August 21st., and I put it $30,00 there. I just wanted to share, because after 8 years I found something that is worth it and it's legit!
Have a good day

[Mauricio]

Unfortunetaly, this kind of thing still happens in Brazil. Maybe because we are not used to sueing people, since our justice takes too long to solve any kind of problem.

Have a nice weekend.

[Edu]

You did well calling the police. The Consumer´s Defense Code is clear: the responsible is the store who sold you. Waiting for the next part - not sure if the police would have provided the help they are supposed to, anyway...

[Cristiane Amarante Fetter]

Este é um dos maiores problemas do Brasil (e olhe que ele tem tanta coisa boa ein?), mas esta parte de prestação de serviços é realmente falha.
Você não consegue falar português quando fica nervosa, é exatamente o que acontece comigo quando eu fico nervosa com a limitação dos funcionários das lojas americanas, que não podem fazer nada de diferente para ajudar ao cliente.
Tem que aprender a reclamar no Brasil e chamar a polícia sim, só desta forma as coisas irão para o lugar. Aqui em New Jersey eu vou até o gerente e faço um escândalo em português mesmo e resolve, rs.
bjks

[elena]

No Brasil, a gente vai sempre e quase todos os dias encontrar uma situacao igual a essa. Odeio essa coisa de comprar algo e nao poder devolver. Povo mesquinho desgraçado...acha saco ne mesmo. Aqui é diferente
Mas, Rachel em nove anos morando aqui nos States, so tive um tipo de problema igual esse e com a loja Best Buy que vende computadores e afins. Pois bem, compramos uma peça de computador nessa loja(custou uns 150 dolares), levamos pra cass e quando abrimos a caixa pra monta-lo no nosso computador o que tinha lá era uma outra peça velha quebrada e usada. Moral da historia, voltamos na loja e falamos o ocorrido e eles nao queriam troca-la, dizendo que nos que botamos aquela porcaria quebrada lá dentro da caixa e que agimos de má fé. Olha...chamamos a policia e armamos la dentro, um barraco maior que a loja.
Moral da historia, voltamos pro banco, contamos o que aconteceu e o banco entrou com uma acao contra a loja...esperamos 20 dias...o dinheiro retornou pra nossa conta e o Best Buy (que chamo de Bosta Buy (desculpa)) perdeu o cliente forever.
bjs,
me

[Jesse]

This brings up two of the great mysteries of Brazil: why are cell phone minutes and laundromats so expensive?

In a country where nearly everything is cheaper than in the U.S., I could never figure out why standard cell rates are around R$1.67 per minute (to call out of network - about US$0.75) and a single washer or dryer load in a laundromat costs R$10 (about US$4.50).

Why can you get a beer for less than a buck, but two loads of laundry, washed and dried, will set you back almost US$20, and a ten minute local cell phone call can cost more than US$7?

[Gabriela]

What an ordeal you went through! Looking forward to part 2.
All the best from Peru.

[André Sá]

Este é um dos melhores blogs em que eu esbarrei na Internet recentemente!! Li muitos posts e já estou viciado! Adicionei no feed.

[Ricardo]

I don't want to be sarcastic, but I am a Brazilian living in the
US and the same thing happened to me here!