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Firefly |
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Stacie of Hatboro, PA February 21, 2009
Hansine of Bodega Bay, CA November 15, 2008
And you might also think that a telecommunications company would be required by law to provide what they sell. Or, that a telecommunications company would remember that phones are for safety as well as for fun and games. Not so with Firefly Mobile, producers of the flyPhone and glowPhone for children. I am a grandmother. When a family crisis hit, I decided my seven year old grandson needed to be able to have easy, friendly, reliable access to family members and to be able to reach help, an adult or parent when necessary. The phone was principally for his safety and security. At the heart of a phone for a child, regardless of age, the telephone is a way to reach a parent or helper when necessary and much more than just a way to play games or try out ring tones when bored. Firefly seemed to have considered children and produced a phone that is user friendly for young children, so I ordered one and had it sent to my grandson in a different state. A WARNING BEFORE YOU RING IN A DISASTER FOR YOU AND YOUR CHILD: THE FIREFLY CELL PHONE FROM CINGULAR WIRELESS Four months, two hundred dollars, innumerable hours and several other problems later, I can accurately report that Firefly Mobile isnt interested in your child, your childs well-being, you, or providing the services that you paid for. Now, why am I spending my time to tell you this? Because sixty years later and forty some years in the world of business, Im still surprised and saddened that a company trading in the illusion of caring about children doesnt and that a communications company can sell communication methods that it doesnt provide. I purchased the firefly glowPhone with accessories and had it sent to my grandson. I signed up for their automatic refill option so that he would be safe, able to make calls whenever he needed to and would never run out of minutes. This plan refills the phone from your credit card whenever the balance is low. His parents and I spent several hours setting up the account online after the phone arrived, but the next day, the information wouldnt be there. We could never get the account to work and the phone worked for three days. After several thirty minute waiting periods to get someone in Customer Service, I finally did. The problem? The phone was out of money. I wondered how this was possible since it was supposed to automatically refill. I was advised that their software didnt work, but that it would be up and running very soon and they added some money to the phone from my credit card while I was on the phone. A very long story short, we tried for two months to get the account to work. At long last, I was advised that Firefly had no idea when the software would work. Their solution was that I could call in and wait the half hour for Customer Service to answer the phone and add refills verbally on my credit card on an ongoing basis. There was no way to know how much was left on the account without making the call. After needing to use the phone several times during a two day period, the inevitable finally happened. My grandson had an emergency and the phone didnt work because it didnt refill and I didnt know he had needed to use it as often those two days. Enough! The safety tool had become a liability. I called fireflyMobile, waited the allotted time to finally reach someone in customer service, added fifty dollars to the phone and was advised: We have no idea how long it will take to get this problem fixed. It could be a very long time. The only way we can solve this is to change the phone number and hope that works.? Needless to say, I got my grandson a different phone. One that worked. One he could feel safe with. So when I contacted fireflyMobile and asked to return the phone and get the balance on the phone account back, you know what they said? There are no returns even if we didnt provide you with the services we sold you. Even if we kept telling you the last three months it was going to be fixed.? Oh, the the balance? It disappeared from the account. Im thinking there are a lot of people out there who have had this problem. People who spent a ridiculous amount of time, money and their childs security on a refill? program that didnt work. I think this is called a class action suit. Im thinking this is child endangerment. Roger of Raymore, MO June 9, 2008
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