GREENSBORO, N.C. — Amy Bondatti remembers the day well. Her car overheated and she was stranded on the side of the road. Bondatti had her phone with her, but it wasn’t working properly.
“I could receive calls and texts, but I could not call or text,” Bondatti said.
The issue had been going on for about four weeks after Bondatti called her cell phone provider to get a new phone. The phone Bondatti purchased was not what she needed so, she sent it back within the 14-day grace period.
“I called and let them know I sent the phone back and canceled the order,” Bondatti said.
Her provider continued to bill Bondatti for the $1,000 cell phone. Bondatti asked for the charges to be removed and reiterated she sent the phone back. She reached out to a local store along with trying to speak with someone from the corporate office, but it didn’t work.
Bondatti believes the cell company started restricting access to her old phone because she refused to pay the bill for the phone she sent back.
“It was very frustrating and a big problem,” Bondatti said.
As a traveling nurse, Bondatti will often get opportunities to fill in at local hospitals to make extra money. Bondatti said she received a voice message one day asking if she was free to work, but was unable to get ahold of the medical provider in time because her phone couldn’t make calls.
“I missed out on a work opportunity with a substantial incentive,” Bondatti said.
2 Wants To Know Gets Involved
After four to five weeks of trying and failing to get the issue resolved, Bondatti called our Call for Action Team at WMFY News 2. Our team immediately reached out to the cell phone provider to explain the problem and see what could be done to resolve the issue.
A representative with the company told us they would investigate the problem and call us back. A couple of days passed when Bondatti called to tell us the good news. Her phone was working again. She said a representative from the company called and helped resolve the issue.
“Thank you so much! You got me rolling again,” Bondatti said.
The bill for the new phone Bondatti sent back was also wiped clean so no money was owed. Bondatti would later buy a different phone with more storage.