Gateway Computers fraudulent billing deceptive trade pracitices refused to negotiate settlement Souix City South Dakota Internet

I have ran into nearly the same exact situation and filed a rip off report here in 2002. I have also had a nightmare situation with CitiBank & their Collection agency.

Even after sending numerous letters and making over 100 phone calls (how's that for being persistent)to Gateway & CitiBank regarding wrong equipment shipped, defective mechandise, no invoice (lost out on a $100 rebate too because no proof of purchase), charging me $400 more than the original quote. Citibank blew me off, Gateway did the same.

The collection agency actually called me and threatened to press "Criminal Theft Charges" against me & my 70 YR OLD Mother. And both Citibank & the collection agency are reporting this debt on MY credit report because I have a power of attorney for my Mother (it's her account).

I got tired of dealing with them (one ruder than the next) so I turned Gateway into my State Attorney General Office and turned Citibank & the Collection Agency into the Federal Trade Commission for violataions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act & Fair Debt Collection Act. If they get enough complaints they will investigate.
You can also sue for this, but will have to get your own lawyer to do it. I'm in the process of researching attorneys now.

Another avenue is to get copies of your credit reports and dispute the debt and make sure you request they send you information on the verifcation process used to verify the debt.

Good Luck battling it out. It's been almost two years for me and I'm just starting to make leeway with all this. Plan on dedicating alot of time and effort. Keep accurate, detailed records of all correspondence and phone calls.

I'm sorry about your troubles, but do you ever research big purchases that you are about to make prior to making them? How did you decide to purchase a Gateway? Through a Magazine, T.V. advertisement, web site? One of the most important items you should always be aware of, especially when making computer purchases, is what return policy the company has? If you didn't know that Gateway had a 15-day return policy, then you should have asked. Gateway would have told you that had you made the inquiry. It's your fault for not knowing the policy, not Gateway's.

As for the rebate, if you knew there was a rebate and you did not receive the form(s), then why didn't you call them about it? Do rebates just magically appear? No, you have to fill out a form and mail it in and they are normally required within a certain amount of time. I also cannot see how a rebate is denied if you never sent out the form to in the first place. Same goes for your purchase order. If you didn't get it with your system, why didn't you call and request a copy of it? Sounds like you dropped the ball on this too.

The other thing that confuses me about your post is that you state that you saved an entire year to purchase this computer, but yet it sounds like you financed it and haven't yet paid any for it. If you are disabled and next to broke, where is this money that you supposedly saved?

As for your computer not functioning properly, Gateway does have a warranty and if they cannot fix your problems over the phone, then you can elect to have it sent to them for repair. It may even be where a tech will come to your house if you are still within a certain time frame in your warranty. If you keep getting disconnected when you call them, be persistent and call them back and tell them about what is happening when you are transferred. Perhaps you aren't getting disconnected. Maybe you are just being put on hold and don't realize it. Calls to most computer tech support services require you waiting on hold for a longer period of time.

Finally, if you truly feel you were overcharged, you can dispute your billed amount with CITI Bank by putting your dispute in writing and they cannot just brush it off. You have to state that you are disputing your bill and what you are disputing. Most likely, you will still be required to pay the amount that is not disputed while your dispute is being researched. If you have documentation to prove your dispute, then you can send this along with it. However, your dispute must be in writing, not over the phone. And also, it's best to send your dispute with return receipt to prove that you sent the dispute. Keep in mind that disputing a bill is not the same thing to them when you word it as a complaint.

Overall, this just sounds to me like buyer remorse and you are trying to get out of paying for something you could not afford to begin with.

My 2-cents.