I bought a 40GB PS3 on sonystyle on christmas eve. I did so knowing that I could make good use of their offer for $100 off my purchase if I signed up for a Sony Visa card.

So I called and ordered. I mentioned the deal and the CSR indicated it was available and went through the process of getting my Sony Visa setup.

He then asked me if I wanted the 18 months interest free financing as well and I said yes. Then he gave me a total which did not include my $100 credit. I asked about this and he said it would appear on the second billing cycle of my credit card statement. I said ok and the PS3 arrived with no problems.

I got my second statement yesterday and still no $100 credit. After hours on the phone, LOTS of run around and being transferred, a manager indicated to me that I was signed up for some Sony financial services HSBC credit card, not the Sony Visa. Then he said the HSBC card did not have the $100 off promotion and there was nothing he could do.

In fact, he said that it was an either/or thing. Either go with HSBC and get 18 months interest free or go with Sony Visa and get $100 off my purchase. I explained that the only discussion the CSR had with me was regarding Sony Visa and that I would in fact get both promotions.

He said I would have to be put in touch with some other manager and go through some formal complaint/dispute. I've left a voice mail for that manager and await a returned call (not likely to happen).

So I ask, is this not FRAUD? The problem was completely with the CSR. He told me one thing, I agreed to all of it, and then it all got screwed up from there and I'm out an extra $100 to which sonystyle says they can do nothing about. WTF????

I wish they could get a recording of my particular phone call but I'm not optimistic of this thing turning out positive for me. I feel like I'm just screwed and sonystyle simply grabbed $100 out of my pocket out of no doing of my own.

WTF am I supposed to do now??!!!!

I bought a 40GB PS3 on sonystyle on christmas eve. I did so knowing that I could make good use of their offer for $100 off my purchase if I signed up for a Sony Visa card.

So I called and ordered. I mentioned the deal and the CSR indicated it was available and went through the process of getting my Sony Visa setup.

He then asked me if I wanted the 18 months interest free financing as well and I said yes. Then he gave me a total which did not include my $100 credit. I asked about this and he said it would appear on the second billing cycle of my credit card statement. I said ok and the PS3 arrived with no problems.

I got my second statement yesterday and still no $100 credit. After hours on the phone, LOTS of run around and being transferred, a manager indicated to me that I was signed up for some Sony financial services HSBC credit card, not the Sony Visa. Then he said the HSBC card did not have the $100 off promotion and there was nothing he could do.

In fact, he said that it was an either/or thing. Either go with HSBC and get 18 months interest free or go with Sony Visa and get $100 off my purchase. I explained that the only discussion the CSR had with me was regarding Sony Visa and that I would in fact get both promotions.

He said I would have to be put in touch with some other manager and go through some formal complaint/dispute. I've left a voice mail for that manager and await a returned call (not likely to happen).

So I ask, is this not FRAUD? The problem was completely with the CSR. He told me one thing, I agreed to all of it, and then it all got screwed up from there and I'm out an extra $100 to which sonystyle says they can do nothing about. WTF????

I wish they could get a recording of my particular phone call but I'm not optimistic of this thing turning out positive for me. I feel like I'm just screwed and sonystyle simply grabbed $100 out of my pocket out of no doing of my own.

WTF am I supposed to do now??!!!!

cry yourself to sleep and take advantage of the 18 months same as cash by investing $100 and come out way ahead $100 by the time 18 months is finished :D a little more work but the benefits are there!

That is interesting, I did the same deal and got the Chase Sony Visa card and I got the $100 credit. I was told this also include the no interest, I looked at my statement and it shows that the interest is deferred. So I believe you should get both. The rules do state you have to pay at least the monthly minimum and pay off the whole balance by the end of the no interest period or the total interest will be applied.

The standard Sony Visa card has no interest for 12 months. That is how mine worked, and I got the $100 credit with no problem on my first statement.

Keep going up the chain with sonystyle. Also, keep your cool and calmly state the facts with what was said to you. If that manager can't help, ask for his/her supervisor. Hopefully you will talk to someone whose time is worth more than the $100 and they will give you the credit to get you off of the phone...

well I've spoken to multiple managers in sales and customer service and they all tell me that the sales rep never had the ability to sign me up for a Sony Visa in the first place, that I would have had to do that on my own. They all tell me that there was no way for their sales reps to get me the $100 credit themselves and that the only option they had to offer me was the 18 months interest free.

When I pressed them about the details that the sales rep gave me about the second billing cycle, yadayada, they said that was not correct and then they started giving me excuses about them being busy at that time of year, etc. I told them that was BS and I didn't want to hear excuses. They all keep telling me that in my situation there's absolutely nothing that any of them can do.

yep, I'm screwed.

Tell them to either issue you a Sony Visa card now, transfer the balance of the HSBC deal to the card and give you the $100 credit or you are packaging the system up, sending it back fro a complete refund and contacting the Better Business Bureau to report the bait and switch on deals and offers.

so what exactly is the deal? You get $100 off a PS3 by signing up with which card? and exactly how many months no interest should you get if the deal is done right?

Tell them to either issue you a Sony Visa card now, transfer the balance of the HSBC deal to the card and give you the $100 credit or you are packaging the system up, sending it back fro a complete refund and contacting the Better Business Bureau to report the bait and switch on deals and offers.
This is exactly what you SHOULD do. And next time do it online to see what you are signing up for. Which is what I did and I didnt have any problem.

As far as I know they must record this kind of conversations ( credit cards offerts ) so I guess they have your conversation with the guy who made the deal with you. Try asking fot it.

The bright side es that you have yoour PS3 , and at least one CC....

Bye

am I reading this right?

Sony had the 12 months no interest

HSBC had the 18 month deferal.

That is 2 different things. With Sony you are making monthly payments. HSBC you pay nothing for 18 months.

I was reading about these 100 dollar deals to, and it seemed it was only with Sony.

Just thought I'd state the obvious.

I got some manager's manager on the phone to discuss all of this.

he explained that the Sony Visa card application cannot be taken over the phone which was why the other one was done. Of course that was not explained to me at that point.

I discussed precisely what has been mentioned here and he continued to say there's nothing he can do. he also said that since I'm beyond the 30 day window that they won't even accept a return.

he did give me a mailing address and email address to send a written letter to try and elevate my complaint. I plan to do that.

he also suggested that I go online and still sign up for a Sony Visa myself and use for a future qualifying purchase (does not have to be with sony style) of $300 or more to get the $100.

then he said that he could research to see what kind of help he could give me on a future purchase, to which I laughed and said I would never spend another dime with them, thanks but no thanks.

anyway, I'll table the discussion for now. this has been ridiculous and I hope no one else has a similar experience.

am I reading this right?

Sony had the 12 months no interest

HSBC had the 18 month deferal.

That is 2 different things. With Sony you are making monthly payments. HSBC you pay nothing for 18 months.

I was reading about these 100 dollar deals to, and it seemed it was only with Sony.

Just thought I'd state the obvious.

yes, that's right. my problem I've learned was that the sales rep I originally placed the order with never mentioned HSBC (only discussed Sony Visa) and incorrectly combined the two offers by saying I would get 18 months interest free plus the $100.

It's confusing because the HSBC account is a 'Sony Card'; but that's not the same thing as a 'Sony VISA'. Sounds like poor training for the holiday rush imo. I can see how the confusion exists, and I've learned not to trust people's words. So do it online or in person where you can see/read what you're actually doing. Oh, and the Sony Card isn't as widely accepted as the Sony VISA (duh!)

cry yourself to sleep and take advantage of the 18 months same as cash by investing $100 and come out way ahead $100 by the time 18 months is finished :D a little more work but the benefits are there!

I wish you could explain this get rich scheme.. cause if I took $100.00 invested it for 18 months at current savings rates, I might have $108 in 18 months.

:cool:I wish you could explain this get rich scheme.. cause if I took $100.00 invested it for 18 months at current savings rates, I might have $108 in 18 months.

thats called a savings account....im talking investing like in stocks.... and it was more of an exaggerated figure. Or you could find another means.There is several ways you can make quick cash if you have a little bit of capital.

If you dont think you could easily turn $100 into $200 into $300 in a matter of a few months then your crazy. Me and my roommate are into audio, we put some extra cash we have laying around and find crazy good deals on audiogon or ebay and buy them. Then we turned aroudn and sold them for a pretty good profit. We did several things like this to make some money and it works. But yeah thats just an example, harder to do these days due to the economy.

Complain complain complain! Don't EVER give up. Eventually, someone will give you something to shut you up. It really really works. I promise you. I've managed to get practically anything from store managers anytime I feel like I've been ripped off. I even managed to get a FREE Rockband guitar sent to me from Activision! Just so I'd have the extra one. It took a little finessing, but I pulled it off!

Take last night, for instance. Me and my father-in-law out "bonding" together for supper and a movie. So we decide to see Cloverfield. Fine. We both go in and...hm, it starts out with a guy in his apartment, from his video camera's point of view. Kinda jerky, kinda crappy quality. Surely this would stop, and switch to a normal camera. 5 minutes goes by...nope. 10 minutes goes by...party scene, same crappy camera work.

By the time the monster knocks the head off the Statue of Liberty, I feel like I'm about to hurl! Holy Crap, this a hard movie not to spew in your seat watching! Fast jittery panning + quick zooms + bad lighting + mayhem = better get a bucket! :o Needless to say 40 minutes later, we're outta there. Customer-service desk guy won't give us our money back..."Sorry, no chance....it's 10 minutes past the 30 minute rule...and other policy crappolla...bla bla bla..." He stands firm with his arms crossed in front of him. We start to make a bit of a stink in the waiting area...looking like losers, basically (but having fun, really.) He gets pretty rude himself. Before we know it, a manager comes out and gives us free passes without even arguing. Plus two additional passes for our spouses. (My father-in-law came up with that brilliant request.) And apologizes to us for the floor guy being so rude to us! :p

If persistence doesn't work for you, you could try what my wife's grandmother did on the phone to an electronics store manager one time. She had bought a new TV from some store...and it didn't ever really work right from the start. She'd phone, get the run-a-round...and they kept putting her off. A couple weeks go by. Finally she phones one last time. Gets some manager. "What day is your busiest day?" she asks. "Oh, Saturday, for sure," he says. "And what time is usually the busiest?" she asks. "I'd say about 3:30," he answers curiously. "Why?" he follows up. "Well," she replies calmly "I just wanted to know what time would be best to come down to your godd$%#m store and dump off your F$#%ing piece of sh!t TV with my wheel barrow!" That same afternoon she had herself a brand new TV delivered to her front door, free shipping and installation. Sometimes it pays to go a little crazy. And sometimes it'll just get you a police record. Either way, there's lots of potential for fun!

:cool:

thats called a savings account....im talking investing like in stocks.... and it was more of an exaggerated figure. Or you could find another means.There is several ways you can make quick cash if you have a little bit of capital.

If you dont think you could easily turn $100 into $200 into $300 in a matter of a few months then your crazy.

if you can scale up that $100 to $200 by about 100 send me a pm :)

don't bother calling anymore - just write a formal complaint letter to Sony headquarters in the US and demand your money back. You will be stock in a loop forver if you don't man.

As far for the lying CRS, well, I can tell you that those losers get kudos/incentives for signing people up on those deals and that is probably what happened. She/He did not want to tell you this because it was easier that way. They do not care...

Bette Business Bureau is nothing but a mediator. They cannot force them to do anything. They can put a black mark on the company but it usually means nothing to them unless someone looks it up, which, chances are, nobody will.

So, write your letter to Sony and stop wasting your time with people over the phone because all they are thinking about is ways to get you off their phone so that somebody else gets you next time and THEY deal with it.


It is the sad reality of customer support... what can I say.


next time, don't sign up for crap like that. Use your own credit card so that you can dispute the charges and get your money back. That is what I do everytime someone tries to screw me like this. I call once, if it doesnt go anywhere, I dispute and move on...

yup, do the letter, send it off. for some reason bigger companies listen to letters. I've dealt with serious consumer issues with a large organization before and won. But you do have to decide, is it worth the 100 bucks?

AT the very least, write the letter. nothing to lose.