Scott tried to do a nice thing and buy a low-cost, low-bandwidth mobile Internet plan for his mother. Unfortunately, there’s some confusion between Virgin and Walmart, and the plan that Scott thought he was buying has disappeared into a reality vortex. One where customer service reps insist that he purchased the item from Walmart.com when he didn’t.

I’ve purchased the Ovation MC760 from Wal-Mart in an effort to receive their 20 dollars/1GB Broadband2Go service for my mother. Went home, activated – the 20 dollar option isn’t available. Customer service says I bought it from Walmart.com, though I have the in-store receipt with terminal number, etc. CSR suggests I go back and exchange it – for some reason. I do – and get home. Still doesn’t work. This time they say that Wal-Mart has to activate it (earlier Wal-mart employees said they had no further process for the Broadband2Go). Take it BACK to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart employee did great work to call them and see what they needed since Wal-Mart couldn’t activate it and he’s being told that I bought it at Wal-Mart.com (despite seeing the in-store receipt for BOTH purchases).

I return the device and buy YET ANOTHER MC760 right in the store as he’s in the phone with Virgin Mobile Customer Service. She hears the transaction and processes it, activates it on the phone (because he cannot) and then…tells me that it’s not giving her the 20 dollar/1GB option. I need to wait 1-2 hours for it to “update” (earlier they could make it update on command). I tell her I’ll gladly stay on the line with her instead of calling back like she asks – and she says that it’ll be 3 hours. Then 4. Then 5 max.

Finally I ask for another supervisor who promises, on an audio recording, that it’ll be ready in 1-2 hours. That was at 9pm Central. It’s 11:25am the next day and it’s not working. Know why? Because according to Virgin’s Customer Service rep of the day – I bought it at Wal-Mart.com.

I have a (crappy) picture of the 20 dollar/1GB option. Stories abounded 2 weeks ago about it. I have audio (over 20 minutes of the vague reasons she gave for it not working and then the promise that it will work).

Either this is a terrible case of bait and switch, or a massive miscommunication between Virgin Mobile and Walmart.

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