Hello Totem review: Thieves 22

company offers to buy cell phones over the internet. at a 130 a piece. sends a stamped box and gets the phone. sends a email saying you phone has been reappraised. the vibrator does not work and the price is 20 dollars. i refuse and want the phone back. then counter offer at 70. i realize this is a scam and demand the phone back. then the ordeal starts. they want 28 dollars to them by credit card or paypal. really?. i offer to send it to be paid at the receiving post office. refusal . i offer to send a stamped box to send it back. denial.
seeing the multitude of similar scams this company has committed how is it still in bussiness. this is enron, madoff, ponzi, all over again. it is open season on consumers. who is out there to protect the consumer against these scams.

They stole my phone. They said they received it and money never came. Could never reach anyone or get any response to e-mail. What a rip-off!

HelloTotem agreed to buy a phone from me. They sent me a special package which I had to use for sending. I sent it immediately as I wanted to get money asap. After a month I still haven’t received a payment. I have all the document and confirmation e-mails. Where should I appeal now?

I went to the website - their terms are quite clear. Prices on the main page state "up to" meaning that the number quoted is the max and is for a phone in excellent condition. Step three of the process explains that when received, a tech will check the phone. If the phone is not in the condition you described, you may get less. No scam. No ambiguity.

You need to contact the San Diego Police Department and file a police report. They can be reached at [protected]

Here is the guy having fun with your phone or the money he "earned" by selling your phone. https://www.facebook.com/nfiorentino

He's a total criminal. Report him and quit wasting your own time.

I should have done some research before I accepted their offer of $150 for my iPhone 4. In full disclosure, I had done business with them about 18 months ago and was fully satisfied. What a difference a year makes! They have had my phone, according to their web site, since 19 April 2013. No contact and definitely no money. I fear I, along with everyone else above, have been screwed. It's a shame how some people have no conscience or scruples.

they quoted me $65 I sent in my HTC 3D phone. The held it for about a month I just got an email telling me they done take that kind of phone and if I wanted it back I would have to sent them $28 or they will recycle it in five days now In out of a phone. Why do I have to pay $28 to have them send it back when shipping to sent it to them was $6?

I started the process for hellototem.com july 2012 my blackberry torch which was good condition was sent aug 14th then by aug 24th they received it. Check was mailed out aug 26th its now jan 2013 still no check. I've did there chat 2 times and emailed 5 times now I'm complaining to BBB. I've also threated hellototem of legal action if they don't send me my money as well as they will be facing my attorny fees and all court costs. Don't sell you electronics to them, they will rip you off.

I too have been scammed by totem. I contacted the BBB the fbi the fcc and nothing's been done! Now I read someone was issued a phoney check? That should be grounds for federal charges on this company!

My sister sent in her iphone 3gs and they gave her a value of 79.00. We waited 4-5 months until she finally recieved her check. We cashed it in with Chase using the drive through format. We recieved the money & she saved it. It wasnt until a week later that she recieved a letter in the mail that said that there was an issue and now she is being charged 97.00 by the bank. We went to chase and consulted with them and as a result, it turns out the check was fake. Dont ever send your phone in because you will lose the phone and you will get a check, but it will be worthless.

I'm having same problems: no one answers phone, emails not returned, my ticket says they mailed my check (less than what I was quoted) but it's been over two months and I do not have my check. How do we submit this company for investigation? I think it's a scam.

I saw a commercial late night and thought it cant be that bad. Got a quote for 3 phones (1 pretty much brand new, one lightly used, and one a bit worn). They sent me all of the information, I packed up the phones and mailed them in. After a month... I finally got an update via their website that the funds were being prepared. They sent an email saying that the two phones... remind you they sent me confirmation for 3 initially... were in poor shape and were broken; the new phone and lightly used one. After apparently forgetting the 3rd phone, I never even received payment for the two phones they acknowledged. Nearly 4 months later, none of my phone calls have been answered, probably due to the phony 800 number that doesn't ring but just leads you to an answering machine. My emails have just gone unanswered.

I have never been so ripped off.

the same has happened to me i sent my iphone 4 in to them in august and its now 0CT 18 and still nothing plus they told me that my phone is broken and changed my quote down to a third of the original offer i never received my check nor did i agree to the new lower price and like all of you they dont answer my emails either there has got to be something we can do this is a scam...

Do not use Hello Totem. I've had the same problems others have lasted--sent phone in, received on 9/7/12 and no payment or reply to the three emails I've sent so far. There are many other more reputable options to sell your phone.

I have also had a horrible experience.For some reason it took over a month for my phones to even arrive to them, even though I used their mailers. And then supposedly BOTH phones were broken -- funny, they were fine when I sent them in back on july 17! I got a "requote" and was told I could choose to get my phones back instead. When I clicked on that option, I got a window that said I had already made a choice! As of today -- 9/12-- I have not recieved any payment, or my phones back. Supposedly payment was mailed on 8/22. I've tried email, chat (I, too, was disconnected as soon as I asked questions) and nothing. I'll be filing a complaing with the BBB.

I also sent my phone to them they said all the right things but so far they have done all the wrong things it took three weeks for them to say they got my phone and they said a check was sent on 08/22/2012 it now 09/11/2012 USPS is slow but no that slow looks like a scam to me i am not sure as to why the BBB is not taking action against them any one else having problems with hello totem?

Took 2 months from the time of contact with Hello Totem, to receive half of my phones back from them. They revised their offer from $84 to around $9 per phone (Samsung SGH-T959). Then they only sent me 1 phone back? No one answers their fake 800 number, and when I do reach someone on their chat system (manned by 1 person who does not understand English) they tell me I need to e-mail them an someone will get back to me. Of course, no one has gotten back to me. Do not use Hello Totem.

Hello Totem is a rip off. My roomate and I both sold our phones to Hello Totem. We mailed them the same day, received notification that each of our checks had been processed and mailed. It has been 3 weeks and neither of us have received our checks. The response I received by email was "we can not control the mail and when the checks are delivered". implying that my check was lost in the mail. I just sent an email requesting my check be reissued and received an auto reply with a ticket number. My roomate sent and email this morning and received a ticket number. Our numbers are 143 numbers different...143 other email complaints were received by Totem between this morning and this afternoon. Anyone thinking "CLASS ACTION SUIT".

Ripoff company. Sent in my phone 3 months ago and showing they received it but no payment yet and can never talk to anyone there.

I have had the same exact experience. They post on their site that payment was sent and they never send you payment. They don't return email inquiries. If you chat with them, they disconnect you when you start asking questions. What a rip off. I think the TV News station that gave their name out should investigate this and go after them.

I have had the same experience. I was notified that a check was mailed, still have not received it. I sent them 3 Thunderbolts as well and I have sent them over 15 emails and not once have I ever received a response back. I have now filed a 2nd complaint with the BBB and my next move will be to file theft on them for fraud. I have contacted an attorney and they said I have a case against them. So I will keep you posted on what happens from here.

these a-holes did the same to me, i sent 3 htc thunderbolts to them with a quote of 81.80 each, they came back with a re-quote of 64.30, i accepted it because i really dont need any extra stuff in my home, this was nearly a month ago, i still have not gotten the checks. all i keep getting from " customer service" is that my checks were mailed and it takes the post office 15 days to deliver, which is bs, i work for the USPS and i know that it takes 2 days from San Diego to Vegas. BBB has been notified