Onuorah Chuka, a Delta-based businessman, has narrated how EasyBuy, a payment platform that allows customers to pay for gadgets and home appliances in installments, and Intelligra Solutions Ltd., a mobile phone store, made him pay N434,235 instead of N167,400 for a faulty Samsung A04E mobile phone over a period of 12 months.
Speaking with FIJ on Monday, Chuka said when he first purchased the phone on February 2, 2023, he paid an initial deposit of N13,950 and was told he would have to complete the payment over a period of 12 months.
He further said that he had not used the device for more than two weeks when it developed a fault and he returned to Intelligra for repairs or a replacement.
“When I got there, they asked me to drop the phone and asked me to return in three days. After three days, I returned there, and they requested three more days to identify the problem and resolve it. Later, they told me they wanted to order the phone’s panel from Lagos. So, I waited, and they did not return the phone until about a month later,” Chuka told FIJ.
Chuka said despite the back and forth, the device continued to malfunction but Intelligra Solutions Ltd. only asked him to keep paying for the phone as it was a loan.
“I took the phone from them, but it continued to malfunction. It was becoming unbearable. I returned there, and all they told me was that I should keep paying for the phone because it was a loan,” Chuka told FIJ.
“They told me the phone had two-year insurance. I can confirm this because there is a warranty sticker on the phone, but they refused to replace it.”
The businessman said that as of February 2024, he had been forced to pay over N400,000, which is twice the said loan, for the defective Samsung phone. This money was deducted directly from this bank, and, sometimes, he made direct recharges on his line.
“For a very long time, I dropped the phone; however, they started to deduct my money around August. This made me stop putting money in my account,” said Chuka.
“I paid an initial payment of N13,950 and N14,000 twice in October and November via 812pin#.
“This does not include the mobile deductions from my line whenever I recharged. In all, I have paid N434,235 for a phone I never got to use. I feel cheated, and I want my money back.”
When FIJ tried to reach Intelligra Solutions Ltd. for comments on May 27, the phone numbers listed on Chuka’s receipt were not available. Also, text messages sent to them were not responded to.
FIJ also dialled the phone number found on their website, but it wasn’t reachable. A text message sent to the number has also not been responded to.
When FIJ contacted EasyBuy’s support via email, after much back and forth, they said they would investigate the claim and asked our reporter to provide evidence of the debits received by the customer.
