I was tired of my phone. It chooses which calls to allow in, which messages to receive and even which alarms to let ring. I don’t if it was my PDA (personal digital assistant) or I was its PTV (personal torturing victim). The day it almost made me miss a test, I decided it was time to get a new phone.
I saved my pocket money for two months accumulating to 20k. I could have told my parents I needed a new phone, but I wanted to do something for myself, at least this time. I called a met a friend, Yomi, who I believed knew about phones and would help in selecting a good phone to fit my budget.
My first mistake.
We got to buy a smartphone from a “customer” of his for 19k, but I eventually got to know it was a fake. I told Yomi about it; he said he was not available, and moreover he was not the one who sold the phone to me. I went back the seller the next day and complained that it was a fake and it malfunctioned a lot. It could not support simple games like Temple Run, and it shuts down every three hours. I told him I wanted a different one or he should refund my money. He offered me a new one and said it was of better specifications to the other one I bought so I had to add an extra 1k. I was happy I made a fair deal because it was one of the trending smartphone in town.
My second mistake.
The new smartphone was worse compared to the 1st one. It didn’t support any application I tried installing. I was down and feeling duped. I checked online to check the specifications of the phone and to see if other users had same complaints like mine. To add to my pain, the makers of the brand never produced this model. I was angry, and I called the seller to tell him I was coming for my money. He told me to be patient and said he was going to the market to get new ones. I told him I didn’t want a new one but my money.
Once bitten, twice shy.
I called my mum to help me get my money back; I feared I would get beat up by the seller for asking for a refund because my friends warned that it could happen. We arrived at the seller’s stall, and as he saw me, he frowned. My mum greeted him, but he was forming busy, attending to other customers. My mum, a very patient woman, waited till he was done. She greeted him again even tapped him on his shoulder to get his attention. He looked at her and cleaned his shoulder with his handkerchief meaning my mum hand was filthy. My mum still kept her cool. He asked what we wanted, and I explained to him that the phones he sold to me were fakes on the two occasions and I wanted my money back. My mum said, “So now you know why we are here, can we get the money and leave please?” He flared shouting, “There is no law here! If you like call the police you are not getting any money from me.”
His mistake.
My mum picked her phone and called corporal Bature, “Bature, double up to Iwo road with some of your boys. I want you here ASAP!” Corporal Bature arrived, the seller seeing military personnel salute my mum (she was on mufti) began to mellow. Bature asked for my side of the story, and I told him all I stated above. He asked the seller if this was true and the seller affirmed it. Bature asked me, “What do you want Saheed?” I shouted, “I want my money back!” Bature told the seller to refund my money now, and the seller claimed not having any money on him forgetting that while he was forming for my mum and making sales, she was counting the money he made. She said, “You made 25k from selling phones from the time I arrived till present.” The seller being defeated hands down refunded my money, and we left in peace. I thanked Bature and my mum. I got a new phone the next month, and it was perfect. It was stolen some months ago though.
Moral of the story: Always do your research before buying anything. Do not trust too much especially if you have been duped once by a person. And it is awesome when your mother is a military personnel.
Note: I do not support military personnel bullying civilians.
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