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It’s a sad day, folks. Longtime mobile phone deal-providing retailer Wirefly and parent company Simplexity have reportedly filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy, resulting in an immediate shut down of the business. That’s why when you go to their website you won’t be met with anything but 404 pages (surely there was enough money left over to keep up a “we’re gone” page, no?).
It’s an odd situation for sure, because if you head to their Facebook page you’ll see Wirefly was advertising their trade-in promotions as late as yesterday, the day this closure apparently occurred. It’s possible that Facebook post could have been scheduled, of course, so there’s no telling if that was just an unfortunate oversight of whoever decided to clear the offices.
Such a sudden move doesn’t bode well for employees either, with some taking to social media to express their discontent with their new employment status. Some customers have called Wirefly to inquire about their order status and haven’t been able to reach anyone, suggesting that the customer service department is now non-existent. And reports of users receiving refunds on recent orders that they were waiting for seem to suggest Wirefly isn’t comfortable filling out their remaining obligations.
All of this alone isn’t confirmation that Wirefly is gone, but without an official statement from the company and several independent reports suggesting as much, we’ll have to go with it for the time being. It’s sad, though the company wasn’t exactly the most ideal place to buy a smartphone. They came through with great deals on phones more often than not, but not without early exit clauses that made it almost impossible (or otherwise very expensive) to ditch before the standard return window.
Wirefly isn’t the only third-party retailer in the business with such practices. Buying a phone through Amazon, Best Buy or those mall kiosks also come with similar hooks in the fine print, though those hooks are usually not an issue for people who plan to stick with their phone for at least six months or the full length of the contract.
It sounds like Wirefly just wasn’t able to compete in an area where big businesses have started to match and exceed their service, and as such have been forced to call it quits. It’s just a shame that it all had to happen so abruptly. We’ll be seeking further comment from Wirefly and Simplexity to see if we can find out any specifics.
Cant stand it when companies are “forced” to immediately shut down. The powers that be should at least give the company a chance to go out with some dignity, they should at the very give notice to its customers, concerning their orders. Glad my purchase from Wirefly was over a year ago, and I have no lose ends to tie up.
It has nothing to do with the “powers that be”. When a company runs out of money, they can’t pay their employees or anybody else for that matter. So what do you expect is going to happen? Employees work for free? I don’t think so. They’re obviously not going to show up for work the very next day. When there are no employees, who is going to answer the phones? Who’s going to update the website? Who’s going to process or refund orders? That’s right – nobody. And when they don’t pay their web hosting bill, what do you think is going to happen with the website? That’s right, their provider is going to shut down their hosting service. Hence, why there’s no site anymore. The only people left after a situation like this is a few higher level principals that are only there to facilitate the chapter 7 proceedings and liquidation/shutdown of the company.
Sad say. I won’t forget them for getting me a Galaxy Nexus for $230 with no tax, when from Verizon it would have been $400+
As a now former Wirefly and Simplexity employee what happened yesterday was a complete shock. Customers should direct their concerns to versa capital partners of Philadelphia
Hang in there. The times I used Wirefly, the service was fantastic! Being the victim of bean counters is the nature of the business world we live in. You will rebound, just be sure to take a little time for yourself and clear your head before jumping back into the market.
Thank you. I need to contact them for getting my cell phone insurance money back. Haha, good luck to me!
Good riddance. Had a Wirefly rep call me about paying my phone bill before sending me the phone I already paid for. Told him he was unprofessional trying to talk to me about the relationship I had with a different company and hanged up on him.
*hung up on him*
there ya go
Not sharp enough to understand professionalism or smart enough to realize when someone is correcting your poor grammar. Just a thought, try paying your debts and getting an education.
No. More. Wirefly.
Moe – I forgot to mention another key element to your success. Throw away the crack pipe and get in a good rehab program. I’m sure your mom and stepfather will foot the bill…in hope of getting you out of their basement. I sincerely apologize if I typed this too quickly for you to keep up.
Too bad wirefly didn’t have access to your key elements of success – they could have used it. Before going bankrupt, I mean.
Spot on with your comment. I agree. You would be surprised by so many people though that act like this. When I worked at Best Buy in the late 90’s some of the people that activated phones were hilarious. You wouldn’t believe some of the excuses some of these people would make. I think the best I got was AT&T required a couple to pay $1,000 deposit per line and they started yelling at me stating they own a $250,000 home. I told them I’m just relaying the information that AT&T said. I have no say in it.
You would be surprised though at how many people think just because they own a car or home that means they will be able to get a cell phone. Not if you don’t pay or bills.
You’ve worked for Best Buy?
You know the reason they did so is because Verizon will not let you upgrade your phone with any pastdue payments? So it seems you were the one who was unprofessional.
T-Mobile had no problem processing an upgrade before I paid my bill, it was Wirefly who claimed a problem.
As a customer, I’m under no obligation to act ‘professional’; I’ll pay what I want, when I want to.
Seeing as T-Mobile is still around, and I’m still a customer, I guess we’re both professional enough.
I don’t see how he could have talked to you about a “relationship” that you had with a different company, simply because Wirefly and it’s agents don’t have access to your credit report. They submit it to the carrier of service you apply for. So they probably got something back from the carrier and via told you before they would finish out the process you had to pay the prior balance.
However, sounds like you didn’t like the idea of paying the balance from the carrier you applied for because you had a outstanding debt with them, so you decided to move forward and apply with a different carrier instead.
No luck Sherlock – I’m still with T-Mobile, never had another carrier.
Haven’t bought from them in ages. Used to get all my phone from them back in the day though
I have been using Wirefly for 6 years now, i had purchased 3 phones from them and have never had any problems what so ever. I ordered my fourth set of phones for me and my family last month and they emailed me stating one of the phones is out of stock so i waited and waited and decided today to contact them only to realize they are shut down… Now im out money and no way to contact them. WTF….