well, they didn't tell you a complete lie. it will work with cingular in the areas where cingular utilizes 1900mhz band, but if you're not getting any service they probably don't use 1900mhz in your area (even so, without 850mhz the service would be mediocre at best). see if they'll take it back, but try to be level-headed about the situation and hopefully they will do the right thing. my recommendation is do not leave feedback until the problem is completely resolved. if they aren't willing to cooperate you might be able to get the problem resolved by disputing it through ebay. good luck.