bumpmaps work properly practically better without shaders.
Follow what Fyerrblad said & does the person you were talking to even have bumpmaps(he can lie you know)?
Anyway to follow steps below to see wether your client really dosen't support bumpmaps.
/dl avwave ,delete the normal texture files ./lp 0 avwave ,You should be able to see black & white shading all over the body.If you do bumpmaps work for you .
Make sure you are using the lastest TB client cause I believe older versions don't support it .