Posted by andrew.gledh
hoping that someone in here can help with this.
but the storys goes like this,
my sister went to get a new phone from Phones4U, £40 per month 18 month contact
she did not like this and took it back 3 days later, and was told that she cannot take it back, as she signed up for 18 months
but their can move her to another contact, which she did as she did not know any better.
she has only told me about this 1 month later, so i know she is outside the 14 days now.
but we have a bit of paper from phones4u which details out the contact, which is only a 12 month one, and i do not think my sis know this was a 18 month contact, also the price plane she been but on is total cr@p, their did not listen to her needs,
shes uses at most 20mins a month, and something like 1000-2000 text messages at a min
so, she get a 500 min and 1000 texts.
when i look around i can see packages with orange with unlimited texts and 550mins for the same price,
when we went back to phones4u, the manager (one of many) did not want to know, and in so many words, just said go away, you locked to 18 months,
anyone have any ideas to what we can do with this?
Andy
Posted by leeboy13
sorry dude, im almost cetain your stuck....
best advise is too drop down to the lowest priceplan and wait it out.. i know it sucks mate, but if she did sign a contract you cant do anything... had s imular prob with my Ex... she signed up to a loyaty scheme (saving her 5% a month or something crap - which she thought was complimentary) turns out it was a 'upgrade' and she was legally blinded to another 12months....... needless to say she waited it out and cancelled her contract.....
sorry im no help mate, hope you get it sorted one way or another
Posted by andrew.gledh
cheers,
she has already been told that she cannot drop the price plan unti 9 months has past.
i helped her write a letter to phones4u let see what happens
i just cant belive their tricked her into a 18 month contact just to get a sale.
and the price plan is of no use to her!
i will never go to phones4u again
and i hope no one else does.
Posted by fatreg
what network is she on?
you might be best off speaking to the network and saying it was mis-sold.. or write to P4U HQ and tell them the same thing.. it depends on how dodgy the deal was... your contract that says 12mths on.. is that in pen or printed on?
P4U have unfortunately very very very good lawyers and i've seen many and many person fudged for 18months... which is why i said you might be better off going to the network.
gimme a bit more info and i'll try and help out!
fatreg
ps.. i worked with 4 ex P4U staff and 1 ex P4U manager.. so i pretty much know the ins and outs of there scams.
Posted by andrew.gledh
it is with vodofone.
and we have already called them, and there said nothing can be done until the 9 month.
the paper, is just writen on by pen, given the prices per month, to show what the bill will be, it shows 12 months on the contract is in fact for 18 months
i cant belive how bad phones4u are, when talking to them, there just did not want to know, their got the sale and that is it.
Andy
Posted by fatreg
if it only says 12mths on but its penned on, you can be sure that the paper based version says 18mths and P4U will do nothing about it, there is NO CCTV IN ANY P4U store so that scams and dodgy deals can go on. and they will say that you penned 12mths on it and not the (sales) person..
it's with voda as voda pay P4U the most per connection, you are best off if voda have said nothing just to take it right to the top and wrting to:
Tim Miles
Vodafone (UK)
Vodafone House
The Connection
Newbury
Berkshire
RG14 2FN
and P4U at
Tim Whiting
Phones4U
The Caudwell Group
Minton Hollins Building
Shelton Old Road
Stoke-on-Trent
Staffordshire
ST4 7RY
and explaing that your phone was mis-sold to you by there biggest retailer and unless something is done you will no option to report both voda and P4U to trading standards and watchdog..
send the letter registered so you know it got there, they have to by law reply within 14 days.
good luck matey.
fatreg
Posted by andrew.gledh
cheers,
thanks,
i let her know, and we see what we can do about it
Posted by voda_jon
unfortunately even sending a letter to tim miles at vodafone wont help...
As P4U where the retailer where u purchased the handset the problem lies with them... I saw this day in day out durin my 5yrs with vodafone and no matter how much we tried to help customers in store we had to keep turning them round to P4U...
Ur best bet would b to contact the highest person in P4U and lodge a complaint with them... they will investigate it and if u r still not happy u would need to contact the Telecomms Ombursdman who r the highest level of support available to any consumer of mobile phones! They will investigate it themselves and if they deem it to be their error they will make P4U change the contract or cancel it depending on their outcome...
P.S. Sorry for any spelling mistakes... Not very good at typin!
Posted by andrew.gledh
thanks,
i have any help going.
Posted by fatreg
i see where your coming from super.. i saw it the other way too working at my old shop but your the voda man not me!
yeah oftel (the ombudsman) will sort you out.. but i always feel that watchdog give a more public shaming to the retailer!
fatreg
Posted by Merc_Man
When was the actual contract bought?
The actual date on the contract/till reciept?
Whats the store it was bought from, address would be nice, if possible.
Posted by andrew.gledh
It was got in january (ealry time)
It was from the store in Redcar.
I dont have the full details with me here, as i am at work.
(why may i ask)
Regards
Andy
Posted by Merc_Man
With any phone bought from Phones4U, on contract, you have a 14 day return policy.
As long as the phone is in new condition, as bought, they cannot refuse to return it.
You could have also taken it to a different store to return it..
Unfortunately as its passed the 14days, nothing can now be done...
Phones4U do anything to keep you as a customer, happened to a friend of mine once, they go through a lengthy process, trying to meet all your needs etc! It is quite hard to say NO!
Posted by andrew.gledh
my sis when back after 3 days, and was told not a chance, there move her to a better price plane, with another phone!
but no way to cancle.
she did not tell me until after 1 month, or i would of taken the thing back, and i would of not taken no as their reply.
we have writing a letter to phones4u, waiting to see the reply to that, then i will write to the gut named in the early post, and take it from their,
as it is all cr@p, if the price plan was any good, it would not be a issue, but 500 mins is way over the top, and the 1000 texts is no way enough for her needs.
Andy
Posted by tusker23
I have been duped the same way. I bought 3 phones from phones4u on 2nd March all on 12 month contracts but when i get home and read the contract it says 18 months. Phones4u refuses to take back the phones and claims its damaged although 2 of those phones have not even been opened. and the third phone was used for 2 days and there is no damage on it. He just refuses to take it back and the manager is of no help either. I was totally misled and I have no clue what to do now. I still have another 2 days for the 14days but he refuses to take it back.
Posted by tusker23
I am totally lost but the story goes like this. I was given an offer of 17.5 pounds per month contract for a year with 600 mins and 500 texts. The service provider is O2 and I was told again and again that it was a 12 month contract. After getting back home I realised that all three of the phones I bought said 18 month contract. When i went back tot he store the person who sold me the phone was not there and the others said that since I have signed on an 18 month contract I will have to stick with it and they will not take back the phones. I immediately wanted to return them but they refuse to take it back.
I have no clue what to do now. After so many days of trying I was able to get them to see the phones and now they claim that one of the phones has a scratch ( K800i)and the other phone is missing a recipt( D900) which he never gave. The third phone ( nokia 8800) I will have to pay 600mins * 40p per min so that comes to 240 pounds if i have to return that which is insane. I still am inside the 14 days and I have another day left. Is there anything at all that I can do.... Please help
Posted by fatreg
GRRRRRRRRRR....
this annoys the hell out of me.
if your within your 14 days they cannot refuse to have your phones back, if there not cooperating. pop on down to your local Citizens advice and have a word with them, tell them your inside your 14 days, and P4U are refusing, tell them what P4U have told you that the phones are damaged when there quite clearly not, also advise that you were told it was a 12month contract when infact its 18 months, you need to sort this in the next 2 days as after that p4u will jsut straight refuse.
you go for it!
EDIT: if push comes to shove, call the police while in store and explain that you believe the store are commiting underhand business and deception, they wil be there in a flash, yes you may get banned from P4u but is that such a bad thing?
fatreg
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my 8700f[ This Message was edited by: fatreg on 2007-03-14 07:49 ]
Posted by andrew.gledh
we are still waiting for the reply back from phones4u,
i will never go to their shop again.
Posted by mikespal
Consumer Law
Consumer protection law or consumer law is considered an area of public law that regulates private law relationships between individual consumers and the businesses that sell them goods and services. Consumer protection covers a wide range of topics including but not necessarily limited to product liability, privacy rights, unfair business practices, fraud, misrepresentation, and other consumer/business interactions.
In the light of the above I think you should take the matter up with the local Office of Fair Trading and see what they can do.
Posted by Residentevil
Well there was a similar topic here awhile ago. Phones4U ppl know nuttin about phones and just want to sell you a contract, so they make money.
Posted by gracel5778
myself and my daughter have had a recent experience with phones 4u. my daughter got a contract with them and after 2 days she wasn't happy with it. she hadn't used the phone except to play on a game. she took it back to cancel her contract. after an hour of trying to persuade her to stay with them without any luck they were gonna cancel the contract. until, a member of staff took the phone and leaned down behind the desk then all of a sudden it had a scratch on it. i was furious and accused the member of staff that he had just done it. they refused to cancel her contract and told us to leave the store. i refused and demanded the police were called. they refused to call the police and after another 2 hours we left to contact head office(who just stuck up for their staff). i rang the police and was told nothing could be done and i had to take it up with a supervisor in store, that was who done the damage. can anybody help? what can i do?
Posted by Miss UK
are you paying by Direct debit?
i'd cancel that for a start.. thats bloody cheeky of P4U Scratching the phone and telling you that, I wouldn't be happy
With my upgrade phone Samsung Z650i previousley i took it back after the 14days and 02 let me exchange it for my K800i
The Z650i didn't let me set MP3 as ringtones I didn't know of this at the time,
so I told 02 and they explained the newer samsungs don't support MP3 ringtones anymore I don't know if this is true for the upcoming models they mite be in the wrong!
Posted by gracel5778
she would but then it will be her credit record that is affected. she phones t mobile for help but they couldn't do anything for her
Posted by Adz21
p4u are a disgrace! My mum had a contract with them her year was up and was told to come in for a free upgrade, so she did. She got her upgrade but was tricked in to signing a NEW contract thinking she was upgrading her old one.
So she ended up having two contracts. She canceled one and then got a bill months down the line saying she owed 8 months of line rental and that the account had not been canceled even though it had! My mum refused to pay so they have sold the debt to debt collectors. they are a set of thieving scamming bastards!
My girlfriend was in there a few months back getting a phone i met her in their before she was about to sign a crappy contract with a crappy phone on virgin, that they were making her pay for, until i said no and that she can get a much better deal somewhere else, the guy instantly gave her a better deal but was insisting she sign up to virgin for some reason. I told her not to bother and got a much better deal from the link with some bluetooth headphones thrown in for free.
It seems that p4u take advantage of people that dont anything about phones, but they work on commission and just want the ££££s they dont care what they sell!
Posted by fatreg
gracel...
your pretty much stuck unless you can get a member of staff at P4U to help you out..
scratching phones is one of their tricks so that people can't hand them back, i've heard about it numerous times.
i'd take a trip to CAB if i were you and ask them, as at the moment, it's just going to be your word agaisnt theirs, and you do not have a hope in hell of beating their lawyers as it stands.
i think that all that needs to be remained to say is:
never buy a phone from phones4u
fatreg
Posted by gracel5778
thankyou so much for your advice. i have contacted watchdog to see if they could help. maybe the power of bad publicity would help but i very much doubt it. however i am making it my mission to disgrace their company and to give them bad reviews on all web sites which the consumer would use for advice on where to shop. if anyone asked i would say never never go to phones 4u.
Posted by fatreg
i think that anyone in the know, knows not to go to p4u, there just awful.
hope you get it sorted.
fatreg
Posted by Miss UK
reading this has put me off working in Mobile phone stores,
im exspecting a application form any day for CPW
btw are all phone shops commision based only?
you have to sell as many contracts before you get paid?
Fatreg please explain before i go into this
btw grace,
keep complaining thats really pathetic how P4U have scratched the phone just to completely make you keep the contract!
i'd be fuming!
My local P4U seem ok but ive never really bought so much as sim free phone and PAYG (T68i) etc...
my contract is with 02 Online
Posted by fatreg
all phones stores are commission based.. well all the big stores.. P4U, CPW, Orange, Voda, O2 etc...
not all shops are as bad as P4U though...
they are notoriously bad....
CPW look after there staff, Mr Dunstone is a good egg so i've been told.
fatreg
Posted by Miss UK
Oh god
mindyou i'll look at the form when it comes..
doesn't look like hard work tbh
thanks for that fatreg
Posted by fatreg
i got turned down for a job there a while ago.. i was too orangified for them!!
have fun with the form!
fatreg
Posted by Mr Miyagi
Carephonewarehouse are just bad from the story's i have read here in regards to Phones 4u.
I'll explain mines. When the D600 came out, i went to the carphonewarehouse. Signed upto a contract with them on O2, it was 6 months cash back half price line rental and the remainder at the full price a 12 month contract. I thought hmm might as well go for this, since my staff discount for O2 would not be applicable to me in 3 month's time ( thats 3 months waiting period before i can get discount at work) anway signed upto the contract etc. That night went home. was thinking about it, that in the long run if i signed up through O2 direct with my staff discount, i'l get 50% off any plan, and its not a cash back thing or nething. So i thought i go into carphoneware, ask them to cancel me contract under 14 day term. I was at the store 1st thing, at 9am, only the manager was around. Got told i am not allowed to cancel, that Vodafone and O2 contracts signed up through carephonewarehouse no 14 day term apply?
I was raging at this stage, explaining, I was not told this at all, by your advisor, and he said to me, that its in the terms and conditions. I read the terms and conditions through every line of the thing and so it was, der, saying i cannot cancel. I was raging, I thought I call up o2 from the store, and it was carphonewarehouse O2 cust service, (carphoneware deal with o2 billing and cust service, its not dealt with O2 directly, O2 only sells airtime to carphonewarehouse) anyway they advised me the contract is valid and no 14 day term either.)
I go well if i signed up with O2 directly online or thru der retail store, then i would not be in this scenario, they go to me, not much can be done at all.
Then the manager advised me that since it is a new handset what you can do if u want, is sell it on ebay, and recoup your years rental. I can't beleive he actually said that to me. However thats what I ended up doing. Got me money for me years line rental through selling me handset.
[ This Message was edited by: Mr Miyagi on 2007-04-07 17:59 ]
Posted by Nanu
I got stung by 4UBusiness, They sold me a O2 contract and promised me the earth instead i got a £382.49 bill from Vodafone as they cancelled my existing contract with them! and put me on the highest (£80/month) tariff with O2 for TWO years!!! even O2 couldn't downgrade my tariff!
If i had of stayed with Vodafone (even though they aren't the cheapest) i would have saved myself over £1,300!
Moral to this story Steer clear of John Caudwell and his mighty empire!
Posted by Mr Miyagi
Thats bad man. Sorry to hear that. Has John not sold his empire for apparently 1 billion pound last year to some group I heard?
Posted by fatreg
they pulled out...
caudwell group is still for sale if you have a spare £1BN.....
EDIT: my bad.. 26/09/06 sold for £1.46BN... must be a screw loose to buy that in the shambles its in..
fatreg
_________________
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please sponser me
i
my 8700f[ This Message was edited by: fatreg on 2007-04-07 18:34 ]
Posted by Nanu
True it sold for £1.24billion wonder if he'll reimburse us all?
Edit: £1.46billion
_________________
I stopped fighting my inner demons,
We're on the same side now......
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T68i T200 T610 K700i K750I K800i S700i Z520i Z600i P800 P910i P990i 810i 950i[ This Message was edited by: nanu*1 on 2007-04-07 18:52 ]
Posted by Mr Miyagi
i just dont like der sales tactics at all, they all wear suits thinking they well smart etc, u might be in for browsing and not wanting to buy anyting, then they ask u to sit down, get der bit of paper out asking u questions on what phone u liked mins and texts u want on a bit of paper, then u say to them oh thaks for that info, i'll think about it, then they go to u, oh have u got a contact number we'l contact u in a few days time to see u interested etc. i just give them a fake number lol. thats my experience with phones4u one day lol.
Posted by Miss UK
P4U are sending me a application form so if I get in there
anytime soon well
gotta admit im put off by commision but I think i'd be good at flogging mobiles to new customers
better then working for a car company
Posted by voda_jon
lol good look!
i applied in january with over 4yrs experience selling and fixing phones on all networks and had to go to an 'Open' day style interview where they had about 20 ppl all tryin for the job and u get interviewed and then u have to sell a phone to one of the managers there and they r buggers let me tell yeh!!!
Anyways i got offered the job but declined it as i was told some right horror stories bout how heavy the managers come down on u and that its a very sexist company with regards to promotions and such for females and i didnt wanna work for a company like tha... neither did i think morally i could lol...
Good luck.
Posted by Miss UK
I haven't got any sales experienece at all but im willing to try,
I went for some cold sales job a few weeks ago selling charitys to people in there homes, I hated that..
doing the same instore shouldn't be a prob i know abit about phones thanks to this forum and if the worst comes to the worst im sure I can get round the manager like I did whith the charity job
I think CPW might be better place work for tbh tho,
im not liking what people are saying what they've had happen to them by the staff in P4U's stores across the UK
Posted by Miss UK
Recieved the application this morning and from some reason ive passed first stage erm and i dunno what ive done to do this
uhh well hope i get in with the Phones
Ps, CPW app came too ive put more effort into that application
Posted by Seanyb2
I hate going into Phones4u they hound you so bad its like being taken hostage. If you say you want a pay as you go phone they are not interested and wont stop bugging you trying to sell a contract its so annoying. They dont have a clue about mobiles. Also my brothers girlfriend had an upgrade on O2 and when they transfered her number to Vodafone it took 2 months and it was their fault not the networks. Would never go into their shops again the staff are patronising.
This message was posted from a 6233
Posted by Superluminova
On 2007-04-13 00:33:58, miss uk wrote:
Recieved the application this morning and from some reason ive passed first stage erm and i dunno what ive done to do this
uhh well hope i get in with the Phones
Ps, CPW app came too ive put more effort into that application
I strongly advise you not to go for either of the P4U or CPW jobs. If you really wanna work with phones (I have no idea why you would wanna do that) try and get a job with one of the networks, as theres less pressure and its genarally alot nicer to work for them.
Posted by Miss UK
Your not the first person to say that
Im still applying for other places aswell as Phoneshops but the first one to offer me a Job i'll take it, take me chances kinda
I would apply for 02 but I feel abit funny doing that cos im already a customer with them
Posted by Superluminova
Apply for vodafone, as there a good company to work for and the staff deal is amazing! £25 a month for unlimited everything!
Posted by Merc_Man
Now thats a FANTASTIC tariff, could do with that!
Does that include international calls? Or just everything in the UK?
Posted by Superluminova
Dunno about international calls as i never have to use them, but i very much doubt they will be free lol
Posted by Miss UK
I applied once years ago to work within Vodafone headquaters in birmingham.
I didn't get the job im glad really thought the people were abit
pigheaded
I prob could try the stores but i'd have to search where there shop are,
CPW and P4U have taken over ... T-Mobile are getting popular aswell tho
Posted by scottt
I applied for Phones4u just after i had finished college, got past the first stage straightaway (phone part) got the application filled that in, was pretty easy, just basic info and employment history, got turned down, they did'nt wanna know as i had no experiance in sales, cant really see anyone getting a job with any phone shop if you dont have experiance in sales/retail.
Posted by SE Rules
Phones 4 U are scary people, I went there lat year cause I really wanted an N80. SO off I pop down to the shop, speaking to a decent guy, not too pushy, let me play with it for a while (....the phone that is...), and I agreed to take it, but I wanted so many minutes and so many texts, fine he said, that'll be £30 per month, plus "cause I like your style, we'll let you have the phone for free on 3", normally £50. Fine I thought, went home, started using the thing for a week and a half, life was great. Then I got a letter from 3 stating all of my contract only to find that the guy had wacked on all of the WAP entertainment crap like TV, free ringtones, etc which was gonna cost me an extra £15 per month and 3 wouldn't let me cancel them for some period of time. So off I trotted back down the shop to returnt the phone, and thats where the fun began... What, in a normal shop, would have taken 5mins to return, took me nearly 2hours. They would just not stop trying to make me take the phone, they tried offering me with 10mnths free line rental, extra minutes and texts. I was adamant I didn't want it, and I eventually persuaded him, after telling him very abrubtly to shove his line rental where the sun don't shine.
So that's my little horror story..
lol Funny thing was, when cancelling, he gave mehis K800 to speak to some customer service person, and that's how I fell in love with the K800...went home and ordered one strasight from O2!
Soz for the long post!
Cheers