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Cashback problems from mobileshop
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Where_Did_I_Go?
Posts: 7 Forumite
in Mobiles
Hello one and all
Right then, where shall I start. (edit - having now written my question, I do apologise about the length, but hope I have explained the situation clearly).
I took out a contract with mobile-shop.com on 9th August 2006. The deal was an O2 contract costing £30.00 per month, but was a 12 month free deal, via cash back. The total to claim back, £360.00, was split into 4 stages, each of £90.00.
The details I have regarding the claims read as follows:
My bills from O2:
My first monthly bill was dated 10th August 2006
Second dated 10th September 2006
...
Fifth dated 10th December 2006
Sixth dated 10th January 2007
Now I sent my on 15th January, a copy of the January bill. Now I realise this is my sixth bill. On 16th January I received an e-mail to say I was late, and so wouldn't received my cash back.
I was quite surprised by this, as I had another contract, from another company for a contract taken out on 8th August 2006 (the day before the contract in question). This had it's claim at month 4 - so I sent the bill dated 13th December. - following this logic I thought it was right to take the January bill as month 5.
So, this far I accepted that I had made a mistake. However, did wondered how this actually worked. I have since been reading on the internet of others who have experienced similar situations and some have threatened with court action on the grounds the information given was given with the intent to confuse the claimer.
My question then is this, should I simply accept this as a lost £90, or would I have any possible grounds to claim this back?
Right, following from this, my problem gets a bit worse, and it is here especially I am looking for guidance.
Firstly, I know some companies state that if you incorrectly claim then all claims are void. This is not the case for mobile-shop, they do not mention this, and their responses to my future claims imply I will get paid.
Having sent the wrong bill, I then sent the bill dated 10th Feb 2007 (my 7th bill). This is the second claim period. I sent this by recorded delivery on 15th February, and received confirmation via e-mail on 21st February.
Now Mobile-shop offer a variety of options for the claims, as alternatives for the cash claim (of £90 in my situation). For example, Argos vouchers, DVD player, Bluetooth etc. This first e-mail received asked me to follow a link and say what I wanted. I chose the cash option. Following from this, I received an e-mail confirming this. This confirmation read:
This e-mail was received on 21st February 2007.
By April I received my ninth bill, dated 10th April 2007. I sent my claim in the same way on 16th April 2007. On 23rd April 2007 I received confirmation of receipt, with the same options to make. I again chose cash, and received the same confirmation e-mail as above on the 23rd April 2007.
To date, I have received NO payments from Mobile shop. Thus even if we do not include the £90 which I defaulted on over December\January, I am still owed £180.
I have contacted them several times to query the status of my claim. I generally get a standard response, which reads as follows:
Now I am not going to try and imagine the amount of work that this manual processing will take, and can appreciate they have to be careful with making cash payments, however I now believe I (along with the numerous other customers) are being messed around.
Now, in the next week or so, I shall be receiving my 12th bill, dated 10th July 2007. This should be my final claim, and I fully intend to send this claim off in the same way as I have already.
Now, to be honest, I have tried to be polite and have been more than patient, however I think this is getting to be beyond a joke. I was wondering whether putting an additional letter along with my claim would be worth while. However, do I have a much of a chance of getting my money? I am also unsure how to proceed with this - particularly with regards to phrasing things so as to not have it fall back on me in the future.
I am really hoping for some form of advise on here, otherwise I may have to try and speak to perhaps the CAB. Would I be able to claim under Small Claims say. Furthermore, do I have any grounds on which to contest the defaulted claim? I am not going to argue that I sent the wrong claim in its simplest form, rather that it was not clear, and they purposely mislead customers.
I would appreciate any advice possible as to how to proceed with this. I know this is the sort of risks that happen with these cash back claims, however before taking this contract I did a fair bit of reading and this company was recommended, and either way, do not think I should not give up without a fight.
Appreciate any assistance, and your time.
Kind Regards,
(Image shows a summary from the mobileshop claim-tracking site, as shown on 040707 at 18.42)
Right then, where shall I start. (edit - having now written my question, I do apologise about the length, but hope I have explained the situation clearly).
I took out a contract with mobile-shop.com on 9th August 2006. The deal was an O2 contract costing £30.00 per month, but was a 12 month free deal, via cash back. The total to claim back, £360.00, was split into 4 stages, each of £90.00.
The details I have regarding the claims read as follows:
Your "cash back" or "line rental refund" is refunded to you in four stages by redemption. You must redeem your cash back by sending a copy of your airtime bill, to arrive at Mobileshop, within 30 days of the billing date at months 5 7 9 and 12. Claims are subject to you remaining on the same monthly tariff as you were originally connected.
My bills from O2:
My first monthly bill was dated 10th August 2006
Second dated 10th September 2006
...
Fifth dated 10th December 2006
Sixth dated 10th January 2007
Now I sent my on 15th January, a copy of the January bill. Now I realise this is my sixth bill. On 16th January I received an e-mail to say I was late, and so wouldn't received my cash back.
I was quite surprised by this, as I had another contract, from another company for a contract taken out on 8th August 2006 (the day before the contract in question). This had it's claim at month 4 - so I sent the bill dated 13th December. - following this logic I thought it was right to take the January bill as month 5.
So, this far I accepted that I had made a mistake. However, did wondered how this actually worked. I have since been reading on the internet of others who have experienced similar situations and some have threatened with court action on the grounds the information given was given with the intent to confuse the claimer.
My question then is this, should I simply accept this as a lost £90, or would I have any possible grounds to claim this back?
Right, following from this, my problem gets a bit worse, and it is here especially I am looking for guidance.
Firstly, I know some companies state that if you incorrectly claim then all claims are void. This is not the case for mobile-shop, they do not mention this, and their responses to my future claims imply I will get paid.
Having sent the wrong bill, I then sent the bill dated 10th Feb 2007 (my 7th bill). This is the second claim period. I sent this by recorded delivery on 15th February, and received confirmation via e-mail on 21st February.
Now Mobile-shop offer a variety of options for the claims, as alternatives for the cash claim (of £90 in my situation). For example, Argos vouchers, DVD player, Bluetooth etc. This first e-mail received asked me to follow a link and say what I wanted. I chose the cash option. Following from this, I received an e-mail confirming this. This confirmation read:
This is to confirm that you have just visited our website and chosen not to swap your Cash Back Claim No: ****** Your cash back will be paid to you within 60 days as per the terms and conditions.
However if you do wish to change your mind and choose a gift please visit back before your payment has been made
This e-mail was received on 21st February 2007.
By April I received my ninth bill, dated 10th April 2007. I sent my claim in the same way on 16th April 2007. On 23rd April 2007 I received confirmation of receipt, with the same options to make. I again chose cash, and received the same confirmation e-mail as above on the 23rd April 2007.
To date, I have received NO payments from Mobile shop. Thus even if we do not include the £90 which I defaulted on over December\January, I am still owed £180.
I have contacted them several times to query the status of my claim. I generally get a standard response, which reads as follows:
Unfortunately we recently experienced a major technical problem with our cash back payment system. We have since rectified the cause of the problem however we now need to ensure that the integrity of our database has not been compromised. Until this exercise is completed, we will be processing all of the cash back payments manually to ensure the right customers receive the correct cash back payment. Due to the sheer volume of customer claims, we anticipate this clearance process will take considerable time. At this point, we cannot provide specific payment dates but can assure you that your claim will be paid as soon as the backlog has been cleared. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process and apologise for any inconvenience caused. We are making every endeavour to get your payment to you as soon as possible.
If you do wish to accelerate your claim, as an alternative to cash we would be delighted to offer you an Argos / Homebase gift card for 110% of the value of your cash back claim instead. We normally offer our customers a gift card to the value of 105% of the cash back claim but, as a gesture of goodwill and by way of compensation, we are prepared to increase this offer to 110% of the cash back claim value. For example, for every £100 of cash back value, you can receive an Argos gift card worth £110 which can be spent at any Argos or Homebase store. Please be assured that Mobileshop has already paid for these Argos vouchers and they are available for immediate use. If you would like to accept this offer as an alternative to your cash claim, please email your name, address and voucher number to [EMAIL="argos@mobileshop.com"]argos@mobileshop.com[/EMAIL] and we will issue your card within 7 working days.
If you have any other query, e-mail our Cash Back Team at [EMAIL="cashback@mobileshop.com"]cashback@mobileshop.com[/EMAIL]. Please remember however that, as explained above, we are unable to provide any specific information regarding Cash back Payment dates at this time. Again, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this may have caused
Now I am not going to try and imagine the amount of work that this manual processing will take, and can appreciate they have to be careful with making cash payments, however I now believe I (along with the numerous other customers) are being messed around.
Now, in the next week or so, I shall be receiving my 12th bill, dated 10th July 2007. This should be my final claim, and I fully intend to send this claim off in the same way as I have already.
Now, to be honest, I have tried to be polite and have been more than patient, however I think this is getting to be beyond a joke. I was wondering whether putting an additional letter along with my claim would be worth while. However, do I have a much of a chance of getting my money? I am also unsure how to proceed with this - particularly with regards to phrasing things so as to not have it fall back on me in the future.
I am really hoping for some form of advise on here, otherwise I may have to try and speak to perhaps the CAB. Would I be able to claim under Small Claims say. Furthermore, do I have any grounds on which to contest the defaulted claim? I am not going to argue that I sent the wrong claim in its simplest form, rather that it was not clear, and they purposely mislead customers.
I would appreciate any advice possible as to how to proceed with this. I know this is the sort of risks that happen with these cash back claims, however before taking this contract I did a fair bit of reading and this company was recommended, and either way, do not think I should not give up without a fight.
Appreciate any assistance, and your time.
Kind Regards,
(Image shows a summary from the mobileshop claim-tracking site, as shown on 040707 at 18.42)
0
Comments
-
You're not the only one http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=253911.
Looks like they are now catching up with the backlog but you may want to have a good read of that thread for advice/possible action.
HTH0 -
I would ask you local trading standards office if you can issue a claim in the small claims court for the full amount.
It's not reasonable for them to refuse your claim for not adhering to the T&C yet they don't stick to them either.
~Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone.~:)
0 -
I'm so ANGRY!!!!
I've just phoned and after holding on for about 20 mins, eventually got through to customer services. My voucher was received 1 March so I expected payment around Mid-May time (60 days after). After telling one person, I eventually got transferred to claims and told whole story again. She just kept reading her script of the problems they'd experienced - I said I thought i'd been very tolerant but had lost patiences now. I asked why she couldn't process my claim today whilst she had the details in front of her. No can do basically, I'd just have to wait. She did say that some claims were prioritised so I asked what qualified one person over another to "be prioritised"? Apparently, customers who phone to chase get prioritised so I gave a deadline of next Tuesday to receive payment. Failing this I'll be back on the phone on a daily basis til I get some joy. My next voucher is due when I get my July bill - can't wait. I can't believe how these people can take money but not deliver what they promise. The only reason I've gone with them is for their cashback!!!
E2Save were great when I bought from them last year, everything simple & smooth:T so a big yey for them!!
Sorry it's a long one, it's my first posting and I needed to rant - thanks for reading - will update next week.0 -
As Llyllyll has already stated there are a load of us who are being given the runaround by mobileshop. To date I have got to admit that I have had all my cashbacks paid so far but none of the last 6 claims were paid on time. They have been upto 6 or 7 weeks late and hardly anyone believes there system problems excuses. A few days late I could take but the way they are behaving makes me fearful that they have cash problems and I will not take out a contract with them again until I see proof that they are not in deep trouble.
To Where Did I Go? I'm afraid you will have to let your first cashback go as it was your fault sending the wrong bill but I can save you some money for when you send your next cashback. Mobileshop allow you to email scanned copies of your bill and acknowledge them the same way as if you had posted. This way you can save on postage costs and try a few times if you don't get any confirmation from them. The email address to use is customer.service@mobileshop.co.uk0
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