Sold a phone no signal at home!

nicky123_2

I bought a phone from carphone warehouse on wed 9th July and when I got home to my house found I had no signal. When I purchased the phone with Orange on contract the dealer checked the network coverage and it looked good. I called orange on my landline and they said 2 masts near me had been out since mid may and that may be the cause altho my phone should find 2g or 3g should it be necessary. I then changed the band on the phone so that it picked up 2 or 3g and I had one bar of coverage which dissapears when i move aroung the house. Carphone warehouse say they cant do anything as my contract is with Orange and when they checked the coverage it was ok, Orange say that one bar is sufficiant to make or receive a call and that I cannot get out of my contract unless I buy myself out. When I want to make a call I have to walk around my garden like an idiot with my phone high trying to find a signal!! What rights do I have??? I really want to cancel by contract and go elsewhere but Orange insist that a signal even if weak is enough and I cant get ot free of charge Help!!

jamiex

Hi,
Most mobile phone companies have a 14 day cooling off period.
You should be able to cancel your phone contract within the 14 day period with no penalties at all.
I'm not sure about Orange specifically but call them up as soon as possible and see if you can cancel with no charge.

Regards,
Jamie

jamiex

Also, just to add to the above, even if there isn't a cooling off period you should tell them that there isn't enough signal to make any calls and what you have been sold is not fit for its purpose.

reehsetin

orange have no 14 day return policy,

there is a provision within retail at least to cancel if there is no reception but if the coverage check says there is coverage in the area its shakey ground,
speak to orange again and get them to agree that there is a problem with the signal in the area because of the mast and use that to get a cancellation out of CPW,
the CPW store may be unwilling to help so then try CPW head office and get them to agree to a return

Simon_Wallace

reehsetin wrote: »

orange have no 14 day return policy

I love 3's 14 day return policy

"You can return your phone within 14 days of receipt provided you haven’t used it. You'll also have to return the original boxed accessories and documentation ‘as new’.

The returns policy doesn’t apply:
· to new customers who didn’t buy their mobile via the telesales team or three.co.uk, or
· to new customers who bought their mobile via the telesales team or three.co.uk but have used their mobile. This means that you may not personalise your mobile in any way (including inserting the SIM card and switching the phone on), or use any of the 3 Services, or take photos or videos or load any data onto the mobile, or
· to existing customers who upgrade their mobile."

So as soon as you turn the thing on you can't return it. Handy.

Cheers
Simon

Woby_Tide

jamiex wrote: »

Also, just to add to the above, even if there isn't a cooling off period you should tell them that there isn't enough signal to make any calls and what you have been sold is not fit for its purpose.

At which point the shop switches it on ans show it picking up a good signal and fit for purpose. No network guarantees 100% coverage. The OP unfortunately just lives in the 'wrong place'. It's a shaky clause but no network can ever say 100% your phone will work like that or everyone would be able to return them

nicky123_2

I phoned Orange and they said the same no guarentee of 100% coverage and even if I have an intermittent weak signal- it is a signal and therefore I have no ground to cancel. They also withdrew there 14 day cooling of period which I didnt know when I got the phone. I am stuck now unless any one else hads any ideas? Thanks to all that have replied.

Woby_Tide

sell the phone on ebay/freeads, reduce the tarrif at first opportunity(6 months or 9 months), use the phone proceeds to pay off the monthlybill where possible.

Take a new contract with a company who's signal you can receive

barclaysguy

Has carphone warehouse got their own cancellation policy? If so take it back their, however let them know you want to change to voda or something.

esuhl

You asked CPW to check the signal strength at your home, and were told it would be okay. To me, this could reasonably be interpreted as your stating that the purpose for your purchase was (at least partly) in order to make calls from your home.

The goods are therefore not fit for the purpose for which they were described, contrary to section 14.6 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) and so you should (in my uneducated, humble opinion) be entitled to a full refund from CPW.

The complication is that you now have a contract with Orange, so I would ask CPW to arrange for the contract to be cancelled - either by mutual agreement or by buying you out. It doesn't matter how they do this - it's not your problem.

Threaten to take them to court... and if it comes down to it get some proper legal advice before you do so!

DISCLAIMER: I have no legal training/experience whatsoever - so I may be completely and utterly wrong about everything that I've written!!!

Good luck...

chris_spackman

I bought a phone from CPW and the sales rep checked my coverage. He said it was good for the areas i would be using it.

However it turned out not to be the case and i called Orange who got their engineers to check it.

I had a call back saying they would indeed let me take it back and sent a text message with a code that CPW know about which lets you cancel the contract.

CPW did not tust me however and called Orange who confirmed that they would allow me to cancel the contract. It may be a handset problem.

Keep on calling and you will be able to do it.