Add your feedback on Mobile Recycler Fonebank

pralinehalo

The packaging to send my phone in was sent quickly and included bubble wrap.

They tried to take £11 off to £201 price for my Galaxy s2 because of some very minor scuffing on the back of the case (normal wear and tear). When I queried, I received a very low quality photo and the company were totally unwilling to meet half way and even then tried to say there were scratches on the screen (which I had photos of to demonstrate that it was flawless). They insisted it was a fair price for the phone.

I then asked them to send the phone back, which they did very promptly, and sent it to Envirofone who paid me £200.10. My impression was that the high price was to lure customers in and then they find spurious ways to bring it down to a lower than market price.

aniahill

I am selling my iPhone 4 and got a quote from Fonebank before the launch on the 5 so that I could make the most of the fact that the quotes are valid for 30 days.

My 30 days aren't up until 28/09/12 yet today (16/09) I've had an email saying that the "valuation is valid until 12/09/2012". Apart from time travel there's very little I can do about it! I've looked on their terms and conditions to double check I was right about the 30 days and it appears that they've changed it to 14 days. Luckily I've managed to get a cached version of the website from earlier this month that says that it's valid for 30 days and have replied saying that I hope this was sent in error etc.

I will let you know how it goes...

mobilejunkie

Not likely to do you any good. A quote is a quote - not a contract. They haven't inspected the phone yet.

Walter4

aniahill wrote: »

I am selling my iPhone 4 and got a quote from Fonebank before the launch on the 5 so that I could make the most of the fact that the quotes are valid for 30 days.

My 30 days aren't up until 28/09/12 yet today (16/09) I've had an email saying that the "valuation is valid until 12/09/2012". Apart from time travel there's very little I can do about it! I've looked on their terms and conditions to double check I was right about the 30 days and it appears that they've changed it to 14 days. Luckily I've managed to get a cached version of the website from earlier this month that says that it's valid for 30 days and have replied saying that I hope this was sent in error etc.

I will let you know how it goes...

When I placed my order, I received an offer stating that the offer was valid until 30 days from my initial date.

I just double checked to confirm. So you should be ok. But good catch on the date. I haven't received an update email, but I would fight them if I get it.

Walter4

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Not likely to do you any good. A quote is a quote - not a contract. They haven't inspected the phone yet.

I respectfully disagree. Fonebank made an offer that the the poster accepted. The offer was precedent on the phone satisfactorily meeting the pre-established standards which Fonebank outlined when it made the offer. Once the poster accepts the offer (even if it is pending) Fonebank would be legally bound to the terms of its contract, which were 30 days from the initial acceptance.

Fonebank cannot freely break this contract, it can only cancel the order if the phone does not meet the preestablished conditions. So in this case, I would say that Fonebank is locked to the old terms -- not saying they wouldn't try and avoid them, but that is the legal situation.

mobilejunkie

The legal situation depends on interpretation by a judge (presupposing someone takes it that far). This site is absolutely littered with angry customers who'bve been offered less than they expected based on the "offer".

I would readily go to court for a cashbac claim where I could proce my case; I wouldn't attempt that in this instance.

Walter4

mobilejunkie wrote: »

The legal situation depends on interpretation by a judge (presupposing someone takes it that far). This site is absolutely littered with angry customers who'bve been offered less than they expected based on the "offer".

I would readily go to court for a cashbac claim where I could proce my case; I wouldn't attempt that in this instance.

In practice you might be right. But that would not be the interpretation from a contractual law perspective. Concededly a judge could interpret it however they want, but I think it is a pretty clear legal issue.

They make an offer conditional on certain requirements. Kind of hard to argue that that is not an offer.

By submitting your order, you are accepting their offer, again conditioned on meeting the requirements of their initial offer. They cannot legally rescind their offer so long as you meet their initial requirements:

- It must be on a UK network
- It must switch on and off.
- It must be complete with SIM tray and all buttons.
- All buttons must function correctly
- The integral bodywork should have no cracks, missing plastics, screws or metal.
- The LCD must be working and power up correctly and fully beyond the ‘Welcome Note’.
- The LCD must be intact with no cracks, lines or missing pixels.
- There should be no liquid damage.
- A white screen does not constitute a working iPhone.
- The touch screen must be fully functional.
- All standard functionality and software must be in working order.
- It must have no fake or non original components.

The criteria are fairly objective and there isn't a lot of subjectivity with these items, so as long as you document them, I don't think they would have much of an argument.

Sure they can change all they want, but doesn't mean that they would be successful in defending against a claim.

A moneyclaim legal process is actually fairly simple, and they would have to reimburse for costs, etc, if you were successful. So as long as someone was able to show that their phone met those requirements, I don't think there would be a problem from a legal point of view. I've sold phones to them before, and while I haven't had a problem, I always both video the functionality, and take comprehensive photos before sending to avoid problems later.

Walter4

I just found in the FAQ section that they have not yet updated the 30 day rule. I just made a pdf of the page in case I need it for support, and I would just recommend anyone else do the same. But if they update that soon and someone needs a copy, send me a PM and I'll send you a copy of my pdf.

aniahill

And I've got a jpeg of the cached page

Walter4 wrote: »

I just found in the FAQ section that they have not yet updated the 30 day rule. I just made a pdf of the page in case I need it for support, and I would just recommend anyone else do the same. But if they update that soon and someone needs a copy, send me a PM and I'll send you a copy of my pdf.

aniahill

"Our valuation time has changed but your order should not have been affected, apologies our system used the wrong date for your order. Your order is valid for 30 days from when you placed your order"

So that's good!