Please help! Phone cashback won't be paid

double0

I probably don't have a leg to stand on here but I've got nothing to lose by asking!

I took out a 12 month contract on 3 with The Mobile Outlet with free line rental for a year via cashback. When I got the phone I never received any T&Cs about cashback claims. I knew it had to be redeemed in 2 stages so when I got my 6th bill I rang them up and the lady on the phone said to send the 6 original bills in within 28 days of the date on the bill, which I did via recorded delivery.

Yesterdayy I received a letter saying they had recived my bills but not within the 21 days specified within their T&Cs (which they were more than happy to send me as a paper copy with this letter!). Consequently, I will lose all cashback for the entire year and not just the first part of the claim. The cashback is worth nearly £400 so I'm really peeved at this. Yes it does say hidden away near the bottom of the T&Cs on the web that the time frame is 21 days, but you can only access these when ordering a phone and then they don't send you a hard copy. So what am I meant to do when I'm told 28 days on the phone?

Is it worth me writing a letter to dispute considering I don't have a name of the person I spoke to? And we are only talking a few of days outside the 21 days anyway.

Any help would be much appreciated. All the money saving I do for a few quid here and there, and then a biggie like this goes wrong!

karatecrisps

Well I'm having similar troubles (see my thread from yesterday) as One Stop Phone Shop never sent me the booklet or cheque back vouchers which I am forced to use to claim my cashback.

I have posted my fourth letter of complaint to them today but I am not expecting to get anywhere with them. Therefore, I am intending to contact the industry regulator OTELO and also go through Trading Standards if necessary. In comparison to you, I only stand to lose £170 - but that's bad enough.

Having read various threads on here now, there is no way on God's earth I would EVER try one of these mobile cashback deals again. it's just a quagmire of battling to get what you thought you were entitled to....

Good luck to you to.

ArsenalFC

I would make a complaint to Otelo like karate said, or spend £30 to pursue them through the court on https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk

Dont bother writing them a letter threatening action, they wont pay up unless you make a complain to the regulator or use the court.

I have used moneyclaim recently against aria.co.uk, unrelated to mobile. That company did not deliver some products from june 2005 and would not give me a refund after 3 letters of complains and numerous emails. They ignored me.
Trading standard/consumer direct didn't help me much so I decided to make a claim through the above website after reading the success members on here have.

Aria have within a week of the claim, informed me that they are paying up what they owe me plus court fee (£30) and interest. Result.

You should not give up on cashback claims on companies because they pay up on most members on here. They always will be some that encountered problems because they are sly and wont pay up. I have used Onestop and CPW for cashback for the last 3 years and have no problem with them. The only time I got stung was when Forward Cellular when bust.

Good luck for both of you. Dont let them get away with it.