Three mobile contract exchange and returns

linearkieran

Hello Guys,
I am posting here for the first time and wonder if you could help me out. I have this 3 mobile 18 months £15 a month cotract which ends in October. But I was due for an upgrade now...I went for it and received LG KU990i - viewty mobile YESTERDAY...but there was

• no stylus
• no cable to connect to computer
• no headset to listen to music
• no software CD

Although it is a touch screen phone, I was disappointed. I called them TODAY if they can exchange that and they say they can not. Reason they say is I made a call to check the voice quality, I took couple of pictures of my son to check picture quality. What they say is as I have used this mobile and they DO NOT exchange used mobiles. The guy in CS could not help me and I asked them if I could lodge a complain. They say there is nothing I can do about it. I wonder if anybody can suggest anything here....Cheers

Snakeeyes21

Theres nothing you can do as youve used the phone, your stuck with it.
as for the 'extras' that you usually get with phones you dont get them with the viewty which is strange, i wasnt too happy when i found out when i got one, but they are cheap enough to buy on ebay for around a quid each. The LG software can be downloaded from various sites.
its not much help but itll make a bad situation abit better.

robt_2

Have they sent you a reconditioned phone?

linearkieran

Hi Snakeeyes21,

Thanks for your reply...I want to try every possible route to cancel this before that.

Hello Robt,

It is a new phone.

I don't know why they have this return policy in place then...it should not be called a returns policy at all.

Anyway, I went on three website and using contact us link I have sent an email explaining my situation...got an auto reply saying I will be getting a response in 5 days time. Let s see what they have to say. I don't know what I am going to do...They say they don't have any team or something if a customer wants to complain. It is only Customer Services that deals with it. What do you think will happen if I cancel my direct debit with them? They might send some letters to home about making payments and then I can talk to them???

rachyrach2k

dont cancel your direct debit as it will destroy your credit rating

fabjenni

Hi linearkieran,

the phone you would have got is the Viewty Lite, the Lite representing the fact that you just get the phone & nothing else, you could have probably got the actual Viewty with all the gubbins but you would have to pay more for your line rental, so when you can pick up a set of headphones & stylus for a couple of quid it doesn't make sense to pay an extra fiver a month for 18 months to get it in the box.

No mobile phone shop will let you return the phone after you take it away from the shop because as the staff will show you the phone & let you play with it, there are no reasonable terms under which you can then say it doesn't meet your requirements as you are offered the chance to see it in action & try & take photo's if you wish . This is not the staff being difficult, but the terms under which the stores are run. Would you accept a phone that someone else has taken home & played with for a day or two?

Distance selling is a different matter as you have no chance to see the phone, & most providers have at least a 7 day return policy, some use to be 14 days, not sure if this still applies.

Sorry if this is not quite what you would like to hear, but I always make sure that I do my research & visit lots of different phone shops to try different phones before choosing the one that I need to meet my requirements(not always the one I want though!!).

linearkieran

Thanks Rachyrach2k for your suggestion there, I did not think about that at all.

Hi Fabjenni,

I understand what you are saying but then still all the other stores have returns policy and they do sell the goods which customers return. Although I do agree that I would buy something unpacked. But afterall stores are stores and as customers we do get our rights. Anyway, I am still waiting for a response.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I will keep you guys posted.

linearkieran

Hey guys,

Just spoke to the manager in Customer Services, they say they can not do anything and I have to carry on with my contract. They say once you put the SIM in and set the date and time, that is it.The guy gave me a figure of £165 for early cancellation if I want to do that.

In the end they are giving me £10 credit to buy accessories. Very much disappointed :mad: but will have to be with 3 for 18 more months.

But thanks to you all for your comments and suggestions. :A

Littlemiss27

linearkieran wrote: »

I understand what you are saying but then still all the other stores have returns policy and they do sell the goods which customers return. Although I do agree that I would buy something unpacked. But afterall stores are stores and as customers we do get our rights. Anyway, I am still waiting for a response.

When It comes to mobile phones things are very different from other retail stores. The only mobile phone network that currently gives a cooling off period on contracts is O2 and when it comes to upgrades I don't think even they offer one.

As far as I am aware the major reason for this is due to mobile phones each having a serial number. Once a phone has been sold to a customer that serial number is attached to that customer. Therefore if it was returned that serial number whould always show it had been attached to said customer meaning the item whould then need to be sold as second hand, which in turn would mean the company making a loss/less money.

Other retailers in general sell items that do not work on this basis, for example if you return an item to a clothes shop they will take it back as long as it doesn't look worn and then simply place it back on the shelf.

As much as I hate to say it, I think your chances of getting the handset changed are slim to none. My only suggestion on trying to get an exchange if you bought the handset online/over the phone is to explain to the network that it wasn't explained to you that you would be getting the veiwty lite not the veiwty. this may only get you the extra accessories posted out though.

achtunglady

I had a similar problem, got a samsung s7330 from 3, didnt put my sim card in nor did i take any pictures, all i did was set the date and time, wasnt happy with the filmsy held on by a teeny screw hinge on the charging socket so rang to get them to take it back under the 14 day returns policy, they said sorry they cannot take it back as i had "personalised the phone" by setting date and time, i argued that date and time were universal and not personalised, in fact 99% of people when they get their phones will set the date and time, anyway when i cancelled my broadband with them and threatened to cancel my two other accounts when their contracts had expired, they agreed to swap it for a viewty.
There was no terms and conditions leaflet in with the samsung which explains what you can and cannot do if you want to send it back, but there was one inwith the viewty, i will still cancel when my contracts are up, as they dont do the phone i want - the iphone- suppose the viewty is the poor mans iphone lol