Mobiles.co.uk cashback problems

Rob_Frisby

I am not happy with Mobiles.co.uk and would like to report them to an appropriate organisation for the way they have behaved.

Due to their misleading information on their website I believed that because I was 'upgrading' my phone I could keep my mobile number with O2.

After I had placed the order I was emailed to say I could not keep the number unless I changed network. I arranged to do this immediately. Although postage and delivery were efficient for both phones I am having enormous problems returning the O2 phone.

I phoned the number given to be told their staff were sick and use email.

Concerned to meet the conditions and time limits set out in their 'Returns Policy' I sent several emails to request a return address that were responded to by them issuing automated return ticket numbers only (Despite copying in customer services!).
I now have three different versions of return ticket numbers! I arranged special delivery return of the phone (still in the unopened special delivery envelope and with copies of the email correspondence to date!)costing me £6.70 to the return address on the special delivery envelope in the absence of any other information. I am now being plagued with constant emails about following a returns procedure within the timeline despite repeated full explanations of what has happened by email including sending copies of the previous emails. When I have tried to contact them by phone I am informed by recorded message that I will have to hold for one hour before speaking to anyone.
Is this anyway to conduct a business?
Can anyone please tell me the best way of resolving this or taking appropriate action against this company?

TREVORCOLMAN

Another "HAPPY"(NOT) Customer to add to your list Ben.

Maybe those that praise these CPW Companies have not been lied to like some of us.

mobilejunkie

Yeah - but he'll come and "help" them too! Good job he's so good otherwise all these people would have no-where to go!

mobilejunkie

Rob_Frisby wrote: »

I am not happy with Mobiles.co.uk and would like to report them to an appropriate organisation for the way they have behaved.

Due to their misleading information on their website I believed that because I was 'upgrading' my phone I could keep my mobile number with O2.

After I had placed the order I was emailed to say I could not keep the number unless I changed network. I arranged to do this immediately. Although postage and delivery were efficient for both phones I am having enormous problems returning the O2 phone.

I phoned the number given to be told their staff were sick and use email.

Concerned to meet the conditions and time limits set out in their 'Returns Policy' I sent several emails to request a return address that were responded to by them issuing automated return ticket numbers only (Despite copying in customer services!).
I now have three different versions of return ticket numbers! I arranged special delivery return of the phone (still in the unopened special delivery envelope and with copies of the email correspondence to date!)costing me £6.70 to the return address on the special delivery envelope in the absence of any other information. I am now being plagued with constant emails about following a returns procedure within the timeline despite repeated full explanations of what has happened by email including sending copies of the previous emails. When I have tried to contact them by phone I am informed by recorded message that I will have to hold for one hour before speaking to anyone.
Is this anyway to conduct a business?
Can anyone please tell me the best way of resolving this or taking appropriate action against this company?

Make sure you keep printed copies of the t&c, procedures, emails etc.

Try the rep on here - he's rather busy with a long cue of disgruntled customers (whoops - happy ones!) who managed to find their way to this forum and doesn't always do as he says he does but you have nothing to lose. You have a better chance with a public statement of your problems than the (no doubt hundreds) of others who haven't found their way to the forum and can't get a response from the company through the correct channels as they should.

Provided you can pove that they mislead you as to keeping your number originally, that you followed all their procedures and returned the phone you should be able to sue for whatever costs you have incurred - inclouding the return postage.

If you cannot prove these things with certaintly (regardless of the huff and puff from the company or its reps) you haven' got many options. Take off the next few weeks and prepare to spend all your time getting the company to sort it out. I am not a great fan of consumer direct/trading standards, but you could give them a go if all else is failing.

Good luck - you're likely to need it. Silk (another thread) has been having problems with returning/cancelling a phone for weeks.

Silk

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Yes, I agree that the rep has failed to deliver so far in a number of posts and i can undertand the frustration of people who want things solved NOW. But the reality is that sometimes, particularly when businesses are stretched or lines of communication are less that they might be, things don't always happen as quickly as they might.

That does not make the company or the individual a liar or crook.

Hi GD,
I have been trying very hard not to post on this thread as I have my own issues running on the 2 others and it's started to get clouded which is why I'm working on a resume to show all the problems.
However having read your post I feel something should be said regarding issues I'm experiancing and others that I have read recently.
First off, I'm struggling to find any problems that Ben has resolved !!!
I might not be able to see the odd one but they are certainly thin on the ground
Perhaps there are people who want things to happen NOW however I was not one of them as we had been trying all the usual channells to no effect and time was running out both for the 14 day returns T&C's plus my more important need for a phone that would work in NY before yeaterday.
To cover the points regarding the Lies I'm sure you will have seen the latest situation regarding the phone call that did not happen. The fact that Ben has said they rang is a either a lie by him or it is a lie by David whom I assume told Ben he rang.
I have to say if I caught one of my employees telling lies to a client to cover himself I would dismiss him on the spot without warning !
There are also many examples of varying degrees of lies depending on how you veiw a lie ? Some may consider them a "fib" some may consider them a "tall story" some may consider them just a mistake.
For instance in my second phone call I asked about the swine flu situation with them I was told "that their building was infested with it and it had spread all around the companies in the building" . Now this is a little hard to beleive but would it be considered a lie or a tall story and it would seem the staff areencouraged to use these stories as an excuse for the poor service.
Another example would be I asked to speak to a manager and was told " The manager / supervisor was not in and they did not know when he would next be in " . Would this be a "white lie"
How about when they said "we have not rec'd any emails" and suddenly when I sent a copy 10 seconds later whilst talking to them they admitted they had. Was this a lie or a mistake.
I could go on but it would become even more boring than it already is
Some of the tales we are told are astonashing to say the least.
One of the latest examples by Ben was last night was a reply to Womaniser who asked why he had not replied to PM's and emails that Womaniser had sent, his reply was "they were not in his inbox or he may have deleted them" ????? :rotfl:
So whats that a Lie a tall story a fib or what ????????

Silk

mobilejunkie wrote: »

I rather doubt Silk will accept that they have dealt with his problems or not made false promises OR told lies. HIS case is closed as far as the rep is concerned - but appears to have left him more angry with them than ever. That's despite having masses of patience with them and doing what some people say I/we should do - giving them the benefit of the doubt (probably a dozen times by now!).

Hi MJ,
The Rep may think it's closed but I can assure him and others that it is far from closed.
To be honest when I first got into this situation I didn't think it was going to be as bad as I have found but the more I look into things the worse it seems to be.
You are correct to think that all the false promises and now the lies have had the effect of making me even more angry than I was before.

Guys_Dad

Yes, Silk, I have read your main thread and as you will recall, I sympathised with you and, if I had had the same treatment, then I would be steaming. Certainly, being promised a call and then not getting it - plus all the other frustrations you had - is totally unacceptable.

What I am really interested in is, I suppose, the actual core trading methods of the company - bear with me on this.

Now, I believe that there was a real culture with two of the other CPW trading companies to deliberately and, if you believe this forum and the evidence of the cases brought, won or settled out of court at the last minute, dishonestly withhold valid payments to customers in the hope that they would go away or give up.

However, mobiles.co.uk rep has, over a number of posts, including yours, put in writing that they have accepted the claims. This is a completely different approach from the other trading companies who only paid up when hauled to court or had uncontestable evidence thrown under their noses.

What mobiles.co.uk have NOT done, so far, is delivered on promises etc, and that is bad, given the exposure in this forum. But one has to ask is this fandamentally dishonesty - as one could describe previous complaints about other CPW companies or sheer administrative incompetence for whatever reason wherein the back office are not responding to the rep's form communication.

So, putting it simply, are they culturally inclined towards avoiding cashback payments to the extent of lying about receiving claims etc or are they curently in a shambles administratively. And are they putting up Ben to simply say what they think we want to read without any intention of actually seeing through his promises, or do they have some pretty bad staffing problems?

The jury may be out, but for what it is worth, I read the latter. However, time will tell when all the OPs and others with ongoing problems, rather than commentators, finally report whether or not they have got their problem solved eventually.

mobilejunkie

Not sure if you regard me as a "commentator", but I'm not! Was I a "commentator" with E2Save? I think not either! "Ben" is the real commentator - he deals in fiction rather than facts and his only vested interest is in being PAID to put up the appearance of an organisation which a LOT better than it actually is - through the main forum where public complaints are aired because a few of the many (no doubt) find their way here after failing to get things sorted out by the company through normal channels.

Silk

Guys_Dad wrote: »

What I am really interested in is, I suppose, the actual core trading methods of the company - bear with me on this.
However, mobiles.co.uk rep has, over a number of posts, including yours, put in writing that they have accepted the claims. This is a completely different approach from the other trading companies who only paid up when hauled to court or had uncontestable evidence thrown under their noses.

Hi GD,
Thanks for the reply and when I get a bit more time I will reply to some other points.
A few points regarding above part of your post .....
First of all I have not put a claim in yet ! there has been an offer made to me of £50 which barely covers 6 hours of phone calls at 12p a min is £43.20 it does not even begin to cover 2 days loss of earnings nor the hours on end spent wasted in communication with Ben etc etc etc.
If I were to put a claim in it certainly would not be for £50 !
Secondly and this is a major point regarding everyone's situation re Ben on here etc.
The communications on here by mobiles.co.uk are made by somebody who hides his position and name etc. All promises and replies etc are made on here which when all said and done is a "public forum"
Have mobiles.co.uk come to some sort of deal with Martin where by it can now be used to conduct the business of selling phones ????
There has been no replies through "normal" channels that normal businesses use whatsoever such as replies to emails phone calls letters faxes etc etc:mad:
I'm sorry but untill mobiles.co.uk start behaving in a proper manner and conduct their business in a proper manner through correct channels this situation is not going to improve.

Guys_Dad

mobilejunkie wrote: »

Not sure if you regard me as a "commentator", but I'm not! Was I a "commentator" with E2Save? I think not either!.

You are, on this thread, but my choice of word was not supposed to be derogatory. I defined you as that simply because you have not posted any details on this thread that you have suffered any cashback problem as yet with mobiles.co.uk, - whereas others have come on here and started a post or added to a live one their own current problems. That was the distinction.

Certainly when you had problems with getting E2Save to pay up, you were certainly not just a commentator.

If you object to commentator as a word to describe your contributions, would you prefer Oracle or Guru?