Anyone else mis-sold the carphone warehouse 1.99 contract?

dougguk_2

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone else here was mis-sold (or knows someone that was) the carphone warehouse 1.99 deal.

Just been back to visit the folks (who are getting on age wise) and my mum was sold one of these contracts last year and told it was only 1.99 a month. Turns out it was a rebate thing - nothing on the contract she signed about how much it was meant to be and she even got the guy to write 1.99 on the form!

After the first month she got her first bill (this is going back last Nov now) she saw she had been charged £25 for that month and has been in a battle with them ever since.

I drove up to the shop and confronted them about their selling practices. Turns out that when they sold the contracts they didnt mention anywhere on the forms what you would be paying, it was assumed that the salesman would give the price and make the customer aware of it in the brochure... This wasnt the case but Carphone Warehouse wont budge and claim all their staff tell the customers EXACTLY what they are signing up for!!

My parents didnt use the phone after the first bill came through so it's not like they were trying to get out of the contract - it was genuinely mis-sold. Trading standards are dragging their heels and Ofcom just say to talk to trading standards!!

Seems like another loss for the small consumer against the corporations

Anyone know of anyone else that was mis-sold this way? The cheeky **** from CPW even had the cheek of sending through a copy of the "Original" contract apparently signed by my mother - on which they had CHANGED the wording and added in figures!!! It didnt match the form she signed at all - they doctored it as we still have the original so I can see this!!

I'm thinking of starting a website about it to get some publicity for others that fell victim to slimy salesmen who dont give all the facts regarding chequebacks and are only thinking of commission. Hopefully that way people can get their money back from CPW...!!

deutzkiwi

This was the deal on Virgin, is that right? I'm not going to be much help but I'm sorry for the problems you've had. All the cashback details are printed on a o2/voda contract, why its not the case with others I'll never know. I'd never dream about not fully explaining a cashback deal to a customer, it would obv cause me no end of hassle if I didnt!

I'd suggest keeping on at the store about it, but other than a small amount of compensation (and chequeback amount for the first claim if its been missed) I can see them doing much, it just depends on the manager. Keep on at them and TS, it really annoys me when other people that work for cpw do things like this and cause hassle for customer and the rest of staff. Good luck.

dougguk_2

Yes, it was the one with Virgin. When I confronted him in the shop I heard him say to the manager "Remember those contracts? We had a load of problems with them last year!"

xycom1

Trading standards should be sorting it out, but at the end of the day, I would total up what it's cost you, subtract what you thought it would cost (the £1.99 line rental) and then sue them for the difference in Small Claims Court. Submit the original copy of the contract and any other supporting documents as evidence along with their forged copy that they've provided to you.

CPW only know one language and that's court. One day they'll get what's coming to them. :rotfl:

jnm21

Probably not worth the hassle, but surely them telling you that your mum signed something she says she didn't is in the slander/defamation arena - even if it is far fetched, image the headlines - "Retailer slanders senior citizen" or "The Reporter calls for a Blue Rinse Boycott"?

Good luck with the case, whatever it may be. You may want to consult a lawyer - if they only ever said £1.99, technically they only authorised a £1.99 direct debit - you could possibly claim all direct debit payments via their branch (DD scheme - if a mistake, ie incorrect debit amount, is made, your branch will give an instant refund).

Alfie_E

Dougguk, who’s billing your mum? I’m assuming it’s Virgin. If so, the mobile contract is with Virgin. There may, or may not, be a separate contract with CPW, but that only relates to the money-back offer. Have you or her contacted Virgin about the problem? They need to be made aware of the fact that CPW, acting as their agent, misrepresented the Virgin contract to your mum. I’m pretty certain that Virgin will do a better job of handling the problem than CPW. What you want is for Virgin to accept that there has never been a valid contract between them and your mum. This would put a stop to any more bills, and hopefully get back any money paid to them.

pensionstudent

CPW clearly do state that the "check redemption offer", always in small print.. but it is there.. GUARANTEED... only thing to do is wait for the 4, 8 and 12th month and get a HUGEEE Rebate