Problems returning phone within 14-day window - Three

gears_2

I'm in a bad signal area but T-Mobile and Three both seemed to offer good coverage. I went to the T-Mo site and bought a phone. It arrived but the coverage wasn't good so I called them up and they said, "Don't worry, as part of the law you can return a phone within 7 days and cancel the contract, you just pay for the usage on the SIM."

I did the same thing with Three - coverage was better but when I went to a couple of friends houses it kept "roaming" onto Orange, so I called them up and stated that I was going to stick with Orange as that at least covered most places I go to. They then said, "No, you can't return it, you've used the SIM". I told them that yes, I agreed with this - I'd tried to browse and it fell over to 2G, then I had no signal, but their letter stated "Try browsing now!" and I had to use it to check the coverage really.

A note inside the bag states...

"Your terms of purchase."

"You can inspect the phone, turn the phone on, insert a SIM card", but if you've "used, made or received calls or browsed the net you are liable to complete the contract".

I called them and even raised a complaint, getting through to a team leader. He seemed disinterested and stated that they were "operating within the law". However, this goes against the 7-day cooling-off period that T-Mobile pointed me to - within the UK law... (Have a Google for "Distance Selling Regulations")

I have to get an "RMA" number from Three to send the phone back - I can't do it without. I'm now stuck in a 18 month contract with a phone and SIM I can't use for the most part - Three are even stating that I get "good signal" in the areas I've stated and they're asking me to use the phone MORE to check !!!

I need help. Anyone got any advice? Colleauges are telling me to send it back, cancel the DD and close the door, but I don't want a bad credit rating, I don't want to be charged more by Three and I'm utterly annoyed by them at this stage..

Jon_01

This is standard Three T&C's, there are post here weekly saying the same thing.
There's not a lot you can do at this point, sorry.

Btw, cancelling the DD is a very bad idea, not only will it screw your credit for 7 years but in a few months you'll have debt collectors knocking at your door when three pass it off to an agency.

gears_2

Isn't this against the law though ? There's a 7 day cooling off period ?

Jon_01

There is if you don't use the phone. 3's T&C's tell you that once you've used the sim or 'personalized' the handset you're tied to the contract.

They'll tell you, you should have used a free 3 payg sim to test it rather then the one they send you (yes, I know...).

I'm not defending them (heaven forbid) but that's the way they work, had you have checked here before you signed up you'd have found many, many threads about this topic.

gears_2

It annoys me though because the Distance Selling Regulations clearly states that they CANNOT do this and their "Terms of purchase" clearly states that "Your statutory rights are not affected". Their T's and C's should not matter as the law clearly states that a 7-day cooling off period is allowed, PLUS, when you turn the phone on a text is instantly received by the phone from Three - this effectively makes the phone "used" instantly.

robt_2

A 'cooling off period' is NOT the same as 'try before you buy' - a mistake a lot of people on here make.

gears_2

Insane. All the other networks seem to have "DSR Teams" to fulfill that and let you try the phone. 3 are basically saying, "Take the phone out the box, don't put the SIM in though, because the minute you do we'll send you a text and then it's used. SUCKER!"

They're breaking the e-consumer protection scheme too. I bought this off the internet.

robt_2

gears wrote: »

Insane. All the other networks seem to have "DSR Teams" to fulfill that and let you try the phone. 3 are basically saying, "Take the phone out the box, don't put the SIM in though, because the minute you do we'll send you a text and then it's used. SUCKER!"

They're breaking the e-consumer protection scheme too. I bought this off the internet.

I doubt they are breaking anything because it has been this way for as long as I can remember, they would have been stopped by now if they were doing anything wrong.

gears_2

Well this stinks. It's a c****y way to get customers. Send a phone out, ignore the Distance Selling Regs and then, when the mobile is turned on you get a text and you're locked into an 18 month contract before you've even used it.

I'll be putting a piece about this network on my site. Disgusted.

The Distance Selling Regulations clearly state..

"When selling to consumers by mail order, phone, fax, internet or digital TV you must give them a cooling-off period during which they have an unconditional right to cancel the contract."

This is a CONDITIONAL right. It should be UNCONDITIONAL, by law. I don't get how they're getting around it and have been for so long when every other network (and I've checked, believe me) allow you to use the phone and pay back any usage after returning it.