Mobiles.co.uk - A cautionary tale

iwanttosave_2

WychWeird wrote: »

I don't disagree with you - I got a £25 bonus tariff; the advertising lead me to believe it was the O2 600 tariff with a discount, however. Mobiles.co.uk's information did not clearly state that MMS or roaming SMS are chargeable extras which is why I maintain the tariff I received is misrepresented. The listing of charges for data, texts, SMS, etc are the standard ones from O2 which are applied to the majority of O2 tariffs irrespective if certain aspects are included free on that tariff.

The problem is though, to argue misrepresentation you have to show that they intentionally deceived you, the rep on here has quite publicly stated he wasn't aware of how this tariff worked until I pointed it out (which doesn't surprise me, CPW's communication from up high is shocking).

You are correct in that you can change your promotional bolt-on once every 3 months but this is only with contracts initially taken through o2 or on upgrades.

Had the tariff said 600/500 and one promotional bolt-on (as it does on o2's site) then you would understand how you think you can change the bolt-on, however the tariff does state 600/unlimited sms.

To be honest, even the P4U site hasn't got the details right on their site, other than that you can't migrate from a bonus tariff for the life of the contract.

gtaz

In fairness actually, that is true, it 'may' not be false advertising but really as they haven't used the phone, it wouldn't do any harm in them cancelling the contract.

I assume the OP wouldn't want to return the phone and the fact they screenshot the offers is a bit 'paranoid' something was going to come back and bite them.

WychWeird

iwanttosave wrote: »

The problem is though, to argue misrepresentation you have to show that they intentionally deceived you, the rep on here has quite publicly stated he wasn't aware of how this tariff worked until I pointed it out (which doesn't surprise me, CPW's communication from up high is shocking).

I admit I may be mistaken, however, my understanding of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 does not state that misrepresentation has to be fraudulent.

gtaz wrote: »

In fairness actually, that is true, it 'may' not be false advertising but really as they haven't used the phone, it wouldn't do any harm in them cancelling the contract.

I assume the OP wouldn't want to return the phone and the fact they screenshot the offers is a bit 'paranoid' something was going to come back and bite them.

As I am not likely to get the contract I believed I was getting from Mobiles.co.uk (O2 600, 600 mins, 500 texts + unlimited bolt on for £25 per month) then I would like the phones returned, the contracts cancelled and my money returned. Mobiles.co.uk will argue that the phones and sims have been used and we're outside the cooling off period, despite me raising the issue before the period expired and reserving the right to cancel the contract.

I didn't originally screenshot the deals - the moment I realised things weren't what I thought they were I saved them down. Consumer Direct also advised me to save screenshots.

happyhunter

WychWeird wrote: »

despite me raising the issue before the period expired and reserving the right to cancel the contract.

Did you honestly think at the time that by just writing to them quoting 'I reserve the right to cancel the contract' would enable you to extend the cooling off period indefinitely?

When dealing any mobile phone companies, even with the big guns like O2 and Vodafone, you must return the phone before the cooling off period to protect yourself.

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

Hi,

As I have already stated, we offer the tariff as being equivalent to O2 600 (ie, 600 minutes and unlimited texts) but with a £5 discount. I can see exactly what you have assumed and read into our site, and I do sympathise (hence my offer to fund the data bolt-on for 3 months), but our site states you are getting 600 minutes and unlimited texts for £25 per month, and this is what we have supplied.

Ironically you have taken a sentence I added to avoid confusion following feedback online (some of which has been referenced here) and been confused by it, into thinking that if you changed your bolt-on (which is not possible - our site does not say it is possible and only refers to unlimited texts as a bolt-on because of the feedback received after customer speak to O2 reps) you would be left with a "baseline" 500 texts, even though our site says nothing of the sort about this specific tariff (it talks about eg "O2 600", a different tariff).

Again, I have asked that the site be updated once more to remove the confusion caused by talking about "O2 600" when "O2 600 £5 Discount" (aka O2 25) does not have the same attributes.

Sorry we could not be of more assistance, but we do give 14 days to return any deal with no quibble and if you were dissatisfied with an aspect of your purchase you really should have pursued this option, as it is designed for exactly this sort of mistaken assumption or confusion over what you are ordering.

Regards,

Quentin

WychWeird wrote: »

As I am not likely to get the contract I believed I was getting from Mobiles.co.uk (O2 600, 600 mins, 500 texts + unlimited bolt on for £25 per month) then I would like the phones returned, the contracts cancelled and my money returned.

Ofcom's advice on what to do if you think you have been missold:

If the contract is sold through an independent retailer, the customer should first contact the retailer in question. If the customer and the retailer cannot resolve the dispute, the customer should contact their mobile service provider and ask the mobile service provider to look into the dispute. If no solution can be found, the customer can contact Ofcom. Ofcom, would, based on complaints information, decide to investigate a mobile service provider’s compliance with the General Condition.

It seems that the retailer has agreed you have a case (by offering compensation via the rep in this forum - keep a screen print if this is the only way the compensation offer has been put to you). So having got it accepted that the retailer agrees you have a case, then it's worth formally (ie in writing) rejecting this first offer of compensation and asking for them to up their offer (ie. accept the return of the phones and refund your money)

If this doesn't bring the resolution, then maybe it's worth following the Ofcom escalation route, and then move on (officially) to involving the network, with the final option still open to you of using Ofcom.

All this needs doing in writing, rather than via posts here - though the rep's post publicly offering the compensation is definitely relevant!

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

Quentin,

The deal was sold as advertised - 600 minutes and unlimited texts. Everything else is based on an assumption by the customer that they could change their bolt-on with O2 after they had ordered, an assumption O2 or our Sales staff could have corrected in one phone call or email. When this assumption turned out to be incorrect post-purchase there are 14 days in which to return the goods for a full and final cancellation.

This is our final position on the matter, OP please email ben at mobiles if you would like to take up my goodwill offer of 3m data bolt-on funding or discuss further.

Regards,

Guys_Dad

happyhunter wrote: »

Did you honestly think at the time that by just writing to them quoting 'I reserve the right to cancel the contract' would enable you to extend the cooling off period indefinitely?

When dealing any mobile phone companies, even with the big guns like O2 and Vodafone, you must return the phone before the cooling off period to protect yourself.

Happyhunter is spot on. During that 14 day period, you are in a position of strength and you probably know in hindsight that this is what you should have done - as long as there was a better deal out there that would have given you what you wanted. Or, at least, you could have cleared up the matter and, if it had been as you wanted, then re-ordered again.

And you were aware of the 14 day rule - as you wrote in your first post "As the 14 day cooling off period for the first contract expires this Friday (11th Sept) and the second one the day after, I require this situation to be resolved as soon as possible as I believe that mobiles.co.uk have mis-sold me these contracts;"

Misunderstood the deal or a deal mirepresented? It depends which side of the fence you are on, I suppose.

But how to take it forward? (I assume that to and fro on this forum isn't your life goal ).

Is there any chance that O2 could be persuaded, as a gesture of goodwill in what is a pretty spelled out argument to reduce your text and give you the added bolt on you prefer?

Is there ANY deal from O2 that would give you what you want at the same price currently? That is through a dealer and NOT one of their own promotional deals (They can afford to be more generous on their own web site if the wished as there is no dealer commission).

It would be great for a change to get an equitable solution rather than a protracted argument - don't you agree??

Quentin

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative wrote: »

Quentin,

The deal was sold as advertised - 600 minutes and unlimited texts......

This is our final position on the matter, OP please email ben at mobiles if you would like to take up my goodwill offer of 3m data bolt-on funding or discuss further.

Sorry to point out forum etiquette to you:

You address your post directly at me, yet bury in it an important message for the OP, stating your "final position".

Such a message should ideally be sent directly to the other side! At the very least if you want to do it all by way of this forum, then aim directly at the intended recipient.

.............................................

Regarding your comments aimed at me, if the deal was sold "as advertised", why then did you offer a compensation payment to the OP?

(And the word you used in your offer was "compensation", not "goodwill" as you now want it to be seen as!)

Mobiles.co.uk_company_representative

Q,

Company Reps are unable to use the PM system here on MSE.

I offered compensation because compromise is better than conflict - the customer will still be unhappy but at least will be slightly closer to their objective of the data tariff. I believe when originally offered it was also as "thanks" for showing that part of our website confused them, which we are addressing.

You have a negative opinion of us, based on 3rd hand information rather than your own experience - this will colour your interpretation of my every action.

Anyway, I think I have laid out our position here with sufficient clarity - have a good day.

Regards,