mobile phone contract -v- credit report

karatedragon

There is a very long ongoing thread about this on the T-Mobile web-forum. Lots of annoyed people so you are not alone savin a bob or two.

This issue is so widespread the forum thread has flooded and has had to be split amongst three threads:

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/discussions/index?page=forums&topic=8010384abbabde01276d5f3caa005e2d

savin_a_bob_or_two

karatedragon wrote: »

There is a very long ongoing thread about this on the T-Mobile web-forum. Lots of annoyed people so you are not alone savin a bob or two.

This issue is so widespread the forum thread has flooded and has had to be split amongst three threads:

http://support.t-mobile.co.uk/discussions/index?page=forums&topic=8010384abbabde01276d5f3caa005e2d

Yes, I've read them a lot. Somewhere in there are the other two dozen people asking for a replacement phone. And being told, very firmly, it ain't gonna happen. It's a pity the UK doesn't have class action suits, but in the meantime I don't mind taking T-Mobile on personally. Student Loans were the last bunch of 'rule following' cretins who dabbled with my credit card file, and it cost them so much money to put it right that they've stopped even bothering to call me (see this usernames history for some detail).

Fire_Fox

Perhaps you could spend a little more time making use of the thanks button, and a little less time calling people cretins? If you think we are all 'not bright enough' to understand your flawed argument why don't you find a forum who is more on your level?

Guys_Dad

Bob - it doesn't really matter what any of us think or if you are hard done by. You are where you are and in this game you are up against a large corporation who has the clout to damage your credit rating and looks like they have.

In English - you lose

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unless you can challenge them in the courts or persuade Experian to alter their records to your view of the world. (Good luck on that score - I have been trying to get them to change the address of a serial debtor who has never lived at my residence to the correct address along the road in order that I don't get bombarded with debt collector letters totally without success).

So, getting back to your original post, "I know I can list a notice of correction against that entry on my file, but I really want it removed as its a rather unpleasant blot, appearing month after month as another late/unpaid payment. How can I force them to '#### or get off the pot', as the saying goes!", I guess you can't or if you can, no one here has the experience to help you.

karatedragon

When I was with Three network it was abysmal. I just used all the available minutes and then when the time was right sold the handset and paid the contract off. I knew they had lost as I had read countless times they made virtually nothing from a contract that was ended at the end of the term. The cancellation fee was a couple of hundred - nothing compared to the amount they would have got from years of continuous custom.

My advice with mobile contracts is -

ALWAYS remember you are saddled with the liability for the contract term
ALWAY pluck for the SHORTEST contract length. You may pay more but it's over with faster.
Credit the bill with the contract value and then sit back. You then owe nothing (as long as you are within your limits) Use a combination of own money, cashback deals and the price of your old handset.
NEVER be in a rush to get the latest handset. Wait to see what experience others have had.
Work out the cancellation fee after four months usage should it not come up to par (useful if you don't pay all the contract upfront).
Check handset reviews on YouTube
Research the network and check all 2G & 3G coverage in areas where you go on vacation and work and where you live
Check the deals and see if you can get cash back like the Quidco Vodafone offer. I wouldn't even have taken a contract if it wasn't for the £150 they are offering.
Ask about handset subsidy tariffs. You can still get 12 Month contracts with Vodafone if you pay some towards your handset. Also more minutes or cheaper costs if you pay towards your handset on longer terms. If subsidy deals are not on the operators website phone and ask.
Take a "couldn't care less" attitude towards any sales spiel. The deal is always available next month despite what they say. If they want your business they will repeat or better the offer. If they don't another network will always want you. Remember to remind them of that.
Get your handset unlocked from the outset. Some operators charge but during pre-sales demand that it is done else you will go elsewhere. Often they will waive the fee. When I was searching for my deal O2 offered me 1 month's £30 line rental credit in exchange for the £20 fee for unlock the handset. So I would actually have made £10 through unlocking. You can then use overseas PAYG SIMs when abroad to save a bundle on roaming. Also if you dump the operator you have an open phone.

savin_a_bob_or_two

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Perhaps you could spend a little more time making use of the thanks button, and a little less time calling people cretins? If you think we are all 'not bright enough' to understand your flawed argument why don't you find a forum who is more on your level?

Given that you're a long-term poster, I'd hope you've simply mis-read the posts rather than that you're intentionally distorting what I've said, but for the record the "cretin" you refer to isn't posting here and is instead an employee of Student Loans company, and the fact that he is a cretin is evidenced by his employers spending hundreds of pounds to put his errors straight. In the interests of keeping the moral high ground, I've ignored the cheap jibe in your OWN post that itself is suggesting I restrain myself from similar behaviour

savin_a_bob_or_two

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Bob - it doesn't really matter what any of us think or if you are hard done by. You are where you are and in this game you are up against a large corporation who has the clout to damage your credit rating and looks like they have.

In English - you lose

---

unless you can challenge them in the courts or persuade Experian to alter their records to your view of the world. (Good luck on that score - I have been trying to get them to change the address of a serial debtor who has never lived at my residence to the correct address along the road in order that I don't get bombarded with debt collector letters totally without success).

So, getting back to your original post, "I know I can list a notice of correction against that entry on my file, but I really want it removed as its a rather unpleasant blot, appearing month after month as another late/unpaid payment. How can I force them to '#### or get off the pot', as the saying goes!", I guess you can't or if you can, no one here has the experience to help you.

Thanks for that, 'Guys Dad'. I dunno, call me Meldrew-esque or whatever, but I really get irritated when people suggest rolling over because your opponent is a huge corporation etc. That's not intended as a jibe, by the way. I simply don't believe the Americanised 'might is right' argument, and I've had my share of successes against such people in the past. I mentioned Student Loans before, I've managed to bankrupt a private parking company, and I once managed to get a bailiff to visit the petrol giant BP's headquarters and start carting gear out to a van which led to a courier arriving at my house with a bank draft to clear the debt that was a trivial £50. Of course, I've lost quite a few too, but even with those I made myself sufficiently inconvenient to my opponent that I've felt satisfied. The point I'm making is that T-Mobile _haven't_ delivered what they promised, and I'm not about to let their reams of small print get them off the hook for that. Yep, they might well win at the end of the day, but my time is cheap and I'll _happily_ run them up sufficient hours with their legal team for them to wish I'd just s*d off.

bubblesmoney

Please do update us which ever way this ends. I hope you win, best of luck.

bubblesmoney

what i have said in this thread might interest you as well as there seems to be some similar isssues with htc desire for some people and also for google nexus one which is also manufactured by htc. you can find many such posts via internet search engines. (dont know if google search engines will try to dumb down the issue or give less priority though!) so try other search engines if you cant find the said posts via google. see MSE thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/32218473#Comment_32218473

see if downloading the opera browser sorts the internet access probs on the hero. do other apps connect to the net on the hero other than the browser? is any task killing software that you downloaded shutting down tasks that shouldnt be shut down? are the software updates the proper ones. see software updates on http://www.htc.com/uk/supportdownloadlist.aspx?p_id=283&act=sd&cat=all from that list i can see that there is an upgrade available for t mobile g2 (hero). hope this helps getting the use out of the device if you are still interested.

bubblesmoney

watch the 'one show' going on now on bbc1. the issue of debt collectors is being discussed and they suggested to approach ombudsman. watch on bbc iplayer if you want to see the program this week