Simply 3G (merged threads)

Quentin

Neillgb wrote: »

Interesting to note that they are registered as a sole trader. If not a limited company could push an individual to bankruptcy. Not just do a runner as 'directors' can in ltd companies. Could be interesting.

No, they are a limited company, so a MCOL in the present circumstances looks a waste of time and money.

Simply3g is a trading name of Simply Communications UK Ltd.

SCRIBES

I'm considering small claims court to recover my cashback (can't do MCOL in Scotland). As the Company is now based in Scotland I presume I would have to go through the Scottish Small Claims procedures?

Simply Communications UK Ltd
First Floor
Lauries House
Hareness Road
Altens
Aberdeen
AB12 3LE
Company Reg: 829 9326 84

sarahh112

Hello

Has anyone heard anything yet? The offers on their website dont look anywhere near as inviting as they used to - definately no cashback via redemption offers now.

So much for them letting us know what is going on yesterday. Is there any way of getting a contact number for them. I have tried googling and yell and none of the numbers that are published are any good. Surely there must be some way of getting hold of them and getting a response. I cant believe that they can get away with treating us like this especially just before christmas :mad:

Sorry rant over.

If I hear anything/get hold of anyone I will update the thread.

charsean

I have just had this ***PLEASE NOTE THE DIFFERENT DATE AT THE END OF THE LETTER * * *

Dear Sean,

First of all I would like to apologise for the delay you have experienced in
receiving your current cashback claims. 2007 has been a very challenging
year for us and we have been working hard to resolve our financial standings
to honour all current cashback claims. So that we can do this we have made
significant cuts across our operation starting with our inbound call centre
staff and office. This is the reason we are no longer able to offer a
telephone service due to our staffing levels being cut by 80% - We do have
and will continue to have an email service for you to use to contact us.
We have been talking to our suppliers and distributors to find a solution to
the current issue we are having in making payments to customers and this
should be finalised within the next 3 - 5 days. We are also in talks with
Trading Standards keeping them informed of the situation. We are sincerely
sorry for the issues you are currently experiencing with Simply3G and we
respect and understand your frustration at this time.
We are aware of other companies collapsing through this year and we remain
committed to finding a solution to protect our customers rather than going
down this route. We have retracted from our previous offerings to help us
move forward in the coming years which has lead to us being uncompetitive in
the market place at this time.

Further information will be communicated to you on Wednesday 12th Dec 2007.

Kind regards

Simply3G

*** THATS 2 DAYS LATER THAN SOME OF YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN TOLD * * *

sarahh112

Hi

Received this at 5pm today in response to my very turse email threatening legal action of they didnt reply to my previous email and let me know what was going on. Similar to previous emails posted on this thread- but I found the bit about what they would do if I insisted on immediate payment interesting.

Dear Customer,

We would like to first of all thank you for your custom and apologise for the poor service and delay in processing your cashback claims which you are experiencing.

You are entitled to know why these delays have occurred and this is why we are writing to you. We have been trading for more than 3 ½ years now and we prided ourselves on good customer service and excellent offers. The models we built our business on were sustainable and worked for thousands of our customers and we have paid out several million pounds in claims. Earlier this year we recognised the cashback model was no longer sustainable and chose to withdraw from heavy competition and no longer offer heavy cashback deals, which in turn made us uncompetitive affecting our source of revenues. We believed we were acting responsibly in the current climate so that we could focus on delivering quality service and good offers that would be sustainable for the years ahead. Whilst this was a positive move for us we did not anticipate the high levels of redemptions at a time when we were pulling away from cashbacks. We have been focusing on new revenue streams and lower margins so that we can honour our commitment to our customers. In addition to this we have already made significant savings and cuts across our operation including making 80% of our staff redundant and closing one of our offices. This is why we are no longer able to operate a telephone service, but we do have and will continue to operate our email and online enquiry service.
We have been in discussions with Trading Standards informing them of our situation and will keep our discussions open and transparent with them.

During this time we ask for your patience and understanding as our sole objective is to pay you as soon as we can. If you insist on immediate payment our only option will be to place the company into administration and cease trading. If you allow us the time to find solutions to the issues we are currently faced with, this will allow us to focus on getting your claims processed and paid as soon as possible. We do understand and respect your frustrations at this time for which we sincerely apologise.

Our primary focus in the coming months is to ensure we get our customers cashbacks paid as soon as possible. We are currently working on a solution which we hope to have in place within the next week and once this is confirmed we will communicate this to you.

Kind regards,

Simply3G

Neillgb

sarahh112 wrote: »

Hi

Received this at 5pm today in response to my very turse email threatening legal action of they didnt reply to my previous email and let me know what was going on. Similar to previous emails posted on this thread- but I found the bit about what they would do if I insisted on immediate payment interesting.

Dear Customer,

We would like to first of all thank you for your custom and apologise for the poor service and delay in processing your cashback claims which you are experiencing.

You are entitled to know why these delays have occurred and this is why we are writing to you. We have been trading for more than 3 ½ years now and we prided ourselves on good customer service and excellent offers. The models we built our business on were sustainable and worked for thousands of our customers and we have paid out several million pounds in claims. Earlier this year we recognised the cashback model was no longer sustainable and chose to withdraw from heavy competition and no longer offer heavy cashback deals, which in turn made us uncompetitive affecting our source of revenues. We believed we were acting responsibly in the current climate so that we could focus on delivering quality service and good offers that would be sustainable for the years ahead. Whilst this was a positive move for us we did not anticipate the high levels of redemptions at a time when we were pulling away from cashbacks. We have been focusing on new revenue streams and lower margins so that we can honour our commitment to our customers. In addition to this we have already made significant savings and cuts across our operation including making 80% of our staff redundant and closing one of our offices. This is why we are no longer able to operate a telephone service, but we do have and will continue to operate our email and online enquiry service.
We have been in discussions with Trading Standards informing them of our situation and will keep our discussions open and transparent with them.

During this time we ask for your patience and understanding as our sole objective is to pay you as soon as we can. If you insist on immediate payment our only option will be to place the company into administration and cease trading. If you allow us the time to find solutions to the issues we are currently faced with, this will allow us to focus on getting your claims processed and paid as soon as possible. We do understand and respect your frustrations at this time for which we sincerely apologise.

Our primary focus in the coming months is to ensure we get our customers cashbacks paid as soon as possible. We are currently working on a solution which we hope to have in place within the next week and once this is confirmed we will communicate this to you.

Kind regards,

Simply3G

In a nutshell.

'We are insolvent if we have to do what we said we would do. If you do make us do what we said we would do we will go bust and you won't get your money. We have cut our overheads thereby reducing our level of customer service. We are now offering less attractive deals which ,we think, will lead to an improvement in our finances and enable us to honour cash back claims which we thought our customers would be too stupid and/or forgetful to complete correctly. We will pay you when we get round to it, pehaps. Kind regards.

Excellent news.

Encouraging.

sarahh112

Neillgb wrote: »

In a nutshell.

'We are insolvent if we have to do what we said we would do. If you do make us do what we said we would do we will go bust and you won't get your money. We have cut our overheads thereby reducing our level of customer service. We are now offering less attractive deals which ,we think, will lead to an improvement in our finances and enable us to honour cash back claims which we thought our customers would be too stupid and/or forgetful to complete correctly. We will pay you when we get round to it, pehaps. Kind regards.

Excellent news.

Encouraging.

Isnt it just - threat/emotional blackmail call it what you will. Question is - is it worth me possibly wasting £60 to issue a claim for the money they owe me when they may well be insolvent by the time it is issued to them. Plus I am not 100% sure what the procedure is for doing this.

GunJack

sarah - the mcol procedure is well documented on other threads, especially the Mobile Outlet thread. Yes, it's long but there is good quality info on there. As someone mentioned earlier on this thread (quentin - hello again, you just taking an interest or do you too have a vested interest in simply3g??) they are a limited company so the customer will be last in line and therefore get diddly-squat if they do go under.

It would seem that it's another case of a phone retailer going under with probably very little help from the networks...will have to keep a close eye on developments.......

alnsv1000s

I have no sympathy whatsoever for Simply 3g and all the other cashback companies who based there sales model on not giving what they actually offered to entice people to buy from them and fund lavish lifestyles.

Due to Ofcoms recomendations to the networks to make these schemes fairer to the customer these companies are now finding it harder to make excuses to claimants and having to pay out money they have already spent.

I am fed up with these directors crying they have no money now and the "please bear with us" comment constantly appearing.

I doubt very much that they will be able to trade out of their situation and will leave many people who have adhered to their terms and conditions and receive nothing.

You are in a no win situation and i think that the networks should close these companies down now, and not allow them to continue to suck people in to buying from an insolvent company.

These companies have devalued the industry causing many decent companies who do not believe in ripping people off to go bust or struggle.

Quentin

sarahh112 wrote: »

Question is - is it worth me possibly wasting £60 to issue a claim for the money they owe me when they may well be insolvent by the time it is issued to them.

Bear in mind the court costs could be more than this.

Nowadays you pay to issue a summons (£45 for a claim up to £500, £65 if its over £500), then if they put in a defence another £25 (claim up to £500), or £50 for the higher claim level.

When you win, and you find you need to issue a warrant to get the money (it seems from earlier posts that they don't take any notice of a court order), the fee is £55 (this covers any claim over £125).

So realistically the minimum court fees you are risking seem to be £120 (for the issue fee and the warrant to enforce judgement) if you don't need to progress to a hearing, but it could be £170 if they submit a defence.