Anyone heard of about comms? should I take the deal??

dafdaf2011

zebedy74 wrote: »

Have to say that I took up the About Comms deal that was offered to me and it has been a great deal and has delivered everything it promised....eventually.

Do not be mistaken that this is a post supporting About Commas I had many problems along the way.

1. I was sold an insurance product along with my phone that was never mentioned in any conversation. When I complained about this I was assured that it was mentioned as it was company policy to discuss the extra products sold with the phones but when I threatened the company with a Subject Access request they promised to review the phone calls.
After several weeks without hearing anything about the phone call review and after many emails and an official complaint that was ignored by one of their managers I eventually placed the complaint with the Information Commissioners Office (Data Protection) under a complaint for passing my personal data to 3rd parties without consent and setting up a financial contract in my name without my knowledge or consent. The ICO assured me on the evidence that was supplied that About Comms were in breach of Data Protection Act 1998. I was shortly afterwards contacted by About Comms where they admitted fault and offered compensation for their errors.
2. During all of this the contract that I took out with them (yes I kept it going) was supposed to pay off my old 3 contract and start another contract again with 3. I had a value of around £270 left on my existing contract and About Comms assured me this was fine and that they would pay this sum. I waited 6 months and several phone calls and letters and yet another official complaint (which was again ignored) before I was finally able to get them to pay the bill. During this time my new contract was set up but because of some technical complication 3 could not switch me because of the outstanding value that was to be paid to them and because of this my number could not be ported to the new contract which had already started so I went 3 months on a new £35 per month contract without having a being able to use my own number. About Comms did eventually refund this money too but it took a while.
Have to say that while I have had the phone, the service it has been brilliant, I didn't originally receive my full Internet package but this was a slight glitch with 3 and not About Comms. The extras and the price offered has been everything that was promised and I will not fault About Comms with that.

However......

I have just recently received another phone call from them offering me the same old speil. I told them that I was in contract with them already but my 12 month contract was most likely up and I would be happy to look at a new deal. the chappy on the phone then informed me that I was not on a 1 year contract but a 2 year contract - This was definitely never mentioned in the original phone call and so the roundabout starts again. They are again searching through the phone calls originally made to me and I already know the outcome because I would NEVER have signed into a 2 year deal with anyone no matter how good the price. I feel more compensation coming on........I am due to receive a phone call in the next 3 hours to tell me I am correct and that I was not informed of the 2 year contract but lets just say I am not holding my breath.

So in short.

Damn, they are hard work and rarely deliver what they promise and even more rarely do they do it on time or without major problems, they lie and ignore complaints, sell you products that they don't tell you about. Give your personal details to 3rd parties without your permission and set up financial contracts in your name without informing you.

But they do have very good price plans.

Probably best to just ignore them and hope they go away

I had the same problem. I just hope i can get out of the contract in July.

handymann

Having read all the above, it seems that i'm in a similar situation, swapping deals half way through contracts with the promise of paying the exit fee, new deals with cash back each quarter.
Guess what, with my latest deal, every quarter i make at least a dozen phone calls to them, get dealt with by different people most times as the person you dealt with previously is "off sick" or "has left the company".
Phoned 3 customer services once because about comms were mucking about only to be told that they no longer deal with them due to monitary issues with them, ring a bell?
currently after sending a verbal rocket down the phone and reading the riot act in the form of trading standards, have been assured on my latest quest to get what's duly mine, that as of today, i was promised 2 days ago that it would be in my account in upto 48 hours (same old story) and that they would personally talk to the manager to make sure it happens, incidently, they also keep telling me that they are having problems setting up standing orders to deal with this and others, checked account 15 mins ago surprise surprise no dosh.
I think that this company needs a bit of high profile shaking in the form of tv media i.e. BBC's watchdog, they obviously think that they can treat you like s*** until an official body prods them until they squalk, how does this company still trade with a bad track record????

mobilejunkie

Caveat Emptor. They hide in the ranks of many such peers.

sidandsam

Everything I have read on these pages brings the memories of last year flooding back. It took me four months to get all the money into my account that was due to me from Aboutcomms and this was only possible after solicitors letters.
So now twelve months and two weeks later, just over half way through my twenty four month contract, I'm again waiting for their return phone call to inform me of any better deals they can offer and the chance to change/upgrade my phone.
This after two phone calls and two emails.
I think it so sad that they bring this bad feeling on themselves. If they only sent some sort of response to me by email it would have made me feel so much better towards them.
For a communications company it seems the last thing they can do is communicate!

andrewpartridge

I have been waiting for £240 cashback which became due on the 11th may 2011 for the second year of my contract i took out with aboutcomms, I had to keep phoning for the first payment, I have informed THREE BUSINESS SUPPORT who I am with and they are dealing with it, or else it will have to be the small claims court which seems a shame. THREE have informed me they have suspended trading with them, i wonder why

andrewpartridge

Yesterday i had an e-mail from David Ainslie to tell me that i had a great deal with my £240 cashback for the first 12 months of my 24 months contract with three and that was all that was shown on the contract that was on the bottom of the e-mail from him, and that that was the contract sent to me when i got the phone . Actually the contract i got clearly states i would get the same amount in the second year. I checked this last year and was sent an e-mail to confirm that i would get the second £240 when it was due in one lump sum and not in 4 amounts. I see on this mysterious new contract it says from
Advanced Data Networks not Aboutcomms but i still sent it to Mr David Ainslie e-mail address, is this Mr Ainslie's new firm or is someone trying to use his name as he seems fairly well known.
I phoned three business to ask how they were getting on with the case only to be asked if i can send the original e-mails i had from aboutcomms onto them, in other words it doesn't look like much has been done about it yet.
It really does make me wonder if they are really bothered, as i am still paying them over £30 a month for a phone i hardly use.
ADVANCED DATA NETWORKS or ABOUTCOMMS ???????????????????

mobilejunkie

Provided you do have unambiguous written proof of your entitlements from your contract with them send a Letter Before Action giving them (say) 14 days to pay. You will need to check out the registered address of the orginal company and ensure it's still trading, plus the format and content of the Letter Before Action.

This site may help:-

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

andrewpartridge

thanks mobilejunkie.

Glitterbin

I have to say that my experience with About Comms has reflected the worst of the above - promises for cash back, refund of early termination penalties etc have all proved harder to obtain than hens teeth. I also had to go to the bank to get a refund of the insurance that was not offered or accepted. I am now owed 3 lots of cashback and have even been told that the customer services rep had "stood over the finance manager to watch him transfer the money" and still, weeks later have seen nothing. Obviously I would like to receive the money that I'm owed, but more pressing than that, I would like to see this company prevented from trading to anyone else. Does anyone know of a central body who would regulate this area of trading?

andrewpartridge

sorry to hear you are having problems with them too, the problem is that they will probably change there name , have the same firm and employees and just call themselves advanced data networks or something, good luck with what you are owed.