Difficulties contacting mobiles.co.uk returns department

tux900

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions or advice with regards to requesting a cancellation from mobiles.co.uk? To cut a long story short I recently received an HTC Desire from them on an Orange contract however having tried the phone I am unfortunately unable to get a signal in my area despite the Orange coverage map predicting I ought to get at least some reception. I initially contacted Orange however after doing some digging they confirmed that reception would indeed likely be poor given my location (semi-rural) and distance/orientation from the local mast.

Orange advised, regretfully, that my only real option would be to cancel and to see if other providers could provide a better signal in my area and so to do this I should contact mobiles.co.uk to arrange a cancellation. I've been trying to do this both by telephone (01923 804444 Op. 3) but receive a message saying that they are 'closed due to unforeseen circumstances', and also by the online returns webform which gives me an automated ticket reference but unfortunately no human response.

I've been back in touch with Orange this morning expressing my worry that time is of the essence and that I am concerned I may find myself tied in to an unusable contract. They have been extremely helpful and very understanding and seem to be really going out of there way to help but it seems we have to keep trying the due process. They have even been trying to get through to mobiles.co.uk to request a cancellation on my behalf (unfortunately they only have the same contact methods as us) and have also been making notes on my account to make a record of my situation.

Whilst they have been very reassuring that I all will be well in the end however I am finding it difficult to relax given the potential tie-in looming over my head! I must say it's amazing really how helpful they've been given the end goal here is that I won't be a customer of theirs.

I did try calling Carphone Warehouse however they unfortunately were unable to assist given that mobiles.co.uk operate seperately they advised that I will just have to keep trying.

Anyone any ideas? Happy to provide further details if required.

Regards,

Mathew

tubster

Dear Mathew

I have had exactly the same problem, even waited on 'hold' for 3 and half hours after being put through from sales.
I have only had success in speaking to sales team, will try again today and see if I can talk to a manager. But next step will be to write a letter to carphone warehouse I think.

Do update if any progress

Tubster

mobilejunkie

You need to send them a recorded delivery letter so you can prove they were notified of the cancellation within the 7 day period allowed. However, it may prove difficult to cancel once you've tried the phone.

Quentin

Send your phone back to them (signed for). Search for other threads where they seemingly deliberately cause delays till the cooling off period has expired.

Silk

MJNewton wrote: »

They have been extremely helpful and very understanding and seem to be really going out of there way to help but it seems we have to keep trying the due process. They have even been trying to get through to mobiles.co.uk to request a cancellation on my behalf (unfortunately they only have the same contact methods as us) and have also been making notes on my account to make a record of my situation.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
I had exactly the same situation 12 months ago when O2 were trying at the same time as me to get hold of them ...it was done live on here on this thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1848579

There is no need to obtain a returns number as that is only for their internal system what is important is that you advise them that you are cancelling the contract so do that by email and then by a letter signed for which you can later prove

As you have Orange already on the case then do as I did and send the phone back to the office signed for again and fax through the receipt to someone at Orange to prove you have cancelled and returned the phone and ask them to ensure it's cancelled

tux900

Thanks for the advice. It may well be that I will just have to be more proactive and get the phone sent back without a returns number.

As mentioned, thankfully Orange have been excellent and very supportive and so hopefully even if I end up not using the proper process at mobiles.co.uk (not for the want of trying though!) I should hopefully be able to get it resolved.

Silk, do you recall what address you sent your phone back to? Can you confirm you were successfull going down this route?

Regards,

Mathew

Silk

MJNewton wrote: »

Silk, do you recall what address you sent your phone back to? Can you confirm you were successfull going down this route?

Hi Mattew,
I did it by the book and sent it direct to their Head Office
6 Greenhill Crescent
Watford Business Park
Watford
WD18 8RF

Yes it was successfull in the end although only because I faxed a copy of the return to O2 :rotfl:

If you read the thread I gave you, even though mobiles.co.uk swore black is blue it was cancelled they never did as I later received a bill from O2 ...this was then quashed by O2 using the information that I had sent them

You have to be very carefull when dealing with mobiles.co.uk and make sure that you have covered all angles !!!

Guys_Dad

It would also be very helpful if you were able to get anything from Orange either in writing or recorded - but not obviously on the phone you were sending back!

The reason is fairly clear - at the moment, you have no proof for any 3rd party that Orange are in agreement with cancelling your airtime contract. Mobiles.co.uk - if they bother to reply and let's hope their new rep is watching this thread - can simply say that they have no authorisation from Orange to cancel. Obviously they are going to lose their commission and get a 2nd hand handset back, not to mention the admin effort, so there is no incentive for them to want to cancel unless pushed.

But I keep writing on these threads that not enough people do due diligence and test out reception fully before committing to a 18/24 month contract. It seems like madness to me and I do have some sympathy with mobile companies who are then faced with all the admin work plus 2nd hand or "clearance" phones that nobody wants to accept as their new ones.

Having said that, getting any after sales communication with this company fails to meet any reasonable standards and, what is more, nothing has improved in the year or so I have been watching their threads.

Guys_Dad

Silk wrote: »

Hi Mattew,
I did it by the book and sent it direct to their Head Office
6 Greenhill Crescent
Watford Business Park
Watford
WD18 8RF

Yes it was successfull in the end although only because I faxed a copy of the return to O2 :rotfl:

If you read the thread I gave you, even though mobiles.co.uk swore black is blue it was cancelled they never did as I later received a bill from O2 ...this was then quashed by O2 using the information that I had sent them

You have to be very carefull when dealing with mobiles.co.uk and make sure that you have covered all angles !!!

You did have one advantage though, Silk. At least you had some communication with them, both on here vis Ben and eventually by email from the office, if my memory serves me right. You had, therefore, some written evidence to fall back on, however tardy they were in actually getting things resolved.

Poor Matthew has had no luck in raising anything from them, so needs to be a little cautious about sending the phone back - particularly as it may well bo out of the 14 day period. You were well within it.

So it would be well worth him getting something evidential from Orange to back him up.

Things really haven't improved over time, have they??? :wave:

tux900

Thanks all for the advice, however it looks like my situation has now been overtaken by events…

Just had an e-mail, and phonecall, from a CS rep at mobiles.co.uk providing full details with regards to the return of the handset and the requisite returns number etc. It may sound a bit melodramatic but I'm so relieved; I really was starting to panic over the situation I found myself in and reading what could arguably be described as 'horrors' on here didn't provide much comfort!

So, all appears well with this one - both mobiles.co.uk and Orange appear to be onside so finger's crossed it will get resolved without issue.

Interestingly, I was advised to keep (destroy) the new SIM - presumably this is because the SIM, and its use, is an issue between me and Orange? This would tie-in with the warning not to make any calls/texts as this may prevent cancellation - obviously that won't be a problem for me in this instance!

Mobiles.co.uk have also offered to pay the return postage but I probably won't take them up on that offer as the lack of signal is no more their fault than it is mine and they've already paid out for the outbound delivery costs. Regarding any blame, and the advice to check coverage beforehand, I did at least go as far as checking the online coverage maps however now realise that theory and practice are very different things.

Mathew

Silk

Guys_Dad wrote: »

You did have one advantage though, Silk. At least you had some communication with them, both on here vis Ben and eventually by email from the office,

Hi GD,
I was going to say I never had any communication from them but thats not true ! .....after about 7 emails to them and only getting the usual automated reply quoting a ref. number I did eventualy get a reply after the 3rd one requesting a returns number an email saying the phone was now out of stock and would be advised when it was back in stock :eek:

Other than that there was a few PM's from Chocolate Teapot with lies and empty promises and of course the posts which were made on here, which as you know my OH refers to as a chatline :rotfl:

The problem with it all was that all that resulted in was causing delays to me sorting it out ...what I should have done was just send the thing back without delay and buy one from elsewhere instead of !!!!!footing around as I did keep giving them the benefit of the doubt :mad:

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Poor Matthew has had no luck in raising anything from them, so needs to be a little cautious about sending the phone back - particularly as it may well bo out of the 14 day period. You were well within it.

Yes I was not that it would have mattered because the phone was faulty and it's not just DSR's that covered it, the urgency if you remember was my OH going to NY in a few days and needed a tri band asap.
Matthew will have advised them of his situation and whilst it has not been replied to by them does not inhibit his rights to send it back the same as I did because they don't give any instructions for returns. If you remember I even asked Ben on here for a returns number which he failed to give

Guys_Dad wrote: »

Things really haven't improved over time, have they???

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
Nope just the same