Please help (new member) Carphone warehouse

kellyanne007

Hi, Ive just joined today. I hope someone can help me..

my son recently ordered a contract (24 mnth) phone with carphone warehouse on Vodaphone. With this came an xbox360. The contract was done online and he hasnt yet signed anything and I want him to send it back. However, he has taken simcard out of envelope and has activated it and ive just read on envelope...."please note by inserting sim into handset and using it, you have signified your acceptance of terms and conditions enclosed and will not be able to return your airtime contract under the consumer protection (distance selling) regulations 2000".

Is there any way out of this? I really need to cancel this agreement and send the stuff back......then deal with him!!!!!

Grateful for any advice.

Thank you in advance

kellyanne007

sorry, forgot to say he has already used the phone......which arrived yesterday 20th Sep and has made one call to 0845 which is not included in the minutes.

Thank you

Jon_01

With that disclaimer on the sim I'd say he's now tied in for the whole of the 24 months of the contract, sorry.

The network will have logged the sim number when the phone was switched on, so Voda will be able to prove that the sims been used.

I'm sure the experts in this area will be along in a while and let you know if he has any chance at all. . .

Oscar_The_Grouch

Hi there

What they have done there is tried to scare you. You still have 7 days in which to return the phone and cancel the contract. That's the law and they know it. To put a term like that on an envelope and expect to be able to enforce it is an absolute joke.

Phone them up and if they quote the piece of rubbish to you, ask them "Do you feel then that your term complies with the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1974 and the Unfair Terms In Consumer Contracts Regulations 2001?"

robbies_gal

i thought if you bought anything online you were covered under the distance selling regulation act?

Jon_01

gabbyevs wrote: »

i thought if you bought anything online you were covered under the distance selling regulation act?

As a rule you are. But you can examine a phone without putting the sim in.

Also the DSR are for you to make sure the item is the size/colour/make etc. that you ordered. It's not there to give you a free trail of the device, which is what the phone company's are saying.

robbies_gal

right i always thought u could use it to test sginal etc and still return it

Jon_01

You could get a free payg sim for the network to test that.

Its a hard one (and I hope the op can find a way to sort it out). From the networks point of view, they don't want a stack of used phones back which they have to then sell at a lose. . .

DVardysShadow

How old is your son? Contract void if he is a minor.

Techhead_2

gabbyevs wrote: »

i thought if you bought anything online you were covered under the distance selling regulation act?

The DSR doesn't apply to a contract for a service when that service has begun, provided that the customer is notified of this in writing. Which the OP's son clearly was.

I think this is a difficult (and possibly delicate) problem, the son must be an adult to have signed up and passed the credit and ID checks. Therefore there must be a reason (to do with the son) why the OP wishes to have it cancelled. I hope I don't cause any offence.

Oscar_The_Grouch

Techhead wrote: »

I think this is a difficult (and possibly delicate) problem, the son must be an adult to have signed up and passed the credit and ID checks. Therefore there must be a reason (to do with the son) why the OP wishes to have it cancelled. I hope I don't cause any offence.

There have been a number of recent threads on here about 18 year olds rushing out and signing up to an expensive contract without considering how they are going to pay for it.

I think it's something to do with the time of year - they are about to head off to university and want a laptop/xbox/wii but can't stump up the cash to buy one. Instead, they sign up to a £40 per month contract that gives them the toy they want and a phone that is usually available for about £30 on PAYG.

When the kids get home with their overpriced contract and phone, their parents hit the roof and then, as any parent would, they try to help them get out of the mess they've put themselves in.

Looking at the contract terms on the CarphoneWarehouse website, they have different ones for different providers. O2 allow you 7 days to change your mind, even if you've used the sim.

OP, can you confirm who the contract is with?