Forward Cellular Have Gone Bust

Turnip

I sent my bill off almost 2 weeks ago recorded delivery but as of yesterday still no sign of delivery so expecting I'll be getting it back again in a few days... Will send it again regular just to let em know I'm around, not that it'll make much difference I'm sure

Fastflys

For what it’s worth, this is the information I obtained from Harrisons this morning.


Forward Cellular Ltd was run by two people [husband and wife].

Their company got into trouble because they were unable to process or keep track of the number of orders they were receiving each week. They were unable or unwilling to expand their business.

FC went into liquidation around Christmas 2004. Very strange – I received an email from FC on 25th January, stating that my cashback cheque would be signed off by 28th January. Unfortunately their email is not enforceable.

At the moment there are 280 creditors.

Providing they do not receive any unexpected claims, there could be sufficient funds available to repay creditors at a rate of 50p in the pound [50%] – but don’t count on it.

It would appear that Forward Cellular Ltd were all square with the Inland Revenue and the VAT man. However, both could still submit a claim if they believe tax has been underpaid although they are more likely to pursue a claim against a viable company than one already in liquidation.

If this liquidation proves uncomplicated, cheques could be written out as early as
3 months from the date of the creditors meeting – but again don’t count on it.

Every creditor has or will receive a letter from Harrisons. They were all sent out on the same day.



What should you do now:

Submit your claim to Harrisons – You will need to send them a copy of FC’s invoice, a copy of your service providers first bill and a covering letter stating what you are owed and why. This will help Harrisons match your details to FC’s documents and validate your claim.

Talk to your service provider. They may as a good will gesture allow you to switch to a cheaper tariff. However the same service provider will now be entitled to claw back some of their commission paid to FC and may submit multiple claims to Harrisons. Harrisons will then have to recalculate your cashback claim and any future payout will be reduced as the “pot” of cash available now has to be divided into more claimants. It is my opinion that you should grab any cashback you can from your service provider as it is better to take a guaranteed cashback equivalent than wait for an uncertain one. If in the future you receive a cheque from Harrisons, consider it a bonus.

If you paid by credit card - Contact your credit card company. Any help from them is unlikely but if you don't ask, you don't get.

Lets get real folks, there is no happy ending to this, only damage limitation.

We have all lost out on this one. I’m owed £483 and as a dedicated MSE,
losing money, especially to a company that has received such positive feedback
in the past is to say the least, hurtful.

I must state that I am not an expert in this field and have only recounted what a member of Harrisons staff was kind enough to impart to me earlier today.

Reestit_Mutton

magic wrote:

do vodafones contracts actually say you have to remain on the same tariff a minimum of 6 months? i don't think they do, that part was with fwdcellular so vodafone should not be stopping you changing tariff within 6 months. i mean if it was not allowed by vodafone there would have been no need for that clause with fwd.

ALL networks have a minimum term clause for the original tariff in their contracts - IIRC, with TMobile it's 11 months, with all other networks it's 6 months.

RM

Turnip

Thanks for that fastflys, even something would be much more appreciated than nothing! Do you have the contact details for Harrisons?

justpaper

just think about it,. all of you signed up to a offer deal some thing like half price line rental if you dont get that then there (vodaphone or whoever) is breaking the contract you agreed too,. after all none of you agreed too less then 6 months half price line rental, then company with "claim" bust and I'll carry on with the contract at full price,


so is'nt is questable that none of you really have to carry on with the contract

andy88_2

All of the people flirting with the idea of breaking the Vodafone contract: get real.

There are 3 contracts:
1. you have bought phone service from Vodafone
2. Vodafone pays commission to its dealers, on certain conditions
3. the dealer offered to cashback part of the commission to you

1. If you break the Vodafone contract by terminating or refusing to pay you will damage your credit rating and may be sued. They might take action to recover the phone, and any idiot that's sold it on eBay could be up on fraud or theft charges.
2. If the tariff is downrated early, the commission will not be paid to the receiver, which will downrate the funds available; well it's up to you.
3. see what the receiver says

And as for the person who thinks the Government should underwrite this, why? If someone owes me money, do I ask my MP for a sub?

andy88_2

Smartasss wrote:

At least 3 similar operations went bust last year before the VAT issue ever came up.

The VAT issue came up at least 12 months ago with some dealers that took it into account

Dec_03 wrote:

12 months line rental refund on this sim card. Connected to T-Mobile offers you 750 off peak minutes per month and 50 free texts every month. ... Ltd will refund your 12 months line rental (ex VAT)

Fastflys

Turnip wrote:

Thanks for that fastflys, even something would be much more appreciated than nothing! Do you have the contact details for Harrisons?

Harrisons contact details:

Harrisons
Springfield House
Springfield Business Park
Springfield Road
Grantham
Lincs
NG31 7BG

Tel: 01476 - 574149
Fax: 01476 - 584599
Email: [email="office@harrisonsinsolvency.co.uk"]office@harrisonsinsolvency.co.uk[/email]

Colin123_2

justpaper wrote:

just think about it,. all of you signed up to a offer deal some thing like half price line rental if you dont get that then there (vodaphone or whoever) is breaking the contract you agreed too,. after all none of you agreed too less then 6 months half price line rental, then company with "claim" bust and I'll carry on with the contract at full price,


so is'nt is questable that none of you really have to carry on with the contract

Your contract for the cashback was with fwdcellular though, not vodafone/T-Mobile, you have a separate contract with the service provider to pay the line rental at full price.

It isn't questionable at all about if you have to continue paying line rental unfortunately. If you don't pay it, they will

1. Cut you off
2. Bar the phone
3. Pass to debt collection agents
4. Take you to court

andy88_2

greenfish27 wrote:

Secondly, I was fortunate enough to receive my cashback for my T-Mob deal. Would it not be worthwhile terminating my contract or possibly downgrading my tariff as FC is no longer here to enforce any clawback?

Then the receiver will not receive the commission for your contract (or it will be clawed back). The receiver may then pursue you for clawback. You'll also be in breach of contract with T-mobile. Why on earth do you want to do this? You've had the cashback on the contract. Why contemplate something that could be fraudulent? Not only that it's an insult to the people that are losing out. Must be the daftest idea here; if other people have been behaving like this, no wonder FC got into trouble. Why did you buy this product if you don't need it?