Phones4U Major Problem

Joosh

Hey Guys.

Got done by phones 4 u it would seem.

Below are copies of two transcripts iv had with the online support to save a long explanation. Try to ignore the grammar mistakes, they are through a need to get as much information down as possible.

Thanks.

Transcript 1:

"Becky B says:
Hello Josh. Welcome to the Phones4u Customer Service Live Chat Team. You are speaking to Becky B. Before I can provide you with any information regarding your account I will need to confirm some security questions. Is this ok?
Josh says:
Yes that is fine.
Becky B says:
Can you please confirm your full name, full address including postcode, and mobile number.
Josh says:
*******************************************
Becky B says:
Thanks for confirming those details, how can I help?
Josh says:
I bought the phone on contract yesterday, the main selling point i was told was these words exactly: "I guarantee you 100% that this phone will last 2 days on battery if you hammered it all the time". I needed a phone with good battery life as my last phone did, a Tocco Lite, which I also had through yourselves.
Josh says:
However this phone does not last more than 1 day, if that, with general use.
Josh says:
That statement was untrue and should not have been used as a selling point, I have been mis-sold this phone and contract.
Becky B says:
I am sorry to hear this, can I confirm that this is the HTC Wildfire S purchased in our Plymouth store yesterday?
Josh says:
Yes it is.
Becky B says:
Was this statement given to you from the sales agent that processed your deal?
Josh says:
Yes.
Becky B says:
I am just checking some details for you, i'll just be a moment.
Josh says:
Thank you.
Becky B says:
I have looked into this for you and can confirm the manufacturers have advised the handset can last upto 480 hours (2G) and upto 690 hours (3G) on standby mode. The talk time on the handset is upto 7 hours (2G) and upto 8 hours (3G). This is all dependant on the amount of usage on the handset and the number of apps you may have running at one time on the handset.
Josh says:
I am aware it will last that long when talking, and longer on standby. I was told it would last 2 days minimum when using the phone constantly. Implying that no matter how I use it, it should last a long time.
Josh says:
It doesnt.
Becky B says:
When you got the handset did you fully charge this for the recommended 16-20 hours.
Josh says:
Yes.
Becky B says:
Ok, I will need to investigate this further, can I take a contact number to call you back on later today?
Josh says:
I wont be available until Sunday afternoon unfortunately.
Josh says:
But the contact number is ************.
Josh says:
How much battery should a phone come with before needing to charge it? I recall all new phones come with a battery life of around 30%.
Josh says:
Mine was completely flat. I charged it to full capacity before using it.
Becky B says:
I will investigate this today and pass the results onto one of my colleagues to call you tomorrow. A new handset will come with a maximum of 30% battery life some manufacturers do send the handsets to us with no charge in at all.
Josh says:
Okay thankyou.
Becky B says:
Is there anything else I can help with today?
Josh says:
No thank you that should be fine."



Transcript 2:
"Nicky B says:
Hello josh. Welcome to the Phones4u Customer Service Live Chat Team. You are speaking to Nicky B. Before I can provide you with any information regarding your account I will need to confirm some security questions. Is this ok?
josh says:
yes this is fine
Nicky B says:
Can you please confirm your full name, full address including postcode, and mobile number.
josh says:
*****************************************
Nicky B says:
Thanks for confirming your details, how can I help?
josh says:
I bought a HTC Wildfire s from you a few days ago on vodafone, 25ppm contract for 24 months.
josh says:
you bought my old handset for 70 pounds and gave me 30 pounds to pay for 3 months 9.99 insurance totalling 100 pounds.
josh says:
then i was told i would only need 70 more pounds to buy out my old contract from orange
josh says:
22.50 ppm
josh says:
with approximately 10 months left.
josh says:
i was also told my old phone number would be transferred to my vodafone sim
josh says:
this has not happened so i called you and was told that the person who sold it to me forgot to do it. so they said call orange and get the pac number and job done after giving that to vodafone.
josh says:
so i did, i was told it takes 30 days to get the pac number via post.
josh says:
then i was told i have 218 pounds left on my contract
josh says:
with orange
josh says:
this is where everything is wrong now
josh says:
218 pounds minus the 70 i was given is 148 pounds.
josh says:
i was told my total buyout was 140, since the dealer said to me he could get the vat taken off the balance and reduce my contract ppm so that the buyout is less
josh says:
orange have had no contact from phones4u
josh says:
and have said he does not have the authority to do that anyway due to the data protection act
josh says:
this sale has been extremely deceptive and i am incredibly dissatisfied and would like something to be done about it.
Nicky B says:
Ok thank you I am very sorry about this. I am just looking into this now for you.
josh says:
thankyou
Nicky B says:
Ok we will need to speak with the store and investigate this further for you, please can I have the IMEI number for the handset purchased in store.
josh says:
*****************
josh says:
I also have other issues with this sale.
josh says:
When i bought it i was told that with heavy usage this phone will last 2 days.
josh says:
It does not.
josh says:
I called them about it and they said "oh thats only if you install the "AutoTaskKiller" application, which was not mentioned in store.
josh says:
They also said there is no longer a 14 day return period. But under these circumstances I would quite like to cancel this contract.
josh says:
The sales person was **** ****.
josh says:
In the Plymouth branch.
Nicky B says:
Ok Josh what I need to do is to call the store when they are open to see what has happened you will be called in the next 48 working hours in regards to this issue. What is the best contact number for you?
josh says:
*************
Nicky B says:
Thank you I will get this arranged now for you is there anything further that I can assist with today?
josh says:
If nothing can be done about it at this level how high can i take this?
Nicky B says:
I would suggest that you wait until we have investigated this first for you. I am logging a complaint for you about this.
josh says:
There is no evidence of these statements and my "are u happy" sheet says my old phone was bought for 30 pounds plus a 70 payment.... which was not the case, that was the insurance money and the extra 70 was the handset.
josh says:
However that sheet isnt a legally binding document, only a summary document, is this correct?
josh says:
I feel I was not given appropriate time to read through the documents as I would have noticed the sneaky change made in the summary sheet.
josh says:
I have also noticed something else.
Nicky B says:
This is correct that this is a legal binding document. I will need to investigate this for you and then this can be discussed. Is there anything further that I can assist with?
josh says:
He asked me how I wanted this money (the 100) paid to me.
josh says:
I said card.
josh says:
He showed me something on the screenetc.
josh says:
But this document says he paid in cash..
josh says:
Which he certainly did not.
Nicky B says:
Ok thank you I will note this down for you,
josh says:
Is there CCTV in all of your shops?
josh says:
Because i will have to refer to this to prove no cash was handed over.
Nicky B says:
I understand your frustration and I need to investigate this for you. Thank you for your patience. This will be discussed in further details over the phone with you.
josh says:
Please tell me if there is CCTV? If there is I would request to possibly use it as evidence if required.
Nicky B says:
When you say use for evidence what do you mean by this what evidence?
josh says:
Well it sayd cash was handed over on this document and nothing as yet has gone into my bank account for the money supposedly paid to me which i asked for via card.
josh says:
So if it says cash on here, CCTV should show cash being handed over in the shop.
josh says:
Which it was not.
josh says:
That will help that issue at least.
josh says:
I would also like a transcript of this conversation when we have finished please.
Nicky B says:
Ok thank you. Yes the stores have CCTV I will get a call to you so the can be discussed. At the end of the chat you can email the transcript to your self. Is there anything else that I can assist with?
josh says:
That should be fine for now thankyou.
Nicky B says:
Thank you I will get your reference number for you."


Thats pretty much the jist of it, the guy was really nice, I needed a new phone as my old one was becoming very unusable. Turns out everything is not as you seem. Probably why he kept trying to talk to me as I was signing the papers, and also why when he asked me to sign them he seemed rushed. Didnt think about it at the time though .

Any idea how this could go? Anyone had any experience?

Thanks.

Joosh

Any opinions please?

WillyVWade

Shops telling people to install task killers? My heart weeps.

But seriously, get everything together and write a formal letter to Phones4U, with photocopies of the documents. You'll get no where dealing with the online chat assistants. Would I be right in saying that the staff in Phones4U were a bunch of irritating tits. I don't get what you have to do to get a job there, but "being as unlikable as humanly possible" seems up there.

Joosh

Thanks for the reply.

Update: After serious speculation about what was put on the contract summary regarding the supposed cash payment which led me to beleive I had been deceived, the money (£100) has only just appeared on my online statement. So that part is resolved. Although it still does not explain why it is noted on the contract summary as a "cash" payment which obviously led me to be severely suspicious in the first place especially with everything else that is not the way it should be.

It also doesn't make any difference to the apparrent negotiations the P4U seller was supposed to have with Orange in order to drop my remaining contract value to £140 by "removing VAT and lowering my price plan". So im still stuck with (after using the £70 as part of the buy out as was planned, and the £30 for the 3 months insurance I "had to have") a substantial £150 instead of the £70 I was told id be left with to pay after 3 months.

Oh and the annoying problem with a Vodafone SIM with the wrong phone number which apparently could take up to 30 days just to get the PAC code from Orange?!?!

It also means I can't downgrade my original contract to cost less yet as I have to still use it to keep my number the same for the time being, as I have to use a data plan which will dissapear when making the contract cheaper.

hicky45

Sorry to hear of your problems, but to add your problems you will not be able to take your number from orange to vodafone as the PAC is needed at point of sale I.e when the contract is initially set p, after this it is impossible for you to port your number into vodafone.


Also phones4u are not able to contact orange without you being there to discuss contract ending etc that's all down to you. Hope you get it sorted

MissKeith

Sorry you're having so many issues but the above poster is incorrect. You can now port your number post sale to Vodafone by either calling them or going to https://www.vodafone.co.uk/keepmynumber. Hope that helps and hope you get a resolution.

grumbler

hicky45 wrote: »

... when the contract is initially set p, after this it is impossible for you to port your number into vodafone.

I think it used to be the case in the past, but not is any more.

gadgeteer_2

Re: The battery life. I can't see how any salesman can promise you a phone's battery will last two days. I'd not believe anyone who said that and he'd lose all credibility with me.

It's like a car salesman promising you that the petrol in your car will last a week. It all depends on how far you drive, how hard you press the pedal etc.

Smartphones are notoriously bad. If you can get a full day out of it then that's about as much as you can seriously expect at the moment. If you need something to last longer then I suggest a more traditional phone.

I have an Iphone4 & my OH has had a Wildfire and a Desire. We have to charge ours daily.

Joosh

gadgeteer wrote: »

Re: The battery life. I can't see how any salesman can promise you a phone's battery will last two days. I'd not believe anyone who said that and he'd lose all credibility with me.

It's like a car salesman promising you that the petrol in your car will last a week. It all depends on how far you drive, how hard you press the pedal etc.

Smartphones are notoriously bad. If you can get a full day out of it then that's about as much as you can seriously expect at the moment. If you need something to last longer then I suggest a more traditional phone.

I have an Iphone4 & my OH has had a Wildfire and a Desire. We have to charge ours daily.

Well this is my first smartphone and he specified heavy usage i.e "Hammer it all day" says to me, constant texting, gaming and phone calls with wifi and/or 3G on.

The battery life and buy out being only £140 are obviously the main reasons I went for it. But neither of these are as described at point of sale.... the problem being, neither what he said about battery life or what we agreed about the buy out price (£140 minus my handset buyout at £70, leaving £70 for me to pay to orange) + insurance payment of £30 to cover 3 months @ 9.99 are in writing.

I did have a phone call with them though about the battery life and the manager said the man who sold me the phone is the most experienced guy there and he then went on to agree that it will last 2 days with a "task killer". What the f***?

Joosh

hicky45 wrote: »

Also phones4u are not able to contact orange without you being there to discuss contract ending etc that's all down to you. Hope you get it sorted

Yeah this is what Orange said when I contacted them.

When I went in and sat down and I gave him the IMEI of my old phone he looked it up and told me how long I had left on my contract, he said my total buyout was £140.

I was thinking "wow thats cheaper than I thought.... hang on", so I asked him "I have a fair few months left how have you got it so cheap? 22.50ppm over 10 months is more than that...".

His reply was "Ohhh, yeah. Well what I've done for you is lowered your contract price per month to the lowest tarriff, i'll get the VAT knocked off and use some promotional codes we have".

I know it seems silly now, but I figured he wouldnt tell me something THAT important unless it was true?

So having £140 left on my contract, he said "How much can you pay of that?" I said "I dont know". He said "How about half?", obviously I tried my luck and said "What about 70%/30%?". He wasnt budgeing so I thought that wasnt too bad anyway.

Well the hitch was he'd buy back my old phone (tocco lite) for £70, which he said was the policy "limit" for buybacks on old phones. But knowing Toccos are only worth maybe £25 second hand now I was quite happy with that amount.

So that leaves £70 on Orange contract to be paid (as far as I knew). He said that after he'd bought the phone he'd pay it to orange and I wouldnt have to worry for around 3 months and then I just pay them £70 and then thats it, contract paid for, get on with Vodafone contract. I wasnt too fussed about that since my mother was gonna have my old contract SIM on orange for like £5 a month so I wasnt losing out much.

Well he went to pay me the money for it and I said "Why are you giving me the £70" and he said (cant quote this bit but something like): It doesnt make a difference since you can pay it to Orange instead.

I was slightly "hmmm" about it and thought it ask if he gets paid commission for this since I thought they did. He said "We used to but now we get paid solely on our customer service" "So if you come back unhappy, I get paid less". Well that made me feel better, I see what he did there now though.

The whole time he was saying "You're a smart guy" in his sentances and making small talk whenever I was signing stuff. But now I see why, I didnt then - pretty angry at myself.

Sorry for the long one, but thats the best account I cant currently think of.

Iv logged it all here so if I fully complain to Ofcom etc I can just link this thread in the complaints note.

Joosh

Here's something else, it turns out Phones4U have been under investigation in 2008 by Ofcom for the exact thing that has been done here. The outcome was illegal T&C's and various other things. Interesting - it doesn't seem like they have improved much.