Beware of E-Save's 7 day cancellation policy

grace2much

Be careful of E-save (and I presume others as well) regarding their 7 day cool off period where it appears you can send back you phone and cancel your contract if for any reason you are unhappy with your purchase.

On the 13 dec 2006 I bought a Sony Eric D750i (same as K750i) on T Mobile on an 18 mth contract. On arrival I checked the phone and did all the necessary things (battery and Sim installed etc). I sent 1 text message to my wife to make sure the phone was connected and working ok, it was fine. I then tried to transfer some mp3 songs to the phones music player (one of the reasons I liked the 750I was the FM radio and mp3 player) but soon realised that there was a fault in the phones software.

I then called E-save’s technical dept and the person who I spoke with agreed that the phone was faulty and needed replaced. He gave me a TMF code and said E-save would call in 2 days to arrange the replacement. I spent that night pondering the series of events and decided, NO, I’d use the 7 day cooling off period and just cancel the whole thing.

I called E-save the next day and spent over 1 hours being transferred from one to another until I was finally informed that because I had made 1 text I could not cancel my contract. They would be happy to change my phone for a working model (plus £20 if you wanted to change phone model!!) I explained that this sounded very unreasonable since everyone would need to check their new phone to make sure that it at least worked and was connected to receive and make calls. But after checking with his superior and with apologises from him that it did seem unfair he nevertheless said that it was in the T&C and the single texts meant that I had agreed to enter the contract and so could not cancel.

So my moneysaver friends learn from my mistake and read the T&C first and “don’t” make any calls until you are sure you want to keep the phone.

To be fair, the people I spoke to on E-save were friendly and as helpful as they could be and I guess because of Christmas the customer service lines are very busy, hence my long delay. Ah well all in my learning process

Babboon

I thought that where a contract was involved that distance selling regulations meant that you had 14 days from receipt to cancel, irrespective of use?

grace2much

Thanks Zaccy, Yes you are right. I have sent 2 letters to the MD of E2save and to Charles Dunstone of CPW asking for them to reconsider this unfair clause in their "7 days Cooling Off" policy. So perhaps my mistake will hopfully help others coming after me....lets hope so:-)

Old_Gold

I would guess there would be two sides to the contract. One the piece of hardware ie, the phone and the second the service which would be the network provider. However I would assume that if the faulty set stops you enjoying the service you would have a claim against the seller for selling you goods not fit for the purpose. So if you are forced to accept a phone in working condition seek compensation for lost network access and inconvenience.

Babboon

Quoting from the OFt website http://www.oft.gov.uk/Business/Legal/DSR/default.htm

Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.

The key features of the regulations are:

* you must give consumers clear information including details of the goods or services offered, delivery arrangements and payment, the supplier's details and the consumer's cancellation right before they buy (known as prior information)
* you must also provide this information in writing
* the consumer has a cooling-off period of seven working days.

Did you receive notification of the terms in writing with the product?

grace2much

Babboon, Yes I did receive a A5 size flyer about returns etc but it made no mention of the "use (even for 1 text) and no cancellation allowed".

I find this misleading, because the flyer is there for the purpose of bringing your attention to these details i.e. "7 Days cooling off" policy. But on the other hand, and I think this is E2save's justification, the T&C, which I confess I didn't read:o (because I'd honestly would have needed a magnifying glass the text is so small), is there. I guess the burden is on me to, disregard the A5 summary and dig into the fine print of the T&C ?

So E2save is probably correct but it is not a very transparent policy and looks as if it is hoping that people like me assume (never again!!!!) the A5 flyer has all the important details. It sort of parallels the confusing terms on some Cashback policies that seem to be trying to hide and confuse the customer.

bunking_off

According to their terms & conditions, the phone should have been in a box sealed with a sticker that reads;

"Attention! Please DO NOT BREAK THE SEAL unless you have read the terms and conditions of your contract. By using your phone to make or receive calls, send text or picture messages or take photographs or video clips you are accepting the terms and conditions of your airtime agreement."


Sorry, I struggle to see how they could make it any clearer...

Old_Gold

bunking_off wrote:

According to their terms & conditions, the phone should have been in a box sealed with a sticker that reads;

"Attention! Please DO NOT BREAK THE SEAL unless you have read the terms and conditions of your contract. By using your phone to make or receive calls, send text or picture messages or take photographs or video clips you are accepting the terms and conditions of your airtime agreement."


Sorry, I struggle to see how they could make it any clearer...

Sorry mate but you remind me of a shoe salesman when I was very young. I had bought a pair of shoes from the shop and after a few wearing they were beginning to fall apart. I took them back and the salesman said he couldn't take them back as I had worn them. I said to him "what did you expect me to do with them - put them on a shelf as an ornament". I did not accept his stance and in the end I got my money back. There is no way you can tell if an item is faulty unless you use it so you cannot lose rights by opening the package with that in mind.

bunking_off

Think you need to re-read the thread mate.

The OP used the handset, then subsequently found that the handset was faulty.

E2save are happy to give the OP a replacement (new) handset. It sounds like they're even willing to provide a different handset if the OP's lost confidence (though I agree £20's a bit steep). What they can't do is unravel him from the contract with the mobile network operator and back him out of the deal, because that's enacted as soon as a text or call is made. They don't just say that in the T&Cs, they put a sticker on the box so it's impossible for you to get at the handset without realising this. From that perspective, they've followed the OFT rules to the letter.

What if the handset had worked? Would you be happy for the OP to be able to back out of the deal then? If so, next time I fancy a flash handset I'll sign up with e2save, use the handset for 7 days then say "sorry, changed my mind". Then onto the next supplier...

The OP may well have a case for a service credit to reflect the period that he didn't have a handset, but IMHO little else.

direct

CHRISTMAS RETURNS POLICY:

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/commerce/servlet/gben-server-PageServer?ARTICLE=MAIN.UK.INTERNET.HELPINFO.ORDERONLINE.RETURNS.DEFAULT#REXCHANGE

On 03/01/07 at 9:20am I phoned to (Gemma who confirmed that I have right for the exchange) Customer Services Team on 0871 222 5522 opt. 2-4-4 in 26 minutes and was informed that (they do not have email addresses) I have to wait when they will contact me and explain how to complete this exchange.

Address for Complaints:

E2SAVE.COM
3R House
Belton Road West Extension
Belton Road Trading Estate
LOUGHBOROUGH
Leicestershire
LE11 5XH

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PS
e2Save is a part of CPW
http://www.careersatcarphone.com/opportunities/e2save.html