Negotiating with Carphone Warehouse

tomnorth

I’d be hugely grateful for any opinions or advice on my recent negotiations with CPW.

I’m presently with O2 through the carphone warehouse on a contract which expires mid April. I have not much enjoyed my relationship with the Carphone Warehouse as they failed to properly activate international call roaming for five consecutive months, a privilege for which I had paid a £300 deposit (frustratingly this the sort of service you only realize you don’t have once in a foreign country!).

As such I have been for a number of months (having sometime ago read some moneysavingexpert posts) been looking forward to contract renewal time with the knowledge that I’m really not too sad if I do switch provider and network. Additionally I have recently been paying some extravagant monthly bills so I am doubly confident there are huge savings to be reaped.

About three or four weeks ago I got a text advising me that a new phone was on offer and I was subsequently persistently called by someone called Alan. While I had some admiration for Alan’s persistence, he was wholly inconsistent each time I spoke with him, and offered me no meaningful reassurance that my historic servicing issues were a thing of the past (except of course by offering me his personal mobile phone number). Predictability Alan’s opening stance was wholly unforthcoming in terms of a genuinely more attractive – he made a number of totally misleading representations about cost savings I would make if I took additional free minutes, and my dealings with him left me more resolute that I would switch away from CPW and go direct to O2.

I discussed this with him and subsequently today with a different colleague of Alan’s called Vaneeta – both of them told me I would not be able to keep my number if I did this. Alan’s justification is that “O2 will not allow a customer to port to and from the same network”. To me this sounded like a lie and felt like bullying. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THIS IS ACTUALLY TRUE?

I feel a ltd amount of sympathy towards O2 (although I have no plans of allowing this sympathy to overly cloud my judgment) – but the fact is they are potentially going to lose a very decent customer because CPW have been wholly substandard. I would as such like to find a way of going to O2 direct, or alternatively obtaining a seriously amazing offer from CPW to keep.

Some background facts on my current deal:

- My line rental including data is £40 (£25 line rental £15 data)
- 12 month contract
- 100 x network mins + 100 texts per month

- Of my last four monthly bills, 3 have been in excess of £200 (due very substantially to overseas calls in the US and Europe) – the remaining monthly bills in my contract have come in between £45 - £60

Latest offer from CPW:

- Line rental including data is £55 (£40 line rental £15 data)
- 18 month contract
- £250 cashback
- 800 x network mins + 500 texts per month
- ITS, international roaming discount on international calls – CPW were unable to provide any detail as what this comprised

This represents a substantial improvement on previous offers from CPW and was given when I read them an offer from “onestopphoneshop” (incidentally powered by CPW). Frustratingly they couldn’t even match this!! (slightly less cash back; last 6 months only 100 texts; no free insurance for first 3 months)

Three main questions:
1. Is what I have been told about not being able to switch to O2 direct with same number really true?
2. I feel that they’ve made a tonne of money out of me over the last 12 months. Does anyone have a view on how far I can / should push it?
3. I do not think I have yet gone through to a disconnection department – does CPW have one and should I now ask straight off to go through to it?

Many thanks for reading all the above – your views hugely appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

shareef

I can answer the first question. They are correct, you cannot port onto the same network. What you can do, and is what I do each year, is port your number to a different network's pay as you go sim, ie vodaphone, then port that into your new contract.

Revex

To add on as you say you are happy with o2 just not the carphone warehouse. Why not go into an o2 shop and see what upgrade offers they can offer you (or indeed phone o2 retentions). While you bought the phone from the carphone warehouse you are no less of an o2 customer than someone buying from o2 direct. Carphone warehouse are just the ones that get the commission reward from o2 when you sign up there, nothing more. As far as paying a deposit for intinational roaming again that money will have been requested by o2 which is then requested by carphone warehouse (there just a middle man).

So go visit an o2 shop or phone o2 and say you comming to the end of your contract (with o2, remember you arnt a carphone warehouse customer in regards to the phone/contract/price plan you have) and see what upgrades they can offer you. You can tell carphone warehouse to stuff off really.

matthewluck

I will never buy anything from CPW again

My last contract was with o2 through CPW, CPW kept taking my direct debit a fortnight early and then refusing to refund.

The customer service at CPW is terrible.

Cannot fault o2's service though

matt:D

Mobile_Mole

Whether intentional or not some of the responses you have had not been entirely correct.

shareef wrote:

I can answer the first question. They are correct, you cannot port onto the same network.

This is not true. MNP (Mobile Number Portability) allows you to remain on the same network and change service provider. This is known as a migration. In this case you are migrating from O2 CPW to O2.

BUT... you will only be able to do this if you new contract is purchased from one of O2's direct channels (online, instore, or telesales). If you purchase from a dealer (even if they connect directly with O2) this migration is not always possible as it influences the dealer's commission.

Revex wrote:

To add on as you say you are happy with o2 just not the carphone warehouse. Why not go into an o2 shop and see what upgrade offers they can offer you (or indeed phone o2 retentions). While you bought the phone from the carphone warehouse you are no less of an o2 customer than someone buying from o2 direct. Carphone warehouse are just the ones that get the commission reward from o2 when you sign up there, nothing more.

This is totally incorrect. You are a very different O2 customer to someone buying from O2 directly. In your case O2 is your network operator and O2 CPW is your service provider. Your billing and customer services, which includes upgrading, is all handled by the service provider. You are an O2 CPW customer, not an O2 customer. An O2 store or O2 retentions cannot offer you an upgrade.

tomnorth wrote:

I do not think I have yet gone through to a disconnection department – does CPW have one and should I now ask straight off to go through to it?

Most service providers call the department 'retentions' but CPW like to call it 'loyalty'. Ensure you speak to this department as upgrades via regular CS will be considerably worse.

matthewluck wrote:

The customer service at CPW is terrible. Cannot fault o2's service though

This is something I do agree with!

Revex

my mistake, customers of o2 through the carphone warehouse to have some strange relationship going in which the admin is dealt with by the carphone warehouse.

I know a family member who purchased a t-mobile contract from cpw who upgraded through t-mobile so this is just an o2/cpw thing for now.

Doesnt help you though I guess.

Apologies for the incorrect info.

shareef

Actually I was correct, you CANT port onto the same network, upgrading its something else.

Mobile_Mole

shareef wrote: »

Actually I was correct, you CANT port onto the same network, upgrading its something else.

Posting the same incorrect advice twice does not help anyone.


MNP (Mobile Number Portability) allows you to transfer your number to another service provider regardless of whether you are changing network operator. You can:

- Change Network and Service Provider at the same time
- Remain on the same Network and change Service Provider
- Change Network and remain with the same Service Provider


So you CAN port onto the same network as long as you are changing service provider. As this is something the OP is considering (O2 CPW to O2) it makes sense to make sure the advice you offer is correct.

tomnorth

Many thanks for everyone's views and comments - some very interesting food for thought. Special thanks to Mobile Mole for sharing your knowledge of MNP!

I have almost resolved on a plan of action but it raises a couple of other queries I'd be grateful for input on:

1) I plan to spend the afternoon contacting both O2 direct and CPW "loyalty" and to some extent trade them off against each other - is this a bad idea?

2) Does anyone have a view as to whether online, instore, or telesales is more appropriate for O2 (both from a negotiation perspective and customer services later on) - also tel number if poss

3) I'd prefer I think to switch to O2, but i have a concern that i will get a better deal from CPW as they will have more visibility of my recent high monthly spend (£200 plus - incidentally i do not expect this to continue, so I'm keen to strike while the iron is hot). Will O2 direct have the same visibility on my historic spend? Is it something that in reality both O2 direct and CPW will ignore anyway?

4) Can I call CPW and just ask to be put through to the loyalty dept? Should i not express disappointment or annoyance first, or say that I wish to leave and let them put me through? Does a tel number exist for loyalty department?

Again hugely appreciative of your views and will endeavour to keep you posted on developments.

Many thanks,
Tom