robbed by o2 - HELP

tattybogle_2

Hi everybody - i'm new to this so i hope i'm writing in the right place and i hope somebody can give me some advice as to what to do to get my money back from o2. At the beginning of June I took out a contract with o2 instore (whom i have been with for years)with a new handset costing me 46 pounds monthly. I went home and realised i could not afford this so I went back to the store within the 14 day cooling off period and returned the phone and was given a receipt as proof of cancellation. Thought nothing more of this until i was on holiday in london and tried to use my debit card which was refused on 2 July. o2 had taken over 800 pounds from my account plus a further 40 pounds approx which put my account in overdraft which caused my to have bank charges added. I was stuck in London with no money to get me home.
I have phone o2 practically daily, have been cut off numerous times, have held on for half hours whilst being passed from pillar to post with everybody correcting it. I was told by numerous people they had the problem sorted and that i would have the money back in my account within 10 days and a further 50 pounds as a good will payment. The problem is after the 10 days no money was in my account. Rang again and was told it would take a further 5 days. Rang again when no money was in and was told it would be in today. Today o2 tell me it will be next friday before it will be in. All this time i have had no money to live on and have had to borrow of others to live. I had to speak to my bank who were very understanding and kindly wiped clean the charges that had been incurred. I am very much afraid at this stage i will not have any money refunded next friday either and i am in dire straits not being able to pay my bills, having my direct debits returned and having to borrow money to exist on a daily basis. Can anybody give me any advice as to what I can do please so i can get my money back. The o2 staff have told me this is a mistake on their behalf and that the money was taken from my account mistakenly by them.
I am currently putting this in writing to o2 not that i expect to hear from them. I want my money back and i also want compensation for the stress i've been through this month but I dont know how to get it. Can anyone give me any advice please. I need to get the money back because I need to get my bills paid asap.
Any help is very much appreciated.

visidigi

Is the money o2 took taken via a Direct Debit?

If so get in touch with your bank and dispute the charge, under the direct debit guarantee it should be returned whilst the bank investigates the charges with o2.

sdduk

Sorry but i thought if you buy a mobile phone contract from a shop you do not get any cooling of period....No 7-14 days return
if i am wrong someone on this forum will let me know

Saying that why have they took so much money out of your bank?

Unless its a cancelling fee plus the price of the contract that's all i can think off

Hope you get it sorted out.

gjchester

sdduk wrote: »

Sorry but i thought if you buy a mobile phone contract from a shop you do not get any cooling of period....No 7-14 days return
if i am wrong someone on this forum will let me know

Your right legally but O2 may offer it as a company policy.

Buzby

You have no 'cooling off' period. As I understand it, you upgraded - and therefore as an existing customer, this offer is denied you.

The time for making decisions on whether a contract is a good idea is before you all out with a new handset. They cannot resell it as new, but most of all anyone can cancel - just at no cost. They were right to accept it and give you a receipt, but from the price billed it seems they've taken the handset cost too - so that is unfair.

Since they are entitled to their money, that ship has sailed - however, the handset YoU bought can be sold and you can get your money back - assuming it is a popular model. If they've taken your money AND the handset, it is time to negotiate a discount for a similar amount, which should lead to a rebate of this cost.

SnowTiger

Honeydog wrote: »

It doesn't say anywhere that the OP was an existing customer of 02 or that they upgraded.

Hmmm, OP wrote this:

At the beginning of June I took out a contract with o2 instore (whom i have been with for years)with a new handset costing me 46 pounds monthly.

So, OP is an existing customer.

When I read OPs post I assumed this was an upgrade, however I suppose they could be a PAYG customer or have just cancelled an O2 contract.

Do O2 stores offer a cooling offer period during which customers can return the phone and cancel the contract? Maybe for new customers, but almost certainly not if this was an upgrade.

Honeydog wrote: »

I recently took out my first contract with 02. They mistakenly sold me a business contract and when I found out I had to return to the store and get the contracts swapped over. Because it was within 7 days they swapped handsets (new contract means you need a new phone) and that was that. So they do swap things/refund things during the first few days.

That's different. They made a mistake and rectified it.

Guys_Dad

SnowTiger wrote: »

Do O2 stores offer a cooling offer period during which customers can return the phone and cancel the contract? Maybe for new customers, but almost certainly not if this was an upgrade.
.

All it takes is 30 seconds with Google to find this http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/srvs/cgi-bin/webcgi.exe?New,KB=Companion,question=ref(user):str(Mobile),t=tem1,varset_BBTOPIC=upgradeinfoTopic,varset_BBDISP=After%20you%20upgrade,cmd=new

Do I get a cooling off period with my upgrade?
You have 7 working days to return the handset, however if your previous tariff has been withdrawn you won't be able to move back onto it. You'll stay on your new up to date tariff.If you choose to change your deal then you will need to return the handset to us and once we have it back we can arrange your new deal because this may have an effect on how long it will be before you can upgrade again.

If you've returned your phone in the cooling off period and chosen another one, the cooling off period doesn't apply to the new phone.

I am amazed at the lack of preparation some people do before committing to an over £1000 contract. An hour spent on the net can save a fortune and 2 years of regret.

Guys_Dad

sdduk wrote: »

Sorry but i thought if you buy a mobile phone contract from a shop you do not get any cooling of period....No 7-14 days return
if i am wrong someone on this forum will let me know.

See previous post. :rotfl:

Joking apart, you are correct legally, but many of the network shops have their own goodwill concessions that exceed law.

tattybogle_2

thank you to everybody for your replies. To answer some of the questions posed yes the money was taken out by direct debit. I have spoken to the bank - Nationwide - and they have been brilliant. They've taken away all the charges for me and i'm to contact if i need any further help.
Yes i am an existing customer of o2 and yes i did go to the o2 shop and ask for an upgrade. I also returned the new handset to the same shop. I cant work out how the amount of money they took is worked out and neither can any of o2 staff that i speak to by phone. It appears to be a random figure. The last person i spoke to by phone last friday told me the money would be in my account this coming friday. I am crossing my fingers in the hope that it is refunded. I cant understand why any o2 staff i spoke to by phone would not have given me the info i have got from you guys on this forum - everyone in o2 has different answers but they all have said i will get the money back - however actions are louder than words in this case as i havent had the money refunded. Friday is my birthday so i hope i get the best present ever by getting my refund otherwise this has been a hard and expensive lesson to learn as Guys Dad has wisely pointed out. I will let you all know what happens on friday. Thanks again folks

Buzby

Have a Happy Birthday regardless! O2 cannot randomly apply spurious amounts and their charges must be transparent - paying by DD does mean they can take the money first and leave you struggling to understand. I think you have a good case to get O2 to provide a breakdown and explain what credit was given for the return of the handset (if any).

WRITE to their contact centre, and ask for the answers to these questions - and if you have not already done so, cancel the DD Mandate AND (for safetly) check your credit file in case there are any unexpected surprises.

Guys_Dad

Buzby wrote: »

Have a Happy Birthday regardless! O2 cannot randomly apply spurious amounts and their charges must be transparent - paying by DD does mean they can take the money first and leave you struggling to understand. I think you have a good case to get O2 to provide a breakdown and explain what credit was given for the return of the handset (if any).

WRITE to their contact centre, and ask for the answers to these questions - and if you have not already done so, cancel the DD Mandate AND (for safetly) check your credit file in case there are any unexpected surprises.

I wouldn't do that, Buzby. DD is 99.9% the best way to pay a mobile contract and I suspect all would have been well if tattybogle had liked the handset and kept it.

I agree that what O2 did was unacceptable and they need to explain. A carefully worded letter stating that OP exercised their rights, quoting from the web site, and asking for an explanation plus some goodwill gesture might be helpful. I would be extremely surprised if a similar situation arose again with OP - but of course it could happen.

If O2 allow cancellation of the contract rather than a swap to another handset, then that seems to be in excess of their t&c in post #7 which seems to suggest only a swap not cancellation.

Whatever, good luck and let's know what the outcome is. :beer: