Feel I've been ripped off by Tesco Mobile

MCIBS

I'm feeling really disappointed with Tesco Mobile. In fact, I feel that I've been completely ripped off.....

Last summer I signed up for a Samsung Galaxy Ace at the Tesco Mobile shop in Dunfermline, at a capped rate of £15.00 per month. I have owned several phones over the years and never had one damaged, lost or stolen. With this one, however, I noticed a few weeks ago that the ringer had stopped working.

I called the helpline and they asked me to take it back to the store, where it was checked thoroughly and they couldn't get the ringer to work either. I then called the helpline again, they sent me a padded bag and I sent the phone back for repair. (Just to be on the safe side, I even taped a double layer of bubble-wrap round the phone before I put it in the padded bag provided.)

A few days later I received a letter stating that the repair was not covered by the Warranty. I was really surprised at this, as the phone was only a few months old and the Warranty was supposed to cover the first full year. I phoned up to find out what the problem was and was advised that "the cracked LCD screen" was not covered by the Warranty. I tried to explain that the phone had been returned because the ringer was not working and there was nothing wrong with the LCD screen.

At this point the call became quite frosty, I was more or less called a bl**dy liar and told in no uncertain terms that, if I wanted the phone back in working order, I had no option but to pay £51.00 to "have the cracked LCD screen repaired." When I asked how I could get the ringer repaired, I was told this would be done "free of charge" if I paid for "the damaged screen." With great reluctance I agreed to pay.

Since then I have looked at various internet Forums and discovered that I am not the only Tesco Mobile customer who has been treated like this. Need I say more?

DUTR

Not sure why you didn't return the handset via the purchased store, if the screen was cracked the agents there may have noticed too, it may have given your more weight to 'defence'.

grumbler

Personally, I would never post a phone with a big fragile screen wrapped in bubble-wrap. It protects from impacts, but not from static pressure that can easily crack the screen.
It's always a cardboard box for me.

JJ_Egan

Did you send the phone to Samsung or Tesco ??

jje

MCIBS

I didn't return the phone via the purchased store because they refused to deal with it. According to the Tesco Mobile website the only way you can return a faulty phone is to phone up, report the fault, then use the pre-paid padded envelope which they send you. (The agents in the shop had examined the phone quite thoroughly, then returned it to me saying "the ringer isn't working." )

Tesco don't handle mobile phone repairs themselves, it appears to be sub-contracted out to a company called "A Novo UK Ltd" which is based in Norwich. As I was very unhappy about what happened I looked for "How to complain" on the main Tesco website and there was neither a postal nor an email address I could use. Clearly they don't care about unhappy customers nor the bad publicity that this type of scenario can create!