Phones 4 U - nonsensical exchange policy

peaky76

I just wanted to share my unsatisfactory experience with Phones 4 U.

My monthly contract handset broke, so I went to Phones 4 U to get a cheap replacement.

I told them my situation and asked them for the cheapest unlocked handset I could use. He sold me a £20 one. I asked if I could just stick my sim in and it would work and the cashier said it would.

When I got it home, it wouldn't recognise my sim. My girlfriend took it to another Phones 4 U shop and they said the problem was with my sim.

I phoned my provider (3) and they said that wasn't the problem. The sim wouldn't work with the handset because it was a 2G handset. I wasn't aware of this, and the cashier in the second Phones 4 U shop obviously wasn't either.

So I took it back to the original shop (boxed, with receipt) expecting to be able to return the phone and pay the extra (considerably more) to get a 3G phone.

However, they refused the refund, saying I should have known and specifically asked for a 3G phone when I came in. But I asked - if I just put the sim in will it work? They never said anything. If there was a potential issue with 2G/3G why didn't they check with me? How was I supposed to know? I'm not a phone expert - they are. If their own staff in their other shop couldn't spot it, how am I supposed to?

I think what they have done is ludicrous, and they've missed out on selling a more expensive phone, so more fool them. I've given up hope of getting any joy from them. I just wanted to share my experience on here so that others can learn from it.

I've written a blog article on it, if people want to read more.

SuperHan

Can you ring 3 and ask for a 2G sim? There's no reason they wouldn't be able to provide one, you just wouldn't be able to use 3G services while you had it.

mije1983

SuperHan wrote: »

Can you ring 3 and ask for a 2G sim? There's no reason they wouldn't be able to provide one, you just wouldn't be able to use 3G services while you had it.

Do 3 (or any provider for that matter) even do 2G only sims?

Do 3 even have a 2G network anymore?

geerex

SuperHan wrote: »

Can you ring 3 and ask for a 2G sim? There's no reason they wouldn't be able to provide one, you just wouldn't be able to use 3G services while you had it.

Could be wrong , but pretty sure 3 don't do 2g sims. Otherwise, they could be called, erm, 2. :rotfl:

OP - it's a difficult one. Had you specifically said you had a 3 sim, I'd agree with you that your purchase was conditional on the handset working with a 3 sim.
Just as you're not psychic about which sims are compatible with which handset, you can't blame phones4u for not knowing which sim you intended to use.

That said, they should have allowed you to pay the difference towards the next compatible handset as a goodwill gesture.

peaky76

I agree geerex.

Personally, when I said "Can I just plug my sim in and it'll work?" I think they should have checked what network I was on if there was going to be any compatibility issues. But since they didn't the least they could do is allow me to part exchange it for a more expensive phone.

This isn't even just a matter of goodwill. It's plain good business sense. I am handing back an unused £20 phone so I can buy a £60 one. They are making an extra £40. Instead, they've lost a customer. And money they could have had is going into a rival's pockets. And why? This could all have been sorted with a little common sense.

Phones4U - not only rude and uncooperative, also stupid. I won't be using them again.

Vedrina

Although it was a few months ago, I used my micro-sim (with 3 Mobile) in a 2G phone, the only difference was that it piggybacked of T-Mobile who they had a deal with. There 2G network appears to be pretty limited however as it only worked in Central Glasgow/Built up areas.

Exile_geordie

peaky76 wrote: »

This isn't even just a matter of goodwill. It's plain good business sense. I am handing back an unused £20 phone so I can buy a £60 one. They are making an extra £40.

Theyre not making an extra £40 as the profit margin on a £60 3G phone would probably be less than a 2G £20 phone.

Money-Saving-King

peaky76 wrote: »

It's plain good business sense. I am handing back an unused £20 phone so I can buy a £60 one. They are making an extra £40.

They'd only be making an extra £40 if the cost price for both phones was £0. I very much doubt they get the phones for free!