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Carphone Warehouse - Fake Offers
bramblyhedge
Posts: 1 Newbie
in Mobiles
I feel I have been misguided hugely by Carphone Warehouse and wish to warn people of this. I was upgrading my mother's old mobile so doing all the admin and ordering on her behalf, wishing to start a new tariff on Vodafone and have the contract in her name, and close down the previous one in my father's name (still on Vodafone). All permissions were given and everyone who dealt with us had no problem dealing with me and my parents. (They are 70 and while they are well and active, they do need guidance with tech stuff).
I went to CW website and ordered a new deal/tariff and iPhone for my mother, on Vodafone. Good deal, 32gb for price of 15gb, and no upfront cost. The existing number was intended to be kept for use on the new tariff/contract. A Live Chat adviser said the number could be kept, and advised the 32gb was a good deal. So I ordered online. No acknowledgement email arrived. I chased the next day. I was told by an adviser the order was on the system, credit check passed, but the order wasn't going through, and passed me to another operator to explain/investigate further. She told me the what I ordered wasn't available and the order could not be processed as it was - there was in fact an upfront cost for the phone. I said 'that wasn't shown at all on the website deal and my order'. I queried this because during that order I gave them all the bank details and information, and for what, a false order? She said they reserve the right to change the deal or offers and that the website is slow to update (note: othis offer is still there two days later...) I said 'I was assisted by an adviser on Live Chat, to all intents a sales adviser and that he should have indicated what deals were available or not?' She stopped quoting the rules ie. we reserve the right etc. and changed her tune a little. As a pacifier she offered to take £10 off the upfront cost of the phone. I accepted as it seemed reasonable. She was then more helpful and offered a three way call so my mother could give permission and her details and I could stay on the line and guide my mother also. I found out today, after the phone arrived, that once I was off the three way call, the adviser upsold insurance and a starter kit to my mother, essentially regaining the saving she had earlier offered me. I am not happy this took place without my guidance but I had no idea this would occur. The operator did not indicate that questions were going to be asked, only that either security or some other questions would be asked. We asked again, and we were told again that the existing number could be kept and transferred.
I visit my mother today to set up the new mobile phone, and guide my father who is the account holder/billpayer for my mother's old tariff. We needed to call Vodafone to issue a PAC code for the transfer of the number. I would assist my father with this call.
All operators seemed helpful, but then I was told that there was a problem. The number was not be transferred in an easy way - due to the fact the old tariff was in fact under a business account. It is a difficult process to port from this type of account to a personal account. It is going to take 30 days to transfer the number, to a PAYG sim, and then (within a day, potentially!! why so slow for one and then so fast for another) the number can be ported from the PAYG sim to the contract.
So, we are not very happy, feel we have been missold and misguided - even the last Vodafone operator stated that Carphone Warehouse say anything to make a sale, and suggested I complain. He also indicated I should contact CW for a credit on the first month, but I don't really see anything other than CW pushing it back to Vodafone. I am about to draft a complaint to CW, I have the Live Chat transcript, and screen captures of the first false order, and screen grabs of their website showing their 'dummy' offer. I scanned partly through CW T&Cs but have not seen anything anywhere about porting or transferring numbers between different types of account.
Any further thoughts or advice please? I certainly and flatly refuse to recommend CW because of this
I went to CW website and ordered a new deal/tariff and iPhone for my mother, on Vodafone. Good deal, 32gb for price of 15gb, and no upfront cost. The existing number was intended to be kept for use on the new tariff/contract. A Live Chat adviser said the number could be kept, and advised the 32gb was a good deal. So I ordered online. No acknowledgement email arrived. I chased the next day. I was told by an adviser the order was on the system, credit check passed, but the order wasn't going through, and passed me to another operator to explain/investigate further. She told me the what I ordered wasn't available and the order could not be processed as it was - there was in fact an upfront cost for the phone. I said 'that wasn't shown at all on the website deal and my order'. I queried this because during that order I gave them all the bank details and information, and for what, a false order? She said they reserve the right to change the deal or offers and that the website is slow to update (note: othis offer is still there two days later...) I said 'I was assisted by an adviser on Live Chat, to all intents a sales adviser and that he should have indicated what deals were available or not?' She stopped quoting the rules ie. we reserve the right etc. and changed her tune a little. As a pacifier she offered to take £10 off the upfront cost of the phone. I accepted as it seemed reasonable. She was then more helpful and offered a three way call so my mother could give permission and her details and I could stay on the line and guide my mother also. I found out today, after the phone arrived, that once I was off the three way call, the adviser upsold insurance and a starter kit to my mother, essentially regaining the saving she had earlier offered me. I am not happy this took place without my guidance but I had no idea this would occur. The operator did not indicate that questions were going to be asked, only that either security or some other questions would be asked. We asked again, and we were told again that the existing number could be kept and transferred.
I visit my mother today to set up the new mobile phone, and guide my father who is the account holder/billpayer for my mother's old tariff. We needed to call Vodafone to issue a PAC code for the transfer of the number. I would assist my father with this call.
All operators seemed helpful, but then I was told that there was a problem. The number was not be transferred in an easy way - due to the fact the old tariff was in fact under a business account. It is a difficult process to port from this type of account to a personal account. It is going to take 30 days to transfer the number, to a PAYG sim, and then (within a day, potentially!! why so slow for one and then so fast for another) the number can be ported from the PAYG sim to the contract.
So, we are not very happy, feel we have been missold and misguided - even the last Vodafone operator stated that Carphone Warehouse say anything to make a sale, and suggested I complain. He also indicated I should contact CW for a credit on the first month, but I don't really see anything other than CW pushing it back to Vodafone. I am about to draft a complaint to CW, I have the Live Chat transcript, and screen captures of the first false order, and screen grabs of their website showing their 'dummy' offer. I scanned partly through CW T&Cs but have not seen anything anywhere about porting or transferring numbers between different types of account.
Any further thoughts or advice please? I certainly and flatly refuse to recommend CW because of this
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Comments
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You normally can't transfer a number to the same network so it usually needs to be ported to a paygo on another network and then ported back !
You really need to keep posts short and to the point, I doubt many people will bother to read you lengthy saga.0 -
You normally can't transfer a number to the same network so it usually needs to be ported to a paygo on another network and then ported back !
You really need to keep posts short and to the point, I doubt many people will bother to read you lengthy saga.
I read it. You really need to learn some manners.0 -
It seems to that rather than upgrade the old contract you have taken out a new one and now have the situation of having to port out your number to another network before porting back in.bramblyhedge wrote: »It is going to take 30 days to transfer the number, to a PAYG sim, and then (within a day, potentially!! why so slow for one and then so fast for another) the number can be ported from the PAYG sim to the contract.
It doesn't take 30 days to transfer but you will be giving 30 days notice when you use the PAC to close down the old contract.
The whole process is going to take a few days though as you will need to wait for one porting to complete before starting the next.
Would have been far simpler upgrading the old contract !It's not just about the money0 -
Hi bramblyhedge,
If you still need help with this, email me with your parent's details via the link in our profile here.
All you need to do is copy and paste the link into your web browser and it'll take you to the Contact us form on our website. To make sure it reaches me, quote the code WRT135 - MSE in the subject line.
Once sent, you'll receive an automated reply with a reference number. Post back with this and I’ll check I've received it.
Kind regards,
Lee
Social Media Comms
Vodafone UK“Official Company Representative
I am the official company representative of Vodafone. MSE has given permission for me to post in response to queries about the company, so that I can help solve issues. You can see my name on the companies with permission to post list. I am not allowed to tout for business at all. If you believe I am please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com This does NOT imply any form of approval of my company or its products by MSE"0 -
why do oap's need iphones lolDon't put your trust into an Experian score - it is not a number any bank will ever use & it is generally a waste of money to purchase it. They are also selling you insurance you dont need.0
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For different reasons than the presumptuously pretentious, hopefully.0
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